Blog Archives - The Wyles Family of Duddington

Research Advice (25.11.2021)

11/30/2021

Dear Adrian

I would like to thank you for contacting GenGuide and sharing your fascinating story. I created my website purely for information purposes only, acting as a free guide and resource to those researching their family history. Unfortunately, I am therefore unable to offer any specific help or guidance, apart from entries in GenGuide,

For further guidance, I would strongly suggest that you contact local record offices/archives (search under ‘Find an archive’) and especially local family history societies who have expert volunteers with the time and local expertise to help with every aspect of family history research. Many archives and family history societies offer a free look up service but should also have a list of professional local researchers.

It’s worth having a chat with a member of staff from the archives or local history society covering the area and see what they suggest.

You are obviously an experienced researcher but I always recommend you search for a person in all records for all the main genealogy sites.

Ancestry
Findmypast
My Heritage
The Genealogist

They all provide free accounts with the facility to search their records but not to see the full record unless you subscribe. If you find anything of relevance you can then visit your local family history centre or archive who would normally have a subscriptions to all but My Heritage.

You might also consider contacting the local history society which may have information amongst their various projects about your ancestors. This option is often overlooked but can be incredibly useful in your research. It’s also worth posting your question on genealogy forums and also posting your enquiry on a local or specialist Facebook group.

I also always suggest carrying out speculative searches for people in various catalogues and databases such as The National Archives Discovery catalogue, the London, Gazette and the British Newspaper Archive as you never know what might turn up. Don’t forget to also search for the name in the online catalogue for the local record office/archive covering the area where your ancestor lived.

Thank you for your interest and hope you solve the mystery of the missing burials.

Regards

Peter Humphries

Roman Villa and Mosaic Found in Rutland! (30.11.2021)

11/30/2021

A Roman Villa and Mosaic Discovered in Rural Rutland!

Rutland is just next-door to Duddington (in fact, I believe that for a time Duddington was once located in Rutland) and it is a place we have traversed in our search for genealogical evidence regardin the 'Wyles' surname! I remember a very old Church the Bible of which described King James as being the 'King of France'! I also remember seeing the surname 'Chappel' used in the area - a surname used by one of my Wyles ancestors as his 'first-name'!

Email: Diocesan Secretary The Diocesan Secretary's Office Diocesan Secretary: Andrew Roberts Diocesan Office, The Palace, Peterborough PE1 1YB (30.11.2021)

11/30/2021

Diocesan Secretary The Diocesan Secretary's Office Diocesan Secretary: Andrew Roberts

Dear Sir

My family - surnamed 'Wyles' - has lived in Duddington village for over 500 years and probably longer. Although we no longer live there - in 2009 I discovered this connection and have been engaged in a 12-year study of the Church in Duddington - St Mary's - and its graveyard as it contains many of my ancestors. Although I live in Sutton - South London - around twice a year we drive to Duddington and spend the day gathering historical and genealogical data.

St Mary's Church and Graveyard

St Mary's Church and I have been told, however, that the parish records for pre-1700s Duddington were destroyed by a flood and this lack of records has hindered my research. I have been further informed that there may be duplicate records made for the Bishop that cover births, deaths, marriages and baptisms for the 15th and 16th centuries (and perhaps earlier). If St Mary's still retains its parish chest - I would be very interested to learn if any of its contents refer to my Wyles ancestors. Of course, I have no way of knowing if this information is correct and would be very grateful if your could look into this matter on my behalf.

Thank you for your time in this matter.

Yours sincerely

Adrian Wyles

Evidence of Black (African) People Living in 16th Century Northamptonshire

11/28/2021

Within Chapter One the Author mentions One 'Thomas Bull' (Niger) Buried in Northants!

Eydon is a village situated in Northamptonshire located around 52 miles South of Duddington. Within one of its graveyards there is a grave registered for a man named 'Thomas Bull' and dated to 1545. Thomas Bull is described as 'Niger'. Indeed, genuine historical records for the UK contain the details of a stead stream of Africans frequenting these Isles from at least the 15th century onwards - many hired as expert trumpeters employed by the royal court. Although I am not aware of any direct connection, the Wyles paternal DNA is well-known within Eastern Africa! I referenced the quote from the above book and found the story recorded in a local pamphlet written by historians living in Eydon.

