My mother - Diane Wyles - has been speaking (online) with people born in the King's Cliffe and Duddington area whose elderly relatives are still alive and are willing to share their memories and local knowledge. This dialogue has confirmed that there was a vibrant and proactive population in the area during WWII - and that Civil Defence activity did exist. Prior to this testimony, I was not sure if there still was viable a population in Duddington as my last direct relative (my great grandfather Archibald Britton Wyles) left the area in 1906 - although his mother (my great great grandmother) stayed in Duddington and did not pass away until 1917. Furthermore, the WWI War Memorial contains the name of a Duddington man who was a 'Sergeant' in the (Regular) British Army who was killed in North Africa during WWII. I will confirm the name of this brave man the next time I am in Duddington. Slowly but surely we are building-up a historical picture of Duddington during WWII!
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Dear Gillian
As far as I can see at the moment - according to extant written documents (various local Church and tax lists) a group of two or three wealthy 'Wyles' brothers entered Duddington around early 1500s as they appear on a Tax Demand for the area in 1523 (Henry VIII). This could be a father and two sons as it is difficult to discern exactly, but it was before the Reformation firmly hit in and I assume St Mary's Church would have been 'Catholic' and full of icons (according to the now 'empty' icon alcoves dotted throughout the interior of the Church). (In 1587, the Sir Walter Raleigh's voyage to establish the so-called lost colony of 'Raonoke' in the Americas left England with a 'John Wyles' and 'Brian Wyles' on board. It would be 'tidy' from a research perspective if these two men were registered as coming from Duddington - but all I could find is that they were from 'London'). The next Tax Demand is for the expanding Wyles family of Duddington to pay tax to Elizabeth I (in 1588). The St Mary's Church obviously transitions to 'Protestant' and the 'Jackson' family enter Duddington. This Stamford family (literally the 'Son of Jack') made their money as bakers. Prior to this time, however, the Wyles family was very prominent landowners in and around Duddington - and had been for a long-time before this, with a number acting as solicitors to Lord Burghley (Cecil William 1520-1588) and his descendants as well as frequenting the Stately home of Burghley House (just up the road c. 15th and 16th centuries). We have found all this out primarily through Wills in the local area, and Court Rolls documents of land-sale and land-acquisition kept at local Northamptonshire libraries and the local record office. Quite often the Name 'Robert Wyles' appears as either the 'organising' or 'witnessing' Solicitor during various (written) transactions which they then 'signed'. The name 'Robert' was passed from father to son within this particular (legal) branch of the 'Wyles' in Duddington during the 16th and 17th centuries. Although there's the names of four 'Wyles' people 'engraved' on the lower part of the wall of the 'vestry' of St Mary's (c. 1600s) as an act of compensation for their family tomb being dismantled to make-way for the vestry, and a 'George Wyles' buried under a flagstone inside St Mary's Church (1800s) - all the flag-stones leading up to - and surrounding the Altar - are now dedicated to the 'Jackson' family - but I would suggest that these are later replacements for far-older 'Wyles' burials. I suspect that as the 'Wyles' family lost their social prominence and wealth in the area (becoming 'Black Smiths'), the Church simply adjusted to the times and started to reflect the local prominence of the 'Jackson' family. I would like to know what the earlier flag-stone burials recorded - perhaps these still lie under the latest burials hidden beneath the later flag-stones. This would be prior to around the 1650s when Jackson interior Church burials become extant. Obviously, before this date of 1650 CE the interior of the Church could not have been 'bare'. The wealthy courted Church attention through paying for this type of burial. Although my great grandfather - Archibald Wyles (1887-1941) left Duddington around 1905 - his Grandmother mother - my Great Great Great Grand mother - Mary Ann Wyles (nee 'Sweeby') [1839-1917) - did not pass away until 1917! She is recorded as being buried in the graveyard of St Mary's - but this is a grave we have been unable to locate. |
AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles - Last Male Descendant of the 'Wyles' Family of Duddington! Archives
November 2023
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