Old Days of Eton Parish - CHAPTER VIII - CHECKS AND DISASTERS.

CHECKS AND DISASTERS.

THE death of Edward VI. (1553), and the accession of Queen Mary, who was a firm adherent of the Pope, gave a temporary check to the Reformation.

She ordered the restoration in Churches of all that had been abolished, and her order was in Eton, as else-where, complied with. The High Altar was again set up in its old condition, and a canopy erected over it; some of the other altars were restored, and the texts which had been painted upon the walls were removed.

In most places, the clergy had become so little accustomed to the reformed ritual that they thought best to conform to the Queen's requirements. But the Provost and some of the Fellows had broken the College Statutes by marrying; and on this account they were deprived of office and others were appointed in their place.

The new Provost and Rector was in full sympathy with the Queen, and shortly after was chosen to preach at Oxford, on the approaching execution of Cranmer. He also took a prominent part in persecuting the reforming clergy, and accordingly a year or two after (1558), on the accession of Queen Elizabeth, he too got into trouble, and was deprived of his position.

These violent changes, and the bitter spirit excited by them, left a sad legacy to this country.

From the year 705 or earlier until Queen Mary's death, the unity and the continuous life of the Church of England had been preserved, and the Church had practically included all professed Christians in England,¹ but now there appear two rival parties, the Papists and the Puritans, both largely reinforced by foreigners, and supported by foreign influence; both bent on leavening the national Church with their notions, and both eventually seceding and forming themselves into separate bodies of Non-conformists.

Queen Elizabeth on her accession had a difficult task before her, but she did her best to check the evil effects of these two opposing forces, and to restore peace and order.

She quietly undid the work of Mary and took her stand on the policy of her father Henry VIII. and her step-brother Edward VI.

In this she was supported by at least two-thirds of her subjects, and out of 9,400 clergy then in England, less than 300 refused to accept the reforms introduced, and to take the oath of allegiance.

Her moderation however did not succeed in its object. The persecutions in Mary's reign had stirred a bitter hatred of the Papacy, and of all usages, however ancient and venerable, which were associated with the papal dominion.

In their unreasoning zeal against all that appeared to them to be of Roman origin, the Puritans had little regard for the links which bound the historic Church of England with the Church of Christ in all lands and in all ages. Had they been allowed their way, they would have broken the chain of continuous life, and have started a brand-new society, fashioned after their own interpretation of Biblical teaching. As it was, great havoc was done; many beautiful monuments and ornaments in Churches were destroyed, and the services were often reduced to the barest and coldest simplicity.

We find some signs of this in the history of Eton. In 1559 the High Altar was again removed, and in the next year the College barber was paid "for wypinge oute the imagery work upon the Church walls," in other words for smearing over valuable frescoes with a coating of whitewash. A little later the chancel screen, made out of the rood-loft in the old Church, was defaced; the figures on it were demolished, and the niches were filled up with stone and plaster. But even this did not satisfy Puritan zeal. In 1569 the whole of it was ruthlessly pulled down, and the division between the choir and the nave obliterated.

Some notion may be formed of the size and solidity of this structure from the fact that its destruction occupied twenty-one days of carpenters' work besides the time spent in " joyninge ye weinscott and repairinge and washinge ye walls where the rood-loft stoode, and pavinge ye same place with grete stone and bricke."

A little later we hear of ‘pues’ being introduced into the Church, and a sounding-board erected over the pulpit. This latter mention shows that here, as elsewhere in England, more attention was being directed to preaching, which had of late been grievously neglected. It may also show that there was some kindly consideration paid to the townsfolk, who occupied the nave, and who by the removal of the rood-loft would have a better chance of hearing sermons. Whether, now that their altars in the nave were removed, the townspeople were admitted into the choir for Communion, we are not informed.

A sermon preached in the Church by one of the Fellows about this date contains some plain reproofs and warnings to all classes, and among them tailors and drapers, butchers and bakers are personally rebuked for dishonesty.

Another irregularity crept in during these unsettled times. From the foundation of the College, for upwards of a hundred years, the Provosts of Eton had also been Rectors of the parish, but now we meet with occasional exceptions, owing to the appointments of laymen to the Provostship. This abuse, although protested against, was not of such serious importance to the parish as it might have been elsewhere, as there were always many resident clergy among the Fellows able to discharge the clerical duties. Some of these, however, appear to have given the Bishop of the Diocese no little trouble and anxiety by their neglect to conform to the rules of the Church. They seem also to have disturbed the minds of the Queen's chief advisers. A letter from Bishop Grindal to Cecil, her Secretary of State, bids him in somewhat uncomplimentary language “remember Eton and the hedge priests there.²”

In 1560, Queen Elizabeth took measures to restrain the destruction of Church monuments, and to correct the negligence in religious worship; and in 1566 she issued her ‘Advertisements’ to enforce a minimum of decent ceremonial; but these measures were met by the Puritans with a counter attempt to abolish episcopacy, and to reject the Prayer Book. On the other hand the Pope issued a bull, pronouncing the Queen excommunicate for rejecting his supremacy, and declaring her deposed from the throne of England. But the Queen was popular, and held her ground, and the Church of England was pre-served from being committed to the influence of either opposing party.

The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, and the banishment of those who refused to conform to the national religion, led at least for a brief space to quieter times, and to a better understanding of the real principles at stake.

A slight indication of the turn of the tide in Eton is to be seen in some attempted improvements in the Church. A new timber screen between the choir and the nave was erected by one of the Fellows, Thomas Hever, in 1625, carved with the arms of the Founder, Queen Elizabeth, the two Universities, and Eton College. The gilding of the Cross on it was paid for by the College. Hever also presented a Communion chalice, and "sett up a Communion table and gave foure strong formes to stand in the iles of ye Church for the towne men to sitt on. "These are probably the seats which are still existing in the Ante-Chapel.

About this period, there begins a fresh source of information as to parish matters. The Parish Registers of baptisms, marriages and burials date from 1598, and occasionally contain interesting notes, which throw light on the events and customs of the day.³

^Notes

I Nominally at least in those days every citizen was a Christian, and every Christian a Churchman.

