 |
Home
Ditton Priors - Editorial
|
|
|
|
Ditton Priors - Editorial
Location: Shropshire
 In 2000, the Ditton Priors Local History Group discovered the existence of an estate map dated 1768. This map had been found in the attic of a local doctor when he moved into an old farm house. Unbeknown to him, the house had once been lived in by the land agent of the 1920s squire.
  The map proved to be the key to identifying the open field system and linking medieval place-names with their present day locations.
The History Group had been working on the 1768 estate survey documents so the discovery of its accompanying map was very exciting. This map proved to be the key to identifying the open field system and linking medieval place-names with their present day locations.
In medieval times the manor of Ditton belonged to the Priory of Much Wenlock before it was sold to a London mercer in 1544 after the dissolution of the monasteries. The descendants of the mercer owned the manor until the 1920s. Today, the parish of Ditton Priors nestles under the north slope of the Brown Clee, the highest hill in Shropshire, in what is designated an area of outstanding natural beauty.
 When the LHI project began, the first job to be tackled was the repair, conservation and display of the map. This is now on show in the waiting room of the local Health Centre. In September 2001 the group held a very successful exhibition in the village hall. Over 250 people visited during the weekend and the team received many plaudits for the displays and gained useful additions to their archives from visitors.
 One of the most popular displays at this exhibition was research which showed that two villagers were the direct descendants of Thomas Garbett who is named as a tenant on our 1768 map. Manor court rolls in the town’s archives show a continuity of surnames through the ages which is helping the group to compile family trees of their parish ancestors.
Villagers have entered into the spirit of the project by telling their stories, giving their prize possessions to copy or retain in parish archives and suggesting new avenues for research.
Under the guidance of their expert, Madge Moran, a leading architectural historian, they are steadily recording the major buildings of the parish. This has allowed members of the group to track down buildings that have evolved over the centuries.
 The resultant drawings are done to a national standard and once they are completed, these houses will hopefully be explored in closer detail. One example that has already been found is an old barn which was once a cruck framed house.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
