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The Great Flood of 1841

Posted by: Blog Administrator on Jan 21, 2011

Tagged in: Wylye valley , WSA 1336/98 , World War 1 , Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre , Wiltshire , William McGonagall’s , weather , waterproofs , Warminster , verses , Tilshead , The Great flood , thaw , Terry Bracher , Tay Railway Bridge disaster , story , Stoke Winterbourne , stanzas , souls , snow storm , Shrewton , Sarum , Salisbury Plain , River Wylye , River Till , records , rebuild , Project group , poetic , poem , Orcheston , newspapers , Maddington , local , letter , investigating , indexes , homeless , historical record , Hanging Langford , Flood Cottages , flash flood , event , Elston House , Elston , drowning , doggerel , document , disasters , destitute , currents charity , county , compassion , communities , commemorating , collections , Codford , Blewdon’s House , author , Ann Doughty , 1841 , 1789

I just happened to be trawling through some indexes to our records when a subject caught my eye - the Great flood in the Wylye Valley 1841. Now I am just about to visit the Wylye World War 1 Project group, one of several trips to the south of our county this week, and have an eye on the weather since the heavy rain over the last few days. Investigating this story in more detail it appears that the flood took place 170 years ago, almost to the day!  (Apparently there was a similar flood in 1789 around the same time of year - I am taking my waterproofs).  What particularly drew me to the reference was a note concerning a piece of doggerel about the event.

 

I have always been curious about doggerel and other poetic forms as an historical record commemorating events (and people), especially disasters, such as William McGonagall’s poem on the Tay Railway Bridge disaster of 1879. But what I found was even more astonishing; forget the 8 verses by McGonagall, our document contains 51 verses, in part 1, and a further 25 in part 2, a grand total of 76 stanzas detailing an event that, according to contemporary local newspapers, lasted a mere 12 hours, though with such force and hugely disastrous consequences for the local communities. The document (WSA 1336/98) is a transcript of a letter by Ann Doughty of Hanging Langford to her mother some days after the flood with a doggerel rhyme by an unknown author.

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A Wiltshire Christmas Past

Posted by: Blog Administrator on Dec 18, 2009

Tagged in: ‘Wassail’ Harvey , www.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/folk_play_search.ph , with Christmas carols , Wiltshire Community History , Wiltshire , We Wish You a Merry Christmas , wassailing , wassail bowl , villagers , verses , Thomas Ernle , The Britford First Carol , Tha Girt Big Figgetty Pooden , stories , spiced ale , songs , skating , seasonal decorations , school , Sarum Missal , sang , Salisbury Cathedral , rural Wiltshire , Rector , Rector , punch , poems , poems , plays , performed , New Year , mumming , mummers’plays , Monkton Park Community Primary School , minor gentry , Medieval , Limpley Stoke , late night parties , John Chandler , John Britton , John Aubrey , History Centre , heathenish custom , games , Francis Kilvert , folk tradition , Folk Arts , fertility ceremony , Felicity Gilmour , farm labourer , Everley , Evening Prayer , Edward Slow , dialect , dancing , crops , Cricklade , clergy , church , Christmas masses , Christmas Festivities , Christmas Eve , Christmas Day , Christmas , Chris Wildridge , celebrations , butcher’s meat , Britford , boy bishop , Boar’s Head , animals , Alfred Williams , Ales , A.G. Street , A. Lemoine , A Wiltshire Christmas , .Civil War

We have just been entertained by the children of our local school, Monkton Park Community Primary School, with Christmas carols and songs for History Centre staff and users. They ended with We Wish You a Merry Christmas and we would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Peaceful New Year. That set me thinking about earlier Christmas times in our county.


            Adverts in Wiltshire Newpapers, 1909
Adverts in Wiltshire Newpapers, 1909

For glimpses of Christmases past in Wiltshire you need to look in the writings of Francis Kilvert, Alfred Williams and A.G. Street. In Kilvert you will find the entertainments and activities of the clergy and minor gentry – dancing and games, late night parties, skating, and seasonal decorations in the church. Williams presents us with a view of the farm labourer’s Christmas while Street provides a mixture of famers’ and farm workers’ celebrations. To find out more please 'read more'...




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