1895 Kellys - Wing extract
WING (or Wenge) is a parish and large village, 3 miles south-west from Leighton Buzzard station on the main line of the London and North Western railway, in the Mid division of the county, hundred of Cottesloe, Linsdale petty sessional division, union and county court district of Leighton Buzzard (Beds), rural deanery of Ivinghoe, archdeaconry of Buckingham and diocese of Oxford. In former days Wing was a place of some importance; in the year 1255 a charter was granted to Peter de Warren by Henry III for a market every Thursday and a fair for three days at Michaelmas.
The church of All Saints is an interesting edifice of stone in mixed styles, consisting of apsidal chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, north and south porches, and an embattled western tower containing a clock and 6 bells: the church is reputed to contain Saxon work, a view which has been supported by the late Sir Gilbert Scott kt. R.A. who particularly instanced as examples the semi-circular arcades, or rather arched perforations in the walls and the construction of the chancel arch: the most interesting feature in the church is its apsidal polygonal chancel, which is considerably elevated above the nave, and has beneath it a crypt of rude construction about eight feet in height: an arcade runs round the outside of the apse, considered by some authorities to be also Saxon work, perhaps of the 11th century; the windows are much later; the nave appears to be chiefly of Norman date and has arcades of massive arches dividing it from the aisles; there are some good Early Decorated windows and a north doorway of that period, but the tower, font and south porch are Perpendicular; the base of a Norman font may be seen in the south porch.
There are monuments to the family of Fynes, from 1686 to 1758, including one to Mrs. Margaret Fynes, said to be the work of Roubiliac, and several costly memorials to the Dormers, with others ranging from 1542 to 1729; these include a fine altar tomb of marble, with twelve rhymed couplets and Corinthian columns supporting a cornice with a shield of arms, to Sir Robert Dormer kt. ob. 1552, around which, until 1850, were two large pews with baluster screens; there is another altar tomb with recumbent effigies of marble, partly gilt, under a canopy, supported by columns of Sicilian jasper, with marble caps and adorned with five shields of arms, to Sir William Dormer K.B. ob. 17th May, 1575, and Dorothy (Catesby), his second wife; there are also brasses to Harry Blacknall, 1460, and Agnes, his wife, 1489 and others with effigies to Tankerville Fynes, without date; John Theede, 1622; and Thomas Cotes,"porter at Ascott Hall," 1648; and in the church are also memorials to the families of Redman, 1699-1722; and Bell, 1721-38; to Mrs. Bridgett Neale, 1677; William Theed, gent. and Stephen Welch, vicar, 1774: in 1850 the church was completely restored by the late Sir G. Gilbert Scott R.A. at a cost of £1,476 and again in 1893 at a cost of £1,700, and affords 300 sittings: in the churchyard are remains of a stone cross.
The register dates from the year 1546, and is perfect from that date; there is also an ancient book of churchwardens' accounts with an inventory of church goods, 1527. The living is a vicarage, average tithe rent-charge £46, net yearly value £320, with 220 acres of glebe and residence, in the gift of Lord Wantage K.C.B., V.C. and held since 1890 by the Rev. Francis Henry Tatham M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, who is also rural dean of Ivinghoe, and rector of Grove. The Wesleyan chapel, built in 1864, will seat 350 persons; the Primitive Methodist chapel, built in 1847, has 200 sittings. Dormer's Hospital, founded in 1562 by Dame Dorothy Pelham, for 8 men and women, is endowed with land, and money invested in Consols now (1895) producing a total gross income of £86 yearly. William Robinson's charity is a perpetual rent-charge on land at Burcot, of £2 a year for clothing; Lady Carnarvon and William Hoare's charity, arising from the rent of a field of about six acres at Burcot, now let for £36 a year is for clothing and blankets; William Dent's of £59 in Consols, is distributed in clothing; Robert Shepherd's, a rent-charge of £6 6s. 8d. arising from land in the parish of Edlesborough, of which £1 a year is paid to the vicar for catechising the children, and 10s. to the vicar of Leighton Buzzard for a sermon on Ascension day, the surplus, if any, is distributed in penny loaves to twenty children attending the church weekly; there is also the Fuel Allotment Charity, consisting of about £7 a year, arising from £268 9s. 1d. £2 ¾ per Cent. Consols and distributed annually in coals; the Church Land Charity, of about £268 in Consols, derived from the sale of about three acres of land in the parish of Mentmore, which yields over £14 yearly, paid to the churchwardens, and a sum of about £15 arising from Pratt's charity at Wingrave, which is distributed amongst the poor at the discretion of the trustees.
