Rockingham Castle is around 12 miles South-West of the village of Duddington. Duddington is the ancestral village of the “Wyles” family – who lived there for over 500-years and perhaps much longer. St Mary’s Church – which exists in the heart of Duddington village – is the depository of genealogical information for my paternal family. There are the visible gravestones outside (scattered throughout the graveyard), the burial flagstones inside the Church (forming the flat, stone floor), the War Memorials (both inside and outside the Church), and all the Church-owned (Parish) paper records – this data is kept upon and within. On top of this wealth-information – further details are often stored in the local Records Offices. As with most family names in the world, surnames in England tend to have a highly local origin and can be proven to have developed within a precise location.
These names can reflect ethnic origins, professions, religious attitudes and vocations, as well as geographical locations, and natural objects, etc. In the old record books – St Mary’s Church – the original of which was Saxon and constructed out of wood (probably well-over a thousand years ago), is described as standing “within Rockingham Forest”. This demonstrates that Rockingham Forest was probably far greater in area than the 12 miles that now separates the two-places. At that time, many peasants lived within the forests which teemed with wild animals – including bears and wolves, etc. Today, with modern farming, road construction, and the expansion of towns and villages, this forest no longer exists as it once did. There are now vast open areas of more or less flat farming land with the odd cluster of trees.
Despite visiting Duddington (in Northants) regularly since 2009, we had never seen any signs for “Rockingham” – and wondered where this place was. Furthermore, whereas King Henry VIII used to frequent “Nonsuch” (in Sutton and Cheam – where we live) – I am told that King John (1166-1216) of Magna Carta fame, used to spend his leisure time staying at Rockingham Castle – which is near Rockingham village. He used to hunt in the local woods. Apparently, Henry VIII granted the castle (the Norman version of which is currently over 950-years old) to the Watson family (it was leased to Edward Watson in 1544). Prior to this, the general area the castle is now constructed upon possessed a Roman (a coin production industry) – and then a Saxon (Lord Bovi) – presence. The locale of Rockingham (probably the nearby village) is mentioned in the 1066 Doomsday Book – with the castle proper being built between 1066-1071.
As the Watson family still live in the castle, we could film the outside and certain peripheral places – specifically the medieval toilet and armoury – but none of the interior proper. This is a common restriction in the UK often presented as being justified on the grounds of “privacy” – but it more to do with selling expensive photographic books in the Souvenir Shop at the end of the visit. To be fair, the place is well presented and organised – with a ticket gaining free-parking, access to the exterior and interior of the castle, the castle gardens, and the local St Leonard’s Church. The Watson family (throughout its many generations) has travelled the world – including China and Japan. They brought back medals, ceramics, and even weaponry (Chinese swords). Although many of the helpful experts were very knowledgeable about the European objects – they were not that keen on discussing the Asian objects – which I thought a little odd. We were drawn to the Chinese ceramics – not so much the European chandeliers, etc.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 