Market gardening in the Vale of Evesham began in the mid-19th century and developed in the latter half of that century to be a common use of land in the area. There were no residents recorded as market gardeners in Wickhamford or Badsey at the 1861 census, but ten years later nine heads of household in Badsey were listed as such. There was also just one in Wickhamford, George Edkins, who worked 11 acres of land in 1871.
OBITUARY – The death of Mrs M Blake, widow of Mr W W Blake of Badsey Fields, Badsey, took place at her home in Swansea on Saturday. She was well known, having lived in Badsey for many years, being connected with the Badsey Friends Mission Room. The funeral took place at Badsey on Tuesday, a service in the Friends’ Mission Room preceding interment in St James’ Churchyard. Mr W Churchill was at the organ. The service was conducted by Mr H Smith and Mr W Stewart, assisted by Mr G Hitchings and Mr F Bubb.
LATE MR T VICARAGE
DEATH OF MRS T VICARAGE
The death of Mrs Eleanor Faith Vicarage, wife of Mr T Vicarage of Glenroy, Bretforton Road, Badsey, occurred at her home on Saturday. Daughter of the late Mr & Mrs J Smith of Winchester and later of Stratford-on-Avon, she was born at Winchester 65 years ago, but spent her school days at Stratford. She was a member of England Temperance Society. In 1907 she married at Bretforton, Mr T Vicarage of Bretforton, and afterwards resided at Bretforton Road, Badsey. She was a devoted churchgoer until her last illness.
We were blessed with fine weather (though a tad windy) for this, the 120th Badsey Flower Show. There was a special exhibition for the occasion and an opportunity to buy the Society’s sixth publication, “A History of Badsey Flower Show”.
Sadly this event had to be cancelled as the ground at Pear Tree Fields was too water-logged. Despite that, we did manage to retrieve something from the day. We sent a message to all Badsey Society members inviting them to relocate to the home of the Chairman . Whilst we weren’t swamped with people, it was an enjoyable afternoon and a number of members turned up and we even managed to sit in the garden for a short while, though most people stayed in the conservatory or lounge.
This event was presented twice: once in person on 28th April and once via Zoom only the following week. Maureen Spinks, in her introduction, explained a little bit about Richard Phillips’ legacy and his key role in the set-up of the original Badsey website and the subsequent founding of The Badsey Society. He loved maps and so would greatly have appreciated David Ella’s talk. David then began his illustrated talk telling us about the oldest county maps of Worcestershire, and how they show Badsey, Aldington, Wickhamford and the other local villages.
The boundaries of Bengeworth, Badsey and Wickhamford meet on Knowle Hill, with houses in each parish, but only one lies in Wickhamford: The Ridge. This was built in the early years after the Great War and when the Electoral Roll was put together in 1924 Henry Thomas and Sophia Horsfield were living there.
Just a week after the release on the 1921 census Shirley Tutton and Maureen Spinks spoke about what you might expect to find in the census and how it will help you understand more about your family history. Maureen explained how she visited The National Archives a few days ago and downloaded all the entries for Badsey, Aldington and Wickhamford. A team of transcribers has now set to work in transcribing these returns, the results of which will be placed on the website in a few months' time.
The historical records in the late 18th century mainly concern the wealthy landowners. Usually, the only references to the poorer inhabitants of villages are in the Parish Registers. One exception is William Richards of Wickhamford.