'Geology, Generosity and Glimpses… Vol. 10 published May 2017. ISBN 978-0-9957-82402 £5.00
EHRG’s 10th booklet of Research Reports, published in 2017, is entitled ‘Geology, Generosity and Glimpses…’. Geology as it dominated the farming life of the village, as recorded 90 years ago; secondly also raises the question as to why the church font, the oldest relic in the village, is not made from the local sandstone? Generosity chronicles the village’s (mainly Victorian) benefactors, who gave the village a school and several other fine buildings. And Glimpses.. recording lost interiors of the pre-restoration church, and most intriguingly, a glimpse of Eydon’s Black history, about ‘Thomas Bull, niger’, buried in 1545. 70 pages, illustrated, with map and index.'

'Wiles' in Ruskington - Lincolnshire (1700s)

11/23/2021

Ruskington is 40 Miles North of Duddington

Ruskington Cemetery and Churchyard Burials

Grave 69
WILES, John
1772 – 1827
54

Grave 69
WILES, Ann
1773 – 1854

Probably husband and wife but interesting that there are no more in the area spelt with a 'y' or an 'i'!

Email: Duddington Flag-Stones (21.11.2021)

11/21/2021

Wyles Burials Engraved on the Exterior of the Church Wall - St Mary's - Duddington

Dear Gillian

As far as I can see at the moment - according to extant written documents (various local Church and tax lists) a group of two or three wealthy 'Wyles' brothers entered Duddington around early 1500s as they appear on a Tax Demand for the area in 1523 (Henry VIII). This could be a father and two sons as it is difficult to discern exactly, but it was before the Reformation firmly hit in and I assume St Mary's Church would have been 'Catholic' and full of icons (according to the now 'empty' icon alcoves dotted throughout the interior of the Church). (In 1587, the Sir Walter Raleigh's voyage to establish the so-called lost colony of 'Raonoke' in the Americas left England with a 'John Wyles' and 'Brian Wyles' on board. It would be 'tidy' from a research perspective if these two men were registered as coming from Duddington - but all I could find is that they were from 'London'). The next Tax Demand is for the expanding Wyles family of Duddington to pay tax to Elizabeth I (in 1588). The St Mary's Church obviously transitions to 'Protestant' and the 'Jackson' family enter Duddington. This Stamford family (literally the 'Son of Jack') made their money as bakers. Prior to this time, however, the Wyles family was very prominent landowners in and around Duddington - and had been for a long-time before this, with a number acting as solicitors to Lord Burghley (Cecil William 1520-1588) and his descendants as well as frequenting the Stately home of Burghley House (just up the road c. 15th and 16th centuries). We have found all this out primarily through Wills in the local area, and Court Rolls documents of land-sale and land-acquisition kept at local Northamptonshire libraries and the local record office. Quite often the Name 'Robert Wyles' appears as either the 'organising' or 'witnessing' Solicitor during various (written) transactions which they then 'signed'. The name 'Robert' was passed from father to son within this particular (legal) branch of the 'Wyles' in Duddington during the 16th and 17th centuries. Although there's the names of four 'Wyles' people 'engraved' on the lower part of the wall of the 'vestry' of St Mary's (c. 1600s) as an act of compensation for their family tomb being dismantled to make-way for the vestry, and a 'George Wyles' buried under a flagstone inside St Mary's Church (1800s) - all the flag-stones leading up to - and surrounding the Altar - are now dedicated to the 'Jackson' family - but I would suggest that these are later replacements for far-older 'Wyles' burials. I suspect that as the 'Wyles' family lost their social prominence and wealth in the area (becoming 'Black Smiths'), the Church simply adjusted to the times and started to reflect the local prominence of the 'Jackson' family. I would like to know what the earlier flag-stone burials recorded - perhaps these still lie under the latest burials hidden beneath the later flag-stones. This would be prior to around the 1650s when Jackson interior Church burials become extant. Obviously, before this date of 1650 CE the interior of the Church could not have been 'bare'. The wealthy courted Church attention through paying for this type of burial. Although my great grandfather - Archibald Wyles (1887-1941) left Duddington around 1905 - his Grandmother mother - my Great Great Great Grand mother - Mary Ann Wyles (nee 'Sweeby') [1839-1917) - did not pass away until 1917! She is recorded as being buried in the graveyard of St Mary's - but this is a grave we have been unable to locate.