2 Domestic State Papers, August II, 1561.

3 Four volumes of the Parish Registers are preserved in the College muniment room : Vol. I. contains baptisms, marriages and burials, 1598 to 1653 (also some marriages, 1693 to 1705) ; Vol. II., 1653 to 1716 ; Vol. III., 1716 to 1747 ; Vol. IV., 1748 to 1779.

OLD DAYS OF ETON PARISH by The Rev. John Shephard, M.A. was published in 1908 by Spottiswoode and Co Ltd. The text is has been copied from the original book that is now out of copyright.

Old Days of Eton Parish - CHAPTER VII - HENRY VIII AND AFTER.

King Henry VIII
by Unknown Anglo-Netherlandish artist, c1520,
National Portrait Gallery London

IN 1509 Henry VIII. began his reign. The following year was marked by an outbreak of the plague in Eton, and in consequence most of the Eton School boys were removed to Langley Marish, but there is no record of the extent of the disease, or of any unusual mortality in the parish. 

During this reign, three great processions passed through the town. The first was in 1519. The King had kept St. George's day with great pomp and then rode from Richmond through Hounslow, Slough, and Eton, attended by the Knights of the Garter and their suites. A writer of the day describes it as being "as great solemnity, as it had been the feast of a Coronation."

Another remarkable procession was the funeral of one of Henry's wives, Jane Seymour. This took place in 1537. On the three previous days, labourers were employed to repair the road between Long Bridge (Fifteen Arch Bridge) and Baldwin's Pool. It would appear that the road had suffered from the heavy traffic connected with the building of the College, so the cost¹ was undertaken by the College. 

A still more gorgeous spectacle was the funeral of King Henry VIII., whose body was brought from Westminster to Windsor. The procession is said to have been four miles in length. On the coffin drawn by eight horses was a wax effigy² of the deceased King. As it passed through each parish, it was received by the clergy and choirs, holding tapers and chanting the Penitential Psalms. Special mention is made by the chroniclers of the respect shown as the funeral procession passed Eton Churchyard. 

It was during the reign thus closed that the Reformation of the Church of England began. The first step taken was the repudiation of the Pope's jurisdiction over the English Church, thereby endorsing the principle, always held in Eastern Christendom, of the independence of each national Church. A public declaration to this effect was made by the Provost and other clergy of Eton in July, 1534. 

The encroachments of the Bishops of Rome into the Anglo-Saxon Church dated from the coming of William the Conqueror but had never been accepted without protest. Their increasing exactions of various money-payments were cordially disliked by the independent people of this country. Eton probably shared the feeling strongly, having so lately experienced the effects of papal interference, and hence was doubly glad to throw over the usurped authority; especially as for the present it meant no changes in the accustomed services and the arrangements of the Church. 

The King soon followed up his first step by an attack on the monasteries which were the warmest supporters of the Pope, and the wealth of many of the religious houses was swept into his coffers; but the Royal College, although threatened and required to give an account of its annual revenues and expenditure, escaped spoliation, and the Rectoria remained in the hands of the Provost, being valued at £10. 

In the next reign the Reformation movement was further advanced. The rejection of foreign interference was followed up by the removal of various customs and teachings, which had come in from Rome, and lacked the authority of the ancient undivided Church. 

The invention of printing (1440) had revived learning in this country, and Wickliffe's translation of the Bible had opened the eyes of many to the unscriptural character of much of the religion of the day, and to the abuses and corruptions which were then prevalent. This increased knowledge was further fostered by the reading in English of a lesson every Sunday and holyday, a practice introduced by Henry VIII. together with the saying of the Litany in English.

Now, under Edward VI., the Prayer Book was revised throughout, rearranged, and translated from Latin into the mother tongue of the country. 

Indications of the movement are soon noticeable in Eton. 

In 1547 the number of Chaplains employed was reduced, as, with fewer services, so many priests were no longer needed. A copy of the Great Bible was also pro-cured, and placed in the Church, as also a copy of Homilies or Sermons, which had been put forth by authority for public use and instruction. The Gospel and Epistle were now read in English. 

The following year, under a Provost who was an ardent Reformer, certain images which had stood behind the High Altar were removed, on the ground probably that they had been regarded with superstitious reverence. The Church walls also were adorned with Bible-texts, "for the better edification of the Scholars and Parishioners." The same year the new Order of Communion came into use, and in 1549 the revised English Prayer Book was authorised and ordered for all the services of the Church. 

The custom also of keeping the Feasts of the Death and Translation of Thomas Becket, Corpus Christi, and the Nativity and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin was discontinued.

A few years later the various side-altars in the Church were removed, and what must have been a shock to the feelings of many devout people, the embroidered frontals were sold, the Provost and several of the Fellows buying them for their own purposes. 

But, generally speaking, these changes caused little serious stir, either among the clergy or the people. There were, however, exceptions. The people of Devonshire and Cornwall resented strongly the alteration of their accustomed services, and rose in rebellion, and there seems to have been some special cause for anxiety in the neighbourhood of Eton and Windsor. 

In consequence of the Exeter riots, orders were issued for the repressing of commotions and uproars, if any such should happen in the counties of Oxfordshire, Berks and Bucks.

Provost Smith writes to the Secretary of State as to the evil state of the realm, and suggests the appointment of responsible gentlemen in each shire to enforce the King's proclamation; " the Watchmen," he wrote, " were no good, only great promoters of rebellion."4

On the other hand, there were some extremists, who regarded the Church of Rome as wholly evil, and were opposed to the retention of any of the ancient ceremonial, as if it all were alike tainted. Happily they were in the minority; and the Church of England, although reformed and purified, remained in all essential points the same old historic Church, with the same clergy ministering the same Sacraments in the same buildings, and using, with slight exceptions, the same ornaments as in times past. 

Notes 

1 Various inhabitants of Eton seem to have left money in their wills towards the repair of this road, there being no public resources in those days to meet such expenses. 

2 Similar effigies are still preserved and shown in Westminster Abbey.

3 Cal. State Papers, July 1549

4 Cal. State Papers.

OLD DAYS OF ETON PARISH by The Rev. John Shephard, M.A. was published in 1908 by Spottiswoode and Co Ltd. The text is has been copied from the original book that is now out of copyright.

From the Parish Magazine - Eton Wick History Group Meeting - The Original Christopher Inn

A report on the December 1997 meeting held at the Village Hall.

