CHAPELRY OF PARSON DROVE
Parson Drove, originally a township and chapelry of
Leverington, became a separate ecclesiastical district
under the Leverington Rectory Act (1870). It had
long maintained its own poor, (fn. 1) and its separate existence
for civil purposes was virtually recognized in 1874,
when a separate Parson Drove School Board was
established. (fn. 2) The parish consists in effect of the fen end
of Leverington; it has no separate manorial history, and
may be compared in status with Gedney Hill over the
border in the Parts of Holland. About 1,000 acres in
Inkerson Fen and its neighbourhood were transferred
from Holland to the Isle and added to Parson Drove in
1934. (fn. 3) The added area is at the extreme west of the
parish; it had formed a projecting salient into the Isle
between Parson Drove and Thorney, and had been
counted in with Holland as the only road communications were northward.
The scattered village is situated about 6½ miles west
of Wisbech and 4½ miles south-west of Leverington.
The network of roads is close, but few of them are of
more than local importance. The March-Spalding
line of British Railways, Eastern Region, opened in
1867, (fn. 4) crosses the western part of the parish diagonally.
There are no stations in the parish, but that of French
Drove and Gedney Hill is very near the north-west
corner and those of Murrow (East and West) are just
outside on the south. Some of the houses of Murrow
village are in Parson Drove civil parish, and one of the
local ecclesiastical districts (Southea cum Murrow)
extends about equally into Parson Drove and Wisbech
St. Mary.
Fendyke Bank, the great bank stretching from
Cloughs Cross on the Lincolnshire border southwards
to Guyhirn, is one of the most important in the district.
For many hundreds of years it was the bastion of defence against the fresh waters coming down from the
upland counties, and the landward counterpart to the
old sea bank on the east side of Leverington. Fendyke
protected the whole district on the north side of
Wisbech which includes Tydd St. Giles, Newton,
Leverington, Guyhirn, and Wisbech St. Mary. Its
importance cannot therefore be exaggerated, and the
most stringent measures were taken to ensure its safety.
The obligation to maintain the bank was imposed on
the landowners in the protected parishes.
A great breach was made in the bank in 1437, when
13,400 acres were flooded through the default of one
Thomas Flower, the owner of 24 acres in Wisbech
High Fen. (fn. 5) Further breaches occurred in 1570 (fn. 6) and in
1770. At the latter date a gap 130 yards wide was
made, probably at Abel's Gull. Parts of the country-side
were flooded to a depth of 6 feet, and were not brought
back into cultivation for three years. So sudden was the
disaster that some fled for their lives to Thorney Abbey
and the higher lands around. (fn. 7)
The Fendyke may be said to mark the boundary between the 'peat' and 'silt' portions of the parish. The
former, comprising Parson Drove Fen, has always been
less highly valued and was formerly used mainly as
sheep pasturage; it is sparsely populated. The latter,
which is the area of ancient settlement, forms part of the
Wisbech fruit-growing and market-gardening district.
The 2-mile road called Parson Drove or Parson
Drove Gate, along which the nucleus of the village is
built, was formerly a green drove and wider than it is
now. The inclosure of pieces of common land beside
the road has brought it down to its present width; a
small strip of common remains at the western end, and
the former extent of the rest of the commons is still
clearly visible. A fence used to stretch across the eastern
end at Gates End Bridge, to prevent cattle straying
upon Overdyke Bank.
Pepys, who visited Parson Drove on 17 and 18
September 1663, described it as a 'heathen place'
where he had to sleep in a 'sad, cold, stony chamber in
a miserable inn'. His visit was made in connexion with
the affairs of his deceased aunt Beatrice, relict of John
Day of Wisbech, (fn. 8) who held much property in Leverington, especially in Outnewlands Field and Fen Croft. (fn. 9)
'Uncle Perkins', mentioned by the diarist as then living
in Parson Drove in a poor way, was the husband of
Jane Pepys, the diarist's aunt. (fn. 10) The inn in which the
diarist lodged was the Swan which in 1834 belonged
to Charles Boucher, a brewer, who altered it drastically.
Pepys, who was very susceptible to environment, reacted
unfavourably to the Fens. The roads, houses, living
conditions, even the gnats from undrained swamps,
come in for severe criticism.
