Meppershall
Encyclopedia
Meppershall is a hilltop village in Bedfordshire near Shefford
, Campton
, Shillington
, Stondon
and surrounded by farmland. The Village and the Manor House are mentioned in the Domesday book
in 1086.
The Manor House belonged to the De Meppershall family for nearly 300 years following 1086, however the present house is early 17th century.
Until 1844 Meppershall was partially in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. The detached portion of Hertfordshire was transferred to Bedfordshire in 1844, following the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844
.
St. Marys church dates back to the Normans. The Parish Records of St Mary, Meppershall, have been published on CD by the Parochial Church Council
Before the advent of greenhouses, Meppershall was a very poor community with large families living in two up, two down type thatched cottages built of brick with stone floors. However so many greenhouses were built in the village that it was known as "glass city" growing salad crops for local markets and shipped further afield via the railway.
As well as farming the village earned its income from coprolite
digging. Coprolite is the fossilised dung of pre-historic creatures, which when ground and treated with sulphuric acid produces a superphosphate fertiliser. To extract it a long trench was dug on one side of a field. The overlaying clay was then dug out until the nodule bed was reached. If the depth of clay to be removed was more than eight to nine feet, the trench was made in two or three steps and as the nodules were taken out, so the trench was re-filled with the earth already removed. The nodule bed was shovelled into barrows and taken to the washing mill. This consisted of a circular iron trough with a pivot in the centre to which a set of travelling rakes was attached, these being dragged round by horses and a constant stream of water was kept running through the trough until the clay washed off. The dirty water then was drained off and the nodules carted away. The coprolite was worth about £3 a ton in 1890, yielding some 300 tons per acre. A good fossil digger could earn as much as £2 a week. This industry has also died out.
Shefford, Bedfordshire
Shefford is a small town and civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 4,928, although this was estimated to have grown to 5,770 by 2007.-History:...
, Campton
Campton, Bedfordshire
Campton is a village in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Campton and Chicksands with the nearby Chicksands. It is about nine miles south of Bedford, and is about nine miles north-west from Letchworth and sits on a tributary of the...
, Shillington
Shillington, Bedfordshire
Shillington is an English village and civil parish located in the county of Bedfordshire. In the south of the parish, the hamlet of Pegsdon is almost encircled by Hertfordshire, and since 1985 the parish has included the village of Higham Gobion to the west...
, Stondon
Stondon
Stondon is a civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The parish includes the settlements of Lower Stondon and Upper Stondon....
and surrounded by farmland. The Village and the Manor House are mentioned in the Domesday book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in 1086.
The Manor House belonged to the De Meppershall family for nearly 300 years following 1086, however the present house is early 17th century.
Until 1844 Meppershall was partially in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. The detached portion of Hertfordshire was transferred to Bedfordshire in 1844, following the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844
Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844
The Counties Act 1844 , which came into effect on 20 October 1844, was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which eliminated many outliers or exclaves of counties in England and Wales for civil purposes....
.
St. Marys church dates back to the Normans. The Parish Records of St Mary, Meppershall, have been published on CD by the Parochial Church Council
Before the advent of greenhouses, Meppershall was a very poor community with large families living in two up, two down type thatched cottages built of brick with stone floors. However so many greenhouses were built in the village that it was known as "glass city" growing salad crops for local markets and shipped further afield via the railway.
As well as farming the village earned its income from coprolite
Coprolite
A coprolite is fossilized animal dung. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour rather than morphology. The name is derived from the Greek words κοπρος / kopros meaning 'dung' and λιθος / lithos meaning 'stone'. They...
digging. Coprolite is the fossilised dung of pre-historic creatures, which when ground and treated with sulphuric acid produces a superphosphate fertiliser. To extract it a long trench was dug on one side of a field. The overlaying clay was then dug out until the nodule bed was reached. If the depth of clay to be removed was more than eight to nine feet, the trench was made in two or three steps and as the nodules were taken out, so the trench was re-filled with the earth already removed. The nodule bed was shovelled into barrows and taken to the washing mill. This consisted of a circular iron trough with a pivot in the centre to which a set of travelling rakes was attached, these being dragged round by horses and a constant stream of water was kept running through the trough until the clay washed off. The dirty water then was drained off and the nodules carted away. The coprolite was worth about £3 a ton in 1890, yielding some 300 tons per acre. A good fossil digger could earn as much as £2 a week. This industry has also died out.
External links
- http://www.meppershall.org/
- http://www.meppershallvillagehall.co.uk/