We visited Tixover on Sunday 26th October, 2025 - around 1 pm. The clocks have just changed so the UK is now back on GMT. We are staying in Market Overton for five-days (25.10.2025-3010.2025) - sponsored by Diane Wyles. Tixover Lodge is a working farm with about ten houses attached. Perhaps it is a hamlet - but the road into the place - just over the bridge at the West-end of Duddington, literally runs-out into a dirt-track where St Luke in the Field Church is located. This is a church built on a field surrounded by a rectangular stone-wall. We last visited around 2009 (but we seem not to have photographed or filmed) as a small number of "Wyles" people have either lived here - or married someone from here. I think there are two adjacent places similarly named just up the road as "Tixover Grange" and *Tixover Lodge" - the former I think is a small row of houses (I have a dim memory of visiting some time ago). 

When we visited around 2009 - we had to acquire the church-key from the local farm. At that time, the church appeared to be locked. However, upon this visit in 2025, a sign on the church-door stated that the church is always open during day-light hours. Perhaps so few people visit - or when we visited - it was a time of year when few people visit. Even today - I think many might be put-off by the rather rustic nature of the dirt-track - as any approaching vehicle would require a stout suspension. The inside of the St Luke's Church is very simplistic and austere - what would be expected from a "Protestant" church following the stripping of the altars in the early 1500s. The attitude of the Anglican Church is that simplicity - free of the clutter of Papism - allows the average practitioner to commune with their "god" in a more direct manner.

I was walking around Duddingyon village at 18:45 hrs on Tuesday July 29th - 2025. I had a sense it was good - and immediately sent a copy to Gee who was in the Highfield area of (North) Duddington - looking after Kai-Lin who was enjoying herself in the play-ground. This was taken with my Honor X6 mobile telephone camera - which is excellent! There were a few takes before and after - but this central effort (which I think is the best picture I have taken involving a broad interpretation of Duddington) - seems to be perfectly balanced - like a Zen painting. Perhaps we night call this picture the "Zen of Duddington" or "Duddington Zen"! Either way, this picture records St Mary's Church as being a majestic centre-piece of the village! 

We stayed in Easton-on-the-Hill for a week between Saturday July 26yj - Saturday August 2nd - 2025. This allowed boots-on-the-ground, so-to-speak, every single day! We visited Duddington once or twice a day - using our up-to-date cameras to produce superb (new) videos and photographs. We are always going over our previous work - creating layers of clarity and new discoveries. Even so, we have since discovered two lanes we have never explored - which are tucked away - and not explored by the Ordnance Survey of 1988. As this has served as the blue-print for our explorations - we did not know of these tucked away areas. Gee discovered these areas whilst accessing Google Earth when researching the Duddington Royal Observer Corps Bunker which was closed in 1991 (more on that in a later post). Interestingly, St Mary's Church was visited and listed on the 27.5.1967 - just one-week before I was born during the Summer of love!

The Following is the Ordnance Survey of St Mary's Church discovered by Diane Wyles - taken on the 23,5,1967:

