Biddenham Village
The building of the church was started in the 12th century and illustrates four periods of architecture, Norman, Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular. Two bells have been donated making a peal of eight. The font is 15th century with octagonal stem and bowl and there are leper's squints, small apertures to enable the congregation in the side aisles to see the altar.
The path from the corner of Gold Lane near the village green, through fields and passing the village pond is called the Causeway and was the path for carrying coffins to the church. The pond was built for the manor house 600 years ago to provide fresh carp for the table. A dovecote in the next field was built to provide meat. This dated back to King William and Queen Mary and although it was restored and restocked with four pairs of doves in 1932, the structure became dangerous in the late 1970s and was removed.
The main charity of Biddenham was the distribution of bull beef on St Thomas's Day ( 21st December). The charity was left by the Boteler family who owned the village and lived in the manor house in the 16th and 17th centuries. Effigies of William and Ursula Boteler are to be found in the church. The manor house in those days was at Old Ford End, down by the river, a fine stone building with stone walled garden. The present manor house became the Manor Hospital some years ago.
It was the practice to buy a beast at the Christmas Fat Stock Show and keep it at one of the farms for a week before it was slaughtered. On the great day, the farm workers stopped work at 12 o'clock and made for the farm where the beast had been killed. Here the farmer's wife and helpers had taken the liver, kidneys and steaks and prepared a great fry-up. This was eaten with plenty of potatoes and new bread and washed down with as much home brewed beer as they could drink. While this was going on, the women were picking up their joints of beef - adults and children over 16 years old received four pounds and the children two pounds each. The last distribution of beef took place during the Second World War.
In 1608 the plague reached Biddenham but luckily it only affected one household where seven members of a family died.
In olden times the people of Biddenham observed a quaint old custom each year on the 22nd September. A procession went round the village, the leader carrying a white rabbit decorated with a scarlet ribbon in honour of St Agatha. All the young unmarried women who chanced to meet the procession extended the first two fingers of the left hand and pointing to the rabbit recited 'Gustin Gustin (St Augustine) lacks a bier, maidens, maidens bury him here'. They were then supposed to receive a mental picture of their future husband. This was a ceremony said to date from the time of the first Crusade.
This page last updated on the 16th of March 2005
