In January 1872, a notice appeared in The Evesham Journal advising of a concert to be held in the Tythe Barn in Wickhamford on Wednesday 31st January.
In early February 1872, The Evesham Journal reported on the concert held in the Tythe Barn which ran on into 1st February. In the newspaper, people were mainly referred to as Mr. and Mrs. but in this article, where their full names are known from other sources, these are used. The Tythe Barn was located between the Church of St John the Baptist and Wickhamford Manor.
On the first day, entertainment took place on the Wednesday evening and continued into the small hours of Thursday. Later that day the celebrations continued with a tea meeting and further dancing. The Tythe Barn was very well decorated, with much taste and skill, into a concert room. It was adorned with evergreen, flowers, banners and suitable mottos. A platform had been installed and, above it, were the words “Success to the plough, the fleece and the flail: may the landlord ever flourish and the tenant never fail”. This was surrounded by the Prince of Wales’ plume. On one side was the motto “Success to the readings” in varicoloured letters.
The place was well lit with pendant lights and a covering of rick sheets under the roof. The barn had been decorated by Mr. Frank and Mrs. Letitia Taylor (of Elm Farm), Mr. George and Mrs. Sarah Ann Burrows (of Field Farm), Mrs. Sarah Smith (of Wickhamford Mill) and the Misses Ann and Hannah Pethard (of The Sandys Arms). Use of the barn had been kindly permitted by Mr. Thomas Dewsbury (of Wickhamford Manor), who also helped with the decorations. The newspaper gave a long list of the more significant attendees, which included people from Badsey, Childswickham, Bretforton, Harvington, Camden, Elmley Castle and Beckford. The Wickhamford event was organized in response to similar events that had taken place in some of these villages in recent years.
The Rev’d Thomas Henry Hunt, Vicar of Badsey and Wickhamford, was called upon to preside and he made a pleasant and amusing opening speech. He remarked that many improvements had been made to the village over the previous twenty years, which he had not foreseen. He said that the gathering of high and low, rich and poor coming together was sign that the good old times were coming back to Wickhamford. He added, that all credit for the upcoming readings should go to the residents of Wickhamford.
The evening opened with a pianoforte duet, Valse Brilliante, charmingly played by Miss Sutherland and Miss A. New. The Chairman read a very humorous selection from Charles Dickens’ books. Miss and Messrs Ballinger, from Evesham, then gave a capital rendering of “Men of Harlech”. Mr. Fred Smith (late of Wickhamford Manor) displayed considerable elocutionary power in his rendition of Macaulay’s ballad, “Virginia”. This was followed by Mr. A. Phelps singing one of his humorous songs, “The Wonderful Plaster”.
The Rev’d J. W. Hartley read “Abe o’ th’ Yate in London”, by Ben Brierley, about a Lancashire man’s experiences in London. He did so in a creditable Lancashire accent, the topic being a letter the man wrote to his wife back home. This was received with a very favourable reception. Next, Miss Sutherland played Schulhof’s “Carnival de Venise”, followed by “Defenders of Our Land”, by Mr. E. Smith, of Childswickham. Thackeray’s amusing piece “Eliza Davis” was well read by Mr. Fred Smith.
An “old neighbour” was then announced to give a solo, “The Old Folks at Home”. The anonymous friend appeared in character, but his grotesque attire did not prevent him being recognized as Mr. Frank Taylor. He played the “negro melody” (the term used in the Evesham Journal) and then made his exit amidst general applause. Mr. Samuel Wheatley then sang “Never Mind the Rest”, followed by Mr. Phelps, singing in character, a song he had written himself, “Master Barlow”, with the amusing references to local and passing events causing much laughter. After an encore from Mr. Phelps, the National Anthem was sung by all.
At the conclusion of the concert, the barn was cleared ready for dancing, which commenced just after 11.00 p.m. Rev’d Hunt and Mrs. Letitia Taylor opened proceedings with a country dance. The dancing continued until the early hours of the morning with music supplied by Wheatley’s (Evesham) Quadrille Band. The catering of Mrs. Amelia Pethard, of the Sandys Arms, was all that could have been desired. The attendance was around 400 people.
The following day, there was a tea meeting and dance for the cottagers, which was not confined to Wickhamford, but was thrown open to villagers from Badsey, Aldington and Murcot. The Evesham Volunteer Corps, accompanied by a band, marched to Wickhamford, under the command of Lt. Fox and Ensign Phelps. After the tea, a dance was enjoyed by the villagers accompanied by the Volunteer band. Several ladies and gentlemen from Evesham, as well as residents of the neighbourhood, subscribed generously to the event. Any surplus money was given to the Church. The second day’s events were attended by about 300 people and both days were considered to be a great success. The total population of Wickhamford the year before, in the 1871 census, had been 135.
Subsequent events in the Tythe Barn
A similar event to that in 1872 took place the following year and a summary can be seen in the Newspaper Articles section. The banners hung on the walls then, and probably in 1872 also, included “God save the Queen”, “A Happy New Year”, “Unity is Strength” and “Success to Captain Lord”, the latter being John Pickup Lord, the owner of the Wickhamford Estate.
The building has also been referred to as the Great Stone Barn and an article has been written about it under that name.
The mediaeval tythe barn had ceased to be a venue for concerts by the late 1890s as it was demolished in 1899/1900 because of its poor state of repair.
Tom Locke, January 2026
Footnote
No photographs of the tythe barn have ever been located, but would be welcome.
Publicity for both the 1872 and 1873 events appeared in The Evesham Journal.