Tolkien, Shakespeare, and the Stocks Tree in West Wickham
Tolkien, Shakespeare, and the Stocks Tree in West Wickham
Oronzo Cilli
 |
| 1906 - High Street, Stocks Tree |
The subject of this article does not directly refer to Tolkien, but to a note on a little-known episode in the life of William Shakespeare that the Professor had copied from a now unobtainable book.
I found about it after doing research in the articles published in the journal Note and Queries, the quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to "English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism". In the issue published on 17 July 1937 I read this short note:
Writing recently
in the Beckenham Journal, Mr. Derek J. Schove explains that West Wickham
and Beckenham were formerly a great forest, as is indicated by the many names
of houses and roads which contain the word “oak.” Perhaps the best- known of
these trees, he goes on, was the “Stocks Oak,” which stood. till recently in
the High Street of Wickham and is now up-rooted. He then introduces a quotation
which, if it could be identified and regarded as worthy of serious
consideration, would add a picturesque detail to the scanty records concerning
Shakespeare:
As regards the old Stocks tree, there is little enough we can find. The book from which the quotation given comes seems now to be out of print, but an original copy was in the possession of the late Mr. Ellis, of Oakfield-road, Beckenham, and it seems that he obtained the book for a few pence in the Caledonian Market. It would be interesting to discover this book once again, but hitherto my search has been fruitless. However, Mr. Tolkien has lent me the extracts which he made at the time when Mr. Ellis showed the work to him, and has kindly suggested that I publish them…
The quotation
... seems to justify the suggestion that, after the supposed poaching incident
in 1584 (or after), when Shakespeare had to leave Stratford, he joined one of
the travelling companies of players which visited the town. (See ‘Encyclopaedia
Britannica,’ vol. 20, page 435).
“You must know that in the heart of the village of Wyckham there stands a fine old oak to which is placed the stocks and whipping post and facing this is ‘Ye Olde Swan Inn’ where one is served with good vittals and good drink and every comfort for man and beast mine hoste of which does make one feel quite at peace with all men, I know what I do speak of for I have taken mine ease here many a time. There are stables for twenty horses with a large innyard at the back, now it so befell that one day in June in the year A.D. 1586 that a company of strolling players did erect a kind of platform or stage with the aid of some wagons that were therein and did perform before a large company of the gentry and others of the neighbourhood when in the midst of the play did come the sheriff and others and did have all the poor players arrested. The outcome of this bother was that the leader of these said players by name one ‘Willum Shakespare’ was ordered to stand in the stocks for 6 hours, the like of which I do consider a shame.”
The above is taken as it stands in Mr. Tolkien’s notes, where spelling and capital letters have been adapted to modern styles. . . [W. H. J.]
Reading this note I found interesting the reference to the transcription
that Tolkien supposedly made from a book owned by Mr. Ellis of Beckenham on a
curious episode that happened to Shakespeare.
Although it is true that Tolkien wrote of Macbeth that he "disliked
[it] cordially" (Carpenter, #163) and his criticisms of the Bard were repeated,
in recent years there have been many, and all interesting, studies published on
the subject which have tried to demonstrate that the Oxford
Professor's consideration of the works of the author of Macbeth was more
complex and articulated.
In the case of this note, Tolkien's interest may have been in what
happened to Shakespeare or, quite possibly, the story of the punishment tree in
West Wickham.
After finding the note, I started looking for information and, thanks to
Vanessa Williamson, Senior Manager of Beckenham Library, I was able to trace
the story behind the note published on Notes and Queries.
The first finding dates back to May 15, 1937, when Derek J. Schove wrote
the article in the Beckenham Journal, ‘The old stocks tree: was
Shakespeare in Wickham stocks?’
That West
Wickham and Beckenham was formerly a great oak forest is indicated in the names
of the houses and roads. The names “Oakfields,” “Oakhill,” “Oaklands,” “Oak
Lodge” are of frequent occurrence. and preserve the tradition of former oaks,
where now all other trace of the trees has vanished.
