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From the 16th century until the late 20th century nearly all the houses and land
in Buckland was in one ownership. Up to the Second World War most people who
lived in the village worked on the estate in one way or another. Now that so
many houses have passed into other hands, with inhabitants commuting or only
there at weekends, village life has changed, but there is still a nucleus of
families who were brought up in the village and whose names can be found in the
parish records which survive from the late 17th century, eg Goodman, Carter,
Shewry, Eyres, Absolem.
The only remaining shop is the post office/general stores, but there used to be
another general stores, butcher, bakery and drapers. The drapers, as recently as
the 1920s, sold bales of cloth to be made by women into garments for their
families, the only made-up goods being men’s boots and corduroy trousers. There
were also a blacksmith and wheelwright, two shoemakers and a brewery. Buckland
still has a Roman Catholic church as well as the parish church, and until
recently a Baptist chapel. The village school serves several other villages
besides Buckland.
Buckland Manor became known as Dukes’ Manor because for a time it was owned by
the Dukes of Suffolk. In 1544 the Crown sold it to John Yate of Charney,
Merchant of the Staple at Calais. (He also possessed several other neighbouring
manors). His son, another John, lived at Buckland and his will, made in 1578,
names several of the manor s rooms.
The Yate family remained Roman Catholics after the Reformation. As with most
Roman Catholics, the Yates took the King’s side in the Civil War and in a survey
of 1647 (Sir) Edward Yate was said to be ‘beyond the seas and all his estates
sequestered’. A stone table in the Old Vicarage garden is inscribed:
‘Charles 1st, King of Britain spent the night at the house nearby and when he
was hungry was entertained by the Vicar of Buckland who brought the King to eat
at this table so that the altar and throne might forever be united in
friendship.’
When the last male heir died the great-granddaughter of Edward Yate, Mary,
inherited Buckland. She married Robert Throckmorton of Coughton Court,
Warwickshire.
Buckland House was built in 1757 by Sir Robert. It stands to the west of the old
manor house, which was then turned into stables and grooms’ quarters. The
surrounding grounds were landscaped by Richard Woods and several stone buildings
which are still standing were built at this time, including an ice house, still
complete, close to the lake which was formed at this time.
In 1811 Sir John Throckmorton wagered 1,000 guineas that it was possible to make
a coat from wool off the backs of sheep between sunrise and sunset. On 25th June
two sheep belonging to him were sheared by his shepherd, Mr Druett, and the wool
given to Mr John Coxeter at Greenham Mills, Newbury who ‘spun the yarn, spooled,
warped, loomed and wove burred, milled, rowed, dyed, dried, sheared and pressed’
— in eleven hours.
The cloth was then given to Mr Isaac White, tailor, who cut the coat out and had
it made up within two hours and 20 minutes. Mr John Coxeter, the master
manufacturer, presented it to Sir John, who appeared with it on before an
assembly of 5,000 spectators who had come from near and far to witness this
performance, completed in 13 hours and 20 minutes.
In 1908 the estate was sold to Sir Maurice Fitzgerald who, with his architect
Romaine Walker, enlarged the house and built many new buildings in the village.
Queen Mary and Sir Winston Churchill were entertained during the Fitzgerald’s
time. Their grandson, Richard Wellesley inherited the estate from them and to
him fell the task of bringing it from near feudal conditions to modern farming
methods, and reducing staff almost ten-fold. His son now farms the estate
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