About Mavesyn Ridware
Thank you for visiting. This website has moved to http://www2.lichfielddc.gov.uk/mavesynridware/
The villages are in an area bounded by the River Trent to the south and west, and the River Blithe to the north. On a map we are just off the B5014 about six miles north west of Lichfield and four miles east of Rugeley.
Where does the name 'Mavesyn Ridware' come from?
The name 'Mavesyn' comes from the family name Malvoisin, who was a French Knight. The first Malvoisin in this country acquired the title of Lord of the Manor following the Norman Conquest. The name reputedly means 'Dangerous Neighbour,' and history shows the family lived up to its name.
Ridware is a fascinating place name because it combines a British (or Celtic) element with Anglo-Saxon. Rhyd means ford in modern Welsh; -waru indicated an Anglo-Saxon tribal or familial grouping. The name therefore means the people who live by the ford (over the River Trent). We know that there was a ford here from the earliest times, later replaced by the stone High Bridge and the later cast-iron and modern road bridges. The River Trent was for a long period the boundary between the Celtic settlements and Anglo-Saxon incursions. The ford was obviously an important feature in the landscape, and the combination of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon elements indicate the two populations were living side-by-side in the early days of the Ridware villages.
You can find out more about the history of the four Ridwares by looking on the website of the Ridware History Society
The Old Hall Gatehouse
This is all that remains of the ancient manor house of the Mavesyn's. It is thought to date from around 1407 and is likely to have been built to provide accommodation for the family or important guests. It has two floors with the roof being an impressive crown post construction. It is timber framed but was refaced with brick and stone in the seventeenth century. There is a small dovecote at the one end with unusual nesting boxes made from wattle and daub.
Legend has it the Oliver Cromwell held a meeting of his Council of War in the Gatehouse room the night before he attacked Lichfield. There is a record that Cromwell's soldiers were in the parish in 1643 when five horses were bought by his forces.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOUND. A fascinating piece of history about Mavesyn Ridware
In 1955 the British Library came to Mavesyn Ridware to make a recording as part of its research into British accents. One of the people it spoke to was farm labourer Mr F Barrett. In the recording he talks about catching rabbits with ferrets and also about shooting hares.
Do you know Mr Barrett. Was he a relative of yours? He was born in 1891 and lived in the village but we don't know any more than that. The recording was made on April the 1st, 1955.
Please tell us if you can shed any light on the story. Who was Mr Barrett and where did he live?
|
We've had these comments from website readers "I believe he lived in Mavesyn Ridware. More information can be found in the Ridware's Brief History for the Millennium book." Do you know where he lived? "Mr Barrett worked for the farmer (Mr Ben Ravenscroft). He lived in the farmhouse where Mrs Eades now lives. Email us through the link above if there is anything else you can tell us about the Barrett family. Are there any relatives still living here? |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
