Saturday 5th February 2022, Talk by Liz Bonsall and Madeline Hutchins
42 people attended the talk in the Village Hall, to hear about eight myths, muddles or puzzles.
- Chaldon is a ‘dry village’ like Woldingham.
- There are tunnels or secret passages in the village.
- Local timber framed houses have ships’ timbers in them.
- Taper burns on house timbers were made accidentally by tapers being left too close.
Which of these are true, which false, and which still not clear?
The talk also considered the question of whether Chaldon Church and Chaldon or Tollsworth manors were held by Chertsey Abbey, and if so, for how long? The answer was yes, Chaldon manor / settlement was held by Chertsey from 727 to 1062-5. Tollsworth was probably a sub-manor of Chaldon at this time, so also held by Chertsey. The church is most likely to have built after 1062-5 but this needs further research.
Do we know what route pilgrims took near here on their journey from Winchester to Canterbury? Even the antiquarians cannot agree on this and much has been written about it. There was an influential individual involved in the early stages of OS map making, which led to the name Pilgrims Way being ascribed to the North Downs Way through Chaldon. Victorian interest in the romantic notion of pilgrimage routes led to various name changes on houses and roads locally to reflect this.
What about Roman Roads locally? The nearest reliable evidence of one is a north south route through Tillingdown, just east of the A22 Caterham bypass.
And is the ‘lizard oak’ of the church pulpit just a typo or a mistake in transcribing handwriting? And if so, what should it be? An online glossary of terms for oak with one thousand entries does not include lizard! A leading expert on woods, Dr Adam Bowett’s opinion was:
‘Lizard’ oak is a new one. I have not come across the term before and, having looked at photos of the pulpit online, my best guess is that it was someone’s attempt to describe the figuring of the quarter-cut panels. Not a term to be encouraged or perpetuated, I think?
Figuring or figured is how the oak should be described. So was it that it looked like lizard skin, or possibly that when the rector of Chaldon writing the Church Guide in which the term first appeared in 1933 misheard figured as lizard? The ‘people’s vote’ at the meeting was in favour of misheard.
Some of these issues were easier to sort out than others!
Madeline covered the latest evidence on taper burns and how two historians experimented with tapers and oak beams to make the distinctive teardrop shaped marks. The answer on these is that they were deliberate not accidental.
Tapers and pieces of green oak were available for those who wanted to try the experimental archaeology at home.
The proceeds from the talk after costs were given to the Friends of Chaldon Church towards the costs of maintaining the building and the mural. This was £240.