DODDINGTON
The original parish of Doddington, with its hamlets
of March (q.v.), Benwick, and Wimblington, covered
37,801 acres. It was the largest parish in Cambridgeshire, and one of the largest in England. The nucleus
of this area was an island of clay and loam rising out
of the fen to about 25 ft. above sea level, running more
or less north and south for about 4 miles, on which the
villages of Doddington and Wimblington, and the
town of March, are situated. Benwick, about 3 miles
west of Doddington, is unique among ancient Fenland
villages in not being on an actual 'island'; here, however, the gravel comes to within a few inches of the
surface, providing a fairly secure foundation for buildings. (fn. 1) North-east from Doddington and Wimblington,
and about 4 miles from the former, is Stonea. This
hamlet lies on another very small 'island', and is the
site of one of the bishop's vaccaries in the Middle Ages,
and of an outlying grange. At the farm in Stonea known
as 'The Stitches' is an ancient earthwork, probably a
camp of the Early Iron Age period. (fn. 2) Benwick and
March are on the old course of the River Nene, and
the south-eastern part of Doddington and Wimblington is intersected by the Sixteen Foot Drain. Otherwise the waterways are not so important as those in
most Isle parishes. The Ely–Chatteris–Wisbech road
(A 142 and 141), making a circuit around the South
Level, enters Doddington at Primrose Hill on the
south edge of the parish and takes a winding course
north-eastwards. It forms the main street of Doddington
village and continues through the outskirts of Wimblington towards March. Second-class roads connect Doddington with Benwick, whence there are connexions
to Whittlesey (B 1093) and Ramsey (B 1096), and
with Manea by a road (B 1093) running eastward
across the fen; another road from Wisbech to Chatteris
(B 1098) follows the Sixteen Foot Drain on its east
side. There is a station for Stonea, formerly named
Sixteen Foot Station, where the direct WisbechChatteris road crosses the railway from Ely to Peterborough (1846). Another station is at the south end
of Wimblington village on the line from St. Ives to
March (1848). The goods line from Three Horseshoes
to Burnt House, opened in 1897, was extended to
Benwick in 1898. (fn. 3) The district is mainly one of large
farms growing the typical fen products of wheat,
potatoes, and sugar-beet, but there are a few orchards,
and small patches of woodland north of Doddington.
An Inclosure Act (31 Geo. III c. lxxxi) was passed
for Wimblington in 1791. The award was not made
until 1805, (fn. 4) when 676 acres of land were divided
amongst fifteen proprietors. Of these John Waddington received 136 acres and Sir Henry Peyton 133, 45
as lord of the manor. In 1830 another award was made
under a separate Act (6 Geo. IV c. lxv). (fn. 5) By this
81¼ acres were allotted to 11 persons in Doddington,
and 166½ to 23 persons in Wimblington. Another
small inclosure took place in Turf Fen, Benwick, under
the general Act of 1845. (fn. 6) About 68 acres were then
dealt with; 6 were allotted to the poor and half an
acre for a school building; 7 acres were sold to defray
the costs; the remainder was divided between 14
proprietors.
Doddington tradesmen's tokens of 1669 have been
recorded. (fn. 7)
A troop of yeomanry cavalry was raised here in
1798, to whom a memorial was erected in the church
in 1828. (fn. 8)
In the Middle Ages Doddington was one of the
most important places in the Isle, but very few memorials of the past now exist. Apart from the church, the
only important pieces of architecture are the village
cross (14th century, with a modern head) and the fine
early-19th-century tower windmill. (fn. 8a) Wimblington has
a few houses of some distinction. These include the
18th-century 'Manor House' and Addison House.
The latter is of the early-19th-century date and is of
three stories, with pedimented doorway and fanlight.
Stonea Farm, 100 yards due east of Stonea Grange,
dates from the 18th century and is roofed with old tiles
of local origin. Doddington Rectory, an admirable
example of the large Victorian villa, replaces a 15thcentury building which in the middle of the 19th
century contained some interesting relics. These included a gilt wooden font designed for a private chapel
or oratory, and an oak carving with figures of the Virgin
and Child, St. Luke and St. Mark, Justice, and a boar
hunt. On the east side of the house was 'one of the most
delightful gardens in the kingdom'. (fn. 9)
Doddington has been an enterprising village. The
Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was commemorated
by a clock tower with four dials, and as early as 1924
the 'George' and 'Three Tuns' Inns had installed
wireless sets for the entertainment of their customers. (fn. 10)
MANORS
Brithnoth the first Abbot of Ely obtained 60 acres in Doddington and
Wimblington by exchange with Wine,
son of Osmund. This land he gave to the monastery
with a weir, producing 1,000 eels yearly. This weir
he had purchased from Gunulph for 100s. From
Turketil, Abbot of Ramsey, Bishop Aethelwold bought
a hide of land at Doddington for the monastery, with
a half of 'Weremere' and the marshes belonging to it.
