THE STORY OF TORPELA medieval manor

by Frieda Gosling

Illustrations by the children at John Clare Primary School at Helpston and Barnack CE Primary School

IN THE BEGINNING

Saxon pot

New Stone Age arrowhead

Roman pot

Let’s find out what was happening before the arrival of the Normans

River Welland

Rom

an Road

King S

treet0 1mile

North

South

+

+

+

+

+ Helpston

Bainton

Ashton

Barnack

Ufford

Likely site of Torpel Village

Torpel Manor Field

Saxon Villages

The Danish settlerslived mainly north ofthe River Welland

The first settlers lived inthe Welland valley. Theystarted to grow cropsand tamed cattle, sheepand dogs. They polishedflint to make tools andweapons.

Further south, in theNene valley - there wereRoman villas, forts, atown, pottery and ironindustries, even perhapsa governor’s palace.

+ Saxon villages Ufford = Uffewurda (Uffa’s Farm) Bainton = Badingtun (Bada’s Farm) Ashton = Aesctun (Ashtree Farm)Helpston = Hylpeston (Help’s Farm) Barnack = Beornican (Warrior’s Oak) Torpel = Thorpell (Small village)

Here are some photographs of items found recently in the field next to Torpel Field. One is Saxon, one isRoman and the other was used by New Stone Age people. Which is which?

These finds make us believe that Torpel village was in this field and that it existed long before the arrival of theNormans.

1

ROGER DE TORPEL

Roger Infans is a Frenchman from Normandy whohas come to England as part of the army led Williamthe Conqueror. They had fought against the Saxonsat the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The Normans hadwon the battle but the Saxons kept on fighting.

William the Conqueror says that all the land inEngland belongs to him. His soldiers steal the landof the Saxon lords and burn their houses. Roger isone of the Peterborough knights and he has to find5 more knights as well as archers and foot soldiersto fight for the king when he needs them.

A Norman soldier

A Norman knight

Both wear a hauberk which is a long jacket of chainmail and a helmet with protection for his nose.They both carry a sword and a shield and the knighthas a long lance.

Roger is given land in return for fighting for the king.He and his family will be lords of Torpel manor for150 years. A manor is like a big farm. Roger’s land isscattered across 13 villages.

2

3

TORPEL MANOR FIELD

Remains of five-metre widedry ditch.

Shallow pond afterwet weather.

Main entranceto themedievalmanor.

Torpel Wayfootpathentrancegate.

Remainsof the oldwall

A man-mademound onwhich thefortifiedmanor stood.

Depressions –probably thesites ofmedieval andmore recentbuildings.

The bailey – thelevel area withinthe outer wall.

Outer wall (shadedbrown) of the bailey,now grassed over.

Probable site of Torpel village.

Roger chooses this site because it is nextto the old Roman road. He calls himselfRoger de Torpel because this is the nameof the cluster of huts at the roadside.

As you walk on to the Field, all thatremains now is a few grassy banks, ditchesand flat areas. We think that the firstmanor house was a wooden tower on thelow mound surrounded by the ditches andhigh wooden fences for extra protection.

Map of Torpel Field

Wooden tower built on a low mound

There are rooms on 3 floors

Window spaces covered with shutters

The lord, his family, guests and servants live in the great hall

The Normans are building hundreds of castles andfortified manor houses, some of wood, some ofstone, for example at Touthill next to Peterboroughcathedral and at Rockingham.

4

TORPEL‘S LEPER LORD

Robert de Torpel is the grandson of the first Roger de Torpel. He is lord of all the Torpel land until he begins toshow the first signs of leprosy which is quite a common disease in the middle ages. At that time there is nocure for it and lepers carry a bell to warn people to keep away. They wear a cloak to hide their deformed bodies.

The first sign is the loss of feeling in their hands and feet.

After a few years their fingers and toes drop off.

Their hair and eyelashes and teeth drop out.

They go blind.

Robert goes to live in a leper hospital at the edge of Peterborough. He lives as a monk. He is given white orbrown bread and some beer every other day. Occasionally the hospital is given diseased pork or mutton for thelepers. He hands over Torpel manor to his brother, another Roger.

Lepers

We now know that leprosy is caused by bacteria and can be cured by antibiotics.

