194 
Short Notes. 
the glebe land, Wootton Fields, formerly called Rudhills (533 acres).’ 
‘At the time of the restoration of the Church the lead coffin of Henry 
Hyde, Earl of Clarendon and Rochester was found. He must have been a 
very tall man, and the coffin was singularly narrow where the shoulders 
would be. The inscription, of which the writer has a tracing, was ‘ The 
Right Honble. Henry Hyde, Earl of Clarendon and Rochester, Died 10th 
December, 1753, in ye 83rd year of his age.’ There was also the coat of 
arms and the motto ‘ Soyez Ferme.’ 
“In a Terrier dated 28th July, 1783, the Old Vicarage—which stood ona 
site some distance below the present one—is thus described :—‘ The Vicarage 
House Built with stone, and covered with thatch, a hall on the first floor 
with stone pavement, pantry with earth floor, scullery with stone pavement, 
on the first floor; a dining room wainscotted chair high, a drawing room, 
and three bed rooms, all ceiled, on the second floor; three garrets ; brewhouse 
29ft. by 24ft. Stable, 19ft. by 17ft., stone walls, and covered with thatch. 
Barn, 47{t. by 19ft. weather boarded, and covered with thatch.’ 
“The parish was formerly divided into two tythings, Woodshaw and 
Greenhill. Each appointed its own tythingman or constable until 1839, 
when the rural police took over their duties. When the new Highway Act 
was adopted in the Swindon Division, in 1864, surveyors of highways 
ceased tobe appointed. The Borough of Wootton Bassett appointed its own 
surveyor. The amount levied was to the full extent of that authorised by 
law, namely, three ten-penny rates in a year, and there was always much 
squabbling among the inhabitants, Once a year the road scrapings were 
sold, about Christmas time, at one or other of the inns, and the money was 
speut in jollification. This was called the ‘ Dirt Supper.’ 
“The rates in Woodshaw tything seldom exceeded sixteen pence in the 
pound, and those levied in Greenhill were about sixpence, but—as may be 
expected—the roads were in a wretched state. 
“The area of the parish in which the tything of Woodshaw was comprised 
was the north and east side of the stream, the correct name of which is the 
‘Lower Avon, and the Greenhill tything the south and west sides of the 
same. Among the roads which have ceased to exist in the parish may be 
mentioned one called ‘ Pudding Lane,’ which led out of the Chippenham Road 
to Dunnington Common, and now forms part—at the west side—of an arable 
field called Muxon Close, on Dunnington Farm. ‘Those people from 
Brinkworth and elsewhere who came up Whitehill Lane, could, if they 
wished, go to Marlborough without passing through the borough, thus 
avoiding the two hills by which it is approached. ‘here was also another 
road which was abolished when the enclosure (about 1820 or 1821) of the 
common land within the parish took place. It led from Dunnington 
Common by a bridge built over the canal, down to the brook into a large 
field called Ford Close, or Cruse’s Field (now belonging to Mr. George 
Twine), and went over, up under the hedge, into what was Greenhill 
Common, thence to Calne, Chippenham, &c. It was only used for a bridle 
road, but it is quite evident from the quantity of earth in the track—which 
has vanished, the ground being much lower—that it must have been 
used to a great extent in ancient times. By going from Dunnington Common 
ne 
lee 
Mosse ~ 