In its early days the monastery was also granted
Stonea and its marsh. The donor was Wulstan of
Dalham who had obtained it from the widow Ascuven.
This marsh was let to farm for 2,000 eels. After King
Edgar's death Begmund and other relatives of Ascuven
seized it from the abbot, who took the case to the
hundred court. The jury decided in his favour, and
Begmund had to pay six years' fish rent for the duration
of his illegal seizure. (fn. 11)
In 1086 the Ely property in Doddington was
assessed at 5 hides, with land for 8 ploughs. Two and a
half hides (3 ploughs) were in demesne. There was
meadow for the 8 plough-teams, pasture for the cattle
of the vill, and wood for 250 pigs. The population
included 8 sokemen 'of 1 hide', 14 villeins, 8 cottars,
and a serf. There were fisheries yielding no fewer than
27,150 eels, and 24s. was also paid in fish tribute.
When received, the property had been worth £10. It
was worth £12 T.R.E. and £16 at the time of the
Survey. (fn. 12)
Doddington was one of the manors allotted to the
see on its foundation, and became one of the bishops'
principal residences. Bishop Balsham died there in
1286. The survey made for Bishop de Fontibus (1221)
shows a demesne of 262½ acres, with half the meadow
land of the vill in the bishop's hands. There were
three fisheries in severalty, which with others, including
'Weremere', produced £4 10s. 10d. There were also
three vaccaries (fn. 13) with 100 cows and 5 bulls. (fn. 14) Against
the name of Robert de Marisco, a free tenant holding
5 acres for 2s. yearly, is written 'John de Aulton', who
was perhaps his son-in-law; in 1229 de Aulton was
granted a carucate of land belonging to the manor of
Doddington for 30s. yearly by Bishop Northwold. (fn. 15)
In 1251 the vaccaries were let to farm at £6 a year,
and the value of the fisheries had risen to £9 5s. 5d.;
except for the three held in severalty they were all
much divided, in some cases among as many as ten
persons. (fn. 16) In 1251 there was also a rush ground
(roseria) at Benwick, worth £4, and though the amount
of demesne land within the 1221 bounds was slightly
smaller, a good many assarts, specially at Eastwood, (fn. 17)
had brought the total area of the demesne up to 331 a.
2 r., rated at 3 carucates. There were 64 novi feoffati
among the tenants, including 8 at Wimblington and 39
at 'Cuniwode' (Coneywood Fen). (fn. 18) Doddington was
too far inland to be affected by the great flood of 1236
which caused so much damage at Wisbech and Elm,
but like most of the episcopal manors it passed through
a period of depression in the 14th century. The
decline in prosperity seems to have set in about 1300.
In the two-year vacancy between Bishops de Luda
and Walpole (1298–9) the manor brought in
£101 0s. 7d. In 1302 the receipts were £48 2s. 8d.
and in 1316 only £35 8s. 5d. The population was
smaller than might have been expected, seeing that
March, Benwick, and Wimblington were all included
with Doddington; the number of commutations (803
in 1286, 847 in 1302, and 155 in 1316) was on the
whole lower than in the much smaller manor of
Downham. (fn. 19) A survey of 1356 (fn. 20) shows some recovery,
but not to the level of the 13th century. There were
only 140 acres worth £2 6s. 8d. in demesne. The value
of the fisheries was £8 14s. 11d. and of the movable
property (crops, livestock &c.) £15 17s. 10d. The
tenants' rents, in Doddington and the three hamlets;
stood at £35 4s. 5d. The manor house itself consisted
of a hall, principal chamber, cloister (claustura), pantry,
buttery, and other chambers. Enclosed within the
same encircling wall were a kitchen, brewhouse, chapel,
lodgings for knights and esquires, dovehouse, granary,
and stables. In the wall was a gatehouse. All these
buildings were in good repair. The rest of the manorial
buildings, however, which consisted of a grange, oxhouse, two windmills, (fn. 21) a newly erected grindery, the
park wall, and the vaccary at Stonea, were all more or
less ruinous.