5

TORPEL DEER PARK AND HUNTING

Hunting is one of the favourite occupations of the lords and ladies of Torpel Manor. The deer park providesthem with fresh meat and they are able to enjoy the field sports and entertain their friends. Sometimes theyhunt foxes, hares, rabbits, pheasants and partridges.

Roger de Torpel has to pay the king 100 shillings to puta fence or wall round some of his own woods to starthis deer park. Usually a deer park includes some woodsand some open grazing areas called "lawns". They aresurrounded by a "pale", a six foot high wooden fenceon a bank and sometimes there is a ditch as well.There are also "deerleaps" where wild deer can jump inbut find it difficult to escape.

Only the lords and ladies can hunt. If they are caught,poachers pay a fine or their hands are cut off.

Hunting deer with a cross bow

Hunting deer on horseback with dogsArtwork by Ivan Cumberpatch

6

THE NEW TORPEL MANOR HOUSE

William, the last of the de Torpel family, dies in 1242 without a son to inherit the manor so it passes to his sisterwhose name is Asceline. She is married to Ralph de Camoys and they want to live in a house which is morecomfortable than the old tower on the mound.

The new house is built of stone and has alocal slate roof. There is even glass in thewindows so it is warmer and lighter than theold house. Inside there are wooden floorsand plastered walls. The great halldownstairs has a hearth near one end andstairs up to the solar or family sitting roomand bedrooms.

Artist’s impression of the new house by Ivan Cumberpatch

Outside there is a lean-to kitchen with a bread oven. Surrounding the house there are two gardens, one is usedfor growing vegetables and the other is an apple orchard. There is also a pen for sheep.

The great hall

7

YOU ARE INVITED TO DINNER AT TORPEL MANOR HOUSE

Before dinner is served in the hall, servants put up the trestletables with the high table at one end. Cloths and knives are putout but no forks as food is eaten with the fingers. Spoons areused to eat soup. The lord, his family and guests sit on chairs atthe top table, above a bowl of salt. Everyone else sits onbenches on either side of the tables down the hall.

Cooking meat on a spit

Reminders

Use your knife to cut your meat

Do not dip your meat in the salt bowl

Do not put your elbows on the table

Do not belch

Do not take over-large helpings

Wipe your mouth after drinking

Wipe your knife and spoon after use

MENU

1st course

River Welland eel pie

Meat balls in jelly

Meat pottage with mutton, herbs and spices

2nd course

Roast heron, partridge, baby rabbit

Torpel venison roasted on a spit

All served with spicy wine sauce with herbs, beans,

leeks and onions

3rd course

Spiced baked apples and pears

Cheese

8

A horn is blown to announce that the servants are bringing round jugs and bowls of water and towels for handwashing. Grace is said and the servants bring round trenchers, which are thick slices of bread which are usedinstead of plates. Only the lord’s bread is made from white flour and baked every day. Food is served in smalldishes which are shared between neighbours. The lord and his guests drink wine. The servants drink home-brewed ale.

The high table

9

TORPEL MARKET

The year is 1264 and Ralph de Camoys is lord of themanor. Torpel now has the right to hold a marketevery Thursday and an annual fair.

People from nearby villages all bring their produceto sell at Torpel. This is the only time in the week tobuy essentials like candles, nails and sewingneedles. It is a chance to catch up with local newsand a welcome break from the normal routine.

Market stalls

The stocks are punishment for selling a mouldy or underweight loaf

10

Stalls at Torpel Fair

The fair is held on the feast day of St Giles,September 1st, as well as the day before and theday after. It is the highlight of the year for mostpeople, the only time when they leave their villages.A procession of horse-drawn carts heads along theold Roman road to Torpel, piled up with cloth, furs,leather and leather goods, spices, wine, salt andpepper, dyes. There are horses and sheep, hens andeggs. The traders set up their stalls, a bell is rung toopen the fair and customers pour in from far andwide.

Although the main aim is buying and selling thereare all kinds of entertainments like cock fighting,puppets, jugglers, musicians and dancing, archeryand wrestling as well as food stalls and ale houses. Dancing on swords

Bear baiting with dogs

TORPEL FAIR

11

TORPEL CHILDREN

The lord of the manor’s children have quite a comfortable life. Even 200 years after the Norman Conquest theystill speak French at home. The boys have a tutor to teach them how to read and write, probably in Latin,before being sent to serve in another lord’s household.