However, there
are many isolated oaks which still stand, and which are becoming well-known
historic landmarks. Among the famous oaks of Coney Hill is the “Doomsday Oak”
and this seems to have survived every thunderstorm since Norman days, to be, in
fact “as old as Doomsday,” Then there is the venerable oak under which Pitt and
Wilberforce had their famous conversation on slavery. There are doubtless other
local oaks under which Darwin thought or Doctor Johnson talked, and 200 years
ago at “Wyckham Court” it was presumably an oak that bore the initials which,
the keeper assured Mathew Soulsby were “cut by the very hand of that bloudy
King Henry 8th.”
Perhaps the most
well-known of these used to be the “Stocks Oak” which, until recently stood in
the High-street of Wickham. It was an obstruction to traffic, and it was
uprooted. Few people know that the tree has, however, been preserved as a
memorial to the old village in the Blake Recreation Ground. In days when our
historic buildings are being pulled down to make way for shops and cinemas, to
regret that the oak is no longer in the High-street would be sentimentalism;
rather let us seek to uncover its history.
Further from
London a famous tree could have been preserved in its original setting. Even
the old oaks of Coney Hill are being cared for, whereas the Wilber-force oak is
preserved by a most elaborate system of supports. In Carmarthen, Wales,
however, the fast-dying fragment of their “town oak” is filled and preserved in
the middle of an important street, having satisfied the modern demand for
useful purpose by becoming a letter-box. On it is inscribed the prophesy that
local legend attributes to Merlin:
“When Priory Oak
shall tumble down,
Then will fall
Carmarthen Town.”
Although West
Wickham’s tree has been removed, and although most of Wickham’s families have
come but recently to the district, the younger generation feel themselves true
natives, and within their hearts stir the beginnings of local pride, prompting
an interest in local traditions.
As a teacher of
some of this generation I can testify to their genuine enthusiasm and to the
intelligence of their questions:
“What happened
to the stocks which were under the tree? Why was Wickham called Wickham? Julius
Ceasar came to Caesar’s well at Keston, do you think he came to Wickham too?
The Ancient Britons built huts at Hayes, do you think they might have built
them on the high part of Wickham, near where the golt links are new?” And then
there is the favourite question “What was it like before my house was built?”
Those who live in Monks Orchard want to know what happened to the monastery
when Henry VIII came here, and where it really was; those from Manor-way-want
to know which was the real manor and when children post letters in the “Wickham
Green” box they wonder why they can no longer play on the village green. As an
afternoon treat they wish me to construct on the school sand-tray models of
Wickham throughout the ages.
There is no
long-established historic library, and most of the facts required to satisfy
the children’s thirst for information have now disappeared. However, at St.
David’s College we are collecting very slowly facts and old maps which will
help us to piece things together.
In his article, Schove talks about the incident that happened to
Shakespeare:
As regards the
old stocks tree, there is little enough we can find. The book from which the
quotation given comes seems new to be out of print, but an original copy was in
the possession of the late Mr. Ellis, of Oakfield-road, Beckenham. And it seems
that he obtained the book for a few pence in the Caledonian Market. It would be
interesting to discover this book once again, but hitherto my search has been
fruitless. However, Mr. Tolkien has lent me the extracts which he made at the
time when Mr. Ellis showed the work to him, and has kindly suggested that I
publish them.
The extracts
sound authentic: but, while the quotation is interesting for the student of old
Wickham, the full paragraph indicates that the work may throw light on the life
of none other than William Shakespeare. It seems to justify the suggestion
that, after the supposed poaching incident in 1584 (or after), when Shakespeare
had to leave Stratford, he joined one of the travelling companies of players
which visited the town. (See Encyclopaedia Brittanica vol. 20, page 435.)
If it could be
proved that the William Shakespeare in Wickham stocks was the famous bard of
Avon, it would add the spice of notoriety not only to our “local village,” but
also to our great English playwright. That Shakespeare should have been put in
the stocks is no discredit to his character as “poor strolling players” often
fared worse.