As in other manors where the bishop had an actual
residence, the customary tenants of Doddington had
the duty of ferrying him to his next manor—in Doddington's case as far as Somersham, Willingham,
Downham, or Ely. (fn. 22)
The bishops had free warren in Doddington from
time immemorial. Towards the end of the 14th century this right was called in question, but was confirmed in 1399. (fn. 23) In 1300 the area of the great park
was 80 acres and of the little park 60 acres; (fn. 24) there was
also a wood, called Northwood, of 30 acres. In 1445
Philip Fysshewyke was appointed keeper of the parks
and manor of Doddington, (fn. 25) and in 1490 Robert
Rowden or Royden was made keeper of the parks and
warrens at 2d. a day with perquisites. (fn. 26)
In 1389 certain miscreants living in Bardeneymoor
(cf. the present Bradney House and Farm in the fens
north-west of Doddington village) drove away the
bishop's cattle. Bishop Fordham ordered them to be
publicly denounced with the full medieval curse 'cum
cruce erecta, pulsatis campanis, candelis accensis et
postmodum extinctis ac in eorum vituperacionem in
terram projectis et pedibus conculcatis'. (fn. 27)
In the later Middle Ages the bishops ceased to use
the manor house as an official residence. In 1493
Bishop Alcock leased it to Robert Rowden, the keeper
of the parks, at £3, and in the reign of Henry VIII
Alexander Balam was tenant at the same rent. (fn. 28) The
manor as a whole was valued at £58 14s. 8d. in 1540–
1, (fn. 29) and was bringing in from £55 to £125 later in the
same decade. (fn. 30) In the second half of the 16th century
the Crown made a series of attempts to force the
Bishops of Ely to hand over some of their manors, and
Roger, 2nd Lord North, representing Queen Elizabeth,
drew up a set of accusations of corrupt and illegal practices in Doddington and elsewhere against Bishop Cox. (fn. 31)
The bishop was allowed to keep Doddington palace,
which after his death (1581) was leased to his son Sir
Richard for three lives, (fn. 32) but the manor was finally
alienated from the see by Bishop Heton, Cox's successor, after a long interval (1581–1600) during which
the Crown was de facto lord of the episcopal manors. (fn. 33)
Heton's alienations included Conny Wood Land,
Wadland, Bradney Moor, Stonea Grange, the Great
and Little Parks, the Burystead (manor house) and
Woodley Field, both in the tenure of Sir Richard Cox,
and purpresture granted to William Cottney by copy
of court roll. (fn. 34)
A survey made during the vacancy in the see shows
rents of £63 (£20 freehold, £43 copyhold), a block
of land which included the two parks, Woodley Field
and a place called the Athys, comprising 300 acres, let
at £7 a year and stated to be worth £150 in capital
value. 'Stony Farm' was let for 40 years at £6 1s. 8d.;
100 acres of land, worth £30, had recently been inclosed here. There were 2,800 acres of common
belonging to the manor. (fn. 35) The gross receipts from the
manor in 1591 and 1598 were £101 4s. 2d. and
£79 1s. 8d. respectively. (fn. 36)
When Heton was appointed bishop the manorial
rights were already on lease to Sir John Peyton, (fn. 37) and
they were granted to him outright in 1602. (fn. 38) He was
Governor of Jersey, and made Doddington his principal residence in England after the death of his wife
in 1605. (fn. 39) In 1613 he changed the manorial customs
from fines arbitrary to certain. (fn. 40) At his death in 1630
his son, another John, was already 51. (fn. 41) John II and
his wife Alice, daughter of Sir John Peyton of Isleham
(his uncle), settled the manor in 1633 (fn. 42) for the benefit
of their eldest son Robert, who succeeded two years
later. (fn. 43) From 1641 Robert was insane. He died in
1658 without issue, and was succeeded by his brother
Algernon, rector of the parish. (fn. 44) The latter outlived
his two sons John and Algernon. Sewster, son of
Algernon II, succeeded to his father's baronetcy and
grandfather's manor. Until he came of age in 1693 his
interests were looked after by John Skelton, who was
dealing with the manor in 1677 (fn. 45) and represented him
in a suit brought by Richard Wakefield, a tenant, over
escheated premises. (fn. 46) Later on Sir Sewster (fn. 47) was
Master of the Buckhounds to Queen Anne. His two
sons Sir Thomas and Henry both died without heirs,
and the manor came to the son of his third child
Margaret, Henry Dashwood, who took the surname
Peyton by Act of Parliament on his succession in 1771. (fn. 48)
The manor continued in this family until the end of
the 19th century. (fn. 49) Mr. C. W. King was lord in
1933. (fn. 50) The manor house had ceased to be used as
such before 1808 (fn. 51) and was converted into a farm,
but courts leet and baron were being held in 1827. (fn. 52)
The manor of EASTWOOD originated in an 1/8 fee
held of the bishop for 5s. In 1302–3 John de Estwode
was tenant and in 1346 Sir William de Thorpe. (fn. 53) The
manor was in the Lexham family in the following century. Margaret, relict of William Lexham, and Margaret (Rosse) her daughter, were involved in lawsuits
over the detention of manorial deeds and over a forged
will of William Lexham, which was produced by John
Farewell and Richard Vowell, priors of Walsingham
(Norf.), and purported to bequeath Eastwood to that
house. (fn. 54) From this period (between 1501 and 1532)
this manor is alternatively known as LEXHAMS. The
descendants of William Lexham were successful in
their suit, and the manor passed to Anthony Hansard
(d. 1533), (fn. 55) a nephew of Lexham, whose relict Alice
passed it in 1541 to Sir John Hynde, serjeant-at-law. (fn. 56)
His son Francis was a leading freeholder of the manor
of Doddington in 1553–5. (fn. 57) Elizabeth Hynde, relict of
William, Francis's son, conveyed it in 1606 to Sir
John Peyton, (fn. 58) since when it has descended with the
main manor.