A woad mill at Parson Drove (fn. 11) near the vicarage was
one of the last of its kind to remain at work in England. It continued in operation until about 1910, when
the farm was sold to the Isle of Ely County Council for
small holdings. The structure of the mill, as described
in 1899, (fn. 12) resembles the earliest type of woad mill;
doubtless the pattern was handed down. It was built
with walls of sods, 3 ft. thick at the bottom and narrowing at the top, arranged in herringbone fashion. The
roof was of circular cone-like shape, made of timbers
and hurdles thatched with reeds. The grinding-wheel
was in the middle of the building, and the baskets of
woad were emptied into the hollow centre, where the
plant was crushed by a horse-drawn wheel and made
into a pulp. It was made up by hand into balls as large as
a Dutch cheese and left exposed to the weather in open
sheds until the balls shrank to the size of oranges. All
around were the skeleton drying-sheds six or seven
stories high, rudely made of poles and hurdles, and the
balls were laid on twigs of twined hazel, called fleaks,
until dried. The last owner of the Parson Drove mill
was Fitzalan Howard of Holyrood House, Spalding
(Lincs.).
THROCKENHOLT is a farm and cluster of houses
on the Lincolnshire border about a mile north-west of
Parson Drove village. It is first authentically referred to
in c. 1133-51, when Bishop Niel of Ely granted a
square mile (milliarium) of marsh, first called 'Everdewike' but afterwards 'Trokenholt', to Thorney Abbey. (fn. 13)
This grant was confirmed by Bishop Longchamp
(1189-97) and by Edward III in 1348. (fn. 14) The land
was given for the service of God, (fn. 15) and it seems to have
been hoped that some kind of hermitage (fn. 16) or cell would
be established. At all events a chapel was built which
survived until c. 1540, when it is shown on a map of
Wisbech hundred. (fn. 17) This chapel was where Throckenholt farm house now stands; fragments of stone, bones,
and other relics have from time to time been uncovered
on the site. The map marks the eastern and southern
boundaries of the site as heavily wooded, and shows in
its cartouches that in 1274 and later Throckenholt was
claimed by both Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire.
In 1792 the farm belonged to Abraham Ulyat, who
built the present house in 1806. John and Henry
Ulyat are recorded as farmers in Parson Drove in
1851. (fn. 18) Throckenholt Farm contained 209 a. 2r. 31 p.,
and subsequently belonged to John Goodman.
In the middle of the 19th century Throckenholt was
described as a 'wide bleak fen, productive indeed, but
with no other recommendation to a civilized being.' (fn. 19)
CHURCHES
The chapel of St. John the Baptist,
since 1870 (see Leverington) the parish
church of Parson Drove, attained at a
comparatively early date a more independent status
than was usual with parochial chapelries. Burial rights
were granted by a composition between the rector of
Leverington and the inhabitants of Parson Drove in
1397, though the latter had to observe the dedication
feast of the mother church, and present their chaplain
to the rector for admission. The chaplain was required
to live at his own expense, to undertake the repair of the
chapel with its chancel, tower, and churchyard enclosure, and to go in procession to the mother church
on Wednesday in Rogation Week. (fn. 20)
In 1459 the endowments of Fitton chantry (see
Leverington-Manors) were transferred to Parson
Drove and a chaplain, Adam Silk, licensed to celebrate
in both chapels. (fn. 21) In 1487 the Bishop of Ely directed
his clergy to receive kindly the proctor of the chapel
whenever he should visit their parishes soliciting alms
therefor, and granted an indulgence of forty days to all
contributors. (fn. 22)
The following year another indulgence was granted
for the repair of a chapel of St. John the Baptist in a
hermitage in Leverington. It is possible that this was
merely a repetition of the previous indulgence, but
there is a persistent tradition that a hermitage existed
opposite Parson Drove Church, on the site of the present vicarage, and the indulgence may refer to this
other hermitage. (fn. 23)
The system of presenting the chaplain to the rector,
at whose will he was removable, lasted until 1749. By
a decree of this date the right of appointment was
vested in the feoffees of the former Fitton Hall lands
which provided the endowment. (fn. 24)
The Revd. Henry Pujolas, incumbent from 1692 to
1749, was an ejected Huguenot. Cole described him as
'a little black man' with an imperfect command of
English even at the age of 83. (fn. 25) Like Pujolas, several
families of French origin, mainly from Guisnes and
Picardy, settled in Parson Drove. Some names of
French origin survived in the parish to within the last
hundred years. (fn. 26)
As late as 1837 it was reported to the Charity Commissioners that 137¼ acres, producing £301 13s. a year,
were devoted to the endowment of the chapel. This
sum constituted the incumbent's stipend, after the
deduction of £25 to £30 a year for church repairs and
40s. given to four aged persons. (fn. 27)
Plan of the Church of St. John the Baptist
The church of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST consists of clerestoried nave, aisles, north and south porches
and west tower. The chancel was destroyed by floods
in 1613. (fn. 28) The material is mainly rubble and brick,
but the tower is partly faced with Barnack stone. The
nave roof is slated and the roofs of the aisles and south
porch are leaded. The earliest portion of the present
fabric is the north doorway, which belongs to the first
half of the 13th century. The north aisle and porch are
of 14th-century date and the rest of the fabric of the
latter part of the 15th century. The arcades and clerestory may be even later. Early in the 19th century the
lateral wall of the south aisle was rebuilt. In 1895 the
nave roof was reconstructed and an east window inserted in the blocked chancel arch.