St Mary’s Church 1967
 
Home: England Northamptonshire Duddington-with-Fineshade
Church of St Mary
A Grade II* Listed Building in Duddington-with-Fineshade, North Northamptonshire
Longitude: -0.5432 / 0°32'35"W
OS Eastings: 498774
OS Northings: 300884
OS Grid: SK987008
Mapcode National: GBR FWG.1JD
Mapcode Global: WHGM2.MZKM
Plus Code: 9C4XHFW4+PP
Entry Name: Church of St Mary
Listing Date: 23 May 1967
Last Amended: 31 March 1988
Grade: II*
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1040104Heritage tourism packages
English Heritage Legacy ID: 232955
Also known as: St Mary's Church, Duddington
ID on this website: 101040104
Location: St Mary's Church, Duddington, North Northamptonshire, PE9
County: North Northamptonshire
Civil Parish: Duddington-with-Fineshade
Traditional County: Northamptonshire
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Northamptonshire
Church of England Parish: Duddington St Mary
Description
DUDDINGTON CHURCH STREET
SK9800 (North side)
9/90 Church of St. Mary
23/05/67
GV II*
Church. Mid and late C12, C13, C14, chancel rebuilt, and church restored c.1844
by Bryan Browning. Regular coursed and squared coursed limestone, part rendered,
with lead and Collyweston slate roofs. Aisled nave, chancel, south parch, north
vestry and south-east tower. South elevation of chancel of 2-window range of C19
lancet windows with 2-stage buttress between; similar buttress at corner. Gabled
roof with Collyweston slates and ashlar parapet with finial. C19 three-light
east window set in a plate surround with shafts. Shallow flanking buttresses and
buttress below the window are from the original chancel. C19 quatrefoil circle
in apex of gable. North elevation of chancel of 4 bays, 3-window range of lancet
windows, all similar to south elevation. Bay to far right is blank. 2-stage
buttresses between bays. South aisle of 3 bays, 2-window range of 3- and 4-light
square head windows. 3-light window, to left, has transom with castellations.
Lean-to roof with plain ashlar parapet. The south wall of the aisle is rendered.
C14 gabled porch breaking forward from centre bay has single-chamfered outer
doorway with 2-centred arch-head and polygonal responds. Inner doorway is late
C12 with retrains of 2 orders of shafts with waterleaf capitals and 2-centred
arch-head with roll moulding. Plank door with 4 large strap hinges. Ashlar gable
parapets and 2-light square-head window on return wall. West elevation of south
aisle is blank. North aisle of 3 bays, 2-window range of 3-light square-head
windows with moulded surrounds and hood moulds. Lean-to roof with ashlar gable
parapet. C19 gabled vestry breaks forward from centre bay. Each face has
single-light windows with cusped treads. Shallow gabled roof with plain ashlar
parapets. 2-light east window has quatrefoil circle. West elevation of north
aisle is blank. West elevation of nave has large central lancet with flanking
C19 two-stage buttresses. Moulded string causes, below parapet, follows the line
of the gable end. Nave clerestory of 3-window range of 2-light square-head
windows. Those on the north side have plate surround and those on the south side
have plate surround with raised moulding and carved label stops. Shallow gabled
roof with castellated ashlar parapet. South-east tower is attached to east end
of south aisle. Late C12 base with C13 upper stages. 2-stage ashlar angle
buttresses to corners of lower 2 stages. Late C12 south doorway has chamfered
surround with semi-circular head. Single-light windows, with similar heads,
above and to lower stage of east face. Lancet window, to south face of second
stage. 2-light bell-chamber openings, to each face of upper stage, have
2-centred outer arch and central column, parts restored C19. Short, ashlar,
broach spire with 2 tiers of lucarnes; each with central shaft similar to bell
chamber openings. C17 inscribed tablets to Wyles family set in base of vestry;
similar C19 tablets alongside. Interior: 3-bay nave arcade. Centre and east bay
of north arcade are mid C12 semi-circular arches with roll moulded underside and
zig-zag decoration to both faces of outer angle. Central, circular, pier with
square scalloped abaci. Similar responds, with nook shafts, facing into the
nave. West arch is late C12/early C13. Double-chamfered semi-circular arch
with semi-circular responds. The pier between this bay and the other 2 bays is
formed from 2 responds. South arcade is also probably late C12/early C13.
Double-chamfered, semi-circular, arch with semi-circular responds. The pier
between this bay and the other 2 bays is formed from 2 responds. Soutn arcade is
also probably late C12/early C13, double-chartered arches with circular piers
and semi-circular responds. East pier and respond have waterleaf capitals.
Double-chamfered chancel arch with polygonal responds. Triple-chamfered tower
arches from south aisle and chancel. Arch into chancel has cluster shaft respond
and arch into south aisle has half bracket respond, to north, and part cluster
shaft to south. Nave and north aisle roofs have some original timbers. Other
roofs are C19. Trefoil head piscina to soutn wall of south aisle; fragment of
rood loft stair in south wall of north aisle. C13 octagonal font supported on
octagonal base with Y polygonal shafts C18 communion rail with turned
balusters. Stained glass: C19 east window. Pews to west of nave and north aisle
incorporate some C17 panelling. Other pews, with doors, are of 1844. Monuments:
William Jackson, d.1792, inscribed tablet to south wall of chancel, probably
reset. Thomes Jackson, d.1792, inscribed marble tablet to north wall of chancel.
Various C19 and C20 inscribed tablets to Goddard-Jackson family who live at
Duddington Manor
 
Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: p194;RCHM: An Inventory of
Architectural Monuments in North Northamptonshire: p44)Heritage tourism
 
Other nearby listed buildings
 
II Pair of Chest Tombs Approximately 10 Metres North of Chancel of Church of St Mary
St Mary's Church, Duddington, North Northamptonshire, PE9
 