A manor of SOUTHWOOD existed in the 13th
century. It was granted c. 1275 by Ela, Countess of
Warwick to Reading Abbey, (fn. 59) with 20 acres of marsh
in Northwood. By an agree ment of 1284 between the
Countess and the monastery, 20 marks from the manor
were to be devoted to providing spices (ad species
faciendas) for the monastery. (fn. 60) The value of this
manor was £6 13s. 4d. in 1291. (fn. 61) In 1534–5 it was
rated at 3 carucates and held in socage, and was still
recorded as having formerly belonged to Reading. (fn. 62)
It does not seem to be known at what date the abbey
relinquished its interest; in 1340 Sir Nicholas Franceys
was licensed to hear mass in the chapel of his manor of
Southwood, (fn. 63) but he may have been only a tenant of
the monastery. The next references (1440 and 1443)
are to an inclosure called Roulowe or Rowloo in
Southwood, in possession of William Lexham, (fn. 64) so that
the manor must have become merged in that of
Eastwood.
The subsidiary hamlets of Doddington did not, with
the exception of March (q.v.), rise to manorial status.
BENWICK had fifteen tenants in 1221 and 32 in
1251. (fn. 65) In 1275–6 the Bishop of Ely was charged with
appropriating a portion of the king's forest in Hurstingstone hundred (Hunts.), including, as it was said,
the part of Benwick belonging to Huntingdonshire. (fn. 66)
Bishop Balsham retaliated seven years later. He complained that John Pycard the king's forester forcibly
entered his free chase in Benwick marsh to inquire
whether it was within the bounds of the forest. (fn. 67) Letters
patent were dated at Benwick in 1314, presumably
when Bishop Ketene was entertaining Edward II at
Doddington Palace. (fn. 68)
Thomas Burgess (d. 1634) devised his house, known
as Betts, to his relict Ann for life, and also a half share
in his 'great boate called a liter', of which the other half
went to his son Thomas. (fn. 69) This seems to be a reference
to navigation on the old Nene, as at March in 1566.
WIMBLINGTON, as the nearest hamlet to the
parent village, is not separately distin guished in the
13th-century surveys, though it is mentioned by name.
It had three guilds—of the Holy Trinity, the Purification, and St. Peter—which were sufficiently important
to own between them two guildhalls and a chapel. (fn. 70)
One of the guildhalls had come into the possession
of the lord of the manor (Sir John Peyton II) by
1635. (fn. 71)
By 1669 the commons of Wimblington, which
included Stonea and Horsemoor Fens, had become
overstocked. Sir Algernon Peyton, as lord of Doddington manor, therefore made an agreement with his 42 (fn. 72)
Wimblington tenants which defined the system of
common pasturing at great length. (fn. 73) Each tenant was
to be stinted to 6 bullocks or cows, or 3 horses or mares
(with foals), or 30 sheep or ewes. 'Poor persons'
were allowed to keep one or two cows or heifers each.
The 800 acres of Stonea Fen were to be left 'fresh',
without stock of any kind, from 14 February to 23
April each year, on penalty of 6d. for a horse, 2 cows,
or 8 sheep, in the case of a first offence, and 1s. for
subsequent offences. Half the fines were to go to the
parish, half to the impounder of the stock or hayward.
Ten trustees were appointed to administer the scheme.
