Meeting Reflections
Poor Nell and the
Marshal of Hadleyville – David Longman
We welcomed back David
Longman at our last meeting to regale us with more weird and wonderful tales
from Bedfordshire churches. David has
been photographing and investigating the social history of local churches since
2017, but he describes himself as a storyteller, not an historian.
Amongst the tales this time
was the connection between Bedfordshire and Canterbury. An inhabitant of Westoning
in the early 13th century was a man called Aylward
who agreed to pay neighbour 2 pennies if he did some ploughing for him. Unfortunately, Aylward
refused to pay up and got into a fight with the neighbour. He then went to the neighbour’s house and
stole a pair of gloves. Subsequently, he
was brought before the authorities who hauled him off to Bedford for
punishment. Aylward
chose trial by water – innocent if you sink, guilty if you float – a lose/lose
situation. He floated and was ‘rewarded’
by having his eyes put out and being castrated.
During his recovery, he prayed to St Thomas and miraculously, he
regained his sight and healed in other parts.
He then decided to go to Canterbury and spend the rest of his life as a
monk. There is still a ‘miracle’ window
in the Cathedral showing Aylward’s story.
Another miracle apparently
took place at Keysoe Church in 1718. According to a plaque attached to the tower,
one William Dickens fell from a great height whilst doing repair work: on the
way down, he prayed to both God and Jesus to save him, and despite a broken leg
and ankle, he lived for another 41 years.
However, there might have been a little exaggeration, as it’s unlikely
that he would have had time to call to his brother and pray to the Lord in the
time it took for his fall. But, as David
said, it makes a good story.
David told us several more
stories, but the title was ‘Poor Nell and the Marshal’, so…….
If you go
to All Saints. Leighton
Buzzard, there are still Mediaeval graffiti on display. One of these depicts Nell and her husband
Simon in the midst of a heated dispute.
Apparently, they were expecting their family to visit and were trying to
decide whether to boil or bake what was available. In the end, they reached a compromise: boil
first, then bake.
And the resulting cake was called after them – a Simnel
cake – allegedly the first one made. But
there is, unfortunately, no evidence that this is true.
Which
brings us to the Marshal of Hadleyville. Those of
you who frequented the cinema when younger will probably remember ‘High Noon’
and Gary Cooper as Marshal Will Kane.
Gary Cooper’s father was born in Houghton Regis and he then emigrated to America.
But when Gary and his brother were 11 and 13, Mr Cooper decided that
they should be educated in his hometown.
They were sent back to Bedfordshire to attend Dunstable Grammar School
and during the time he was there, Gary was baptised in Houghton Regis Church.
Altogether, David gave us
another fascinating and entertaining talk and we look forward to welcoming him
back next year for Part 3 of his Weird and Wonderful Tales.
Sue Harland