Son et Lumiere 2000
A Brief History of Brightwell
This is the working script for the event, staged in St Agatha’s Church. Profits from the two performances, and from sale of the video, went to the church roof fund.
Format
Central stage. Two small raised areas either side. Musical groups on north side (by piano).
Mesh Screen for back-projection and shadow theatre mounted on tall structure across choir.
Two lighting towers in front of pillars on either side of central aisle.
Sound & Lighting control from vestry. Two Narrators. One each side.
A shadow theatre cast will perform the action events behind a screen. (All other participants sit in audience at sides and come forward for their scene.)
1. Introduction
(Opening music montage of B-cum-S on screen. Approx. 45”)
There have been families living in Brightwell and Sotwell for over a thousand years – this is the story of some of the changes that have happened since Saxon times.
2. Origin of Name
The first written records date back to the Charters of Saxon Kings, when land was divided into Tithes. In 854 King Aethelwulf assigned this area, which was called Beorhtanwille, to Winchester Cathedral.
The name probably comes from a Saxon tribe called the Beorhts….
In old English “beorht coylle”- meaning clear spring.
A century later this land was divided between Stottanwille and Beorhtanwille. Both villages had fresh water springs which were used for well water… which may explain where the “well” comes from.
Gradually over the centuries the spelling changed:
Beorhtanwille. (X Century)Stottanwille
Bristowell (XI Century)Sottewell
Bretewell
(~XIII Century) Sotwelle Brithwell
(~XIV Century Suttanwylle
Brygtwell (~XV Century)Shottewell
Bryghtwell (~XI X Century)Satwell
Brightwell(~XX Century)Sotwell
Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell
(Children from Brightwell Primary School perform a dance with the place names, showing how they have changed over the centuries.)
3. The Danes & Normans
As far as we know Brightwell and Sotwell managed to escape the attention of marauding Danes who used to cruise down the River Thames on search-and-destroy missions. Nearby villages, like Cholsey, were less fortunate.
However, we did not escape William the Conquerer’s tax inspectors who came to the village to collect information for the Domesday Book.
Perhaps… as news of their arrival spread, people tried to hide the odd animal or plough to avoid paying taxes.
(Shadow acting behind screen of invading hordes/ Norman officials/outline of plough being carried away/sound of struggling animal.)
4. Brightwell In The Domesday Book
When the Domesday Book was completed in 1086, it listed 48 families living in Brightwell.
TOWN CRIER (GEORGE POTTER):
17 villeins, 16 cottars and 15 serfs.
The Lord of the Manor divided his land between his peasants. A villein had about 30 acres scattered in strips across the open fields. He would work in the fields two or three days a week and supply his own oxen. A cottar held about five acres and often worked for the villeins. A serf had no land of his own and was virtually a slave.
ANDY LEWIS :
Doomsday Sketch
Lord: I am a wealthy landowner and I look down on him because he provides manual labour to cultivate my land.
Villein: I am a Villein; a peasant, so I look up to him. However, in return for my labour I can farm fields for my own use; so I look down on him
Serf: I have no land and no animals – although I grow the odd marrow…
…. I look up to both of them
Lord: I have much livestock:, cows, chickens, sheep and a prize herd of pigs
Villein: I have two Oxen, which I use to render my ploughing dues to my Lord. In return for this, my lord gave me one of his prize pigs
Serf: I have no sheep, no cows and no chickens… but I do smell like one of his prize pigs
Lord: I live in a fine house in Mackney with many outhouses. There are a number of daub and wattle cottages on my land as well.
Villein: I live in one of those daub and wattle cottages. But I do have a pig sty
Serf: Guess where I live?
Lord: At the moment, the Villein and the serfs are bound to me and are not freemen. The Villeins might achieve a degree of freedom through Manumission.
Villein: Manumission to me means that I can become a freeman, own land and even leave the village.
Serf: - I don’t know ‘bout that; I thought Man.U’s mission was to win the Premiership
Lord: I have a sizeable operation managing a large holding of many acres
Villein I have no operation, only myself looking after a smallholding
Serf: After my operation I have no holding at all
Serf: I have no option but to labour every day that my Lord or the Villein demands; so I look up to him
Villein: I am required to labour for my Lord two of three days a week. So I look up to him.
