Odell – Woad
Rodney Murray Jones wrote on page
82 of Magazine No. 2, Volume 1 of his meeting with his Mother’s
cousin Isabel Ross who lived in the village of Odell,
Bedfordshire. Some of the villagers pronounced the name as “Woadle”.
The source of the name is Old English “Wad Hyll”, being the hill
where the plant grew which was the raw material for their woad. In
the Domesday Book, Odell was “Wadehelle” and later “Wodhull” The
initial letter was lost in the sixteenth century rather like
Ockenham in Essex (Domesday Book wochanduna). There was a Robert
de Wadhullow in Bedfordshire in 1273.
The story about Woad appears on
page 110 of Magazine No 3, Volume 1. The plant produces a blue
dye and all I knew of it was that the ancient Britons used it as war
paint to scare off the enemy. It was also said that it had healing
properties for their wounds. This article makes interesting
reading.
Now with the possible link with the family name my interest was
aroused. We were told that it still appears on The Mythe, a red
marl cliff above the Severn just outside Tewkesbury. Claud & I went
to try and find it but we had not arrived at the exact flowering
time, which is in May and June.
The magazine includes a diagram of
the woad plant and some views of Odell. I also bought some woad
seeds from a specialist seed merchant and successfully grew some in
the garden as did my sister, Dora. Our efforts at boiling the
leaves and trying to produce dye were not a success.
The little village of Weeting in
Norfolk used to have two churches, St. Mary’s and All Saints or All
Hallows. One of these churches was demolished when its tower fell
on it in about 1700. There are different views on which church was
demolished and which remains.
The will of Sir
William Wadlow is on page 338 of Magazine No. 8, Volume 1
and is followed by a transcription. His bequests are very
interesting. One of the first is that his body should be buried in
the chancel of the church before the high altar. This follows
mention of the fact that he was “parson of All Hallows”. This
surprised me as I would have thought this was an honour others
bestowed on one, not to be claimed for oneself. The list of
bequests includes sums of money to various individuals and
organisations and his “furred” gown and his “long gown lined” went
to named priests. Details of the disposal of all his animals were
included. The whole of this will I found very interesting. There
were individuals named who should pray for his soul.
We visited Weeting and saw the existing church
which is a fine building with a round tower. Inside the church is a
board listing the incumbents of both churches in Weeting, including
Sir William. In the chancel is the grave of William Angerstein of
Weeting Hall. There is no reference to our man. Could he have been
buried in the other church of All Hallows? We visited the site of
the demolished church which is now a sports field. There is a
raised part of the site which I took to be the position of the old
church and wondered whether the remains of those buried there had
been exhumed and re-buried elsewhere or might still be buried
there. Enquiries about any records being available of the
demolition of the church drew a blank.
If you could
contribute any more knowledge on Weeting and its churches I would be
delighted to hear from you. I could let you have a copy of the will
of Sir William Wadlow if you wish.
Nicholas Waddelow emigrated from
Sheffield, Yorkshire to Virginia in America in 1622. We find him in
the IGI for Yorkshire, the son of Nicholas Waddelow.
He married Amy Anderson, the
widow of Garrett Anderson in about 1649, leaving three
children. Nicholas
and Amy had three daughters, Comfort, Temperance
and Patience. Nicholas died in 1660.
The record of the descendants of these daughters appears on
page 147, Magazine No 5, Volume 3. He was engaged in
shipping hogsheads of tobacco to England.
Lists of Wadlows and
Wadleys in Virginia from 1778 are likely to be descendants of
Nicholas who settled in Virginia. It is interesting that the name
changed to Wallop. On page 133 we have the will of John Wallop
alias Wadlow. There is also a Wallop Island in Accomack County.
This is now a Nasa Centre and Nature Refuge. Page 127-139,
Magazine 4, Volume 4.
If you are interested in further
references to Nicholas:
see page 307, Magazine 11, Volume 4
Pages 143, 147 & 150Magazine 5. Volume 3
Pages 161 & 162, Magazine No. 6, Volume 3
The baptism of Adeline Hull,
wife of Robert Hull of the Railway Tavern,
Little
Downham was to take place in the village pond in Cannon Street in a
public ceremony. Adeline was a Christian woman but her husband had
no time for religion. The account of how he disrupted the ceremony
by trying to stop it, but failed, was supplied by Robert Hull,
grandson. It is to be found on page 191, Magazine No 7, Volume
2.
Mr. Philip Cawthorn,
church warden.
Mr. William Martin,
church warden.
The same was painted and beautified
in 1772.
Mr. George South,
church warden.
Mr. Willm Waddelow,
church warden.
Mr. George South
and Mr. William Waddelow were family connections and we have
a connection with the Martins.
An interesting account of this old
Fenland custom appeared on page 39 of Magazine 2. Volume 4.
Here is the account in full:-
“Bull
Shaving was apparently a very popular custom in Little Downham in
the late nineteenth century. Legend has it that the pastime began
after the traditional Plough Monday festival. It had turned into
nothing more than an excuse for local drunken youths to demand money
from the villagers. ‘Bull Shaving’ was normally held at Whitsun and
involved picking the hairiest bull in the village and six of the
strongest lads to perform the task. The bull was dressed in ribbons
and finery and led through the village by the rector while youths
ran ahead collecting money for the poor of the parish.
Once the party had
reached the green opposite The Plough, the bull would be tethered to
the four stakes with leather straps without causing undue discomfort
to the animal. Six young men would gently shave the bull using
cutthroat razors; a skill learned from Mr Louis Hopkin
of
Main Street. Once the bull was clean, it would be covered up in the
colourful ‘Bull Monday’ waistcoat which was knitted by the W.I. in
Pymoor. Sadly ‘Bull Shaving’ became unpopular when it was deemed to
be demeaning to the animal. However supporters of the custom
pointed out that it was never done in winter, as that would be
cruel.”
How’s that for
eighteenth century fund raising? It surprised me that it was led by
the rector. There are some Hopkins on The Waddelow Family Tree.