Emails: Duddington Ecclesiastical (20.11.2021)

11/20/2021

Peterborough Cathedral

Dear Adrian (from Gillian)

Well written as ever. Can't comment really on your history of letters of the alphabet. It is something I know nothing about but it seems to all fit together logically. But because I am me, I will pass comment on Pagan Wyles and his assimilation into Christianity. In the 7th Century both Leicester and Peterboough (Medeshamstede) were centres of Christianity, and Duddington lies nearly half way between the two. I wonder if there was a road there before the A47? It's position in the Heptarchy would also suggest an Angle settlement not a Saxon one. The arrival of the Danes is interesting. Leicester certainly submitted to the Danelaw and most of the religious foundations in the area were plundered, but there is evidence for the monastery at Peterborough surviving. Personally I don't see the total destruction of Christianity by the Danes, a bit like the Mongols, they plundered for the gold and jewels but didn't really give a thought to 'religion' as such. The thing is, the ordinary working Danes who came over to trade and work the land, in their Paganism recognised the geometry of Christianity (as it was then, before it was turned into a linear chronology and weapon during the Renaissance). Where Christianity survived, and where the genuine Christian spirit of fraternity existed, I can see Danes being attracted and seeing their own essence in the Christian symbolism and narrative. The surviving Icelandic sagas seamlessly progress from pagan to Christian, but this may not be the whole story. Obviously, Vikings would have had centres of non Viking power in their sites and would have treated them mercilessly like Lindesfarne, but where the church existed not as a threat, I am sure an assimilation occurred.

What people forget is that the god of the Christians claimed something that none of the other gods dared claim. That is absolute sovereignty over everything, material and immaterial. A most high god who is a loving father of all. All the other gods had problems with other gods, had spirits they couldn't tame, had weaknesses as well as superpowers. You could invoke them for help, but you never claimed they had total sovereignty. The 'most high god' of the Christian and Jewish tradition was the god who ruled over all the other gods. The narrative that Christianity and Judaism are monotheistic is quite modern and doesn't actually fit scripture. Any pagan with a pantheon of gods, might indeed be attracted to a most high god who was without hang-ups and who needed no tribute, only love.

Dear Gillian (from Adrian)

When we drive to Duddington, we pass Peterborough which seems to sit more or less exactly in a valley. A monastery is a good idea. I suppose it was Peter Burgh or Peter's Fort? The Anglo-Saxon King was known as Burgred or 'Red Fort'. In the back of my mind I think 'Peter' means 'stone' so we are looking at a 'Stone Fort'. Having just checked wiki you are right - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medeshamstede - perhaps St Mary's was related to this monastery. There is talk of a deadly Viking attack in 864 CE - ten years before the Duddington Hoard was hidden in 874 CE. Perhaps it took ten years to head in land or they were distracted. What kind of Christians were the Anglo-Saxons? I am assuming different from the earlier Celts and the later Normans? The Vikings did what they were told so if a Jarl took on Christianity then his entire army did!

Dear Adrian (from Gillian)

Interesting question regarding the church in England around 860CE...
I include an extract from a book showing the structure of the church system a century or so earlier. There is no reason to think it had changed much in the intervening period. Later reforms to secular and monastic clergy, (driven by the French church) probably didn't reach England till late Saxon times shortly before the Norman conquest (and accelerated by it). It was these reforms which led to the all powerful grand monasteries of the Middle Ages. Monasteries in England in the 9th Century would look very different to what we think of as a medieval monastery.

The Irish church (Celtic) church had been heavily influenced by Egyptian monasticism (evidence of strong trade links between Ireland and North Africa) and was entirely based around monasteries of monks living much like the desert fathers. England developed another model more influenced by continental Europe, where there were parallel groupings of secular and monastic clergy. It is this which the text I have scanned talks about.