The 1998 programme of talks was issued at the Group's meeting on the 10th December, promising yet another year of interesting topics; the Committee never seems to run short of subjects, despite the fact that this meeting marked the end of the 7th year of the Eton Wick History Group. The 1998 programme appears separately in this magazine. Mary Gyngell has had her hip operation and is home - we wish her well. (Needless to say, she made the cakes again!). Congratulations to Vi Millis and her husband who celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary and Vi's 90th Birthday last month. A man in Canada had sent Frank Bond an 1897 map of Boveney New Town and one of Windsor and a £1 note! 

Tony Cullum then entertained the Group with a talk on the original 'Christopher" Inn, which was situated opposite College Chapel in Eton. Mr. Cullum used the opportunity to take us on a journey through history, commencing with the Inn at Bethlehem at which there was no room and easing us through time, touching on maps of the 6,000 miles of excellent Roman roads in Britain, Hadrians Wall and the other wall from the Clyde to the Forth. 

Soon we had left Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius behind and were into stage-wagons, drawn by six or eight horses; and then the spring suspension stage coach, high-perch phaetons, cabriolets and landaus - a trip from London to Bath would probably have been a three to four day journey - hence the need for coaching inns like the "Christopher". 

 And, did you know the difference between a tollgate and a turnpike gate? (A turnpike gate is sturdier and had spikes on the top!). 

There was talk of Thomas Telford and also of john Macadam - who found that the secret of a good, lasting road was to dig down to a depth of 12" , fill with granite chippings and leave it to the horses" hooves to grind it down into a solid base. And there were plenty of horses hooves pounding away, with over 1,000 vehicles leaving London every day in the early 1800s.

 Stagecoaches would leave Windsor at 7 a.m., 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and, in good conditions, would take about 4 hours to get to London. There is mention of 'The Christopher' in 1511, when it was a shown as a large complex of buildings with land leased with it "contained within 1 acre and occupied by Ruth Cox". The Inn has held various landlords including in 1636 Francis Dickin, from 1753 to 1775 a George King and, when the Inn finally closed, the landlord was a Jack Knight. 

For some time it was the only ale house in Eton which could offer bedrooms. In September 1803 a Baldwin's Bridge Trust dinner was held there at a cost of £5.6s.6d. plus 10/- for extras.

In 1665 College boys were forbidden to go there, but it later became very popular with them and they would claim that they had to go there to meet friends coming from London, or to collect parcels from the mail. Eton's 'Pop' boys used to enjoy the food and ale there, particularly a drink (a bit like punch) called 'Bishop' at 12 shillings per barrel. 

Under the then Head Master, Dr. Hawtrey, the College obtained possession of the site in 1842 and it was used first as a French Pupil Room and then as a boarding house. Jack Knight, the former landlord, moved into 131 High Street and set up shop selling drinks to the boys; in 1871 his lease and goodwill were taken over by a Mrs. Emily Brown and in 1872 it was moved o the present Rowlands/Tap. The present 'Christopher' was opened in 1846 at 110 High Street and owes its existence to the closure of the old 'Christopher' - now called Hodgson House. 

Extract from John Denham's index of Eton Traders

For the remainder of the evening, the Group repaired to the Small Meeting Room to enjoy a splendid buffet meal and Christmas punch. 

The next meeting took place on 21st lanuary when the topic was the 'HISTORY OF SALTERS STEAMERS' and the speaker, Keith French. 

During the 1990's the Parish Magazine of Eton, Eton Wick and Boveney reported on the meetings of the Eton Wick History Group. A member of the audience took shorthand notes in the darkened hall. This article was published in the first edition of 1998.

The Eton Wick Newsletter - April 2018 - `Our Village' Magazine

St. Mary Magdalene, Boveney — where in earth were they buried?

Twenty plus years ago a very young lad innocently asked me what it was like living with dinosaurs. I am sure my answer disappointed him. He was too young to have the perception of time, but how much better are we as adults. I have not read of an accurate account of the age of Eton Wick. It is often written that with the Saxon name of 'Wick' it probably dates to Saxon times. This is of course an assumption, as Saxon words are often used, as in 'Butt', 'Close' and others.

Early settlements may have been just that — a place a few folk seasonally settled, before moving on. Something like the travellers of today live their lives. This Thames Valley area is often described as having been damp, dark and dense, in clusters of trees and undergrowth. If we look at what is recorded, and presumably reliable, we start at 1066 when the Normans defeated King Harold's defenders. We will not steam up about that, as who can say which of us are perhaps Norman descendants. Twenty years later William was still not sure of the extent of his conquest and consequently ordered a census. The Manor of Eton, together with Hedgerley and Wexham had in total only 23 families and 3 slaves (serfs). These facts are as printed in Dr. Judith Hunter's excellent book of 'Eton Wick'. If Eton Wick was a village in Saxon times, it too would have been included in that total of 23 families, as it was part of the Manor of Eton.

I think of this period of nearly 1,000 years ago as one of seasonal mud, and thick woollen clothes to cope with the damp, cold surroundings. Let us refer to a letter sent from the Pope in 1511 with perhaps a slight reference to the mud along the Boveney Road. In a Papal letter dated August 15th 1511; twenty-three years before 'The Act of Supremacy' abolished the Pope's authority in England; he instituted a cemetery at Boveney Church, "without prejudice to anyone; that the inhabitants of Boveney may be buried therein; this being in consideration that the village is about two miles from the Parish Church at Burnham and in wintertime the bodies of the dead cannot be conveniently brought to that Parish Church."

It is difficult today to fully imagine a family procession having to wend its way along the muddy farm track we now know as the Boveney Road, on its way through Dorney to Burnham. With the Pope's authority for a local cemetery at Boveney, it seems inconceivable that nobody used it. Yet there is no visible evidence or memory of there ever having been a graveyard at the village church. Boveney was not a relatively small village, as we now consider it. In 1377 there were 165 inhabitants living in 28 dwellings. Comparing this with only the 23 families in the whole of the Manor of Eton with Hedgerley and Wexham 290 years earlier, leaves us to question the census return for King Williams' assessment.