Lord: I look down on both of them because I am like the Labour party: They labour and I party
Villein: I am not a party animal – but we are fattening up a pig for Easter this year
Serf: Burp… excuse me…(lick lips)…That’s what he thinks!
MUSIC
NARRATOR:
There were two water mills in the village… one is thought to have been near the Old Priory, the other near Well Spring. (They were recorded in the Domesday book as being worth about twenty shillings.)
(Film/interior water mill/ stills Old Priory/Sotwell House)
5. Brightwell Castle
If you were sitting here in 1150 you would be within the grounds of a Norman Castle…. It was used to lay siege on Wallingford Castle.
Brightwell Castle was nothing like Wallingford’s. It was probably a wooden fortress.
(The remains of the moat still exist today around Brightwell House next door to the church).
(Illustrations/artist’s impression of Wallingford & Brightwell Castles)
In the middle of the 12th Century this area was in turmoil. There had been a state of civil war ever since King Henry 1 had died and his nephew, King Stephen, had seized the crown. The rightful heir to the throne was Henry’s daughter, Matilda. She returned from France to enforce her claim and conducted her campaign from Wallingford Castle.
Brightwell castle was used by King Stephen’s men against Matilda’s supporters in Wallingford. Three times they laid siege against Wallingford… and three times they were beaten back. King Stephen eventually surrendered Brightwell castle to Matilda’s son, Henry and after that it was destroyed.
In the Treaty of Wallingford, it was declared that when Stephen died, Matilda’s son would become King.
The following year Henry was crowned Henry II - the first Plantagenet King of England.
Music Ensemble (Myron’s Score)
Fanfare (Shadow theatre of fighting on screen… sounds of battle. Outline of wooden pallisades cut out of hardboard. Sound of destruction. Shadow of big axe being wielded. Lighting change. King crowned.
6. The Story of St Agatha and early Church History
Bells sound/Light from organ loft?)
This church dates back to the 12th Century.
But why is it called St Agatha’s? It is one of only two churches in England dedicated to this obscure saint.
(Music change/Shadow Theatre)
St. Agatha’s story is a grizzly tale set on the island of Sicily, in the shadow of a volcano, in Roman times.
Agatha was renowned for her beauty among the Sicilians. When the new Governor of Sicily, Quintian, first laid eyes on her, he tried to woo her with presents and promises of love.
She refused his advances, so he began to persecute her. When she still turned her back on him, he was furious, and demanded to know why.
“I am a free woman and the servant of Jesus Christ”
When she still would not submit, he showed no mercy. She was taken away to a dark dungeon where she was beaten. (Legend has it that her breasts were cut off, which is possibly why she became the patron saint of bell-ringers.)
While she was lying in the dungeon, a miracle happened… (Bell sounds)
At midnight St. Peter appeared in a vision. The guards fled and Peter tended the wounds with ointment.
On discovering that Agatha’s wounds had miraculously healed, Quintian ordered that she should be burned on a great fire. But before the order could be carried out, an earthquake struck. Realising this was God’s warning, Quintian let her return to her cell where she later died peacefully. Shortly afterwards the volcano, Mount Etna, erupted causing widespread devastation.
Perhaps a Crusader returned to England with the story. Or perhaps someone brought back a fragment of bone – a relic of the saint – and that is how Brightwell’s church became dedicated to St Agatha.
Very little of the original church remains today apart from the old door-way in the South Wall and the upper walls of the nave. A tower was added in the 13th Century.
(Gregorian Chant)
7. Black Death
In 1349 the Black Death came to Brightwell. It is not known how many people died, but many villages lost half their inhabitants. Brightwell’s rector, Peter le Dene, who died in that year, was probably one of the victims. So many died that there was a great shortage of labour. Vast stretches of land were left uncultivated... Much of it was turned to grass.
Single Bell Toll. Hooded figure.. with scythe.. walks up aisle - following child carrying lantern. Silhouette of crosses against sky on screen.
8. The Drovers Return
From the Middle Ages drovers passed through the village with their flocks. Some were travelling West to join the Ridgeway… others came from the Midlands to the Great Sheep Fair at East Ilsley…. While the sheep drank at the Wellsprings, the drovers refreshed themselves at one of the local hostelries.