Closes varying in size from 13 to 7 acres were to be
inclosed for the use of each homestead, to a total of
432 acres. The sites and bounds of the closes are set
out in great detail.
The cartulary of Chatteris nunnery records a fishery
and several small properties in Doddington. They
were probably given during the 14th century, as there
is no mention of them in the Taxatio. (fn. 74) They were
worth only 4s. 4d. in 1539, the fishery not being
mentioned separately. (fn. 75)
CHURCHES
The advowson of the undivided
rectory of Doddington descended with
the main manor, but the right of presentation to this very valuable living was sometimes
granted out pro proxima vice. For example, John Snell
presented in 1719 and Edward Beresford in 1751. (fn. 76)
In 1750 the right to one presentation was sold to Dr.
Baptist Proby for £1,000. (fn. 77)
The history of the division of Doddington rectory is
as follows. The first Act (1847) (fn. 78) provided for separate
rectories of Doddington, Benwick, and March. This
Act was amended by another of 1856, (fn. 79) which provided
for three additional rectories in March (q.v.) and
another at Wimblington. Under this latter Act the
stipend of the rector of Doddington was to be £1,700
a year. The Acts did not begin to come into force until
the death in 1868 of the Revd. Algernon Peyton, the
last rector of the ancient parish of Doddington, who
had held his lucrative office for fifty-seven years.
Benwick rectory was established in that year, and
Wimblington in 1874. The three advowsons were at
first reserved to the Peyton family, who retained
Doddington itself until c. 1922, when this living was
transferred to trustees. The patronage of Benwick was
early transferred to the Revd. W. A. Wood, rector
1868–c. 1915, and has since 1920 been with the Bishop
of Ely. That of Wimblington was held by the Peytons
until between 1900 and 1905. It was then transferred
to the Hill family, and in 1927 to the Ratford family.
The executors of the Revd. H. Ratford held it in 1940. (fn. 80)
The value of Doddington rectory showed a continuous rise during the 13th century, from £24 in 1217
to £33 6s. 8d. in 1254 and £36 13s. 4d. in 1291. (fn. 81)
In 1535, however, the value, including the chapelry
of March, was only £22 4s. 11d. (fn. 82) Even so the rectory
was more valuable than any living in the Isle except
Wisbech vicarage and Leverington rectory. In 1341,
after a tithe dispute between John de Herle, rector, and
the monastery of Ely, it was laid down that the tithes
from 'Wyshammouth', 'Plantecroft', and 'Wattes atte
Barre' belonged to Doddington rectory, those of
'Henlondes' to the monastery. (fn. 83) In 1562 a pension
of £2 4s. 6d. was awarded to Bishop Cox out of the
rectory. (fn. 84)
With the draining of the fens, the value of the tithes
from the 60 odd square miles of the undivided parish
rose greatly, and in the late 17th and early 18th centuries caused a series of lawsuits between the rectors
and their parishioners. (fn. 85) In 1808 the tithes were said
to be let for 5,000 guineas a year. (fn. 86) The rectors were
usually non-resident, partly owing to the dampness and
unhealthiness of the climate. Their duties were performed by curates at a stipend of £150 a year with
house. (fn. 87) By the middle of the 19th century the value
of the rectory had risen to £7,306 yearly, considerably
more than that of many bishoprics. (fn. 88)
There have naturally been many distinguished
holders of this wealthy living, among them Hugh
Cressingham (d. 1297), treasurer of Scotland; Robert
de Bardelby (d. 1323), a Chancery clerk; Nicholas
Hawkins (d. 1534), resident ambassador at the court
of the Holy Roman Emperor and designated for the see
of Ely just before his death; Christopher Tye (?1497–
1572), musician; Hugh Bellot (1524–96), Bishop of
Bangor and of Chester; Thomas Neville (d. 1615),
Dean of Canterbury; Edward Martin (d. 1662),
President of Queens' College and later Dean of Ely;
John Nalson (1638–86), royalist pamphleteer and
historian; and Baptist Proby (d. 1807), Dean of
Lichfield. (fn. 89) The work in the East End of London of
the Revd. Richard Ridge, rector 1922–49, is commemorated by an early William Morris window in the church,
which was unveiled by General Townshend of Kut in
1923. (fn. 90)
In 1561 Sir Edward Warner and Ralph Shelton
were granted lands in Doddington which had been
used to provide lights before the image of St. Mary
(the patron saint) in the church. (fn. 91) William Stanbrighe
of Doddington in 1489 left 2 lb. of wax to the guild
of the Holy Trinity here. (fn. 92)
The Church of ST. MARY consists of chancel,
clerestoried nave, aisles, south porch, west tower, and
spire. The material is rubble with Barnack stone dressings. The chancel roof is covered with slates and the
others with lead. The chancel and part of the north
aisle belong to the middle of the 13th century. There
was a great reconstruction about a century later, which
included the nave arcades, the tower and spire, the
south aisle and the western portion of the north aisle.
