You can learn a lot just by walking around a village, thinking about how it evolved and picking up clues from remains on the ground and in buildings. If you looked at both old and new maps before your walk you’ll make even more deductions. Most of our Wiltshire villages date from Saxon times, although some are on earlier settlements; again most have Saxon names and the study of street and field names can also be very rewarding. (see The Place-names of Wiltshire by J.E.B. Gover, 1939; and English Field Names by the appropriately named John Field, 1989)

On 18^th March at 2.15 the History Centre afternoon lecture will be Looking at Villages with Michael Marshman, who will talk about some of the skills that help you to become a landscape detective. Apart from his day job at the History Centre Michael has been writing the Village Life articles for Wiltshire Life for the last eight years! Some tickets are still available (Tel. 01249 705500).


Lacock [F0018] A 15^th century cruck building showing where the roof was later raised to allow the insertion of an upper floor.
 
All our villages are different and can be one of a number of types apart from the nucleated, linear or agglomerated that we may remember from geography lessons. Some villages, such as Shrewton, can be several medieval villages that have grown into one; these are known as polyfocal villages but others, such as Inglesham, may have shrunk and be much smaller than they were in earlier times. In others, like West Ashton, a landowner has cleared the original village from the proximity of his manor house and rebuilt it further away.

 
Steeple Ashton [F0045] The village green contains the market cross of 1679, when an attempt was made to revive the market, and the blind house (lock up) of 1773. Indications of the market site and of the hundred court of Whorwellsdown
To find out more, please 'read more'...

Comment (0) Read More...

The answer is in the allotment movement and the work of the Great Somerford Rector, Stephen Demainbray, in providing allotments in 1809 after the local Enclosure Act had removed rights of common from poor villagers. Jeremy will speak on this and the spread of the allotment movement.

The provision of allotments as a way of improving the lot of the poor was to become a driving force in Demainbray’s long life, although the pioneer in the local area was Thomas Estcourt of Shipton Moyne. As a condition of commuting the landowners’ tithes the Rector requested that several acres should be retained for the benefit of the poor. Under the Act the land was to be kept in perpetuity for ‘the poor cottagers, Parishioners of and residing in the parish of Great Somerford, otherwise Broad Somerford’. 

 
 Detail of the Enclosure Award map for Great Somerford showing the glebe land used for the allotments.
                         
The allotments were to be allocated annually with regard to the number of people in each family and they were to be free of all rents and taxes. This is still the case today and the oldest allotments in the country are allocated to villagers on the Tuesday of Easter week, as they have been for 200 years. Read on to find out more.....

Comment (0) Read More...