“You must know
that in the heart of the village of Wyckham there stands a fine old oak to
which is placed the stocks and whipping post and facing this is ‘Ye Olde Swan
Inn’ where one is served with good vittals and good drink and every comfort for
man and beast mine hoste of which does make one feel quite at peace with all
men. I know what I do speak of for I have taken mine ease here many a time.
There are stables for twenty horses with a large innyard at the back, now it so
befell that one day in June in the year A.D. 1586 that a company of strolling
players did erect a kind of platform or stage with the aid of some wagons that
were therein and did perform before a large company of the gentry and others of
the neighbourhood when in the midst of the play did come the sheriff and others
and did have all the poor players arrested. The outcome of this bother was that
the leader of these said players by name one ‘Willum Shakespare’ was ordered to
stand in the stocks for 6 hours, the like of which I do consider a shame.”
The above is
taken as it stands in Mr. Tolkien’s notes, where spelling and capital letters
have been adapted to modern styles, but we would be very interested at St.
David’s college, to see this or other records which might help in elucidating
the history of the district. (Shove, May 1937)
The reference to the oak provoked a response from Will T. Chard, who in
a letter to the editor of the Beckenham Journal wrote that it was not an
oak but an elm.
I was much
interested in reading Mr. Derek Schove’s letter in one of your recent issues on
the subject of the antiquities of West Wickham. I was, however, surprised to
read that he described the old tree which until quite recently adorned the
corner of the Croydon~road opposite the “Swan,” as an oak, as my recollection
is that it was a fine specimen of an elm. It is so described by James Thorne in
his “Handbook to the Environs of London.” He says that the village of Wickham
Street which lies nearly a mile north of the church is a quiet cluster of
country cottages about a green. “Note at the parting of the roads the grand old
village elm with seats beneath it, and opposite it the comfortable looking
village inn, the Swan.” The stump of the old tree has been placed in the
recreation ground which adjoins Oak Lodge, but it is by no means easy to
determine whether the pathetic remains are those of an oak or an elm.
In the first
ordnance map which was issued in the early part of the last century, West
Wickham is marked as “Wickham Breaux.” This appears to have been a curious
error as the parish which bears this name stands on the banks of the Stour not
far from Canterbury. This village is so called from the old family of Breaux or
Braose who formerly held the manor and whose monument is in the church there.
Thorne says that the West is prefixed to distinguish this place from two other
Kentish, Wickhams, East Wickham near Plumstead, and Wickham Breaux near
Canterbury. Have any of your readers heard West Wickham referred to as Wickham
Breaux, or am I correct in my assumption that there was an error in the old
ordnance map?
It is perhaps a
little sad to read to-day Thorne’s description of West Wickham as situated in
the midst of a pleasant and beautiful country, “at present not greatly
disfigured by the builder.” The book was published in 1876 (some sixty years
ago). Many of us can remember it as enjoying that freedom from disfigurement
until less than twenty years ago.
Schove replied to Chard that probably where what looked like an elm from
the old photographs actually stood was an oak at the time of the Shakespeare
story:
I am glad Mr.
Will T. Chard (letters 26-6-’37) has pointed out my error in stating that the
Stocks Tree was an oak, for the error itself leads to an interesting
possibility.
Old photographs
and records verity Mr. Chard’s statement that the “pathetic remnant” was an
elm: but elms grow quickly and the Stocks Tree of the Blake Recreation Ground
is, therefore, probably the successor of that which stood in Shakespeare’s day.
It is, moreover, a popular error in Wickham to speak of the “stocks oak,” and
as the quotation of 1746 given in my article (“Was Shakespeare in Wickham
Stocks?” 15-5-’37) referred to an oak, is it possible that the original tree
has been burnt or removed sometime during the last 200 years? The reference
given in my article began as follows: “You
must know that in the heart of the village of Wickham there stands a fine
old oak to which is placed the stocks and whipping post and facing this is ‘Ye
Olde Swan Inn.’” This was an extract from “Romance of Kent” No. 5, by Mathew
Soulsby, printed and published by himself at the sign of “Ye Grasshopper” in
St. Paul’s Churchyard in the City of London in the year of our Lord A.D. 1746.