Early in the 15th century the south porch was added,
and later in the same century the lateral windows of the
chancel were altered. In the second half of the 19th
century there was an extensive restoration, which included the rebuilding of the east gables of the chancel
and nave. The roofs of the nave and aisles were reconstructed in the present century, some of the old material
being retained. The chancel has an east window of four
lights with modern tracery of 14th-century character.
There are diagonal buttresses with one set-off and two
similar on the north and south. In the north wall is a
doorway with continuous mouldings and protected by
a gabled pent surmounted by a finial and supported on
large brackets in the form of grotesque figures. The
lateral walls have three windows of three lights, the
openings being of 13th-century date with 15th-century
tracery inserted; the original internal hood-moulds, terminating in heads, are retained. The eastern window
on either side has cinquefoiled lights, and the others
cinquefoiled lights with cusped tracery in the centre
light; all have embattled transoms. The lofty chancel
arch is two-centred and of two orders, the outer resting
on shafts with moulded caps and bases, and the inner
springing from semi-octagonal responds with moulded
caps and bases. There are squinches in the western
angles of the chancel, and the stone corbels for the rood
beam remain on the west side of the chancel arch. There
is a double piscina in a modern recess. The nave has
arcades of four bays dating from the third quarter of
the 14th century, with two-centred arches of two orders
and octagonal columns with moulded caps and bases.
The clerestory windows are of two cinquefoiled lights
with a quatrefoil above and external hood-moulds
terminating in heads. The east gable has been rebuilt.
The nave opens to the tower by a 14th-century twocentred arch of two orders with continuous chamfers.
Plan of St. Mary's Church
The north aisle is of two periods. The eastern
section is mid-13th century and the western a century
later. Both aisles terminate in a line with the west face
of the tower. The east window of the north aisle is
modern and of three lights, set in a 13th-century opening. There is a clamped 13th-century buttress at the
north-east angle, and an internal string-course. The
lateral windows are of various periods; the first from the
east is of two lights with plate tracery, and has a hoodmould; it is of mid-13th-century date. Next there is
a 14th-century window with three trefoiled main lights
and three quatrefoils above, then a 15th-century one
of three lights with rectilinear tracery; the north-west
window is of the 14th century with two trefoil-headed
lights under a square label terminating in heads. The
west window has three lights with rectilinear tracery
and a hood-mould terminating in male and female
heads. The north doorway, which is of 13th-century
work, has a deeply moulded two-centred arch and jamb
shafts with moulded caps and bases. The lateral
buttresses are modern, with one set-off, except the
westernmost which is of the 14th century. There is an
image bracket to the north of the east window. The
south aisle, which belongs entirely to the second half
of the 14th century, has an east window of three lights
with rectilinear tracery. The south-east window is of
similar design. These two windows must be somewhat
later in date than the rest of the aisle. The three
remaining lateral windows are all of two cinquefoiled
lights with a quatrefoil in the head and a hood-mould
terminating in heads. There are four buttresses with
one set-off. There is a trefoil-headed piscina recess in
the south wall. The early-15th-century porch has an
outer doorway of two orders, the outer with continuous
hollow mouldings and the inner springing from semioctagonal jambs with moulded caps and bases; there is
a hood-mould terminating in male and female heads.
There are diagonal panelled buttresses, and in the east
and west walls a window of two trefoiled lights with
a quatrefoil above, and hood-moulds terminating in
male and female heads. There is a modern parapet with
pinnacles. The inner doorway has continuous mouldings and a hood terminating in crowned heads.
The tower, which is engaged by the aisles, has angle
buttresses with two set-offs. It is of three stages. The
west window is of three lights with rather clumsy
flowing tracery of the third quarter of the 14th century.
The second stage has a cinquefoiled lancet on the north,
south, and west sides. The belfry windows are of two
trefoiled lights with a quatrefoil above and a hoodmould terminating in heads. There is a plain coped
parapet. The low octagonal spire of Barnack stone has
a gabled trefoil-headed light on alternate faces and
terminates in a moulded finial, which has been renewed.