II Chest Tomb and Headstone Approximately 5 Metres South East of South Porch of Church of St Mary
 
St Mary's Church, Duddington, North Northamptonshire, PE9
 
II Duddington War Memorial
Duddington, North Northamptonshire, PE9
 
II 2, Mill Street Duddington, North Northamptonshire, PE9
II Church Farmhouse
Duddington, North Northamptonshire, PE9
II Outbuilding Approximately 2 Metres South West of Church Fsrmhouse
Duddington, North Northamptonshire, PE9
II Riverside Cottages
Duddington, North Northamptonshire, PE9
II Dovecote Approximately 30 Metres South West of Church Farmhouse
Duddington, North

The Church of England is nothing if not practical. Although St Mary's Church is a Grade II listed building - its door is not always open. On the odd occasion in the past, after driving three to four hours to reach Duddington - we have found the Church firmly locked. Of course, we do not expect the Church - or the people of Duddington for that matter - to arrange their lives around our research schedule! Despite visiting Duddington since 2008 (around 17-years as of 20025) - we have met probably less than five people - and one of them was a Postman! The Landlord of the Royal Oak (and his Staff) have always been very kind and professional - but I am talking about the population of Duddingtion proper (around 115 to date). I believe I have spoken to three such people - all highly polite - but inward-looking - which I quite like. As for research, we are more or less on our own. Again, who else would be interested in our Wyles surname? I hope that with all the supportive evidence we are amassing - people carrying-out similar research will be able to gain something from our collective efforts. 

This is a new edition. To be fair, a number of Churches in the Northants area have installed Contactless Credit-card machines - with the usual caveat that the Church will not accept any donation less than £5 (due to charges levied by the credit card companies). Bear in mind that although once occupied by the working-class - dominated a small middle and upper-class - Duddington today is a village of millionaires who have left the city for a more sedate rural existence. To these people, £5 is like 5p, etc. Although I have exchanged copious numbers of emails with the Church Authorities over the years - I have received "zero" assistance with my research. Given that we all pay for the Church of England through our income tax whether or not we believe in its teachings - I think this is poor value for money. The Church exists to serve the people who finance it - but unfortunately, greed and selfishness is everywhere nowadays. Offers of generous donations raises interest - request for kindly assistance lowers interest and negates expectations. 

Diane Wyles: "​First photo is listed as Duddington School,  I thought the other 2 were King's Cliffe but the slates their holding say Duddington!" Indeed, there are a number of schools registered in Duddington - or at least there used to be. This probably represents the need for Infants, Juniors, and Seniors, etc. 

Whilst staying for a week in Easton-on-the-Hill - we initially had no idea that "The Priest House" (Chantry) existed. It was only when accessing the internet to locate historical buildings that this "National Trust" property emerged. Furthermore, the directions suggested it was only about a ten-minute drive away. I have never heard of - or seen - a "Chantry" before. Henry VIII outlawed their use in 1544 due to their association with the Roman Catholic Church. Essentially, rich people, in order to ensure a good experience in the after-life, "paid" the Church ample amounts of money that was intended to pay for a priest or monks to say daily prayers for the individual concerned, read chapters from the Bible, and chant saintly affirmations. Indeed, so many rich people would pay for this service (decreed by the Pope) that the Church had to establish separate buildings (segregated from the places dedicated to "poor" worship) designed just for this activity!

With the "Act of Supremacy" (1534) - Henry VIII expelled the Pope and all Catholic activity from the England. This was enforced through the "Dissolution of the Monasteries" (mostly completed by 1540) - all acts of revolution that led to the "Reformation" and the foundations of the "Church of England" (headed by the monarch and the Archbishop of Canterbury). Chantry Houses carried-on until 1544 - existing in a legal grey area - but as the Pope had originally authorised this practice, Henry viewed their presence as a form of Catholicism through the back-door - and all remaining Chantry Houses were closed down in 1544. As the Easton Chantry was a) remote, and b) tucked away in the Northants countryside, its presence was ignored and it has survived into the 21st century for modern people to study and observe.

