Thrilled
to see so many here, and I must record that the March meeting was cancelled due
to Snow! What a strange Spring this is.
I
have extracted the relevant pages of the 1939 Registration for the village, available
on the Find My Past website, subscription required. This was recorded to issue ration books for
WW2.
Geoff,
a volunteer at South West Heritage Trust, formerly the Devon Record Office, has been collating Theatre records and the
Papers of Lord Sidmouth more detail here from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viscount_Sidmouth
Geoff
also mentioned the wonderful archive of the photographer James Ravilious, amounting to some 78 thousand
photos of Devon, its landscape and the working people on their farms and in the
villages.
David
shared with us his research into the Transi Tomb:
Fenton’s Transi is likely to have
been carved from an emaciated live model, possibly a male prostitute and not a
cadaver
If we are right in the assumption
that our transi is that of the last William Malherbe (b1446- d1493) what
influence could a Bishop of Winchester have had on the choice of a Malherbe
tomb? Up to the time shortly before William Malherbe’s death the Bishop of
Winchester was Peter Courtenay (1486-1492/3) who, prior to that was Bishop of
Exeter from 1478 to1486/7. If the
Malherbe’s moved in high circles there could have been a chance they were known
to each other and that Peter Courtenay, the Bishop of Exeter and subsequently
the Bishop of Winchester had that influence and recommended a Southwark
sculptor. Both the Malherbe and the Courtenay families stemmed from Brittany,
France being the country where transi tombs were the vogue.
I have been told that monuments
such as ours would have been carved before the death on the person
commemorated, in which case it would have been in the period that Peter
Courtenay was Bishop of Winchester.
This can only be conjecture but
despite that, an interesting twist on who our transi may commemorate.
Where does Southwark fit into the
story?
The stews, (or brothels), of Southwark’s Bankside were infamous in
the Middle Ages and though banned by Henry VIII in 1546, their notoriety lived
on.
Nevertheless, the women who
worked in The Stews became known as “Winchester Geese” but the “Winchester
Goose” was also used to describe a swelling in the groin caused by venereal
disease.
The regulations which controlled brothels, though they were regularly flaunted, it fell to
the Bishops of Winchester, as Lord of the Manor, through his bailiff, steward
or constables to administer and enforce the 1161 regulations at his Court Leet (a manorial court). Most offences were
punishable by a fine, another source of revenue for the Bishops.
Jenny
is working with a film director on a production relating to
the events of the Battle of Fenny Bridges, 1549. This was followed by a discussion on what
happened to the bodies after the battle. There is thought to be a plague pit under thr north vestry of Ottery St Marcy
Church, perhaps they were burnt? Interesting discussion. The victims of the Woodbury
squirmish were buried on site, so what happened to the Fenny bodies?
Rosemary’s
Sewing group are to make five wounds battle banner for the film.
Brenda
has been looking at the 1918 Flu epidemics, a ww1 military encampment brought it to Europe, then
Scotland and down through the country. East Devon may have eased it congested
lungs. The high mortality did not seem to have raised the burial numbers in
Feniton 1918. The virus killed more than 50 million people, three times the
number that fell in the Great War. Bovril was in short supply for the patients
due to shortage of jars, it was advertised as something to make you influenza
proof!
Alan
has been reading a book written by Asa Briggs, a Social History of England detailing crops and husbandry. A very strong history of
social, economic and political life in the British Isles.
George
and his family, with Jenny’s skills in producing booklets, has set out his
biography, also he told us about a plane crash in Poole Harbour, a note from this website:
Val
told us about the postcards from her
relative while in France during WW1
Hugh
has been researching the heat wave suffered on 30 Sept 1892, the Ref. was suffering
from the heat.
It
was so good to see you all after the winter hiatus. Thank you all for a lovely
evening.