Wing lodge, the residence of the Earl of Orkney, near the church and erected in 1874, is a mansion of white brick in the French style, with gables and abutments of dark brick and highly finished. Charlotte Cottage, built in 1886 and supported by Leopold de Rothschild esq. is a hospital for the sick poor of the village, and has two beds; Mrs. James, lady superintendent. Lord Wantage K.C.B., V.C. who is lord of the manor, and the Earl of Rosebery K.G., P.C. are the principal landowners of Wing proper. The soil is various, clay, sand, gravel and loam; subsoil, clay. The crops are hay, wheat, beans, barley, oats and roots. The area is 5,310 acres; rateable value, £10,595 12s 6d; the population in 1891 was 1,799.
Ascott is a. hamlet half a mile east. Ascott Park, the winter residence of Leopold de Rothschild esq. D.L., J.P. is a Jacobean structure of brick and timber dating from 1606, and was originally a farm house, but was restored and enlarged about 1874, and again in 1880, 1887 and 1893 and is now a considerable mansion. Lord Rothschild's kennels and hunting stables, originally at Mentmore, have been transferred to Ascott: these staghounds meet on Monday and Thursday. Aylesbury and Leighton Buzzard are convenient towns for hunting visitors. The old Hall has now wholly disappeared, but some traces of the fish ponds and moat still remain. In the latter part of the 12th century there existed here a cell of Benedictine monks founded by the Empress Maud and attached to the Abbey of St. Nicholas of Angers; it was afterwards granted by Henry V. to the priory of St. Mary de la Pre, near St. Albans. Lord Wantage K.C.B., V.C. who is lord of the manor, and Leopold de Rothschold esq. are the principal landowners.
Burcot is a hamlet one mile north. Lord Wantage, who is lord of the manor, and Leopold de Rothschild esq. and Fynes Clinton esq. are the principal landowners.
Crafton is a hamlet, two miles south, and has a Primitive Methodist chapel, built in 1893. Lord Wantage who is lord of the manor, and the Earl of Rosebery K.G., P.C. are the principal landowners. The Earl has a breeding stud here.
Littleworth is a hamlet half a mile north, and has a Congregational Union chapel, built in 1854 and rebuilt in 1871, with 140 sittings. Lord Wantage, who is lord of the manor, and Mr. Philip Hart are the chief landowners.
Parish Clerk, John Windmill.
