Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Dec 17, 2010
Tagged in:
workshop ,
Wiltshire ,
walls ,
vagabonds ,
Thomas Platt ,
The Old Bridewell ,
The Grange ,
suspects ,
surgeon ,
State of the Prisons ,
Southwell ,
solitary confinement ,
segmental ,
sashes ,
Salisbury ,
rogues ,
Richard Ingleman gaol ,
red-brick houses ,
prison reformer ,
Principal ,
pre-trial ,
polygonal prison ,
Police station ,
Oxford ,
Norwich ,
Nether Stowey ,
Margaret Parrott ,
London ,
Lincs ,
Ladies’ School ,
keystone ,
John Howard ,
Jane E. Hollis ,
jail ,
initials ,
infirmary ,
idle poor ,
Health of Prisoners Act ,
grafitti’d ,
governess ,
garden ,
Folkingham ,
fire ,
exercise yard ,
Eliza Hopkins ,
Dorothy Treasure ,
Devizes Almshouse Trust ,
Devizes ,
detaining ,
County Gaol ,
committee ,
Cheltenham ,
burnt down ,
Bridewell Street ,
Bridewell prison ,
bridewell ,
Borough ,
boarded with her ,
attics ,
apothecary ,
almswomen
In the centre of Devizes is an unassuming building, not very different from those red-brick houses flanking it. It has large, airy two-by-two pane sashes with typical segmental arches which contain a shaped keystone. Behind the net curtains can be glimpsed a cosy living room, and a pretty garden beyond. This is The Grange and it was once the old Devizes jail, or bridewell, in Bridewell Street.
The Old Bridewell, Devizes
The Bridewell started life in 1579 as a timber-framed building in the street which now bears its name. It was established after the opening of the Bridewell prison in London in 1556 as a new type of prison to deal with the growing numbers of those regarded as rogues and vagabonds or the idle poor. This example had been followed in Oxford in 1562, Salisbury in 1564 and Norwich in 1565. It was burnt down twice and rebuilt: after a fire in 1619 and another more serious fire in 1630, but still in timber, much of which survives today.
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Jan 5, 2010
Tagged in:
Wroughton ,
Wiltshire Family History Society ,
Wiltshire and Swindon Archives ,
Wiltshire ,
William of Whitley ,
will ,
Victoria and Albert Museum ,
TV series ,
topographical ,
Time Lord ,
Thomas Gore ,
The Doctor ,
Syntagma Genealogicum ,
Swindon Borough Council ,
surgeon ,
seal matrix ,
re-incarnated ,
Quarter Sessions ,
punning seal ,
Principal Archivist ,
parish ,
North West Wiltshire ,
Norfolk ,
medieval sculpture ,
medieval deeds ,
Mayor ,
marriage licence bond ,
Malmesbury ,
Latin ,
John Aubrey ,
importance ,
Gore family ,
Friends of the National Libraries ,
estates ,
Dr Who ,
Dr Qui ,
documents ,
collection ,
Claire Skinner ,
bidding ,
auction ,
Archives ,
antiquarian ,
Alderton deeds ,
Alderman
Documents in WSA suggest that the famous Time Lord may have spent time in Malmesbury in the mid 17th century.
A Dr Qui [the Latin for who] is mentioned several times between 1657 and 1675, and was an important person in the town. He was described as a surgeon in his marriage licence bond, when aged 40 he took a bride aged 26 from Wroughton. In Easter 1673 he signed a letter filed in the Quarter Sessions records as Alderman (Mayor) of Malmesbury.
He was buried in Malmesbury abbey church yard 1675, and his will was proved in the following year. However as fans of the TV series know only too well the Doctor has been re-incarnated at least ten times so evidence of his death may well have been exaggerated.
Alderton deeds saved for Wiltshire
Although most of the archives placed in our care are deposited on loan or outright gift, we do purchase material of particular importance. In August we were alerted to sale of about 150 medieval deeds relating to the estates of the Gore family of Alderton, a small parish in North West Wiltshire. Unfortunately in order to maximise the vendor’s profit they were broken up into many separate lots. Principal archivist Claire Skinner spent a stressful but exciting morning bidding by telephone at an auction taking place in Norfolk, and managed to purchase about half of the lots (95 deeds) which covered the earliest documents. This was achieved by a combination of our own budget and generous contributions from the Friends of the National Libraries, and Wiltshire Family History Society.
Close-up of the earliest Alderton deed purchased in 2009 – reference 3815/1/1
Grant by William Lycame of Alderton (spelt Aldrynton here) to John Bovetoun and Christine his wife, of the rent of a grain of wheat for a tenement, dated 1332. The deed is in Latin, which was the language of the law until 1733.
Many of the deeds have seals attached which illustrate the craftsmanship and vitality of medieval small scale sculpture. A good example is the punning seal of William Gore which has a bull’s head between his initials. To find out more and see if you can help us with identifying a family and church in some photographs dating back to the 1950s please 'read more'...