The boys are taught how to use the long bow

Girls stay at home with their mothers, learningmusic, dancing and embroidery. They are oftenmarried when they are 12.

By the time they are 7, all the village children are outin the fields working with their parents. In a goodyear the family can grow enough food for them tosurvive the winter but famine is common after a badharvest. As well as poor diet and cold, damp houses,diseases are caused by lack of clean drinking waterand drains. Only a few children learn to read andwrite after instruction from the village priest. Theyplay with hoops, skittles and spinning tops andgames like tag, leapfrog and tug-of-war.

Chess is popular with all the lord’s children

12

WHO IS WHO AT TORPEL MANOR IN 1300?

First you must meet Geoffrey, who is a villein. That just means that he lives in a vill or village. Most of thepeople living on the manor are born as villeins and will die as villeins. They are not quite slaves but they cannotmove away from Torpel and work on another manor.

For 3 days every week Geoffrey has to work on the lord’s land. He also rents somestrips of land where he grows his own crops on other days. There are also taxes topay, for example there is a tax if he daughter marries and when he dies his familyhave to give his best animal to the lord.

Geoffrey is also the reeve, whose job is to ensure that the other villeins work onthe lord’s land and pay their rents. He is not paid to do this but has the right offirewood and grazing his pigs in the lord’s wood.

Monk taking Torpel rent to the Abbey

Knocking down acornsto feed pigs

Great seal of Edward I

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM AT TORPEL IN 1300

The King

Edward I

Tenant in Chief

Peterborough AbbeyIt pays rent to the King

and Torpel Manor pays rent to the Abbey

The Common People

• Villeins, like Geoffrey

• Freemen, who own and rent land and do not work on the lord’s land

• Cottars, who rent land and work on the lord’s land

• Servants

13

LUCY CHAT

Lucy Chat is a widow who lives in Torpel village. Shewears a floor length dress with a white linen hoodcalled a wimple over her hair, neck and chin. She hasto spin and weave wool to make cloth and makes allher own clothes.

Lucy has no breakfast, just two meals a day. Bread isher main food. It is dark brown when it is made fromwheat and rye. It is baked once a week in the lord’soven. By the end of the week it is cut into thickslices and used as a trencher or plate.

Pottage made from oats, peas and leeks is her otherdaily food. It may be flavoured with bacon or herbs.

Meat such as hare or rabbit is a rare treat. Milk fromthe ox is made into cheese and her hens give hereggs.

Inside Lucy’s house it is dark and smoky. There is anearth floor covered in straw. There is a metalcooking pot over the fire in one corner. Her bed is atthe other side behind a screen. Her only furniture isa table, bench, chair and stool. She owns a jug andwooden bowls.

Outside there is a well for drinking water and thereare sheds for a privy, pig sty and a hen house.

Lucy and her tethered hen by Lorna Grey

14

Lucy’s son looks after the ox and works on the lord’sland and on their strips in the open fields. They arevilleins and so are most of the other 20-30 peoplewho live at Torpel.

Lucy has to pay 9 pence a year in tax to the king. Herincome comes from selling vegetables and herbsand brewing ale from barley and oats. When she hasale to sell she hangs a pot on a post to let herneighbours know.

Outside there is a well for drinking water and thereare sheds for a privy, pig sty and a hen house.

Artist’s impression of Torpel village and open fields by Lorna Grey

Lucy warming her feet

Strips inthe openfields

Headland werethe ox-teamspulling theplough turnsround

Torpel village is a row ofhouses at the side of theold Roman road

Gardenswhere theygrowvegetables

There are nowindows,only shutters

The houses havea wooden frame

Path

Furrow

Ridge

Apple and pear trees

They areplastered with amixture of mud,straw andmanure

TORPEL VILLAGE

15

TORPEL MANOR IN 1300

Most of the land is used for growing crops and the villeins do all the work. They grow wheat, oats barley andpeas for food as well as dredge, a mixture of grains which is given to the animals.

First of all the land has to be ploughed to turn over the turf and bring the goodness in the soil up to the top.The plough makes just one furrow and turns the soil over to the right. It goes round and round turning in aloop at each end, piling up the soil into a ridge or strip. The uneven ground is called ridge and furrow.