(Simply dressed shepherd with crook and grass in mouth.
Right up to the 1920’s drovers would pass through the village begging a night’s accommodation in an out-house or barn, and downing a pint or two at the Swan or the Red Lion.
9. Magdalen College, Oxford & The Prince of Wales
In 1480 Richard Mayhew became Rector of Brightwell. He eventually became Bishop of Hereford and is buried in Hereford Cathedral. He was also President of Magdalen College, Oxford and laid the first stone of the famous tower in Oxford, where generations of students have celebrated May Day dawns...
Dr. Mayhew was an important figure, who attended the coronation of Henry VII at Westminster Abbey.
The King’s eldest son, Prince Arthur, used to visit Brightwell because his auditor? advisor/tutor, Robert Court, lived in Mackney.
(He is mentioned on a brass in the church.)
When the Prince of Wales visited the village he stayed at the Manor House – (what is now Sotwell House).
(Young prince enters… David Dobbin bows!)
When Prince Arthur was 15 he married Catharine of Aragon.
(Wedding Scene)
Unfortunately five months after the marriage Prince Arthur died of consumption.
Seven years later Catharine married his 17-year-old-younger brother, who had just been crowned Henry VIII.
Picture of Mayhew’’s tomb from Hereford Cathedral/ Picture of Magdalen College Tower./Pictures of Henry VII / Sotwell House/ Catharine of Aragon/ (Music by Myron Edwards)
10. A Murder in Brightwell Church
One of the darkest episodes in the church’s history happened in 1507.
(Sound of squeaky door latch opening.. Church in near darkness. A hooded figure advances on a kneeling priest.)
It was a time when some individuals held grudges against the church, which had a growing reputation for being greedy. The exact motive for the crime which followed is not known.
Robert Forde, a ‘foreigner’ from East Hendred, entered this church and approached a priest. His name was John Sketefield. According to Forde’s confession before the Mayor of Wallingford, he attacked Sketefield with a sword and struck him in the head with a dagger.
The murder of John Sketefield, who was probably a curate to the church, is recorded on a 16th Century brass in the south aisle..
Shadow scene acted behind screen. Project brass rubbing on to screen… Sound FX Echo-Foot steps.. Bells tolls..
11. The Church Warden’s Lot
In 1549 when Henry VIII declared himself Head of the Church and broke away from the Pope, many monasteries were destroyed, leaving the sick and poor with nowhere to go. This left village church wardens with a long list of responsibilities. These included :
Killing rats and other vermin,
Building pulpits
Washing surplices
Looking after roads and bridges,
Helping travellers
Overseeing the poor,
And maintaining whipping posts, pounds and stocks.
(The village stocks used to stand opposite the Red Lion Pub.)
The Churchwarden’s Lament
(to the tune of The Policeman’s Lot – with apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan)
We would like to tell you all of our employment, our employment
And the shocking duties that we must perform, must perform
You’ll soon see we do not do these for enjoyment, for enjoyment
Particularly in the winter’s storm, winter’s storm.
The graveyard of St James’s we must see to, we must see to
And prevent the roof of Ag’tha’s falling down, falling down
And the choirboys often need a damn good thrashing, damn good thrashing
Oh the warden’s lot is not a happy one, happy one!
Ah when Parish warden’s duties to be done, to be done
Oh the warden’s lot is not a happy one, happy one!
Sadly Rentokil has not yet been invented, been invented
And controlling rats so occupies our time, -pies our time
And we do not have the tools to mend the fencing, mend the fencing
The vicar’s on our backs to tackle crime, tackle crime.
But most of all the poor must be looked after, be looked after
Oh it’s sad we have no time to call our own, call our own
And then dare we mention our remuneration, -muneration
Oh the warden’s lot is not a happy one, happy one!
Ah when Parish warden’s duties to be done, to be done
Oh the warden’s lot is not a happy one, happy one!
12. The Headmaster’s Lot
In 1634 the Chief Master of Abingdon School, Dr. Thomas Godwin, retired and came to Brightwell to be the new rector. An observer described him as
"being as tween broken or wearied out with the drudgery of the school."