This arch is of two orders with moulded caps and
bases to the responds and probably dates from the 15thcentury reconstruction. The modern east window is of
three lights with tracery of 14th-century character. To
the north of the chancel arch is the stair to the rood
loft; the upper doorway is blocked and the lower has
a four-centred arch and continuous mouldings under
a hood. The arcades are of seven bays with four-centred
arches of two orders resting on clustered columns with
moulded caps and bases. The west bay on each side
consists of only a half arch returned against the buttresses
of the tower. These arcades are very late in style and
probably belong to the first quarter of the 16th century.
The clerestory consists of six three-light windows on
each side set over the arches with cinquefoiled heads
under a square label.
The south aisle has an east window of three cinquefoiled lights under a depressed head and hood-moulding
of 15th-century date. The south wall was entirely rebuilt early in the 19th century and contains plain
pointed windows with wooden frames. The west
window is of two cinquefoiled lights with an octofoil in
the head and a hood-mould terminating in heads.
The 15th-century porch has an outer doorway with
a two-centred arch of two orders and jambs having
engaged shafts with moulded caps and bases. There are
diagonal buttresses with one set-off and in the east and
west walls a window of two cinquefoiled lights under
a square head, partly blocked. The 15th-century inner
doorway is of two orders, the outer with a continuous
moulding and the inner with engaged jamb shafts
having moulded caps and bases.
The north aisle belongs to the third quarter of the
14th century and has an east window of three cinquefoiled lights with quatrefoils above under a segmental
head. The contemporary buttresses are uniform with
one set-off. There are five windows in the north wall,
all of two cinquefoiled lights with octofoils in the head
and a hood-moulding terminating in masks. The west
window is similar. The north doorway belongs to the
first half of the 13th century and is two-centred and
of two orders with deep mouldings and angle-shafts.
There is a piscina recess with acutely pointed head.
The shallow north porch is of the 14th century with
a plain outer arch having a continuous chamfer.
The tower is a particularly fine example of 15thcentury design. It is of three stages with angle buttresses
having four set-offs. On the base of the north-east
and south-east buttress is a small recumbent figure
carved in relief. The west doorway has continuous
mouldings and a hood springing from shafts with
moulded caps and bases. The plain door is contemporary. There is a three-light window with cinquefoiled heads and a sexfoil above on the north, south, and
west. The second stage has a lancet on each side. The
belfry windows consist of two cinquefoiled lights with
quatrefoils above and a hood-moulding. The parapet
is embattled and there is a newel stair turret on the
north-east which extends to the parapet. The tower
opens to the nave by a lofty panelled arch, a feature
rarely found in this part of the country. The entrance
to the newel stair is contrived in the north respond of
the arch and has a plain contemporary door. There is
a recess in the north wall of the ground stage. The
ground stage has good octopartite vaulting with bellhole in the centre and carved bosses displaying the
Tudor rose and other devices; the springers terminate
in grotesques.
The nave has a plain roof with king-posts, struts, and
wall-posts, and retains notwithstanding its reconstruction some old timbers of uncertain but earlier date.