The man steers and keepsthe plough at the rightdepth

The mallet can be usedif the plough getsclogged up

A wooden board which liftsup the turf and turns it over

A flat bladewhich cuts underthe turf

A metal blade whichcuts into the soil like aknife

The plough is pulledby 4 oxen

Ploughing in autumn

16

A big bird has alreadyfound the sack of seeds

The seeds are carried ina wicker basket andthen scattered by hand

Other birds are scared away by a man with a rope sling and a bag of stones.Next a horse pulls a harrow over the field to cover up the seeds.

A dog sees offa black crow

This woman is usingtwisted straw to bindthe corn into a sheaf

A handful of corn is cutwith a sickle

The corn is nowripe and ready tocut

Sowing the seeds and bird scaring in spring

Harvest time in summer – both men and women have to help

TORPEL MANOR IN 1300

17

TORPEL ANIMALS IN 1300

Oxen have stronger shoulders and thinner rear endsthan our cattle. The lord has 10 oxen and mostvilleins own at least one. They all graze togetherunder the watchful eye of a herdsman.

The sheep are smaller than ours today and havelong necks and tails. They are kept mainly for theirwool. Flocks of sheep are moved to new pasturesalong drove roads. A large amount of money isspent on hurdles as well as sheep ointment andbitumen to mark them. Those in a pen by the manorhouse are milked to make cheese.

Four oxen are yoked to pull a plough

A horse is used to pull the harrow

The fox has killed one of the geese The cat has caught a mouse Bees provide honey

Sheep in a pen by the manor house by Lorna Grey

Every villein has at least one pig

Horses are also used to pull carts which carry hay,sheaves of corn, sacks of flour and straw forthatching.

The pigs are much smaller than ours today. Theyhave a dark skin and a bristly coat.

18

LOLHAM MILL AND FISHERY

Lolham Mill is a water mill on the south bank of the River Welland a mile and a half north of Torpel up the oldRoman Road. Bread is a daily necessity and Torpel people either walk or saddle up the horse carrying a sack ofgrain to be ground into flour.

Lolham Water mill

Fish traps in the mill stream above the mill

Thatchedroof

Timberframedbuilding

Solid wooden doorThe water wheel is driven by the flow ofwater which turns the mill wheels inside

Mill stream

Mill stream fromRiver Welland

Woven fish traps which catcheels, tench, dace and bream

Only the lord and hisfamily are allowed tocatch fish there. They donot eat meat on Fridaysor during Lent so therewas a demand for fish.

19

THE BLACK DEATH

We call it the Great Pestilence. It reached London last year, and has now spread to Northamptonshire.

• The first sign is fever and coughing blood.

• Next there are boils in your armpit or groin, which sometimes grow as big as an egg. These are black and called "buboes" which give it the name bubonic plague.

• There are no doctors or cures and you can expect to die in a few days.

Little children still sing "Ring a Roses" "Ring around a rosie" = a red rash is an early sign of the disease"Pocket full of posies" = carrying flowers to place round the affected person"A tissue" = a sneeze"We all fall down" = many people die

Nobody in 1349 knows what causes the disease. Is it due to our sins? Is it carried by a poisonous cloud? Is itspread from person to person?

A black rat

Rats were everywhere

HISTORICAL NOTES

1. It was in fact caused by a bacillus which lived in the blood or stomach of a flea, which made its homein the fur of black rats. Fleas were also carried in grain and bales of cloth. It spread rapidly because ofovercrowding in cottages, where a dozen people might sleep on straw on the floor in the sameroom.

2. It now seems likely that it was also spread from person to person.

3. We know that 32 of the 64 monks in Peterborough Abbey died.

4. Some people think that Torpel village may have been wiped out by the Black Death, but there wereother reasons such as the famines caused by climate change earlier in the century.

20

JOHN CLARE`S GHOST STORY

John Clare as a young man is working for a farmer at Ashton. After harvestinglate into the evening and eating supper, it is nearly midnight. John Clare setsoff on his mile-long walk across the fields to his family’s cottage atHelpston. He has to cross Torpel Manor Field and he has heard stories of"ghosts and goblings" so is looking out for them.

He sees a shadow quivering across the path.It seems to be alive.In his fright it looks like a horrible figure.It has long ears and vast amounts of hair. He trembles and wishes the earth would open up to hide him.He is too frightened to speak to it, but tries to pass it and runs as fast as he can.When he reaches the stile he finds it at his heels.He runs all the way home feeling nearly fit to die.

