MURCOTT FAMILY HISTORY

I came to Warwick to search records at the County Record Office and visit any people or churches that relate to the family. Most parish records are online.

At the record offices I found memorial inscriptions and a very large 1731 marriage agreement. It was about four A4 pages wide and over 2 pages deep. The base of it had the seals of each of the people who signed it. I had to be very careful handling it as the paper was so stiff and had been folded up nearly 300 years.

An 8^th cousin, Jane Dyer, came up to Warwick from Oxfordshire to meet with me. Our 6^th great grandfathers were brothers so she has done a lot of research on that side of the family. Our 7^th great grandparents were William MURCOTT and Elizabeth GRESWOLD who married in 1686. We must have many 8^th cousins.

Elizabeth McIntyre decided in the 1990's to research the history of the house she lives in. She discovered Umbers and Garlicks who had married Murcotts so she researched all these families. None of them her relations. To make sense of it all she started with Henry Murcott who was born in 1507 and created a descendancy chart for him. It takes up fifteen A3 pages. She has also written a couple of books with all the data she has gathered. “The Murcotts of Warwickshire” and “John Joseph Murcott, recluse of Whitnash, 1818-1894”. I was able to get these on a CD.

There were three churches my direct ancestors have been involved with since the early 1600's. St. Mary Warwick, Kenilworth and Cubbington.

St Mary's was just a short walk from where I was staying. My third great-grandparents Thomas MURCOTT and Sarah BALL were married here in 1828.

I caught the bus to Kenilworth. Visited the church and cemetery where three generations of MURCOTT's worshiped. There I found the tombstone of Thomas MURCOTT who died in 1879 and his second wife Jane.

Elizabeth drove me to Cubbington to see the church where seven generations of Murcotts have been christened, married or buried. There was a large tombstone belonging to several of the family. In this church the cartouche to Abraham MURCOTT, a captain in the Royal Navy was erected. This is a wooden carving with his name and the year 1702. It is there because he was presumed to have died in a big storm off the Scilly Isles. However he was the captain of the ship Granado in 1707 and Elizabeth has copies of two wills written by him.

Abraham Murcott Cartouche

Murcott tomb at Cubbington

I have received too much material to record it all while I am here. MURCOTT's will keep me busy for a long time.

STRATFORD UPON AVON

I love this place! My first visit was Saturday when it was a lovely sunny day and it was full of tourists. Even large groups of Japanese! Heard some Australian accents as well! Then I went back on Monday to check out the shops.

I visited Mary Ardens farm. People were acting the life of a Tudor farm even to having their lunch Tudor style.

First course was pottage. This is a vegetable soup that sits on the back of the fire and keeps getting veges added to it. Whatever they have on hand. Accompanied by very chunky wholemeal bread and butter. That was followed by the main course. Saturday was a fish day so they had dried fish that was reconstituted,with a sauce added, put inside a pastry then deep fried. With this they had beetroot that had been boiled and chopped up. Just before serving verjuice was poured over it. This a cross between wine and vinegar.Salad included figs, flowers and herbs.

During the meal they explained some of the traditions.

• The table was actually a board placed on top of trestles. Hence nobody was allowed to put their elbows on the board as it could tip it up and all the food would fall in their laps.
• The master of the house would sit in the chair at the head of the board. He was the Chairman of the board.
• People would sit at the table in their pecking order, starting with the head of the house.
• Everyone kept their hands above the board. After the meal the master would pay the day labourers. They would all receive their wages where everyone could see so it was “all above board”
• Left hands were used for community purposes – hence the food was served out with the left hand. The right hand was for personal use. If you were left handed you would have been forced as a child to change to the right hand. The left was the devils side.
• People put their serviette over their left shoulder. As they would be sitting very close at the board there was no room to put their hands to their laps. As they ate with the right hand it was easy to wipe fingers on the serviette.
• People would carry their own utensils with them. That would be a spoon, very sharp knife and a pricker.
• Forks had been introduced by the Italians. These just had two prongs. Not all people used them.
• A spoon was usually given by the godparents on a child's baptism. This would be theirs for life. Whether it was silver or wood would be dependent on the wealth of the godparents.

I learned a few more things.