The nave roof is of the queen-post type and of 15thcentury origin, but some years ago it was largely
renewed; there are full-length angels with outspread
wings at the intersection of the purlins and intermediates; the wall posts rest on stone corbels carved with
heads. The aisles have plain lean-to roofs, the north
modern and the south much renewed with the exception of some of the principals. The chancel and porch
have modern roofs. The 13th-century font has a plain
octagonal bowl resting on a central and four angle
shafts, with moulded caps and bases. The chancel
screen is of 15th-century origin but has been so
extensively restored that little old work now remains;
it is of eight bays, the two in the centre being occupied
by the doorway, and has rather elaborate rectilinear
tracery; there is an ugly modern cornice.
The plate includes a chalice, paten, and alms-dish,
none of any great age or interest.
The tower contains eight bells: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and
8th by Mears and Stainbank, 1936; 4th by Thomas
Gardiner of Sudbury, 1737; 5th, 6th, and 7th by the
same, 1736.
The registers begin in 1681 and are complete from
that date. In c. 1938 there was a broken series of
registers of earlier date going back to 1599. These
now appear to be missing.
There was an unconsecrated chapel at BENWICK
in 1637–8. (fn. 93) The church of ST. MARY was erected
in 1850–1 on its site. It is a structure of carr stone
consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch, and
north-west tower and spire. It is an early work of
S. S. Teulon, but not very characteristic of that
extremely mannered Victorian architect. Many walls
are out of plumb owing to uneven subsidence of the
fen soil. The church was restored and the spire rebuilt in 1902. There are two bells. The plate includes
a silver chalice and paten given in 1942 in memory of
a former churchwarden and his wife, an electroplated
chalice and paten and a brass almsdish. The registers
begin in 1851 and are complete.
The church of ST. PETER, Wimblington, erected
in 1874, is a stone structure consisting of chancel, nave,
south porch, and central tower with short square spire.
The tower contains one bell. The registers begin in
1874 and are complete.
NONCONFORMITY
The number of Dissenters
in Doddington was fairly
large in 1676, and the proportion (43 out of 813 inhabitants) higher than in such
larger places as Whittlesey and Wisbech. (fn. 94) In 1851
there were three chapels in Doddington. One of these,
with an average congregation of 30, was for Latter
Day Saints; the date of foundation is unknown, and it
has long ceased to exist. The two Methodist chapels
were of very recent foundation in 1851 (Wesleyan,
1848; Primitive, 1850). The former is still in existence; the latter was closed between 1869 and 1875. (fn. 95)
A Baptist chapel was erected at Doddington in 1882,
and closed in 1937. (fn. 96)
The Wimblington chapels were Wesleyan (1809)
and Primitive (1834) Methodist. The latter was at
the hamlet of Hook, a mile north-east of the village.
Another Wesleyan chapel was built at Stonea in 1829,
on the Sixteen Foot Bank. The Benwick chapels were
Calvinistic Baptist (1818) and Wesleyan Methodist
(1833); (fn. 97) the former was endowed by Gideon Gascoyne with 2 acres of land, let at £8 in 1851. (fn. 98) All these
chapels are still in existence.
SCHOOLS
Lionel Walden, by his will dated 1719,
directed that his property should be sold
and the interest on the proceeds allowed
to accumulate until it reached £500. This sum was to
be used to build a school at Doddington. Nothing was
done until 1787, when the estate amounted to £2,804
8s. 6d. In that year Dr. Baptist Proby, rector, offered
a house and outbuilding for the school for £300. The
house was bought in 1790 and converted into a school
at a cost of £80; nine trustees, including the Bishop of
Ely ex officio, were appointed. There were to be 30
free scholars, who were to be taught reading, writing,
and arithmetic; they were to be allowed to remain up
to the age of 14 in the case of boys and of 12 in the case
of girls. The schoolmaster was given a salary of £40
and was forbidden in the first instance to take private
pupils. Owing to the failure of the trustees to execute
the deed of declaration of trust a lawsuit ensued, as a
result of which the schoolmaster obtained the right to
take paying pupils at the rate of 6d. to 8d. a week. (fn. 99)
When Bishop Yorke made his inquiry (1789–98) into
the schools of Ely diocese there were 15 such pupils. (fn. 1)
In 1837 there were about 20 fee-paying pupils on
the books, as well as the 30 free place holders, but
owing to the rise of the agricultural gang system in
the neighbourhood not more than 6 paying and 12
non-paying pupils attended in summer. At this date the
endowment, invested in 3 per cent. Consols, amounted
to £1,817 17s. 8d. This brought in £54 10s. 8d. a year. (fn. 2)
By 1867 the free place system had been abolished,
and a fee of 1d. a week was now universal. At this
date there were 56 boys and 63 girls attending.