The next day he finds out that the ghost is a foal which hasbeen bottle fed, and just the day before has been turned outinto the field on its own.

John Clare’s ghost by Lorna Grey

Very little was known about Torpel Manor Field until theLangdyke Countryside Trust bought it in 2009 and a group ofenthusiastic volunteers began to research its history andarchaeology.This book aims to answer some questions about Torpel and isintended particularly for the local school children, theirfamilies and friends.I would like to thank:• the children at Helpston and Barnack Primary Schools for

their exciting and imaginative illustrations, also their headteachers, Rachel Simmons at Helpston and Neil Fowkes atBarnack and their enthusiastic teachers for their co-operation.

• all the volunteers involved in the Torpel Project which wasdesigned as a community project. Their dedication has beeninspirational.

• The Heritage Lottery Fund for funding half this book’sprinting costs.

• The Francis and Maisie Pryor Charitable Trust for funding theother half.

Selected sources of information:Victoria County History of Northamptonshire Volume 2

Janet Backhouse Medieval Rural Life This is based on the Luttrell Psalter about a manor at Irnham,only 15 miles from Torpel.

Exchequer Special Commissions - Torpel House. Archive atPublic Record Office.

Sandra Raban The White Book of Peterborough. This includes the Accounts of Geoffrey of Crowland, Abbot ofPeterborough Abbey, for Ufford including Torpel, in 1301

Ian Mortimer The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

21

Time Line for the Story of Torpel

IN THE BEGINNING 1

AD 43 The Romans began their conquest of Britain

From The 5th Century The Anglo-Saxon settlers came from North Germany

1066 The Norman Conquest

About 1070 ROGER DE TORPEL, A NORMAN KNIGHT 2

About 1070 TORPEL MANOR FIELD, DITCHES AND TOWER 3

1146 ROBERT DE TORPEL, THE LEPER LORD 4

1198 TORPEL DEER PARK AND HUNTING 5

1242 Death of William, the last of the TorpelsThe Manor passed to the Camoys family

About 1270 NEW TORPEL MANOR HOUSE 6

1275 DINNER AT TORPEL MANOR HOUSE 7-8

1264 TORPEL MARKET AND FAIR 9-10

1280 John de Camoys sold Torpel to the King to pay his debts

1300 TORPEL CHILDREN 11

WHO IS WHO AT TORPEL? 12

LUCY CHAT AND TORPEL VILLAGE 13-14

TORPEL MANOR IN 1300 15-17

LOLHAM MILL AND FISHERY 18

1349 THE BLACK DEATH 19

From 1400 The manor had some famous owners, such as Henry V111and Queen Elizabeth1 but they never lived there.The buildings became ruins.

1799 The open fields were enclosed, hedges were planted, footpathswere blocked by KEEP OUT signs and the village people had nowhere to graze their animals. They became farm labourers or went to live in the towns.

About 1812 JOHN CLARE’S GHOST STORY 20

TIME LINE 21

HOW TO BE A TIME DETECTIVE 22

Page

22

HOW TO BE A TIME DETECTIVE

Place name endings are a good starting point:

• Roman names such as -caster, -cester, -chester. Castor is one. Do you know of any others?

• Saxon names ending in -ing, -ham and -ton. Can you think of any?

• Danish names ending in -by. Can you think of any?

Thorpe or Torpel can be Saxon or Danish.

Look at oldbuildings

Stonework fromTorpel Manor canbe seen inHelpston.

Can you find any?

Look for buried "treasure"

Note that Torpel is a Scheduled Ancient Monument so no one can dig holes there. Our best treasure is theTorpel key which was found by the farmer under a stone on the mound.

If you find anything of interest, perhaps a piece of pottery in your back garden, take it to PeterboroughMuseum to find out its date and what it was.

Torpel key, dated 1330 - 1450

Printed by Peterborough Printing Services, Fengate Peterborough PE1 5XG. Tel: 01733 349881 www.pps-print.com

HOW TO GET TO TORPEL MANOR FIELDFor more information about the Langdyke Countryside Trust and toarrange a visit to the Visitor Centre please see www.langdyke.org.ukPermission to use map of Torpel Manor Field granted by Frances Brown.