“After he had for some years enjoyed himself in great repose in requital of his many labours, he surrendered up his soul to God on 20th March 1642.”
His marble plaque is behind the pulpit and has just been restored by Abingdon School.)
Master hangs up gown on coat stand. Sits down looking weary and dejected (Mark Prowen) Shadows of wild kids projected on background
(His plaque is on N wall of church). The Church Wardens, hum… while narration continues. Possible reprise of final verse about Godwin…
13. Brightwell in the Civil War.
In 1645, the Civil War was raging between Charles I and his parliament.
(Some Brightwellians were probably recruited for the Royalist cause, but the village itself escaped unscathed.)
Dr Edward Hyde, the new Rector at Brightwell, was a Royalist, and he soon found himself hauled in front of a Church committee in Reading…
Church Official:
“Any minister who maintains blasphemous or atheistic opinions, who sides with the King as against the parliament, who reads the Book of Common Prayer in public, who encourages Whitsun Ales, Wakes, Morris dancing, Maypoles or other licentious practices.. … will be considered SCANDALOUS.”
Dr.Hyde:
“My allegiance remains with the King!”
Dr Hyde’s “scandalous” behavior cost him his job and he was ejected from Brightwell.
14. The Census of 1676
In 1676 a census was taken by the Bishop of Salisbury, who had good reason to want to know how many people lived in his diocese.
TOWN CRIER:
“Population of Brightwell: 234.”
At this time all the inhabitants of a parish were assumed to be church people. The church levied a "tax" which most small-holders paid according to the size of their holding. The tax varied from £3-£15 (today that would be between £150 to £1,200).
(Also "smoke farthings" or Pentecost money was collected four times a year, on Christmas Day, Palm Sunday, Easter and Whit Sunday. )
(Population Statistics delivered by Town Crier with bell. George Potter)
14a The Rev. Alsop’s Love Triangle
In 1717 there was scandal at Brightwell. The rector, Anthony Alsop, had married on New Year's Eve 1716... but hardly had the New Year began, when he was sued by another lady from Oxford, for breach of promise to marry. A verdict of £2,000 was given against him. Rectors were much richer in those days, but not rich enough to pay such punitive damages... He retired abroad to
"avoid the sneers of the censorious as well as to elude contributing with his purse to the triumph of the fair one."
A few years later he was walking along a small brook near Winchester College late one summer evening, when "the ground gave way under his feet which threw him into the brook, where he was found dead the next morning."
15. The Brightwell Boy who lost America!
Sound of baby crying. Light on font.
On July 10th, 1712 a boy was christened in this church, who would one day help lose our most valuable colony - America.
His name was Francis Bernard and he was the son of the Rector of Brightwell. He went to New England and eventually became Governor of Massachusetts Bay in 1760. His over zealous efforts to collect new taxes from the American people did not go down well. Riots followed.
(The New England motto, “Live free.. or die”, persists to this day!)
The Brightwell boy was recalled to England, before war broke out.
He may not have been popular in America, but George III made him a Baronet!
Sound FX riots etc/ Settlers’ Music/ US early fife & drum/Fanfare at end.
16. George III at The Red Lion.
Horn sounds. Sound of horses galloping. Antlers cross screen!?
Nobleman emerges with antlers under his arm. Musket in other hand…!
In 1781 George III rode through the village after a stag hunt and dined at the Red Lion.
ANDY LEWIS SKETCH about the King who came to dinner…
Maureen: William, have you seen the bookings for the restaurant tonight ?
Bill: Hey up Maureen, you know the score… I do Cookin and you do the business; the bookings that is…
Maureen: No Bill, It’s this table booking for tonight. I can’t quite read it. It says George eye, eye, eye…. And I think it says something about wanting supper after a , it looks like Stag or summat.
Bill:: that’ll be a stag night. Flamin’ Eck, they’ll have been at the Malmsey before getting here and be in a right state…Let me have a look. Hey Maureen that’s not George Eye Eye Eye; that’s George 3rd…and I’ve heard he goes Stag Hunting round these parts.