I would add that
this fascinating work is not in the British Museum, the last known copy being
that owned before the war by a Mr. Ellis of Oakfield-road.
The story caught my attention, pushing me to delve deeper into the topic
and trying to understand what Tolkien's interest had been.
I began to search for references that satisfied my
curiosity. Below I will try to summarize them.
1] “Romance of Kent” vol. 5, from which Mathew Soulsby published
the excerpt in 1746. Unfortunately, to this day, I have not been able to find a
copy or references in any library.
2] Mr. Ellis, the man who allegedly lent the Soulsby extract to
Tolkien. Schove wrote that Mr. Ellis lived in Oakfield-road in Beckenham. I
found two Ellises in that street in Penge (now Beckenham) in two volumes Kelly's
Directory of Beckenham, Penge and Anerley: in 1911 (p. 168) Ellis George
William lived at number 130, then moved to number 89 in 1916 (p. 171); and at
number 73, Ellis Samuel (p. 168), probably deceased before 1916 (p. 171) since
only Mrs Ellis appears to live there. It is therefore probable that the Mr
Ellis indicated by Soulsby was George William.
Shakespeare: “Departure
from Stratford. — In or after 1584 Shakespeare’s career in Stratford seems
to have come to a tempestuous close. An 18th century story of a drinking-bout
in a neighbouring village is of no importance, except as indicating a local
impression that a distinguished citizen had had a wildish youth. But there is a
tradition which comes from a double source and which there is no reason to
reject in substance, to the effect that Shakespeare got into trouble through
poaching on the estates of a considerable Warwickshire magnate. [...]
Later
biographers have fixed upon Leicester’s men, who were at Stratford in 1586-87,
and have held that Shakespeare remained to the end in the same company, passing
with it on Leicester’s death in 1588 under the patronage of Ferdinando, Lord
Strange and afterwards earl of Derby, and on Derby’s death in 1594 under that
of the lord chamberlain, Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon.” (Encyclopaedia
Britannica 435/2).
4] Who was Derek J. Schove? I found three announcements about his
death:
We regret to
announce the death, in Paris at the beginning of April, of Dr. Derek J. Schove,
principal of St. David's College, Beckenham, Kent. Derek was involved in
research in several sciences, and made important research contributions in the
fields of meteorology and astronomy particularly where historical or archival
research was helpful as part of the investigation. His work on Pepys diaries,
for example, in which every mention of the weather or allusions to the weather
have been noted and extracted, is currently being published in the Journal
of Meteorology. Derek joined the Royal Meteorological Society in 1939 and
the Royal Astronomical Society in 1948. He has subscribed to the Journal of
Meteorology since its first issue in 1975. (Journal of Meteorology
163)
A Londoner, educated at the Friends‘ School, Saffron Walden, and then later at the University of London. Derek Schove was in the RAF during the Second World War serving as a meteorologist. But his professional career was as a highly successful schoolmaster. He taught at St David's College before the war and later became the school's Principal and Owner, posts that he held for over 45 years. A flourishing co-educational preparatory school, due not a little to Schove‘s immense sense of dedication. Derek Schove‘s
main interest was the knotty problem of dating historical events, and to this
end he began his well-known “Spectrum of
Time" project. This took into account all kinds of natural
phenomena (most of them astronomical), ranging from the appearance of aurorae,
sunspots and eclipses to storms, floods and climatic fluctuations, as well as
studies of tree rings and ice cores. He used these to help fix historical dates.
Author of more than 150 papers, articles and books, Schove‘s very useful
chronological work will stand as a permanent monument to his industry.
A charming man, at regular attender of meetings of the Association which he joined in I948, Schovewas also a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and of the Society of Antiquaries. He was also Chairman of the Bromley and Beckenham Branch of the Historical Association. (Ronan)
Dr Derek Schove
died in Paris on 31 March 1986. He was a true polymath, reading maths and
physics for his first degree, history for his teacher's diploma, and geography
for his doctorate. His interests focused on sunspots, tree-rings, weather and
climate; during the Second World War he served as a meteorologist with the RAF.