• Chester, -caster and -cester, at the end of English place names means that the place was the site of a Roman fort.
• Thatched roofs on houses only lasted about 25 years before they needed to be replaced. The fancy trimming on the top indicated who had thatched the roof. Like a signature.
• Doctors received the title because they had medical training. Surgeons were barbers so they had a pole outside their business with a red stripe to indicate blood and a white one to indicate
• bandages. Because they were just barbers they were known as “Mr.” not Doctor. Today surgeons are still known as “Mr”.
• Thatched houses did not originally have wire netting over them. Therefore all kinds of creatures could live in them. Hence the need of a four poster bed with a cover over the top to protect the sleepers from anything dropping on them through the night.
• The word bonfire comes from bone fire. Graves were dug after 20 years and the bones burned on an open fire. Shakespeare did not want that to happen to him. In 1605 he purchased a Lay rectorship at Holy Trinity Church. This gave him the right to be buried under the church.
• Beds were short – not because the people were but because they did not sleep lying down. They would sit up to sleep. If they lay down the devil might think they were dead and claim them for him
• Door frames were very low. Because it was easier to build a door under the wood frames.

If only history was this interesting 55 years ago!

 Saw William Shakespeare – he looked a tad stiff. He was along the road from his birthplace. Today the place is surrounded by all kinds of fascinating shops.

A Christmas shop – Peter Rabbit etc etc.

COVENTRY

It is very handy to catch a bus from where I stay. So another trip - this time to Coventry.

Ikea Coventry

I had no idea where I should get off the bus in Coventry but when we stopped outside an Ikea store  I just had to get off. 

This was smaller than the store I was at in Sweden. Lots of things the same but an English twist. The beds and bedding were back to a more familiar style.

A couple of the things I liked. A drying rack for the bathroom and a small ironing table.

When I left there I wasnt sure which way to get to the cathedral and township. I asked a man on the lift going down to the ground floor for directions and he kindly walked me through the market into the town centre and pointed out the direction of the cathedral.

It was then easy to find the cathedral. It was bombed in 1940 and there is just the shell remaining. A new modern cathedral has been built next door.

New cathedral behind the old one

Shell of old cathedral

I walked back to Ikea to have some Swedish meatballs and then catch the bus back to Warwick. It was 4.15 when I looked for the bus stop. First I went to the opposite side of the road to where I got off the bus. Nothing there.

Then I found a bus stop that showed you where to catch buses for the different routes. Finally found the correct bus stop and waited. And waited. I was going to wait for an hour figuring the bus must be at least hourly. After ¾ hour I decided that was enough. I had not seen any of the other buses that were meant to stop there either. 

Thought it would be good to go to the bus station where presumably all the buses originated. I could see where it was on a map. Now to try and follow that map.

Headed back to go through the market but found the door was closed. It was now after 5pm. Found a way to walk around it and through the shopping centre. Then tried following the map.

The bus station was somewhere behind the cathedral. So I walked in that direction. I found it hard to figure out the map. It mentioned the university and I could see many buildings that were the university. Just could not figure out the correct road. After a while I saw that a lot of buses went down one road so I followed them. 

Eventually I found the bus station. Hurray!  By now there were no information counters open. Nobody to help me. 

I walked around the station a bit. None of the buses were going in my direction. They were all a different bus company. Now what! It was now about 5.45pm. Starting to get a bit concerned. Then before I reached total desperation I saw a driver come through a door. He had just finished his shift. Fortunately he worked for Stagecoach – the company that ran the Warwick bus. Such a kind man. He took me outside the station, across the road and up another road to where my bus would depart from and checked what time it would arrive. Just 10 minutes to wait. As we left Coventry the bus did not go anywhere near the Ikea bus stop I had been waiting at. Even though the sign said the Warwick bus would go from there!   I arrived back in Warwick at 7.15pm.

Three hours for my one hour trip! So thankful for kind people who helped me.

LORD LEYCESTER HOSPITAL., WARWICK

 This is not a hospital. It is a retirement home for ex-servicemen. There has been a building on this site since 1126. Robert Dudley in 1571 established it as a place for disabled and retired soldier and their wives.

Lord Leycester Hospital looking towards the chapel

This place is so old the floor has cracks where you can see the path below. Nothing has been lined up with a spirit level. Yet it is still standing after hundreds of years.