(Enter slowly from left George in white night gown talking to himself )
George: I’ll show those Americans, Tax em even more,, and that Mr Fox, should be Fox hunting not Stag hunting’
Maureen:: Royalty! Do you mean Royalty Bill here at t’Red Lion ?
Bill: I do, Maureen. Think of it: Bills Bootiful Lasagne…by Royal Appointment
George: Have you seen my Charlotte ?
Bill: From where I’m standing I can see everything you’ve got mate…I’d turn away from the light if I were you.
George: I’ve lost my Colonies!!
Bill: Lost your marbles more likely mate…. Maureen can yer get rid of Wee Willie Winkle, the King could be here at any minute.
George Ah..Pray rise for the King.
Bill: What? Is he here already? Quick Maureen scrape a dish clean
Maureen. No he’s not here yet; (To George) but you’d better get back to your bed, me lad. If the King comes while you’re parading in your night-gown, I’ll not hear the last of it. Go on, off with you.
Maureen: I hope he won’t be long.
Bill: Right you look for your Tiara and I’ll go and shave my head… Maureen do you know what he looks like ?
(Walking away)
Maureen: No but I’m sure we’ll recognise him. After all its not everyday we get to see a King.
Bill: Hey, shall we change the name to the King’s Head or how about the George!
17. Beating The Bounds of Brightwell
Around this time the Rector of Brightwell was Thomas Wintle. He kept a diary that reads more like a bank statement than a personal history. Wintle must have been one of the few rectors who understood the intricacies of the ancient tithe system guaranteeing him one tenth of each farm’s income. His meticulous records of the church land and rent payments showed that Rectors made a healthy living back then.
To celebrate the extent of this wealth, he used to lead a procession of Men and Boys around the parish boundaries. It was called Beating the Bounds. (The boys were beaten to help them remember the geography lesson.)
Thomas Wintle:
“Every ten years I will process round the Parish so that people might retain in future years memory of the exact bounds of the parish.”
The tradition is continued today. Although, it was rather different in 1784:
That year, there was an argument over a tree on the High Road – did it stand in the Brightwell or Sotwell side of the parish. The Reverend Wintle thought it belonged to Brightwell. Mr Hazel and many others were not so sure – so they agreed it would be a boundary tree. They then proceeded down Butts Lane and placed a marker cross on the Street near the Red Lion.
Before continuing down Mackney Lane – the temptation was too much…
(Landlord pops up…Enter ‘pub’ with Bill behind bar!)
Dinner – cakes and ale - came to £1 and 7 shillings for everyone. And the Rector picked up the bill… well half of it ! … Mr Dobson, a church warden picked up the other half.
(Group parade round the church placing crosses/ Front projection of tree for argument. )
18. The Dame School
In the 18th century, most of Brightwell was very poor and education in the village was limited to a Dame School. This was a make-shift school room set up in a small dark thatched cottage at the East End of the village. It dates back to 1726 when Mrs Riggins left money to provide £4 a year for:
“bread and ye schooling for ye poor at Slade End.”
Very wisely she realised it was hard to learn on an empty stomach, so bread was given out each day.
Children sing: “Food glorious food!”
Many children, who toiled in the fields did not go to school. So in 1785 the Rector, Mr. Wintle founded a Sunday School.
Rev. WINTLE:
“To this Sunday School I pay one guinea a year for ye support of it.. The Mistress has usually 1/6 a week and a small allowance for fires.. and ye Churchwardens are to provide an occasional supply of littel Books – but this I have often done myself as the expense is inconsiderable”
(It would be another 55 years before a school was built that provided properly organised education.)
Kids in 18th/19thcentury dress at Sunday School… Junior choir song about shroving – collecting a penny off the wealthier inhabitants..
19. The Day the Church Tower Collapsed
In Easter week of 1796 disaster struck. The church tower was in need of repairs and some scaffolding had been erected. After the builders finished work for the day, the entire tower collapsed…. bringing down bells and huge chunks of masonry. It would be six years before the tower was re-built and twelve years before the bells were ringing again.
(Sound FX crashing…Bells collapsing). Ringing of bells..
20. The Industrial Revolution & Brightwell
At the end of the 18th century the Industrial Revolution was transforming the countryside as the network of roads and canals grew.