Post, M.O., T.0., S.B., Express Delivery, & Annuity & Insurance Office.- George Cleaver, sub-postmaster. Letters arrive through Leighton Buzzard at 7.35 a.m.; dispatched at 6.45 p.m. week days; sundays arrive at 8 a.m.; dispatched 9 a.m
Wall Letter Box, Burcot, cleared at 6.30 p.m. week days &; 9 a.m. sundays
Parochial School, Wing, erected by the late Lord Overstone in 1850, for 300 children, and enlarged during the period 1885-90; average attendance, 108 boys, 110 girls & 130 infants; William Peters Paddock A.C.P., master; Mrs. Ellen Allder, mistress; Miss Nellie Woods, infants mistress
Carriers-George Page, to Leighton Buzzard, daily; Mrs Lovell, to Leighton Buzzard, tues. thurs. & sat.; Reuben Syratt, to Aylesbury, wed. & sat. to Leighton Buzzard on tues
Residents
| Biggs William James | Rose cottage |
| Cole Rev. Alex. B.F., B.A. | Vicarage |
| Heley James William | Hollybank |
| Heley Thomas Somes | The Chestnuts |
| Orkney Earl of, J.P. | Wing lodge |
| Tatham Rev. Fras. Hy. M.A | Vicarage |
Commercial
| Adams Jas | sub-agt. to Lord Wantage |
| Avery Wm. | farm bailiff to Mrs. Fountaine, Lower Wingbury |
| Bandy William | shopkeeper |
| Biggs Edward & William | corn dealers |
| Bone William | licensed hawker |
| Brand Joseph | boot maker |
| Carter John | carter & shopkeeper |
| Chappel Jane (Mrs.) | machinist |
| Claridge Henry | tailor |
| Cleaver Ernest | grocer & draper |
| Cleaver George | registrar of births & deaths for Wing district, assistant overseer & parish surveyor, Post off |
| Denchfield Seth | carpenter & machinist |
| Dimmock John | hair dresser |
| Foster Henry (Mrs.) | blacksmith |
| Gates Baron Frederick John | grazier, Wing Park farm |
| Gates Baron Jn. | frmr. Up. Wingbury |
| Gates B.J. | bricklayer, Vicarage lane |
| Ginger Thomas | butcher |
| Hedges Thomas & Frederick | farmers, Cottesloe |
| Hammerton John | builder & decorator |
| Hart Philip | estate agent & auctioneer & land agent to Leopold de Rothschild. esq. J.P. Moor Hills |
| Heley Brothers | corn & cake merchants |
| Heley Thomas Somes | corn merchant & miller (steam) |
| Hounslow George | chimney sweeper |
| Johnson Joseph | shopkeeper |
| Jordan George | general dealer |
| Jordan Henry | licensed hawker |
| Langley Henry | baker |
| Mallett Thomas | baker |
| Mallett W. | baker |
| Manning Wm. | farmer, West Park frm |
| Mortimer Charles | farmer, Cottesloe |
| Osgood William James | Cock inn P.H. |
| Page George | carrier & hair cutter |
| Page George, jun. | mealman |
| Page Wm. jun. | butcher & dealer |
| Pollard Andrew | blacksmith |
| Pollard Jsph Andrew | farrier, Holly hill |
| Prentice George | skin dealer |
| Randall Henry | shopkeeper |
| Redrup John | wheelwright |
| Rogers Henry | butcher |
| Rogers Joseph Charles | baker |
| Shipley - | Queen's Head P.H. |
| Stevens Charles | Dove inn |
| Taylor Henry | grocer |
| Tearle Levi | blacksmith |
| Underwood Geo. | farmr. Old Park frm |
| Whitman Edward | grocer &c |
| Windmill John | farmer, Vicarage farm |
| Woolhead Joseph | draper |
Ascott
| Rothschild Leopold de D.L., J.P. | Ascott park |
| Gaskin Wm. | 1st whip to Lord Rothschild. The Kennels |
| Howcutt Mark | huntsman to Lord Rothschild, The Kennels |
| Jennings John | head gardener to Leopold de Rothschild esq. |
| Mould William | stud groom to Leopold de Rothschild esq. |
| Prentice John | farmer, Waterloo farm |
| Watson William | farm baliff to Leopold de Rothschild esq. Ascott farm |
Burcot
| Cotes Charles J.P. | Burcot cottage |
| Adams Herbert Walter | farmer |
| Biggs Edward & William | farmers |
| Faulkner John | baker |
| Heley Arth. Somes, jun. | Burcot Hall fm |
| Syratt Reuben | Six Bells P.H. & carrier |
| Vallentine Robert. | farmer, Burcot lo |
Crafton
| Bliss John | John |
| Collins William | dairy farmer |
| Griffith Joseph | master of Earl of Rosebery's breeding stud establishment |
Littleworth
| Holbrow William | house steward to Leopold de Rothschild |
| Pinfold - | Sportsman's Arms P.H. |
| Page William | butcher |
| Webster & Cannon | brick makers |