Volume 18 Number 3 September  2003

Martin Aldridge and his father find six new relatives.

The story started with an e-mail from Martin Aldridge seeking information about his grandmother Hilda Rose Blencowe who had been born in 1906. Martin’s father had been born Arthur Blencowe in 1928 and given for adoption. His adoptive parents renamed him Anthony Aldridge.

Martin had traced the family to Bicester and had been helped by Jo Delaforce, the most active researcher of Bicester Blencowes in U.K. Jo and I were able to give Martin Hilda’s ancestry back through seven generations to William Blincow who had died in Launton in 1781 and whose son William (1735-1806) had married Anne Allum as his second wife in Bicester in 1763. Martin lived quite close by in High Wycombe, where his adoptive grandfather had worked in the furniture industry, and we encouraged him to go to Bicester and start searching around.

Martin takes up the story:

‘Last week I was on holiday so we planned to spend the Friday morning in Bicester looking at where my Dad thought he had been born and lived, and the afternoon in Oxford looking at the records.

With Dad, Mum and my wife we went first to 38 North Street, to find that most of the houses had recently been knocked down. From there we went to Market End Lane to find a new estate and a playground. Not very lucky so far!

After lunch in Bicester I thought the best idea would be to have a look around the graveyard where we found three Blencowes. After about 20 minutes we met Ron Haynes tending some graves who said he knew a few Blencowes and mentioned a friend of his knew a Marjorie. We realised instantly that this must be my Dad’s sister. Ron knew roughly where she lived and we decided to go along to the area, which was just up the road. Not wanting to give a 78-year old lady too much of a shock, we decided that Dad should go to the door alone while the rest of us waited outside. My Dad knocked on the door and told that he was looking for Marjorie May Blencowe. She cautiously decided that my dad wasn’t a con-man and eventually let us in.

Marjorie already knew a lot about my dad and that he had been sent to the Aldridges of High Wycombe. Hilda’s family had never allowed her to marry her sweetheart, but she still had two children; she gave away my Dad for adoption and hopefully a better life. She kept Marjorie who even remembers playing with my dad when she was three and he was just a few months old. We are hoping to meet again soon, maybe we could have a mini reunion!

We also found that grandfather had first been named Anthhony, then Arthur and finally Anthony Aldridge!

Martin Aldridge, High Wycombe, September 2003

The photograph of Christina Stapley on the cover is intended to raise your interest in the planned publication of a new edition of Lady Anne’s cookbook. ‘Tina’ teaches courses on early cookery and is especially interested in herbal medicine (she is currently preparing a dissertation for a higher degree). She wrote to me:

‘I am really enjoying experimenting with Lady Anne’s recipes and have a selection of goodies now successfully made. Some of the apricot and cherry preserves took a little extra trial and error to work out as the recipes were not easy to follow and gave me interesting insights into cookery of the period. They are all delicious, although with the jellies the sugar content makes them very sweet and nowadays they are best added a little at a time as a flavouring for other dishes.

I have especially enjoyed making one of the surffet waters, the flavour and power of this is just amazing. I have also made sage wine without sugar and the fruit sugars from the raisins have it working nicely. It is a deep amber in colour. I will make one of the other wines later.

My idea of having a costume to wear for an illustration with the prepared dishes and later to help book sales has now involved the skills of several people. Ian consulted Barbara Painter, an expert on costume and she has obtained hand-woven pure silk from a weaver who copies actual fabrics of the period. The lighter coloured silk will have tiny clove gillyflowers as an all-over pattern and sounds really beautiful. Barbara Painter and a colleague are making the gown.’

Tina expects the book, with the inclusion of a foreword and the addition of her commentaries, to run to about 130 A5 pages (the size of this newsletter). It will have hardcovers and an insert of colour pictures. Sue, her business partner, has been experimenting with some of the pickles and is also investigating costs; they could complete work by July but are aiming for a launch next September so that it can be promoted properly in the run-up to Christmas. It looks like being a delightful present to give to family and friends; I hope to negotiate a special price for Association members and, if there is sufficient interest, could arrange bulk shipment to America or Australia.

During our short holiday in the Lake District last Spring I browsed through a book of local history that I found on-shelf at our hotel. It told that, in days gone by, the Port of Whitehaven had been second in importance only to London. In addition to the coal trade it had important connections with Virginia, especially for the importation of tobacco. This perhaps explained why Henry Blencowe had left Blencow Hall in the charge of a caretaker named Robert Crichton and taken over the post of Chief Collector of Customs.

The tobacco trade has long since moved to Bristol and, with the coal mines worked out, the coal trade has also disappeared. We decided to make a visit and found another reason for its rather a depressed state; the road along the cost from Barrow in Furness is scenically pleasant but is narrow and winding making for a slow journey. Not much tourist trade passes that way.

Walking through Whitehaven I tripped and fell headlong on the sidewalk; fortunately, only my dignity was injured. However, my Pentax bounced heavily and the picture I had taken of the harbour was the last from a camera that had accompanied me for twenty years through five continents. I had to ask Michael Baron, a local history enthusiast who lives nearby in Loweswater, to take pictures of Tangier House — of which more below

Jill Dudbridge has told of Henry Blencowe’s life in Chapter 11 of the Blencowe Book. He inherited Blencow Hall when only two years old and spent his childhood there in the care of his mother. He attended Christ’s College, Cambridge and became a Councillor-at-Law. At the age of twenty, he married Dorothy Sissons who bore him seven children before her death in 1707. Three years later he has married again, to Elizabeth Todd by whom he had another four children.

He served as a Judge at the Quarter Sessions in Carlisle and was a Commissioner for the Poor. In 1711 he had leased Moston Hall in Penrith from Lord Dacre and seems to have been living in some style: the Bishop of Carlisle wrote that ‘young Mr Blencowe’ was in debt to the tune of £1,200.

Marilyn Astle called in en route from the Gulf for her annual home leave in Canada. Whilst her husband and son explored the city she and I browsed through the computer files seeking more information on her Blencowe ancestors in Banbury. Latest news is that she and the family are safe back in the United Arab Emirates and I’m sure we all hope that a more peaceful year in the area lies ahead.

Simon Blincow wrote from Nottingham: