Saturday 4 March 2023

Historical Society Meeting - This Thursday

 Dear Chearsley Friends

 I do hope you’ll be able to join our next CVHS village meeting which will take place at The Village Hall on the evening of Thursday 16th March – 7.15 for a 7.30pm start

 Colleagues from the North Marston History Club will be joining us to make a presentation on the ‘North Marston Story’. You may be aware that John Schorne’s Well is located in their village. It was one of England’s most frequently visited ‘holy wells’ in early medieval years, due to the healing powers of its waters, in particular for curing ‘gout’, a painful disease of the foot. Traditional images of its founder, John Schorne, are accompanied by an infamous ‘Boot’ with a devil’s head peering out of its top.

 Evidence suggests a significant link between Chearsley and North Marston at that time, with pilgrims stopping off in our village on their way to visiting the well. Several Bucks villages, including our own, still have houses carrying the name of ‘The Boot’. Although most are now private homes, it is thought that they were originally hostelries, providing a stopover and refreshments for pilgrims on their way to North Marston.

 Our second session is aimed to provide some first-hand memories of Chearsley Village School in our community. Our village school was opened in 1880 but was sadly forced to close in 1988. A number of villagers with close association with the school before its closure have kindly agreed to share some of their memories with our audience.

 The meeting will also provide an opportunity for us to update our audience on current plans for our new organisation as well as inviting your own suggestions on priorities for the future of our new organisation.

 Entrance is open to all and free of charge and refreshments will be available. However, we will ask for voluntary donations towards covering our meeting costs.

John Howard