Afterwards he took over as principal of St David's College, West Wickham—a
preparatory school for five to eleven year olds, near to his family home. He
expanded the school to its present size of 200 and was still in control of it
at the time of his death. Countless generations of Davidians were treated to
the daily weather bulletin in morning assembly; legend has it that it never
rained on Sports' Day—it was always sunny. He combined running the school with
his own research interests. Over some forty years he produced nearly 200 papers
and two books. One of his earliest papers provided a valuable insight into the
climatic history of northern Scandinavia: 'Summer temperature and tree-rings in
northern Scandinavia AD 1461-1950' (Geografiska Annaler 1954). He made numerous
significant contributions with regard to the dates and magnitude of sunspot
cycles, culminating in 1983 in a book which he edited on the subject which
appeared in the Benchmark Series. A collection of records from around the world
of eclipses, comets and aurorae, which he began to accumulate in the 1940s, led
to the Spectrum of Time Project, a global chronology of such events which is
still in progress. Mayan chronology occupied much of his attention in the late
1970s. In 1978 the results of his work on climatic change over the last 10.000
years were displayed at the Centenary exhibition of the Royal Meteorological
Society. Schove was a member of the International Committee on Calibration of
Radiocarbon Dating Time Scales and head of an INQUA section on the
Teleconnection of Varves. Locally he was President of the Beckenham &
Bromley Branch of the Historical Association. Justin Schove was fascinated by
what he saw as the orderliness of the history of climatic fluctuations and the
likelihood that an explanation for them was to be found in cyclic variations of
solar activity. He was an enthusiast and perhaps because he was not
professionally a member of the scientific establishment his work did not always
get the approbation it deserved. It may yet turn out that his approach to the
problem of climatic fluctuations will be vindicated. (Geographical Journal
439)
I also found that Schove obtained his Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in
1949 from University College London discussing 'The history and chronology of
calamities' with Professor Herbert Dingle. And in 1953, he obtained the Master
of Science (M.Sc.) on 'A chronology of natural phenomena and natural
calamities' with Professor Michael Moissey Postan. Schove also became one of
the leading scholars in his field:
It is quite
probable that the later Greeks realized that the occasional displays of polar
lights were due to atmospheric phenomena of some kind, but they would have been
greatly surprised to learn of any connection between aurore and the black, ugly
spots that disfigure the Sun. Indeed, they would undoubtedly have refused to
believe in sunspots at all. Aristotle, regarded as the supreme authority,
taught that the Sun was a pure, unblemished body. The Moon might be, and
undoubtedly was, spotted; but the Sun—never!
Yet a Chinese
report of rather later date, a.p. 187, speaks of “a black emanation . . . right
in the centre of the Sun”, and D. J. Schove, the world’s leading authority on
ancient aurore and similar phenomena, considers that another Chinese report of
28 B.C. was also concerned with a sunspot. (Moore 53)
Among his publications: (the aforementioned) 'Summer temperature and
tree-rings in northern Scandinavia AD 1461-1950', “a valuable insight into the
climatic history of northern Scandinavia”, “Visions in North-West Europe (A.p.
400-600) and Dated Auroral Displays,” and ''European Rainess since A.D. 1700 —
European Temperatures A.D. 1500-1950' on Quarterly Journal of the Royal
Meteorological Society (1949), quoted in ‘Some observations on the
discoveries and the cultural history of the Norsemen’ by Björn Þorsteinsson in Saga-Book
of the Viking Society, vol. XVI 1962-1965.
In front of the Inn formerly, and in middle of the road, stood the grand
old village elm, known as Stocks Tree, so named as it lay behind the village
stocks used for punishing miscreants. It was damaged during the road widening
and drainage works, in 1935 it was moved to Blake Recreation Ground where it
stood until blown down by a gale in 1968. Its remains were on display at the
West Wickham Pools until 2006 and now, the tree is commemorated in the village
sign and a plaque, both of which stand outside the library, with a piece of the
tree on display inside.