In 1801 the turnpike road to Didcot was completed.
....(and things have been going downhill ever since!)
There were 110 families living in the village.
TOWN CRIER:
“1801. Population of Brightwell: 491
Number of people employed on the land: 205”
Back then, almost everyone in Brightwell worked on the land… and the land was divided up into lots of small holdings – with owners having tiny pieces of land scattered all over the place. In 1811 the Enclosure Act ended the centuries’ old system of open and common fields. The farmland was now bundled together to create larger fields to allow more mechanised agriculture. This was good for the big farmers, but not for the small-holders who lost their strips of land and the right to graze the odd pig or cow.
TOWN CRIER:
“1811 Population of Brightwell: 473
Number of people employed on the land: 80.”
The end of strip farming had halved the number of people working in agriculture.
21. The Story of Brightwell School
With a hundred families living in the village, the old Dame School could no longer cope. The Rector, Marmaduke Thompson decided to build a new school.
A pair of old cottages, just across the road from the church, were demolished and the materials were used to build the school where the village hall now stands. In 1841 Brightwell’s first purpose-built school was completed.
It was tuppence a week to attend school to learn to read. A penny extra if you wanted to learn arithmetic too!
For 27 years this little school struggled to provide education for up to 90 children, under one roof.
In 1868 inspectors visited the school and condemned it as inadequate.
The new rector, Haldane Stewart, decided to build a new school.
HALDANE STEWART:
“Give me just two years.”
In 1869 he donated £300 and gave some land from his orchard to build the school. He encouraged Edward Fairthorne, who owned Brightwell Farm, to give a further £200.
The schoolmaster, Mr Hobley, organised concerts to raise more money. The gentry came on the first night; the common folk on the second!
Within a year the school was complete and the Bishop of Oxford came to open it.
(Celebration of opening. Bishop arrives etc. etc.)
Inside, there was a soaring Gothic arch given by Augusta Fairthorne, Edward’s sister. When the children looked up, they read her inscription:
AUGUSTA FAIRTHORNE:
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy Youth.”
(Picture of School and houses on pig alley/School Tower)
The school drinking fountain, which was housed under a roof that is the porch of today’s Village Hall, supplied a perpetual stream of water for the village.)
In 1874 the village raised a further £400 to build a clock tower… Thus ensuring that children need never be late for school again.
(Bell strikes. Child with satchel runs in late )
Old pictures of Village School. Old School photographs through the ages..
22. The Great Pub Culling
In the 1870s, when the British Empire was at its height… Dr.Livingstone was exploring darkest Africa and Queen Victoria was about to be declared Empress of India… Brightwell was experiencing its own major social upheaval: the disappearance of three pubs:
The Button & Loop
The Black Duck
And the old Swan Inn.
WIFE of FARM LABOURER:
“Sir, them ale-houses is our curse!”
This was largely the work of the formidable duo Edward Fairthorne and Haldane Stewart. As squire and parson their determination to “do good” knew no bounds. Mr Fairthorne bought the houses and closed them.
He demolished the old Swan Inn and built a pair of red brick houses for his workers. (They were designed by his nephew, an architect who went on to design Wallingford Grammar School. ) Two employees of Mr. Fairthorne drew lots for the houses to decide who should have the one furthest from the Red Lion).. Vi Smith’s grandfather won the draw! Vi Smith still lives there.
Later the Swan Inn was re-built opposite the Square and continued to be a pub until 1960, when it became Swan Cottage.
The legacy of Edward Fairthorne can be seen all over the village. In 1879, he built the Red House, for his retirement. When Haldane Stewart died, he helped build a memorial hall to his friend and fellow philanthropist. It was used for reading, playing billiards and parish meetings.
23. Brightwell Free Church
Haldane Stewart’s successor, Francis Cunningham was a crustier, less popular figure, who put spiritual sustenance before the relief of the poor. In 1885 Edward Fairthorne’s sister, Augusta decided to found a Mission Hall which became the Free Church. Her brother, Edward gave her some land next door to the stable block of the Red House, where she built the church. With great conviction this deaf old lady spread her evangelism across the village, much to the annoyance and frustration of the Rector.
24. Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee
To celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 Brightwell’s 19 Jubilee babies were photographed on the lawn of Slade End House.
20th Century
25. First World War
(Vi Smith’s pictures of children in khaki. Military band music)
In 1914 war was declared. There was great pressure to join up. Army bands from Didcot paraded through the village. One summer evening a small stage was erected on the village green and a man who would one day be Lord Wittenham made a rousing speech:
“If there are fit men among you, I beg you in God’s name, go!”
Child recites:
My daddy’s dressed in khaki,
And gone away to fight,
For England, home and duty,
For honour, truth and right.
Women took over the work of our fighting men. Miss Mabel Batten did the milk round, Sybil Lay drove cart loads of apples to Wallingord station. Mrs. Hopkins took over Tom Hammond’s job of postman.
The price of food began to increase. Sugar went up from tuppence a pound to tuppence h’apenny a pound. Foul tasting margarine took the place of locally produced butter.
Soldiers from the City of London Yeomanry were billeted around here as they prepared to go to war. Some stayed in tents in the Croft. Others slept in barns at Allnuts Farm and Baker’s Farm. The officers, of course, had rather more comfortable accommodation: Blackstone House, Slade End, Style Acre and the Shillingford Bridge Hotel.
Every morning at six, a mounted soldier rode to the East End of the Croft to sound “Reveille”.
Until one day the village fell silent. The cavalry and columns of infantry were on their way to the Western Front.
For those waiting at home for news from the front, these were dark times.
The censor allowed only the briefest messages:
“Dear Jess,
Just a line to say am well. Hope all at home are well. Give my love to all over the way. Best love to yourself. From yours, Will.”
It was not long before sad news began to reach the village. It was not unusual for children to arrive at school in tears having heard their father, brother, uncle or neighbour had been killed.
The old village bobby, P.C Harris, who in retirement had began repairing shoes, lost his son. His wife wept as she returned the shoes and boots to their rightful owners. Many breakfasts went uneaten as the postman brought bad news. With each death the church bell tolled for 30 minutes.
26 young men from Brightwell and Sotwell were among the millions killed in the First World War.
After the war, a memorial was built on the Green. It stands in the place where the young men had gathered to hear Lord Wittenham’s speech urging them to “go!”
[MUSIC BRIDGE]
26. Blackstone House & The Froth Blowers
If you had walked through Sotwell in the 1920’s, you might well have heard the sound of young Cockney voices. Their presence was due to a mysterious organisation called the Froth Blowers.
Blackstone House, which was called Rosedale back then, was a convalescent home for twenty East End boys, recovering from illnesses. During the week they attended the village school and every Sunday they sat in the front three pews over there. They were said to have been better behaved than the local children.
(Light on front three pews of south aisle)
But what was the Ancient Order of Froth Blowers… and how was it linked to Sotwell ? The Home was the brainchild of the local G.P, Dr Harry Watts, who was a friend of the King’s surgeon, Sir Alfred Fripp. Fripp was the founder of a drinking Club, the Froth Blowers, which had thousands of members. Each new recruit paid five shillings and they were encouraged to sign up as many friends as possible.
“Lubrication in moderation was the motto.” This was their anthem:
Choral Group sing:
The more we are together, together, together,
The more we are together, the merrier we’ll be;
For your friends are my friends
And my friends are your friends
And the more we are together
The merrier we’ll be.
“BLOWERS!”
The Froth Blowers raised over £20,000 for many different East End Charities. The home in Sotwell nursed back to health over 850 boys before it eventually closed in 1936.
27. Dr. Bach Centre
In 1934 Dr Edward Bach came to live at Mount Vernon in Sotwell. He was a Harley Street physician who developed homeopathic treatments using dilute extracts from wild flowers. He believed his remedies held the secret of inner harmony.
Unfortunately, two years after coming here, he died. He is buried in St. James church yard, but his Remedies live on and are distributed all over the world. The basic ‘Mother Tincture’ is still made from the wild flowers in the garden of Mount Vernon.
(Picture of Dr. Bach/Mt. Vernon.)
28. The Farmer’s Revolt
In the mid-thirties there was growing unrest from farmers about having to pay tithes to the Church. This had been going on since Saxon times, but many believed the time had come to stop paying.
