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Report of the Historical Walks, from Whitbourne Church
on 12th October and on 6th November.
This report by Dai Jones, "Surveying
Whitbourne's Past", first appeared in the December
2004 issue of The Parish
Magazine of Greater Whitbourne, and is reproduced here. Click here
for some
pictures.
The light drizzle falling from a leaden sky did not
auger well for the first walk of discovery by volunteers of work for
the project. However the expert archaeologists were there as well
as eleven project volunteers, so off we went on our hunt for medieval
Whitbourne. The objective was to explore the present physical
features of the Old Village, and to define the area due for further
detailed physical investigation.
Following the Bottom Road from the Church and passing several houses
that are to be the object of deeper study by volunteers, the party made
its way to the Inage. Along the Inage can be seen a linchet (a
boundary ridge or unploughed strip; a terrace or ledge) where,
apparently, the soil has been ploughed away to form a boundary
bank. Fronting the bank is a suggested medieval hollow way and in
the orchard above the linchet seems to be a number of platforms.
These latter are the cause of great excitement amongst the
archaeologists and are to be the main focus of attention for future
examination. Tim Hoverd of the County Archaeological Services,
who was leading the walk, explained the hope that this was the centre
of Medieval Whitbourne – in all probability an industrial site.
He also discussed the different, highly technical methods to be used
alongside the manual digging of trenches in the investigation.
Real ‘Time Team’ stuff!
Continuing the walk along Boat Lane, the next pause was where the
locals believe to be the site of the Boat Inn. This could be the
place where a ferry across the River Teme operated, although these days
it is possible to wade across without getting your knees wet. It
is hoped to look here for a load of rubbish to explain some of the
lives of the occupants.
Whitbourne Ford has always been a bit of an enigma. Why
here? Why so highly populated? Why abandoned? There are at least
four cottages that have disappeared from the locality since the
mid-19th Century. We journeyed on along Bottom Lane where the
cottages are built on the narrow, wooded, shaded side of the valley,
and turned off at Finchers Farm. Here the footpath continues past
the deepest hollow way in Whitbourne, a feature that gave rise to a
lively discussion about carts passing or overtaking and one-way systems.
The volunteers strolled on round the Village looking at items of
interest until we reached the final place to pause and cogitate: Wish
Croft Meadow. I know this field well; I have dim memories of
riding home sitting on top of a shire horse, I have ridden my
bone-shaker bike down the various gullies, and from 1944 to 1958 I
walked the footpath twice a day on my way to and from school. It
was just a field, but by now we all could be heard muttering
‘medieval’, ‘linchets’ and ‘hollow ways’, and we were forced to add
‘strip cultivation’ to the vocabulary. Minds reeling we ended the
ramble with welcome tea and biscuits.
Well, the October rain kept away and by the end of the walk we were
seeing signs of medieval Whitbourne in almost every field, mound and
hollow. However this did leave innumerable riddles, puzzles and
enigmas. As the volunteers dispersed to pursue investigation of
their own sphere of interest, everyone was looking forward to the
detailed archaeology and the chance to get some of the questions
answered. It is hoped that the eighteen supporters on the second
similar walk in November had an equally enjoyable time.
Click here
for some
pictures.
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