There was still only one master, who was unqualified.
As in most of the endowed schools of the Isle, no
children were learning anything beyond reading,
writing, and arithmetic. None had left to take up
apprenticed employment during the past year. The
school was not subject to Government inspection. (fn. 3) In
1876 a Doddington School Board was set up, (fn. 4) which
took over Walden's School and its endowments; two
years later new buildings were provided for 220
children, at a cost of £1,851, on the site of the old
school. In 1899 the average attendance was 140. (fn. 5)
After the 1910 reorganization the recognized accommodation was for 146 mixed and 97 infants; the two
departments were amalgamated in 1924. In 1939
the school was reclassified as a junior mixed and
infants' school with 135 places; there were 101
children in 1948. (fn. 6)
There was no provision for elementary education
in Benwick until 1871, (fn. 7) when a School Board was
established. Her Majesty's Inspector considered that
a school for 90 boys and girls and 60 infants would be
adequate, but the Board claimed that 200 places were
required. (fn. 8) The school actually built contained accommodation for 216 (154 mixed and 62 infants) and cost
£1,590 including the teacher's house. In 1939 the
school was reorganized as a junior mixed school for
128 children, 81 attending in 1948. (fn. 9)
In 1715 Thomas Eaton bequeathed two houses and
8½ acres of land for providing a school in Wimblington.
There was even greater delay than at Doddington in
carrying the bequest into effect. A new trust for Eaton's
charity was set up in 1734, but the last trustee died in
1771 without anything having been accomplished. A
new trust was established in 1802, to start a school for
not more than 40 children. The inclosure award of
1805 allotted 42 acres in respect of the Eaton estate.
At length in 1815–17 a school was built at a cost of
£800. When the Charity Commissioners reported in
1837 the endowment consisted of 71 acres of freehold
and 4 of copyhold land, producing £144 8s. a year. (fn. 10)
The master's salary was £60, so that a considerable
surplus was available. Attention was again called to
this surplus in 1867, when £83 of the total of £149
derived from the charity was devoted to the school.
At the latter date there were 78 boys and 65 girls on
the books, the children of 'agriculturalists'. (fn. 11) This
school seems to have been no more efficient than
Walden's at Doddington, and it was reorganized under
a scheme of the Charity Commissioners made in 1877.
The buildings were altered and enlarged to take 150
children. By another scheme (1885) the transfer of
the school to the Wimblington School Board (established 1881) was sanctioned, but the transfer did not
actually take place until 1896. Soon after this date the
Board enlarged the school to take 196 children, and in
1910 the recognized accommodation was reassessed at
160 (100 mixed, 60 infants). From 1909 the buildings,
which appear to have had insufficient foundations,
were on the 'black list' of the Board of Education.
They obtained a reprieve owing to the First World
War, but by 1922 had become so dangerous that one
classroom had to be closed. A new school was built in
1924 at a cost of about £3,000, providing 202 places.
This school is now used for junior mixed and infants
and had in 1949 114 children on the roll, including 40
from Stonea (see below). A kitchen-dining room has
recently been provided. (fn. 12)
The school at Stonea was built by Wimblington
School Board in 1882, and enlarged in 1898 to provide for 94 children. It was restricted to juniors and
infants in 1939 and closed altogether in 1947. (fn. 13)
The Doddington Town Lands consisted in 1837 of Beezling Drove and
about 61 acres, let for £136 10s. 6d.,
and a mill, let for £9 15s. and subject to the obligation upon the miller to grind corn for parishioners at
a reduced fee. Of this rent £5 were spent annually
upon a Sunday School, 12 guineas upon the clerk's
salary, £1 13s. upon the sexton's salary, and about £25
on an average upon church repairs. No church rate
was levied.
Nicholas Spencer, by will dated 1597, left house
property in the City of London from which £2 12s.
was given yearly through the Merchant Taylors' Company (fn. 15) to the clergy and churchwardens to provide
bread for the poor of Doddington. The conditions of
this charity were strictly observed in 1837 and all the
proceeds distributed in kind.
The Benwick Town Lands in 1837 consisted of
6¾ acres let by auction. They produced £9 yearly
when in pasture and £18 to £20 when arable. The
proceeds were appropriated to the poor rates, and also
used for the repair of the chapel. There were also 6 old
cottages in poor repair, occupied rent free by paupers,
and one larger house called the 'Great House' which
accommodated 8 pauper families. These families were
nominated by and removable at the will of the overseer.
Doddington and its hamlets, including March,
shared with Chatteris (q.v.) the privilege of cutting
peat in Turf Fen.