The mystery of a cemetery deepens when we look at the other recordings. In 1859 a Mr and Mrs S. Hall of London published a book titled 'The Book of The Thames'. They arrived by boat from Windsor, and wrote "Let us step ashore to visit yon wee church of Boveney, half hidden among lofty trees, it is the last of its class we shall ever encounter" etc., ....."After inspecting the interior, and wondering why so small a church was ever built, we returned to the churchyard and stood for some little time beneath the shadows of a glorious old tree, whose boughs and foliage formed a protection against the rain or sunshine. The old withered women who had opened the church door followed and regretted the gentry should be disappointed as there was nothing to see." We differed from her, saying there was a great deal that interested us, could anything be more picturesque or beautiful than the churchyard? She shook her head "The churchyard was thick with graves, some with stones and some without, like any other place of the sort — a poor melancholy place it was." "She thought it was so lonely and miserable, and yet sketchers were always making pictures of it! Yes there were stories of those who lay there"... and so the narrative went on.

Let us leave the book on the river, and glance at yet another reference to the cemetery; yes or no. Over 100 years later in 1997 a letter was posted from Brewton, U.S.A. to an authority in UK requesting information on the Boveney Chapel and graveyard where ancestors Montagues worshipped and were buried. The enquiry stated that an American family member had recently visited the church but found no signs of a graveyard, and found it out of character with England's history of preservation that the graveyard was destroyed. The Montagues dated back to 1621 in the States, and it is recorded that William Montague in the latter part of Queen Elizabeth I reign (1558 —1603) purchased for Boveney two butts of land commonly called Church Butts; so the connection was authentic enough.

With nothing to be seen, it is too easy to fall back on the old saying 'that seeing is believing' and dismiss what seems obvious. I have my own views about this, but with little more evidence I will leave it to the readers to form their own conclusion. There is so much more about 'yon wee' church that leaves perhaps more to be questioned. Have you noticed that it was built on an earth, two to three foot, plinth? This is best seen from the Boveney/Conker Alley gate at a time of year with low or no crops. Obviously this was on account of floods because at high water times this area is one of the first to flood. The church, or more correctly what is left of the original, is variously described as twelve or thirteenth century, meaning that Boveney village had a church six or seven centuries before Eton Wick (1866). Although Boveney church (St Mary Magdalene) in the Parish of Burnham served that village, I feel quite sure many Eton Wick residents of centuries ago would have attended services at Boveney. Eton Wick's only church was the Eton Parish Church which between 1440 and 1875 was the Eton College Chapel and as the College itself grew, there became an apparent less inviting atmosphere for the local folk.

It was, after all, no further to walk to Boveney than to Eton. In St. Mary Magdalene Church there are thirteen pews of four seating. The old pews are estimated to be around five hundred years old. Before this period pews were not expected, and congregations stood in the Nave. This apparently is the origin of the saying "Go to the wall", not a derogatory remark, but a polite reservation of a place for the aged and the infirm to lean against.

There are three bells dating to 1636, 1631 and one estimated 100 years older. The church walls are three to four foot thick, and oddly the two doors - one north wall one south facing. are exactly opposite each other. The original steel key weighed about two pounds and was approximately a foot long. Sadly I am told this was lost: or we are left to think otherwise. How does one lose a foot long iron key weighing two pounds? To my knowledge the last ringing of the bells was to welcome in the new millennium (2000). They were interestingly rung by visitors from London in the mid 1850's. who noticing the villagers busily working in the fields of Boveney. mused whether or not they had heard that Sevastopol, in the Crimean, had been taken by British Troops. They duly rang the bells. and the villagers hurried to the church for the news. Oh for the innocent days before radio and newspapers.

Questionable belief attached to the church is what was it first built for. Why we have to have a reason and not accept the time-honoured need for a place of worship, I do not know. Many like to believe it was built for bargees who had a wharf close by. I find it more acceptable that it was used by bargees, maybe hundreds of years after it was built. who customarily had their family living aboard, and although not necessarily use the church for services, but not disrespectfully make use of it for warmth, and perhaps a meal. Certainly timber was a major cargo, as two large sawmills/pits are shown on maps north of the roadway close to the present day car park.

Views I have expressed are my own conclusions, and I do not claim as certainty. The church was probably saved to posterity when it was taken over by 'Friends of Friendless Churches' in 1983 who subsequently made extensive refurbishment. For ecclesiastic purposes this Church of Burnham for so long. became part of the Parish of Eton in 1911. Old Boveney as a community is not part of New Boveney. which is that part of Eton Wick between Bell Lane and Roundmoor Ditch (gate to Dorney Common). Developed from 1880's and administered as part of Eton since 1934. One is Burnham (Bucks), the other is Eton (Berks).

We could go on, but I am sure space must be left for other contributions. Conviction or doubts, I am always ready to discuss these expressed views. Frank Bond

Click here to read Our Village April 2018.

This article was originally published in the Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village and is republished with the kind permission of the Eton Wick Village Hall Committee. Click here to go to the Collection page.

Further information about the history of St. Mary Magdalene can be found in the guide published by the Friends of St Mary Magdalene written in 2018.

The Baldwin Bridge Trust

The other early parish charity was the Baldwin Bridge Trust. The original bridge must have been built by the early Middle Ages, but the Trust to ensure its maintenance was not founded until the year 1592. Thirteen parishioners made up the original trustees and among them were three members of the Bell family, Henry, John and Matthew, all possibly from the Wick. In the centuries since other members of the village have served, both as trustees and bridgemaster (Chairman of the Trust); William Woolhouse in the eighteenth century, Edward Pote Williams in the nineteenth and Mrs Florence Wilson in this century.

The income of the Trust comes from the rent of houses built on land owned by the Trust just south of the bridge in Eton High Street. The trustees are empowered to spend the money on repairing the bridge and its surface or erecting a new one when necessary, and to spend any excess money 'in such ways as seem to be best and to the most advantage of the inhabitants and parishioners of Eton'. For many decades there was apparently no balance to spend, in fact not until 1668 when the apprenticeship fees of four boys were paid. There followed another long period of inactivity until the middle of the eighteenth century, when for a short period bundles of flax were bought and given to needy parishioners for spinning. This was not a very common method of giving help, but had been tried for many years with varying degrees of success in Windsor. In 1714 and 1764 twenty six families were given gifts of food and later in the century £20 was expended on the poor. At the turn of the century flour and faggots were given to the workhouse and a few years later clothing and blankets were sent to cottagers suffering from the floods. As the century progressed the number and variety of causes helped by the Trust increased considerably. Many of the old causes are now irrelevant to the modern way of life, but numerous clubs and societies have benefited from financial help from the Trust, and in 1947 many people were grateful for contributions from it to alleviate the damage caused by the floods of that year.