The north aisle has a plain lean-to roof with wall posts
and is of 17th- or 18th-century date; there is a series of
stone corbels, all plain except two which have grotesque
heads. The south aisle has a plain lean-to roof probably
of early 19th-century date. The lowpitched roof of the
south porch has old rafters.
The font has a panelled octagonal bowl and is of
15th-century date. In the windows of the north aisle
are fragments of painted glass of the 15th century
including the arms of Ely, a Trinity shield, and a
shield with three chalices on a red ground. The oak
pulpit, which is dated 1677, has shallow carving on the
panels; the base is modern and of deal. There is an
iron-bound chest in the vestry of 16th- or 17th-century
date.
The plate includes a communion cup of silver, 1599,
and a paten of silver, late 15th century, the only unaltered piece of medieval plate in a Cambridgeshire
church. It is circular with a sexfoil depression. In the
centre is a Vernicle with an aureole. The spandrels
formed by the sexfoil are filled with leaves.
The tower contains four bells by T. Osborn of
Downham, 1787.
The registers begin in 1657 and are complete.
The present vicarage house was built in 1760 by the
Revd. John Dickinson.
The church of EMMANUEL, SOUTHEA, erected
in 1872 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, is a brick
structure with stone facings in the Early English style,
and consists of apsidal chancel, nave, north aisle, and
turret over the chancel arch containing one bell. There
are four handsome brass chandeliers formerly in St.
Paul's Cathedral.
NONCONFORMITY
A Wesleyan Methodist congregation was established at the
Southea end of the village in
1833. (fn. 29) Its chapel, built in 1838, (fn. 30) is still in use. A
United Methodist chapel was built on land purchased
in 1865 from Thomas Meadows Fisher. (fn. 31) The building was closed after 1937 (fn. 32) and was sold in 1944. It
thereupon became a village hall and institute. (fn. 33) In
1952 the trustees of the institute sold the building,
which is now used as a store. The Salvation Army
started work in Southea between 1900 and 1904. (fn. 34)
SCHOOL
In 1814 there were said to be 35 children
of school age in Parson Drove, 25 of poor
parents. The school, which had at that
time been in existence for about twenty years, (fn. 35) was
endowed with £24 a year from the rent of 8 acres of
the common; this was used for the salaries of a master
and mistress, for whom a house was provided. They
were teaching 12 children free, and could take
paying pupils. The subjects taught were reading,
writing, arithmetic and the Catechism. (fn. 36) A generation (1846-7) later the numbers attending this school
had increased to 83, most of whom came both on
Sundays and weekdays. (fn. 37) The school was rebuilt in
1850, (fn. 38) and its endowment regulated by a scheme of
the Charity Commissioners of 1858. It was not in
association with the National Society, and had been
closed for some years before 1874. In this year 'the
scholastic arrangements for the parish were in a most
lamentable condition' and a School Board was set up.
The Board rebuilt the school for £900, to afford 180
places, reduced in 1910 to 147. In 1930 the buildings,
which had been erected on a disused drain, were found
to be dangerous. The seniors were therefore temporarily
transferred to Newton and the juniors to Murrow,
leaving the infants in the one safe classroom. The new
buildings, which were designed to take the seniors from
Murrow as well as all the Parson Drove children, provide 160 places; the cost was £4,579 for the school
itself and £895 for a teacher's house. On the opening
(in 1933) the school was renamed the Payne Council
Primary School after Alderman J. W. Payne, J.P.,
Chairman of the County Education Committee. (fn. 39)
CHARITIES
John Bend, by will dated 1593, gave
a messuage (now the Butcher's Arms
Inn), with 15 acres in South Inham
Field, the rents of which were to be devoted to 'making
a stock to set the poor people to work' and to be distributed to poor persons born in Parson Drove or who
had lived there for six years without having relief. The
property was increased by inclosures of new-drained
fen, and in 1837 brought in £80 a year. (fn. 40) On the
other hand two portions were sold off, 1 a. 2 r. 29 p.
when the New Wryde Drain was made, and another
part in 1866 to the Great Northern and Great Eastern
Railways. The house itself was sold about 1948. (fn. 41)
In 1725 Thomas Swaine gave a rent-charge of £1
a year for bread for the poor of Parson Drove, as well as
his similar charity for Leverington (q.v.). (fn. 42)
The poor of Parson Drove in 1837 received 6s. 8d.
yearly under the charity of Margaret Bende (see
Wisbech St. Mary).