We do not know whether the great tree in Shakespeare's time was an elm
or an oak, but, as Schove wrote in response to Mr. Chard's doubts,
old photographs
and records verity that was an elm: but elms grow quickly and the Stocks Tree
of the Blake Recreation Ground is, therefore, probably the successor of that
which stood in Shakespeare’s day. It is, moreover, a popular error in Wickham
to speak of the “stocks oak,” and as the quotation of 1746 given in my article
referred to an oak, is it possible that the original tree has been burnt or
removed sometime during the last 200 years?
Below is a
series of old photographs of the famous “Stocks Tree”.
At the moment research continues!
One last curiosity: West Wickham, Jane Austen, and the
Sackville!
There was a
Church here in Domesday times, and it paid 9 denarii chrism fee to the See of
Rochester according to Textus Roffensis. It was in the Diocese and Archdeaconry
of Rochester and Deanery of Dartford till 1846, when it- was transferred to the
See of Canterbury, Archdeaconry of Maidstone, and Deanery of Croydon. (Fielding
295)
Between 1582 and 1619 the rector of the parish church, dedicated to St.
John the Baptist, rebuilt by Sir Henry Heydon, in the reign of Henry VII was
John Lang whose Ex. Epitaphio was
John Lang, born
at Richmond in ye county of York, was afterwards one of the fellows of St.
John's College, in Cambridge, by the space of ix years from thence he was
lawfully and freely called to be Parson of this parish of West Wickham, where
he continued resident the whole time of xxxvii years and more, and lived here
with the good reporte and likinge of those yt did feare God, and in an assured
hope of a better life than this in ye kingdom. This memorial was made of him in
1619 and in the 77th yeare of his age. (Fielding 455)
I also found a last and a first names that piqued my curiosity:
Austen and Sackville.
Between 1761 and 1784 the rector of the church was Henry Austen who was
succeeded, until 1808, by Sackville Austen. Who were these two rectors? And
what are the links with the famous writer of Pride and Prejudice, Jane
Austen?
George Austen, Jane's father, “had lost both his parents before he was
nine years old. He inherited no property
from them; but was happy in having a kind uncle, Mr. Francis Austen, a
successful lawyer at Tunbridge, the ancestor of the Austens of Kippington, who,
though he had children of his own, yet made liberal provision for his orphan
nephew. The boy received a good
education at Tunbridge School, whence he obtained a scholarship, and
subsequently a fellowship, at St. John’s College, Oxford.” (Austen Leigh 5)
Francis Austen, lawyer, married the rich widow Lennard for the second
time. As Jane's brother Henry wrote, remembering his great uncle:
Wickham estate
and advowson was the property of a Mr. Lennard some ninety years ago. He left
it to his widow for life, and afterwards to his and her only child, a Miss
(Mary) Lennard. The widow was legally attacked by the nearest male relation of
the defunct - she flung her cause into the hands of my Great Uncle, old Frank
Austen: he won the cause and the wealthy widow's heart and hand. (Keith-Lucas
37)
From that marriage, Francis had two sons whom he named John and
Sackville, in honor of John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset (1745-1799), whose
trust he served having gained.
As trustee of the estate at West Wickham Francis Austen was in control of the advowson. He intended the West Wickham living for his second son, Sackville Austen,” but as it fell vacant before Sackville was of age to take it, he gave it temporarily to a nephew, Henry. But Henry was a Unitarian, and never resided there, nor did the duty. In 1784, he resigned to make way for Sackville Austen. (Detsicas 99)
In a letter (#61) to his son Christopher Tolkien, Tolkien wrote:
I am surprised
that, tasting and disliking the very opposite, you should also dislike the
‘manners’ of life 150 years ago (nearly) as depicted by Jane [Austen]. Little
is left of it all, save a few remnants of table-manners (among a decreasing
minority). But actually they made life a lot easier, smoother, and less
frictional and dubious; and cloaked or indeed held in check (as table-manners
do) the everlasting cat, wolf, and dog that lurk at no great depth under our
social skin. (Carpenter)
That is talking about the time period/culture she was writing about.
Bibliography
On Tolkien and Shakesperare
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