Since 1773 the trustees have also been responsible for disposing of the interest from the £150 left in the will of Joseph Benwell, and since 1787 for the interest from Joseph Pote's legacy. The way in which Benwell's money is spent is at the discretion of the trustees and was usually expended in providing coals for elderly people. On the other hand Joseph Pote directed that the income from his legacy should be spent twice yearly on bread to be given to poor parishioners attending particular church services. For well over sixty years the terms of the will were complied with literally, but during the last century this became unpractical and instead the bread was distributed to the houses of the poor. Today, with the change in the value of money, the combine income from the two legacies is too small to do even that. In recent years further donations have been received and they, together with money from the Baldwin Bridge Trust itself, is used so that over a hundred senior citizens each year at Christmas receive a voucher which can be spent at one of three shops in the parish selling not only bread but also other groceries.

This is an extract from The Story of a Village: Eton Wick 1217 to 1977 by Judith Hunter.

This is the final part of the serialisation of The Story of a Village - Eton Wick - 1217 - 1977. The Eton Wick History Group is most grateful for the kind permission of Judith Hunter's husband to publish her book on its website.

Extracts from the Court Rolls for the Three Manors

The extracts quoted below were taken from Court Rolls of all three manors and show the great variety of concerns of the courts.

Eton Manor, Moleyn's Fee

View of Frankpledge with Court held there on 29th April 1432

'The tithingmen there, viz., JohnChalone and John Fremie, being sworn came and present that . . . John Hunte had a dungheap placed on the king's way opposite his tenement which is a nuisance to passers-by, so he is in mercy (and fined) 3d. And he is ordered to remove it before the next court upon pain of 40d. '

Here follows the Court Baron.

'The homage being sworn came and presents that... Richard Smyth still permits his gutter to be in ruin to the injury of all his neighbours, so he is in mercy (and fined). And he so ordered to have it well and sufficiently repaired before Michaelmas next upon pain of 40d. '

Eton Manor, Church Fee

(formerly held by Oliver Bordeux)

'Thomas Jourdeley, Hugh Dyere, William Heyward, John Dyere and Thomas Peet being sworn present that Richard Lane who is constable of the town there and at ie Wyke makes default   because he has not come to do his office as he used at the Sheriff's hundred before the gracious gift of this demesne to the College by the King, he is In mercy (and fined) 6d.'

7th January 1452.

Item they present that ... John Wight is a common player of dice and at cards, continually staying up at night, to the injury of his neighbours and  contrary to the statutes (of the Realm), so he Is in mercy (and fined) 6d. '

15th April 1542

‘Item they present that ... Margaret Wyngham is a common scold and disturber of the king's peace, so she is in mercy (and fined) 2d. And furthermore, the same is ordered hence forth not to be a scold on pain of castigation (probably whipping) as ordered in the published statutes

Eton Manor, Church Fee View of Frankpledge with Court, 19th May 1461

'John Clerc constable and beer taster there being sworn presents that... Thomas Jourdeley sold meat at excessive price so he Is in mercy (and fined)'.

Eton, subsidary of Cippenham Manor,

View of Frankpledge with Court Baron of Lord Huntingdon, 4th July 1562

'(The Jury) upon their oath say that the Dean and Canons of the free chapel of the Queen beneath the Castle of Windsor, the Provost and College of the Blessed Mary of Eton, Edmund Windsor  Esquire, John Woodwerde, gentleman hold of the same manor and owe suit of court to this court and with hold suit of court, therefore everyone of them (is In amercement (and fined) 4d.

Manor of Colenorton

A terrier of the lands of John Crawford, Lord of the Manor delivered at the Court Baron, 25th October 1668.

'Eight acres upon Sandells butting upon Broken Furlong on the north and Mill Piece on the south.

Three acres lying by Stonebridge Field butting upon Chalvey Mead on the north and eight acres belonging to Stockdales on the south.

.. . (and also a manor house and thirty two other pieces of land) . . .

  Half acre where the house stands at Eton Wick.

Manor of Eton cum Stockdales

At the Court Leet and Court Baron of Leonard Wessel Esquire, 8th April 1700

'The orders following were taken and established as well by the said Lord as also by the consent, agreement and determination of the Freeholders and Tenants of the said Manor with the advice of the Steward declaring the certain stint and   number of sheep and other cattle that may be kept on the Lammas and Commons within the said Lordship of Manor aforesaid as followeth:

It is ordered that no farmer Freeholder or Tenant shall keep but after the rate of one beast for every five acres of land . . . that no townsman or cottager for and in respect of his house shall have faring or common for more than one beast . . .

... that Henry Moody or those who shall occupy his farm (Dairy Farm) shall maintain the Gate against his house leading into South Field.

Manor of Eton cum Stockdales and Colenorton 

View of Frankpledge with the General Court Baron of William Stuart, 6th March, 1871

'The Jurors present Mr George Lillywhite (of Manor Farm) to be Bailiff of the said Manor . . . they present William Groves (of Eton) to be continued in the office of Hayward.

It is presented and ordered also - that no hogs or pigs be turned into the corn fields until all the harvest shall be got in, under penalty of two  shillings per head to the ord of the manor . ..'

Manor of Eton cum Stockdales with Colenorton View of Frankpledge with General Court Baron, 1893

'Jurors present and order that Thomas Barnes of the 'College Arms' had deposited a large quantity of rubbish upon a meadow near Rail Pond, and the same is an encroachment on the lammas lands within this Manor and that the same   Thomas Barnes be ordered to remove the same within two months . ..'

Occasionally the records reveal the basic facts of incidents which must have provided excitement in the lives of the villagers. Perhaps one of the most colourful concerned Prince Richard of Cornwall, crusader, statesman, and the only Englishman to become King of Germany. He had been granted the manor of Cippenham and part of that of Eton by Duncan Lascelles; his manor house and park were just north of the parish. The moat, which lay within the park, can still be seen by Wood Lane. Here he spent a very happy honeymoon with his first wife, Isabella. However, there were troubled times ahead.