 With Kai-Lin - our 8-year old daughter - wanting to play everyday at the beautiful play area in Highfield - I got ample chances to walk behind the new housing estate to see what is left of the "Highfield". Oddly, the North-end of Duddington has always been the area from which we have entered Duddington. Despite this fact, we mever seem to have noticed two utility huts nestled in the trees and long grass. My initial instict was that this was something to do with the military - and I still think this is the case. I think the original buildings are pre-WWII or contemporary with WWII - with the post-WWII versions having the original windows "filled-in" with brick-work! The above video provides footage from behind the two huts - which are more fully described below!

The above photographs and video are of the left-hand Utility Hut which possesses a sign stating it is the property of "BT" (British Telecom) - but this sign seems very old - perhaps pertaining to the time when BT was still a nationalised entity. Today, this hut has been modified for modern communication involving what looks like fibre-optics and internet usage. Whatever the case, the extra windows and doors have been bricked-up and replaced with highly securitised variants accessed through coded keypads. There is an electric "buzz" about the place which now has a permanently "open" gate. Still, as i said above, some of the brick-work looks rather extravagant for a humble Utility Hut. The trees and bushes grow thickly on all sides - but the interior ground area of the hut remains clutter-free for easy access.

The above photographs depict the right-hand Utility Hut which is now empty and derelict - but was once a "Switching Station" - which originally dealt with the electricity supply to Duddington. This effectively regulated how the households in Duddington accessed the National Grid - which must now be through a much more efficient and hidden system. Again, windows and doors are filled-in with brick-work - but some of the original brick-work appears overly ornate for such a mundane function. I think there may have been Home Guard activity in Duddington during WWII - perhaps a "Special Force" comprised of younger men operating under a false-front, so-to-speak. This is just an unfounded idea on my part constructed from various pieces of evidence I have acquired over the years. There might be nothing to it.

We have been asked by a number of people with connections to the Wyles family - and/or the Duddington area in general - regarding the possibility of a "Methodist Chapel" once existing in Duddington. Of course, the Wyles family still exists in King's Cliffe - but we have not found any Wyles people still living in Duddington. There is a gap in our genealogy regarding the early, middle, and latter 20th century, Why is this? Was it because everybody had left Duddington? Well, there are two Wyles people buried in St Mary's during the early 1900s (1917 and 1919 to be exact) - but no graves are visible - then there is Agnes Sarah Wyles who was buried in Duddington Cemetery graveyard in 1949. There are no visible graves for the years in between.

Normally, as genealogy moves into the modern era - the data becomes much more comprehensive and easier to find. Are we looking in the wrong place for some of the Wyles ancestors? Whilst speaking to a local historian at the King's Cliffe Heritage Centre during a recent visit (Sunday July 27th) - I was informed that the "Methodist" movement became a substantial driving force in King's Cliffe - and the surrounding area due to the work of William Law. I was surprised - particularly as Methodism is still popular in King's Cliffe - with a number of its historical Preachers being called "Wyles". This is a significant development as I once read that there was a Methodist Chapel in Duddington that lasted for sometime before the Church of England (understandably eager to regain its influence in Duddington) brought the property, demolished the building, and removed the gravestones in the small graveyard. Of course, I have yet to fully confirm all this - and only pass it on here as a form of "hearsay" - albeit a narrative regularly told by many ordinary people.

Not only this, but the now empty land was re-sold for development where a new building was constructed. The problem was that I could not relocate the reference for this story - although I do clearly remember a) reading it, and b) being told a similar story by one or two others. At the time, I had no evidence of Methodism operating in the Duddington or the King's Cliffe area - even though I now know it to be true. A number of people with different surnames cannot find the burials of their relatives in either St Mary's or Duddington Cemetery. The thinking is that these burials might have been carried-out in the graveyard of the Methodist Chapel - and lie "unmarked" below the secular building that now stands on the site. The good news is that Diane Wyles has discovered photographic evidence of the Methodist Chapel in Duddington - and has acquired a copy of the architecture book this picture appears within. As a consequence, I will soon be writing a new article for this website regarding the Duddington Methodist Chapel - whilst awaiting for a reply from the Methodist Church regarding the possibility as to whether there is a list of the Duddington burials recorded somewhere within the Methodist Historical Records! 

This project - "The Wyles Family of Duddington" - first began in 2007 through the online work of Diane Wyles (nee Gibson). My mother (now 77-years old and living in retirement in Torquay) carefully worked her way through endless birth, marriage, and death certificates - working back through history from my father - Peter Desmond Wyles (now 82-years old and and living in retirement in Torquay). A picture slowly emerged of a single place - "Duddington" (in Northants) - being mentioned again and again. Indeed, the association between this place and the Wyles family stretches back to at least the early 1500s, but perhaps further, as it is a matter of acquiring ever earlier documentation. We know that man named "Wyles" is recorded as living in nearby Bourne in 1301. 