Today it also houses the Regimental Museum of the Queens Own Hussars. One of the soldiers there showed me a chart of the attack at El Alamein and said how the New Zealanders were there with the 3^rd Hussars. He said since that time the British tanks all have a silver fern on them.

These buildings are across the road from where the great fire of 1694 commenced. It was behind the houses opposite and the wind carried it though the town. Most buildings then were half timber with thatched roofs and very dry. It even damaged St Mary's church some distance away. As it happened at 2pm no lives were lost.

The first two buildings escaped the fire. From then on up the High Street the buildings have been rebuilt in brick.

ST MARY'S CHURCH TOWER, WARWICK

 Why would someone walk up 160 steps in a very enclosed space and have very sore thigh muscles the day after? I am still asking myself that question. For whatever reason – I did it! 

Those steps were not made for feet as big as mine. I was starting to feel a bit of claustrophobia coming on when I saw daylight.

At the top

Near the bottom

The view from the top was magnificent. In one direction, Coventry, another Leamington, another Warwick Castle and the other was the countryside.

Warwick Castle                                                                                 Towards Coventry

At the top!

WARWICK CASTLE

 Finally got to Warwick Castle.It is only 15 minutes walk away. The forecast said possible rain so I wore my raincoat and took my cardigan.  Why did I listen to that forecast? I ended up getting sunburn!

I loved the castle. There was so much to do there. Really sad I did not have any grandchildren with me. They would have loved so much of it.There are people dressed and acting according to medieval time periods. Plenty of things to look at to give you an idea of the conditions

.

Luckily the ablution block did not smell liked it looked.

There was a wonderful peacock garden where many trees have been cut to represent these fine birds. Then of course the birds strutting their stuff.

I walked up the mound which is where the original fortress was built. From the top of that I could see St Mary's tower. Still to climb up that.

In addition to the static displays there are performances. They gave me a chance to sit down for a few minutes. 

Learned about the archers and the origins of their bows. I saw the birds of prey show. This beautiful eagle was not smiling when it stared at me.

The jousting was the other side of the river Avon. Guess it was safer that way.

On a little stage down by the river they had a couple of guys act out the  Horrible Histories Wicked Warwick. The side of the hill makes a natural amphitheater

.

I went on a history tour where I learned about the castle. It all started in 914 when Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great, ordered the building of a an earthen rampart to protect the settlement of Warwick. from the Danes. 1068 William the Conqueror built a wooden fort. Over the years it was added to and owned by various people. 

In 1978 Madame Tussaud's group bought it. The current Earl of Warwick lives in Perth Australia. There are many life size figures in the rooms. They have recordings going so it appears as if the people are talking.

Even got Henry VII with all six wives.

The one thing I did not do was go to the Castle Dungeon. That is a 50 minute walk with actors playing all the dreadful roles in a medieval dungeon. Children under 10 are not recommended and under 18 must have someone over 18 with them. Scary stuff!.  I would have loved to have all my older grandchildren there. Not something I wanted to do by myself.

I arrived at 10.30 am and didn't leave until 5 pm. It was fantastic. 

KENILWORTH

I caught a bus to Kenilworth which was only about a half hour away. Went to the library and got a map and spoke to a man about any cemetery records. He said perhaps the council will have some. I thought I would check them out if I had no luck at the cemetery. 

St Nicholas Church cemetery

I walked through Abbey Fields and found St Nicholas church. There was a wedding inside so I couldn't go in. I talked to man who I think was a driver for the wedding. He said he lived in Australia for about 6 years. He said the Ozzies are well balanced – they have a chip on each shoulder. Oops!

St Nicholas Church

My 2nd and 3rd great-grandfathers had been christened here and my 4th great-grandparents were married here. Many other family members also as well as their burials. I really wanted to get inside that church.

The cemetery was rather large and a lot of the stones very worn so I walked up the old High Street looking for the council offices but could not see them. Some lovely old thatched houses up the High Street.

I saw Kenilworth castle so I walked alongside that for a bit. Decided not to go in as it was a ruin and I still planned to visit Warwick castle. 

Kenilworth Castle

Got back to the church and the wedding was over so I could go inside. There were lots of pamphlets etc to look at and among all the papers I saw a booklet which had a list of the people buried at the cemetery along with a map. Fantastic! 

From that I was able to find the tombstone of Thomas MURCOTT who died in 1879 and his second wife Jane.

Kenilworth mission accomplished!