Even though Magna Carta had been signed by King John, there was still dissent between the barons and the king and, during the Barons' War, Prince Richard was captured. During his imprisonment he vowed that if he regained his freedom he would found an abbey. Two years later he fulfilled his promise: in April 1266 a   colourful procession made its way from the Cippenham Manor house to newly built Burnham Abbey for the signing of the charter. Land and privileges were given to the Abbey including part of South Field and possibly also the mill at Cuckoo Weir. In spite of its splendid beginnings it was not a rich house and as landlord it almost certainly exacted all and any dues and rents owing. A rental drawn up in Edward Ill's reign shows clearly that the Abbey held land at Eton Wick. One can only wonder if its school and hospital ever benefited the people of the village.

This is an extract from The Story of a Village: Eton Wick 1217 to 1977 by Judith Hunter.

This is the final part of the serialisation of The Story of a Village - Eton Wick - 1217 - 1977. The Eton Wick History Group is most grateful for the kind permission of Judith Hunter's husband to publish her book on its website.

The Eton Wick Newsletter - April 2017 - `Our Village' Magazine

Local Charities and a deadly consequence 

Surely many of Eton Wick's senior citizens will agree with me in acknowledging with gratitude the goodwill and generosity of the community and its organisations during the past winter. Some of course depend upon our own participation in happenings or clubs, and even the awareness of our existence. 

For me it started with a bag of harvest goodies donated and delivered by Eton College lads and followed by a Christmas tea and Christmas dinner at Bekynton, Eton, by the College and the Eton Charteris Day Centre respectively; another Christmas dinner at the 'Greyhound' pub by the village Over 60's Club,' and the Rotary Club provided a car driven evening trip to Squires Garden Centre where a band was playing carols, refreshments were free; and each of us given a card with cash to spend. 

Villagers kindly donated 'shoe box' packages of goodies which were delivered by the village scout movement, and then came vouchers from the Pote, Benwell and Simpson Trust and Eton's Baldwin Bridge Trust. The vouchers were to be redeemed at the village grocery, Eton's grocery or pharmacy. (Some details of the afore mentioned trust fund I find so interesting that I will try to impart some of the facts in this article.) The village school invited 'seniors' to their Christmas functions, and undoubtedly there were other welcoming activities by the three churches and organisations. In this era of 'always in a hurry, with no time for involvement' it is right to acknowledge this abundance of seasonal kindness. 

To the best of my village memories of years before WW2 there was very little such generosity apart from the Baldwin Bridge Trust and immediate neighbours. Outpourings of goodwill were perhaps toward the young, and this mostly through Sunday Schools or choir. For a few years from 1955 some boys from the village Youth Club collected wood and chopped up logs for delivery to the older residents. This was still at a time when central heating was not available to all, and with most homes having open fires. One year. over 11,000 logs were chopped and delivered, and letters of 'thank you' received sixty years ago are still around. This received public acclaim, and the club was awarded the Saturday Hospital Fund Cup. Club girls were always on hand with cups of tea for the workers. Eton Urban Council and the College notified the club when tree boughs were available, but this was expecting too much when they said a large elm had fallen at Black Potts (Datchet Road). A few years later the Youth Club was delivering Christmas goodies to some of the village veterans, causing one to reflect that since the mid 1900's there has often been a generous giving. 

Returning to Pote/Benwell/Simpson Trust it is perhaps necessary to reflect on circumstances of long since past, and the early years of the Baldwin Bridge. There is no evidence to my knowledge of why it is known as Baldwin's or Barnes Pool Bridge. History tells us there was a bridge in Eton hundreds of years ago. The  place of Eton had water courses from and to the Thames, and the road from the north (now Slough); although only a muddy track, had to cross those water courses to get to Windsor. Originally bridges were of wood and needed constant maintenance, as of course the muddy tracks did also. Today the unfamiliar may well ask where is the bridge; or perhaps observe that it seems an elaborate bridge doing very little. Not so, as it spans a substantial stream, or 'rivulet', that left the Thames just west of the Eton Brocas, flowing up Meadow Lane, where it is now piped under the road; and on through Eton's Barnes Pool; and back to the river. 

With today's lower water table, and much silting, the flow is not what it once was. Even in my time as a pupil of Eton Porny School in the 1930's, the Headmaster often gave a seasonal warning of not being tempted onto the ice covered pool to retrieve coins that the College Boys tossed on to the ice In the hope of seeing a few soakings. Upkeep and repairs to the bridge have depended on a trust fund that, through much generosity and legacies, established properties that produced a regular income. Bridge maintenance is the prime concern of the Trust, and in times of a surplus income, other deserving Eton causes have been generously financed by that Trust through its twelve local trustees, chaired by their elected Bridgemaster. In the 17th century a brick structure replaced the oft repaired wood, and in 1883 this was duly replaced by an iron bridge. 

Now the Pote, Benwell and Simpson Trust. Just as those early bridges needed constant attention, so did the highways. Without national financial support the responsibility for maintenance was always a local one. Again this needed generous support, and invariably more than was given, until slowly a series of what came to be known as 'Turnpikes' were established along stretches of major roads. All highways had become in a terrible state and in the mid-16th century an Act was introduced requiring all parishes to maintain their section of the roads with obligatory labour of four to six days for all male residents, using their own tools, carts and horses as necessary. This was not a satisfactory scheme, and about a hundred years later the first 'Turnpikes' were sanctioned. In practice this required a number of wealthier persons forming a trust and having the authority to improve and maintain a particular stretch of road and to charge for the use of that stretch. It perhaps took decades for an entire highway to become covered by the Turnpiked lengths. The Bath Road from London had its first turnpike in 1707 but it was 1756 before it was completely extended. 

Our story concerns the Colnbrook Turnpike Trust that was the fifth of twelve Bath Road Turnpikes. It was first sanctioned in 1727 and was responsible for the road between Cranford and Maidenhead Bridge, passing through Slough. After becoming established they were persuaded to undertake extending their responsibility, to cover the Slough to Eton road. Among the Colnbrook trustees were Joseph Pote, a local antiquarian bookseller and Joseph Benwell a draper. Both men were of some standing as Baldwin Bridge trustees and either had or would be Bridgemaster (1783 and 1762 respectively). 

