Woodborough’s Heritage

Woodborough, a Sherwood Forest Village, recorded in Domesday

Buckland’s 1896 Book - The History of Woodborough and of the

Prebendal Church of Woodborough in the Peculiar of Southwell

 THE HISTORY OF WOODBOROUGH

AND OF THE

PREBENDAL CHURCH of WOODBOROUGH

IN THE

PECULIAR OF SOUTHWELL

BY THE

REV. WALTER E. BUCKLAND, M.A.,

VICAR OF WOODBOROUGH

Published by

SISSON AND PARKER, BOOKSELLERS,

ALBERT STREET, NOTTINGHAM

CHARLES H. RICHARDS, PRINTER,

LOWER PARLIAMENT STREET, NOTTINGHAM.

in 1897

TO MY WIFE, IN MEMORY OF

HER TWO HOMES AT WOODBOROUGH.

PREFACE

THIS little book has no pretensions to be a complete History of Woodborough. The materials have been gathered together at odd times during the last five years. The earlier chapters were written out as an occupation when away on holiday; but the later chapters have been written out in haste, as I felt I should have no opportunity to write them at leisure after leaving. I do not profess to have found out anything new or to have written anything original. My object has been to collect for the information of the inhabitants of Woodborough some account of the History of the Parish which is scattered about in Manuscripts at York, Southwell and Woodborough, and buried in the rare and costly volumes of Local Histories which are seldom found in private hands. The likely documents at the Record Office have been searched, but no search has been made at the British Museum or in the Bodleian Library. Hence there may be much matter which may be brought to light hereafter. It has been difficult to keep the book within reasonable limits, so I have not touched on the subjects of Sherwood Forest or on the Geology, Botany and Natural History of the district. The authorities are given at the head of each chapter, and I have not scrupled to make extracts and analyses of the works referred to, for which I have to ask the indulgence of the authors.

My grateful thanks are due to Mr. Trice Martin, of the Record Office, and to his daughter for making searches in my behalf, to Canon Smith for helping me to peruse the White Book and other Manuscripts at Southwell; to the Rev. R. H. Whitworth for many curious bits of information and to Miss Oldacres for copies of letters and papers relating to her family. For the rest there is nothing but what a anyone could find out for himself by searching in the Free Library at Nottingham. I am conscious there may be inaccuracies and mistakes, if so, I shall be glad to be corrected. In particular it seems hopeless to attempt to reconcile the Pedigrees of Strelley or to explain how Sampson Strelley founded the Strelleys of Woodborough, or, what Pagan Vilers had to do with Richard Strelley. Again and again it has been wholly impossible to find any information about persons and things in whom one is most interested.

Anyhow this little book will not have been in vain if it can make us realise that others have sown where we are reaping, and that good work and true has been done by those who have gone before. "In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die," but "they shall be greatly rewarded, for God proved them and found them worthy of Himself."

WALTER E. BUCKLAND.
Woodborough Vicarage.
Feast of All Saints, 1896.

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