This is in fact the second incarnation of this website - with the first lasting only a year or so before the platform was closed down and the business dissolved. I was then introduced to Weebly from about 2009 - using this site as a means to upload all our research in Sutton (South-West London) so that my elderly parents could sit together hundreds of miles away in Torquay - and look through all the videos, photographs, and documents collected. Of course, the site has grown much bigger and far more comprehensive since then. Many other people all over the world (holding many different surnames) regularly access this site - particularly those who are associated with the Wyles family through marriage. Today, we have invested a small amount of money to purchase the domain name "wylesfamilyofduddington.co.uk" - which is replacing the old "wylesfamilyofduddington.weebly.com". This change will not effect any links or limit access in any way - it simply shortens the address and explains that we live in the UK.

After photographing and filming the War Memorial in the centre of the village - dealt with elsewhere on this website - we drove up the hill to the Church. Remember that we are always looking for clues pertaining to the Wyles surname - but are willing to collect any and all supporting evidence that others might find useful for researching their surnames. Genealogy is a funny business - with data collected years ago containing no apparent or obvious meaning - suddenly becoming vitally important when one more "connecting" piece of information is added. In this regard, researching family history is similar to building a jigsaw - sometimes you cannot be sure what you have got!

Like many of the so-called "villages" - Easton-on-the-Hill appears to be bigger than a village. I think that as these places are so spread-out - have acres of free space to move about in - these designations stiill hold. It seems to still be a village - even though it has the size and population of a town. Like a number of Churches in the area - the local people and Priest has taken time to record the details of all the graves in the Churchyard and publish this data in an indexed book. This is how we found "Alfred Norman Wyles" (1921-1962) buried in the yard - with Diane Wyles later discovering that he was born in Stamford (son of William Wyles). He joined the RAF during WWII - fought-in - and survived the "Battle of Britain"!

We got up early on Saturday August 2nd - as it was the last day of our holiday. We had to pack-up, clean, and clear the area for the required departure of 10:00 am. Having achieved this, we said good-bye to our holiday cottage (situated in Easton-on-the-Hill) and heeded up the road to the village of Ketton. As we ended-up driving the long-wat around - I was surprised how big the place actually is - and wondered if it is still a villlage? Still, we had briefly visited probabky around 2009, and found the Church locked - whilst today it was open! 

Outside, is an elongated stone-cross - originally constructed just after WWI - with inscriptions added after WWII. As with many places containing old War Memorials - "The Great War" (1914-1918) is usually presented as the major confrontation of the 20th century - with WWII being an unfinished consequence of it. However, as the post-war education system consolidated and a new set of political imperatives became dominate - the idea of WWII being more important was slowly but surely propagated. 

Interestingly, we have digitalised all the names on this monument and uploaded this data elsewhere on this site. Within the entrance of the Church are two Rolls of Honour which record the names of the men (and women) who fought in both World Wars - with Ketton seeming to supply about a hundred recruits for both conflicts (women fighting is recorded quite extensively in the Northants area - although it is interesting that there are no "Home Guard" Memorials despite that unit being very well staffed according to the history books. 

Whilst reading the names of the Ketton-people who served in WWII we located the name of "GH Wyles". This person turns-out to be the son of Jeremiah and Eliza Wyles of Uppingham. Jeremiah is the brother of John Thomas Wyles - both born in Duddington. John Thomas Wyles is my Great Great Grandfather - and father of Archibald Brittain Wyles (my Great Grandfather). We have discovered that John Thomas Wyles is buried in the graveyard of St Pete & St Paul Church in Uppingham (although we have not yet located the exact grave) - but according to the same Church Records - there are no other Wyles people buried there - despite a substantial population. We have not been able to ascertain what exactly was the connection between "Gerald Henry Wyles" and Ketton. 

I possess a number of booklets published by the 'Lincolnshire Family History Society' - and is entitled 'Extracts from the Minute of the Board of Guardians Stamford Union Workhouse - Part Three 1844-1847 - by Anne Cole and Derek Paine (2008). This extract is from Page 33. 'Mr Wyles' - lives in South Witham - which is around 15 miles 'North of 'Duddington'!