The worship in Duddington at the time would more closely resemble the worship in an Orthodox church today, than a Tridentine rite Catholic church. It was before the cult of Purgatory set-in which radically changed the devotional life of Western church, everyone would be standing, there would be a roodscreen and the sacred mysteries would take place behind that. There would be no pulpit as we know them today. The priest would be among the people for the Gospel and any homily. People would come and go during services, zoning in and out, taking in as much as they could, it was not a performance to be watched. The question is: was Duddington a church run by secular or monastic clergy?

The Inadequate Dictionary Definitions of the ‘Wyles’ Surname

11/20/2021

An Example of a Genealogy 'Clan Lineage' (族譜 - Zu Pu) Book Kept Within the Name-Clans of China!

My view is that the general dictionary views of surnames are a mixture of localisms, broad definitions and speculations. Some surnames, such as those obviously involving a profession such as referring to a ‘Black Smith’, for instance, tell us nothing about the origination and location of a particular family but everything about what that vocation involves. This is not uncommon as a similar situation is found with ecclesiastical rank (such as ‘Bishop’, ‘Priest’, or ‘Monk’, etc) and military rank (such as ‘Sergeant’, ‘Marshal’ and ‘Captain’, etc). Other names involve a specific locality within a known geographical area, with those involving particular or outstanding physical characteristics (such as ‘handsome’, ‘Tall’ and ‘Beautiful’, etc), or types of outstanding characteristics (such ‘Trustworthy’, ‘Joyful’ and ‘Love’, etc). Surnames can even involve precious metals (such as ‘Gold’ ‘Silver’ and ‘Steel’, etc) and valuable stones (such as ‘Daimond’, ‘Sapphire’ and ‘Ruby’, etc). There are no set rules for the definition of a surname. Although many ancient surnames in China (which are all over two-thousand years old) are indicative of a specific geographical location – this is not always the case. One ethnic Chinese person I know carries the surname ‘Qiu’ [邱 - Qiu1] (pronounced ‘Yau’ in Cantonese). Over two-thousand five-hundred-years ago, ancestors from her family faithfully served the family of the Sage Scholar known in the West as ‘Confucius’ (born ‘孔丘’ or ‘Kong Qiu’). As a reward, this peasant family was elevated up the social ranks by being granted the surname ‘丘’ (Qiu) - which is the first-name of Confucius denoting ‘small bumps’ he possessed on the top of his head. However, in 1725 CE, the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty took exception to this history decreed that a naming taboo should be placed upon those carrying the name of Confucius, ordering each surname lineage to add the particle ‘阝’ (Yi4) to the right of the ideogram ‘丘’ thus creating the combination of ‘邱’- With ‘阝’ (Yi4) being a contraction of ‘邑‘ (Yi4) - which denotes a ‘town’, ‘district’ or ‘state’, etc. This was carried-out to remove direct association between the lineal descendants of the servants of the House of Confucius and Confucius himself – and instead change that history so as to associate it instead with the far-older personage of Jiang Ziya (姜子牙), a military advisor at the start of the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256 BCE) who would later found the powerful State of Qi (a place Confucius visted). The capital of Qi was a place named Yingqiu (营丘), located in present-day Shandong province. Some of Jiang Ziya’s descendants thus adopted Qiu (丘) as their surname. Many actual descendants of the servants of Confucius today, however, still remember their humble roots in the House of Confucius. As for ‘Wyles’ no one is sure of its exact origins. Dictionaries speculate that there could have been specific places named after local attributes all over the UK – with talk of ‘tricksters’ and ‘hunters of eels’ or a ‘special trap’ for capturing eels! (As in a ‘Wiley’ device)! I suspect that ‘Wyles’ might have many different (and unrelated’) origins and that we must carry-out our own genealogical research. Certainly, my paternal DNA, the known physical history of my family and the area within which they lived bear no resemblance to prevailing name-dictionary theories!

The Viking ‘Wyles’ ('Jarls') Surname Entered Duddington During the Times of ‘Danelaw’ (c. 874 CE)

11/20/2021

Danelaw Existed in England Between 865-954 CE!

