As you will notice from the title, this is an archive for Whatlington and Vinehall Street. I include Vinehall Street as this should encompass the Mountfield and Whatlington School as well as Vinehall School. The idea of a creating an archive for the village came about after a talk where both Alan Judd and Charlotte Moore discussed how the village survived during the last two world wars from their family's point of view. A conversation started with myself and Roger Fisher about creating an archive similar to Catsfield's archive. This has now evolved into an online journal so that all can see it.
It is open to all, but I would like to see village members add their own memories of anything to do with the village.
On a quick dig into some books at home, I have found the Sussex volume of the Domesday Book. Those that do not know of this, it was a survey created for King William in 1086 and compiled in Winchester.
"Earl Harold held Whatlington. Then and now it answered for 1/2 hide. Land for 6 ploughs. Reinbert holds from the Count. He has 2 ploughs. 6 villagers and 3 cottagers with 3 ploughs. Meadow, 10 acres; woodland, 6 pigs. Value before 1066 and now 50s. It was wasted."
A hide is a measurement of land for tax assessment outside of Danelaw countries and it equates to 120 acres with local variations on the acre. The term "plough"implies eight oxen with the plough.The term "villager" denotes a member of the peasant class with most land whereas the term "cottager" was that of the lowest and smallest class of peasant. The terms and definitions of the other Domesday sayings can be found here.
The village was spelt "Watlingetone" in the original text. The above paragraph was also copied into the second edition of Whatlington Parish Remembered (published in the year 2000), which was compiled by Mr. L. Bennett. For those of you who do not have this, I will add snippets from this.
1894 "The First Parish Council meeting held at Mr Ashby's house. Appointed Chairman - Mr Welstead, Vice Chairman - Mr Wordley, Clerk and Overseer of the Poor - Mr S.E. Elliott. Meetings to be held quarterly."
Whatlington Church, St. Mary Magdalene, has published a few pamhplets including The History of St. Mary Magdalene and Embroidered Kneelers.
From the first pamphlet, "The church stands on the point of a spur which projects into the Brede Valley. Here an ancient trackway crossed the River Brede, then very broad as it's name implies, by a ford in a forest clearing, a "leah ford", from which has come Leeford. Shrines and chapels, where wayfarers could offer prayers were often built on such sites."
From the second pamphlet, "Kneeler II: commemorates JOHN de WHATLINGTON, who a native of Whatlington, was Seneschal of Battle Abbey. He became the 14th Abbot of Battle by Royal assent dated Mach 10th, 1307 and he died in 1311. The design is of The Arms of Battle Abbey (as seen in Canterbury Cathedral Cloisters) and it was embroidered by C. E. & J. L. Gould."
A Seneschal is, and I had to look it up, a steward of a medieval great house.
So you have seen what I have added so far, but I am sure some of this will have triggered memories be they about the Christmas pageant, the fight over a house, the Home Guard; please add your thoughts to the comments. You can also send me some things to put on the blog or the Whatlington and Vinehall Street Virtual Archive to give the blog its full name by sending the articles to this email address wvarchive@hotmail.co.uk
Thank you for your time.
An archivist for Whatlington and Vinehall Street
No comments:
Post a Comment