The Colnbrook Turnpike held regular meetings at one of a small number of inns and customarily concluded with a dinner, which some may think was a feast. In March 1773 the meeting was held at an inn by Slough's Salt Hill. The meal starting with soup, then fresh water fish of pike, perch and eel, fowl, bacon and vegetable, cutlet of veal, pig's ear ragout, mutton and salad, lamb and cucumber, crawfish, sweet, Madeira wine and port. Apart from Joseph Pote all the diners were taken ill and within a few days at least six had died. At the start of the meal Pote had absented himself because he disliked turtle soup. Some unsavoury characters had been present and it was concluded they had somehow transmitted the cause of the illness and death. Joseph Benwell was among the deceased, and in his will was the bequest of £150 to the poor of Eton. Joseph Pote survived another thirteen years and his will added £50 to that of Mr Benwell, expressing that bread be given to Eton's poor on two specific days of the year. The first being March 29th; the date of that fateful dinner; expressing his wish that praise to the Almighty be chanted in gratitude for his good fortune in 1773. Years later a woman on her deathbed confessed that she had been the wife of the inn keeper at that fateful time, and that a chef from London had been hired to make the turtle soup which he duly did overnight, intending to let it slowly simmer for those hours. Unfortunately he fell asleep and on waking found the fire out and the soup cold. He re-kindled and restored the temperature, but alas the pot was copper and acids had formed a verdigris. The tragedy was not the fault of unsavoury dropouts and even Kings can get it all wrong at cooking, or so we are told of King Arthur and the cakes. The Pote, Benwell and Simpson fund includes a recent donor, Bernard Simpson, again an antiquarian book seller of Eton High Street. 

Today's generous shop vouchers bearing the names of the Pote, Benwell & Simpson Trust together with that of the Baldwin Bridge Trust is obviously much supported by the latter trust.

Submitted by Frank Bond 

Click here to read Our Village April 2017.

This article was originally published in the Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village and is republished with the kind permission of the Eton Wick Village Hall Committee. Click here to go to the Collection page.

Farmhouses and Cottages

   At the close of the Middle Ages many houses in the village, the homes of ordinary villagers, would have been poor affairs, huts which could be built or demolished in a day.  But not all, for those who could afford it built in timber with an infilling of wattle and daub.  Bell Farm has already been mentioned and there were certainly others, though none has survived.  It is difficult to be sure which modern houses now stand on their sites. However, the Tudor-Stuart period from about 1550 to 1640 was a time of prosperity for a considerable portion of the population. In the country this meant the landowners, the farmers and the more successful cottagers. They left their mark on the countryside in the very pleasing shape of many new or enlarged homes. Eton Wick shared in this building boom.   Exactly how many houses were built or improved is not known, but at least eight cottages were built in the years immediately prior to 1605 when this was reported to the Crown Commissioners.      Unfortunately it has not proved possible to identify these cottages, but ten timber-framed houses survived into this century and five are still standing today.

   Bell Farm was almost certainly enlarged by the Bell family, who lived there in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They were undoubtedly responsible for the addition of the great chimney stack on the west, and for the parlour on the north side with its own stack. The fireplace of the parlour, with its lovely Tudor arch, was rediscovered in the 1950's. No longer was it necessary for the smoke to swirl around the rafters before finding its way out through a hole in the roof. The old hall could be ceiled over, giving another upstairs room, and a new staircase was built. One can still see many of the old beams and roof trusses in the bedrooms, and an original medieval window with two delightful trefoil lights has survived, though it must have been blocked ever since the parlour was built.

   The Bell family was a large and prosperous one, farmers and gentlemen as their wills and other records testify. Their names are frequently found in deeds and parish records for over a hundred years until the second half of the seventeenth century when all mention of them ceases in connection with Eton Wick except in the past tense.  At the height of their importance locally they owned property in Eton town and were the owners and not the tenants of Bell Farm. A Joan Bell leased 'a fishery in the chapel waters at Boveney in 1578 and a Richard Bell was still in possession of this some thirty years later. In 1605 Henry Bell was tenant of Saddocks Farm and his brother Matthew of Mustians. About 1600 Henry Bell bought the manor house at Chalvey which he still owned in 1612 though not when he died. In 1641 there was a Thomas Bell at Chalvey and about the same time different members of the Bell family were farming Bell, Saddocks and Mustians Farms. The farmhouse of the last stood on the south side of Common Lane, but its land stretched into Eton Wick.

   Of the five timber buildings only Little Common Farmhouse still shows its timber frame. It must have been built in the seventeenth century when, so it was thought, there was a shortage of timber because of the increased use of charcoal (for iron-smelting) and for shipbuilding. This meant that the house wrights not only left wider spaces between the vertical posts but also made greater use of odd shaped pieces of wood and re-used old timbers.  In Little Common Farmhouse the curved timbers on the front and back of the house have clearly been used before for each has a series of narrow groves along its length. Until the house was enlarged this century it had probably remained little altered , with its two rooms up and down and one large chimney. It was probably never the home of a farmer until recent times, but that of a husbandman or smallholder who rented his few acres in the common fields.

   On the other side of the Little Common is the house known as Long Close. It is now encased in bricks, its timber frame and its beaten earth floor was not covered until after the First World War. Even then in the living room red tiles were laid directly on to the earth until this was altered in the 1970's. Beams can now only be seen in the ceilings, but many more were exposed during those alterations; the thin red bricks of a chimney breast suggested that it was built or enlarged during the Tudor period.

   On the south side of the Great Common stands Crown Farmhouse, probably the oldest house in the village still used as a farmhouse. Despite the name its connections with the Crown Estates was quite short, merely from 1864 to 1932. Its timber frame is visible only on the inside, but the thick studs and beams, low ceilings and absence of jettying all indicate it was built in the early seventeenth century.  Since then, as the fortunes of its owners and tenants prospered it was altered or enlarged and encased in a shell of plaster and warm red bricks. Some of these alterations undoubtedly took place when it was occupied by one of the Tarrant family. A Robert Tarrant first became tenant about 1800 and one or more of the family have lived there for most of the years since. They have lived in Eton Wick for over two hundred years, the earliest discovered reference to them occurring in the parish registers for the year 1763. Today scores of old farming and household objects, maps and photographs adorn the walls or are put away in cupboards, linking the present family with its predecessors.