The ‘Duddington Hoard’ was discovered in Duddington during 1994, and consists of thirty-seven (37) silver coins (’pennies’) of Anglo-Saxon production. Marion MacCallum Archibald (1935-2016) - of the British Museum - was responsible for taking delivery of these coins, and providing an authoritative academic report regarding the provenance of these coins. Indeed, in her report dated May 25th, 1995, Marion M Archibald states (in-part) the following information:

‘The coins are silver pennies, some very base, of Burgred, King of Mercia 852-874, and of his brothers-in-law the Kings of Wessex, Athelred I, 865/6-871, and Alfred the Great, 871-899. All are of the Lunette type (so named from the moon-shaped panels on the reverse) produced as a unified type for the Mercian and West Saxon Kingdoms, and dating from the period of the late 860s and earlier 870s. The coins are listed in the schedule. The latest coins were probably issued c. 874/5. The coins of the West Saxon Kings circulated freely in the territories of the Mercian King and vice-versa at this time, with hoards usually containing a mixture of their coins as here. The Vikings raided extensively over England in the early 870s and in 874 Burgred fled into exile, leaving the Vikings in control of the east Midlands and the eastern counties. It is to this critical period that the Duddington hoard, as of several others, belongs.’

Up until 874 CE, it seems that the Anglo-Saxon village of ‘Duddington’ was part of the Anglo-Saxon ‘country’ of East Mercia falling under the rule of King Burgred (852-888 CE). Duddington – the ‘clearing in the Forest Founded by Dudd’ - was founded at some point between the 6th and 9th centuries CE according to Anglo-Saxon archaeological finds discovered throughout the area. Further evidence suggests that with the Viking Great Army successfully entered the ‘Cambridge’ area during the Winter of 1874, causing the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of ‘Duddington’ to bury their wealth and flee the area! Obviously, their intention was to return to gather their wealth at a later date, but events turned-out otherwise (as the Vikings occupied the area for hundreds of years). Whilst the Vikings did not intensively settle the entirety of the large area of North and Eastern England they had conquered (known as ‘Danelaw’) – the Vikings did extensively settle the five towns of Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stamford (with Duddington situated just 5 miles Soutwest of Stamford) - collectively known as the ‘Five Boroughs’. The ‘Danelaw’ existed in the North and Eastern England between 865-954 CE – and signifies that ‘Danish Law’ is applied to the local population through the Law Courts. As a legal system, it was separate and distinct from the ‘Christianised’ legal systems in use throughout the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic areas of Britain. I am of the opinion that the ‘Wyles’ surname entered the Duddington area with the conquering Viking Great Army during late 874 CE.

References:
https://wylesfamilyofduddington.weebly.com/duddington-hoard-1994.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Archibald
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylloge_of_Coins_of_the_British_Isles
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Five-Boroughs-Of-Danelaw/
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/History_of_Anglo-Saxon_England#/English_unification_.2810th_century.29
https://vikinghistorytales.blogspot.com/2013/11/874-great-danish-army-split-up.html

Scandinavian: Jarls-Yarls - UUyles-UUiles - Wyles-Wiles

11/20/2021

Jarls-Yarls = Scandinavia for ‘social status and influence acquired by a dominant fighter’.

‘J’ and ‘Y’ replaced by ‘W’
‘ar’ replaced with ‘y’ or ‘i’
Jyles-Jiles
Variant: Earl (English)
UUyles-UUiles
Wyles-Wiles
Variant: UUyles = ‘Wallace’

The usage of a double ‘U’ (that is written as a ’UU’) as found within the Latin alphabet stems from between the 1st century BCE and 7th centuries CE, and emerged from a requirement for Latin speakers to represent a (Germanic) sound falling somewhere between ‘B’ and ‘V’ - at a time when ‘V’ and ‘U’ were not yet distinguished.