Vernon Drewit of Slade End Farm declared he was not going to pay. He was warned of the consequences, but still he refused to pay.
Eventually, baillifs came and rounded up all his cattle and livestock for sale by auction the next morning.
When the auctioneer arrived, the assembled crowd jeered.
AUCTIONEER:
“Lot One?…”
(A small boy is hoisted up on to the podium).
FARM LABOURER:
“Here’s Lot 1. You can sell him first!”
(Sound of jeering and laughter. Auctioneer looks flustered.)
AUCTIONEER:
“Lot One. Six young heifers..
(Pause. Crowd shuffles.. Sly smiles on some faces.)
AUCTIONEER:
“Come on… Lot One. Six young heifers… where are they ?”
FARM LABOURER:
“Dunno… They seem to have gone away sir…”
Every lot the auctioneer called had mysteriously vanished.
There was nothing to auction. The auctioneer was furious and stormed off. When he arrived at his car - he found it had been tarred and feathered.
The story made the national newspapers and the protests outside parliament eventually led to a change in the law. Tithes no longer had to be paid to the church.
29. Dr. Watts’ Village History
During the 1930’s Dr. Watts, who lived at Haddon Close Orchard, became interested in the history of the village. He feared that Brightwell people were in real danger of forgetting their past.
Dr. WATTS:
“Old legends of the countryside and quaint stories have given place to Newspaper talk, Football Pools, and dog racing.”
He spent many hours closeted in dusty libraries to produce a definitive history of Brightwell, and he wrote in his preface :
Dr. WATTS:
“Especially is this necessary when the attractions of towns, or the delights of travel, are threatening to destroy rural life.”
(Picture of open Oxford bus)
Sadly for Dr Watts, his history was never published, because something else happened in 1939. WAR.
30. Second World War Sound of sirens/ Air Raid Warden pushes bike through.
WARDEN:
“Oi Get those lights out!”
Brightwell became home to evacuees from London – the village school was overflowing with children. There was petrol rationing – two gallons a month – and a chronic shortage of blackout curtain material.
Brightwell W.I. adopted a minesweeper. Parcels were sent out to the boys at sea in 1944:
(list to be read out) (Two WI ladies packing boxes on table)
6 pullovers
2 helmets
4 scarves
5 pairs of socks
9 pairs of sea-boot stockings
24 gramophone records (one broken in transit)
Assorted books and Picture Posts
The Stewart Memorial Hall became a First Aid Post. A Home Guard was formed and Air Raid wardens were stationed round the village. The painter George Warner Allen, who lived at Iden House in Sotwell, crashed his plane on a railway line, in the path of an on-coming train, but miraculously escaped uninjured. A plane crashed at Days Lock, but no stray bombs fell on Brightwell. Once again the village was spared, but families lost their sons.
Many had worked on farms –the people who Dr Watts had dedicated his history to before the outbreak of war.
To the Rural Labourers and Field Workers of this Country, who by their craftsmanship have transformed this countryside, and made this England of ours the 'green and pleasant land' that we love.
31. Brightwell joins Sotwell
(Montage of Pictures & Music)
After the war Brightwell and Sotwell were still two separate villages. Yet the clerk of each council was the same person. Not surprisingly, he was growing tired of writing to himself, so the two councils met and decided they should join together. In 1948 Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell was born.
The following year the Greenmere Estate was built to provide much needed housing.
Piped water came to the village for the first time… and after years of protest, the first sewers were installed down The Street in 1958.
In 1961 the school began the move to the present site and the old school became the Village Hall.
As more families bought cars, people began travelling further and further afield to their work. Farming which used to be the major source of income in Brightwell no longer needed labour. Today four farmers employ a total of 12 farmworkers – of which only seven live in the village.
Today the village has 495 households.
TOWN CRIER:
“Population, including men, women & children: 1,170”
Since the Domesday Book over thirty generations have come and gone.
Serfs..
Villeins..
Drovers..
Rectors..
Farmers..
Inn keepers..
Teachers..
Householders…
They have all played their part in the history of this village.
Today the serfs may browse in cyberspace instead of ploughing the fields, but Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell lives on.
Final Montage of Music & Pictures.