   The fifth of the timber-framed houses is Saddocks Farm. A great deal is known about this farm and house. The name is first associated with Eton Wick in a deed of 1539 when a Robert Sadocke , yeoman, of New Windsor occupied a messuage (house, outbuildings, garden, etc) and lands in the Wick. At this date the property seems to have been owned by Eton College, but in the reigns of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, Robert was leasing the farm from the Crown. In the archives of Eton College there is a draft of a grant from the College to King Henry VIII of property including several acres of land, four messuages and a cottage.  One of these was the Christopher Inn in Eton, two were in Windsor, another in the tenure of John Butler in *le Weke' and the fourth was occupied by Robert Saddock. The grant is dated 1546. In 1584 a deed was drawn up concerning a messuage and garden in le Wyk' described as a 'parcel of Eton (Royal) Manor, lately bought of Eton College and annexed to the Honour of Windsor'. None of these properties has positively been identified as Saddocks, but it is certain that the College was selling to the Crown and it seems likely that the land and house soon to be known as Saddocks Farm was included.  It was undeniably Crown property from the seventeenth century on wards until it was sold in about 1940.

   As Crown property it was subject to a number of surveys, but in spite of, or maybe because of these, the house presents a tantalising mystery. Three surveys of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries suggest that the whole layout of the farmyard and garden was changed about the turn of the century and the house rebuilt in a new position; yet within the present farmhouse, so clearly built in Georgian times, is a much smaller cottage. It consists of two rooms up and down with a downstairs room height of only 6 ft 4 in. The mystery deepens when attention is paid to the earlier survey of the estates of the late King Charles I under the direction of Oliver Cromwell. At this date the Royal Manor consisted of three tenanted farms, Saddocks, Mustians and the Christopher though it is not clear whether the innkeeper was also the farmer.  There were three houses and a cottage belonging to Saddocks and the detailed description of them suggests that they had been built at different periods. The first two, with their timber and earthen walls, and each with a hall, kitchen and buttery and three chambers above, may well have already been at least two hundred years old in 1650.  The third house appears to be larger and newer, for its walls were of timber and brick and there were six rooms downstairs, including a parlour, very much a status symbol for the small farmer.   But, most intriguing, the small cottage was described as 'built with timber and flemish walls'; if  this meant flemish bond,  the construction of this  cottage was very much 'avant garde' for this method of laying bricks did not come into general use until the second half of the seventeenth century.

   Where were these buildings? It is frustrating that none can be identified with certainty. It is possible that the cottage is Little Common Farmhouse for it is thought that this was once part of the Crown Estate, or Saddocks Farmhouse itself.

    Of the five houses that have been demolished this century much less is known and no photographs or plans of them have been found. Three of them formed one building and may originally have been one substantial cottage that was subdivided to form three tiny cottages, each with only one room upstairs and one room down.  When this might have happened has not been discovered, but various deeds and maps suggest it had occurred before the end of the eighteenth century.  To the east of Crown Farm once stood a pair of cottages, though only one survived into the twentieth century.  According to the Royal Commissioners on Historical Monuments this was built early in the seventeenth century. Whether it was ever a farmhouse before Mr. Bunce owned it in the 1920's seems doubtful; in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was part of Crown Farm and was sometimes occupied by a farm worker. Even less has been discovered about the last of the known timber-framed houses. It stood just west of the Greyhound Inn on a plot of land which stretched from the common to Eton Wick Road. It once belonged to Bell Farm, but in the nineteenth century it was sold and became known as Hardings Cottage, a name it shared with several others owned by the same Eton family.

This is an extract from The Story of a Village: Eton Wick 1217 to 1977 by Judith Hunter. 

Charities of the Parish of Eton - The Baldwin's Bridge Trust

The other early parish charity was the Baldwin's Bridge Trust. The original bridge must have been built by the early Middle Ages, but the Trust to ensure its maintenance was not founded until the year 1592. Thirteen parishioners made up the original trustees and among them were three members of the Bell family, Henry, John and Matthew, all possibly from the Wick. In the centuries since other members of the village have served, both as trustees and Bridgemaster (Chairman of the Trust); William Woolhouse in the eighteenth century, Edward Pote Williams in the nineteenth and Mrs Florence Wilson in 20th century.

The income of the Trust comes from the rent of houses built on land owned by the Trust just south of the bridge in Eton High Street. The trustees are empowered to spend the money on repairing the bridge and its surface or erecting a new one when necessary, and to spend any excess money 'in such ways as seem to be best and to the most advantage of the inhabitants and parishioners of Eton'.  For many decades there was apparently no balance to spend, in fact not until 1668 when the apprenticeship fees of four boys were paid. There followed another long period of inactivity until the middle of the eighteenth century, when for a short period bundles of flax were bought and given to needy parishioners for spinning. This was not a very common method of giving help, but had been tried for many years with varying degrees of success in Windsor. In 1714 and 1764 twenty six families were given gifts of food and later in the century £20 was expended on the poor. At the turn of the century flour and faggots were given to the workhouse and a few years later clothing and blankets were sent to cottagers suffering from the floods.  As the century progressed the number and variety of causes helped by the Trust increased considerably. Many of the old causes are now  irrelevant to the modern way of life, but numerous clubs and societies have benefited from financial help from the Trust, and in 1947 many people were grateful for contributions from it to alleviate the damage caused by the floods of that year.

Since 1773 the trustees have also been responsible for disposing of the interest from the £150 left in the will of Joseph Benwell, and since 1787 for the interest from Joseph Pote's legacy. The way in which Benwell's money is spent is at the discretion of the trustees and was usually expended in providing coals for elderly people. On the other hand Joseph Pote directed that the income from his legacy should be spent twice yearly on bread to be given to poor parishioners attending particular church services. For well over sixty years the terms of the will were complied with literally, but during the last century this became unpractical and instead the bread was distributed to the houses of the poor. Today, with the change in the value of money, the combine income from the two legacies is too small to do even that. In recent years further donations have been received and they, together with money from the Baldwin Bridge Trust itself, is used so that over a hundred senior citizens each year at Christmas receive a voucher which can be spent at one of three shops in the parish selling not only bread but also other groceries.

A history of the Baldwin's Bridge Trust of Eton was published in 1976 by F.I. Wilson. Mrs Wilson became Bridgemaster in 1956, the first woman to be appointed to the post.

A list naming most of the Bridgemaster can be found on the Baldwin's Bridge Trust website