From the 4th centuries CE, ethnic (Gothic) Germanic speakers, however, used the Greek ‘Y’ (borrowed from the ‘Phoenician Y - or waw’. Named Upsilon (capital) and Ypsilon (lower-case) - represented as ‘Y’ (capital) and ‘u’ (lower-case) - to represent the ‘UU’ sound. When writing within classical Greek, ‘Upsilon’ is written as ‘ʌpsɪlɒn’ with ‘Ypsilon’ as ‘ύψιλον’. This is where a contradiction emerges within modern English but which is logical within ancient Greek. ‘Upsilon-ʌpsɪlɒn’ is represented as a capital ‘Y’ (correct in ancient Greek but visually ‘odd’ when written within modern English as U-ʌ change place) - as this is where an apparent ‘U’ is actually a ‘Y’ as two alphabets merge whilst retaining their distinctive meaning. Things are further confused when it is learned that ‘Ypsilon-ύψιλον’ is represented as lower-case ‘u’ - again, correct within ancient Greek but odd-looking within modern English when Y-ύ change place).
This ‘change of place or position’ takes place within a dominant alphabet when it expresses the meanings inherent in a subordinate alphabet. Modern English is comprised of ancient British-Celtic, Greek, Roman Latin, German and Scandinavian languages – hence the inherent (and apparent) diversity and complication. Here, ‘Y’ is a ‘capital’ version of the lower-case ‘u’ - whilst within modern English, a ‘Y’ is a ‘capital’ representation of the lower-case ‘y’ with its tale written below the line. By the time of the 8th century, however, Germany writers started to also use the Latin ‘UU’ to represent he sound between ‘V’ and ‘U’ - as the Romans had been using ‘VV’ and uu’ when writing Germanic names such as ‘Wamba’, etc. This ‘VV’ and ‘uu’ was also useful for translating Hebrew terms from the Bible into Latin, hence the development of its popularity throughout a Christianised Roman empire.

By the 8th century CE, there existed ‘Y’, ‘U’, ‘VV’, ‘uu’ and ‘u’ all representing what is now represented by ‘W’ and ‘w’. All these letters have been used within an ever evolving and highly idiosyncratic English language that never started to developed a ‘standard’ version until the 15th century onwards – with the development of the printing-press, and the expansion of English beyond the British shores into the world at large (during the process of imperialist expansion). As English-speakers encountered other speakers – natural challenges occurred to the hitherto foregone conclusion inherent with the English language. As English was continuously thrown-back upon itself, a number of ‘standardisations’ developed which saw language continuously evolving. Although much more stable today, British English comes under pressure from American and Canadian English, as well as the English spoken in non-European parts of the world.

As the majority of English-speakers in Britain were illiterate up until the advent of widespread ‘free’ education in the UK in the 20th century, the recording of ‘names’ relied upon local pronunciations rather than standardised spellings. Church-trained scholars, however, would write-down names when individuals were Christian, married or when being buried, whilst in the latter case stone-masons (a rare example of working-class literacy over the last four-hundred years – perhaps 1600s onwards) would ‘spell’ the name to the best of their ability. These Church records (that evolved out of Latin script and into the English script post-Reformation), have taken on the only legitimate ‘official’ records of the ‘proof’ of the existence of an individual. Genealogy today, when examining the ‘earliest’ records of an individual existence must begin with extant Church records. This is the case even for non-Christian (European) groups such as the Celts, Vikings, Germanics and Jews, etc.

The ‘Wyles’ surname is not ‘Christian’ and is not historically linked to the Christian religion. This is true despite the fact that the ‘Wyles’ people who settled in Duddington started to frequent what was probably the ‘Catholic Church’ which was then forcibly converted to the ‘Protestantism’ after 1539 CE. This is why the ‘Wyles’ genealogical records are recorded in St Mary’s Church in Duddington back to the early 1600s on surviving grave-stones – but is also recorded on two Duddington tax-returns for 1524 CE and 1581 CE of local Wyles people owing tax to Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, but then expands outside the geographic boundaries of Duddington and into the surrounding area – with the earliest found so far dating to 1301 CE – but even this name is recorded in broader Church records. Whoever the Pagan ‘Wyles’ were – they became ‘Christianised’ by association. As Anglo-Saxons are known to have been occupying Duddington since at least 874 CE (according to discovered coins), it is probable that the Viking ‘Wyles’ people arrived in the area at some point around 874 CE or there abouts - and 1301 CE (a time period of just over four-hundred-years) – the earliest known ‘written’ recording of a ‘Wyles’ living in Oundle situated 14 miles South of Duddington.