Stondon Massey: Byrd for Christmas

BBC FOUR is repeating the series 'Sacred Music' this week. Programme 3, 'Tallis, Byrd and The Tudors' is on Christmas Eve, 24 December, at 7.00pm.

Harry Christophers, director of The Sixteen who appears in the programme, told the 'Early Music Show' (BBC Radio 3, 6.4.08) how very much he enjoyed performing Byrd's intimate music at Ingatestone Hall.

William Byrd (1543 - 1623) made no bones about the fact that he was a Catholic, and had powerful friends to protect them. His family and close friends were often in trouble and even imprisoned for recusancy. He became a close friend of the Petre family at Ingatestone and, while living at Stondon Massey, embarked on the Gradualia and Masses. This music was to be sung in private Catholic chapels such as that of the Petre family.

He devoted himself to projects during the last 30 years of his life while in Essex. There are two Byrds – the private one in retreat in Essex and a more European one, linked with De Monte across in Vienna. De Monte sends ‘By the rivers of Babylon’ Byrd replies in opening text ‘How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land’, a poignant response.

The composer's body was laid to rest in Stondon Massey churchyard in July 1623. Local people re-enacted his secret burial in the closing scenes of the programme.

An unmissable programme!

Stondon Massey: 'Sacred Music' round up

What others have written about the BBC FOUR series which ended on 11 April 2008:

The Sixteen – the choir contributing to this series.
http://www.the-sixteen.org.uk/about_us/latest_news.htm

‘Music for grown ups’ reviews programme two on Palestrina
http://musicforgrownups.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/palestrina-portrayed/

‘Ikon Arts Management’ provides overview to ‘Sacred Music’ series
http://www.ikonarts.com/news/2008/03/sixteen-on-bbc4-tvs-sacred-music.php

The blog spot for the Diocese of Leeds Music Department – ‘Psallite Domino’ - says how wonderful the series is.
http://psallite-domino.blogspot.com/2008/03/sacred-music-program-on-bbc-four.html

Rosie Bell on programme one; ‘The Gothic Revolution’.
http://rosiebell.typepad.com/rosiebell/2008/03/sacred-music.html

The Daily Record (Glasgow) previews programme three: ‘Tallis, Byrd and the Tudors’
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/newsfeed/2008/04/04/satellite-pick-of-the-day-86908-20372048/

BBC Radio 3. Early Music Show. ‘Tallis and Byrd in London’ (broadcast Sunday 6 April 2008).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/earlymusicshow/pip/m5831/

‘Forest Murmurs’. Father Brown on programme three: ‘Tallis, Byrd and the Tudors’
http://forestmurmurs.blogspot.com/2008/04/sacred-music-series.html
“What made it particularly interesting from a Catholic point of view was that the programme focused on the Catholic loyalties of the two men under an Anglican government. Most of the analysis of Byrd`s music was of his Catholic output and it was interesting to see the Petre`s family home at Ingatestone which was an important recusant centre in Essex.”
‘Petros’ gleans a review of programmes one to three.
http://dulverton-ramblings.blogspot.com/2008/04/sacred-music.html

‘Music for grown ups’ previews the final programme in the series (‘Bach for beginners?’).
http://musicforgrown-ups.blogspot.com/2008/04/bach-for-beginners.html
Gerry Smith (no relation) described the English programme as “dull”. “Not if you live in Stondon Massey, Essex, Gerry! But good on you for mentioning the series”. It was fabulous.

‘A few words from Rob Mansfield’: a review of programme four and an appreciation of the ‘Toccata and Fugue in D minor’.
http://www.robmansfield.net/2008/04/11/bachs-toccata-fugue/

‘Scribo Ergo Sum’ contributor Ali Gledhill reviews the whole series
http://www.scriboergosum.org.uk/ali/557
“Sacred Music has provided an important gateway for people who know nothing about the music they may be only faintly familiar with. It is a pity that so few people will have watched the series, although it is encouraging that the Radio Times has featured the programme each week as a ‘choice’”.

From Norwich. It’s the blog of the week! Simon-Peter Davies on the series.
http://something-to-have-been.blogspot.com/2008/04/sacred-music.html

A retrospective entry summarising ‘Sacred Music’ (the TV series) on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Music_(tv_series)

Although not specifically about the series, Chris Butler has written some notes about Byrd, Tallis and other composers with listening recommendations. ‘Classical music. For an idiot. By an idiot’ – I think not. A well written opus!
http://classicalmusicforidiots.blogspot.com/2008/04/brief-tour-of-western-musical-history.html

Area: Dangerous times in Elizabethan England

Following up the theme of recusancy in the 'Sacred Music' programme 'Tallis, Byrd and the Tudors'.

Following the death of Henry VIII, then his son Edward VI, England reverted to Catholicism under Mary, but returned to Protestantism after the accession of Queen Elizabeth I. This religious upheaval meant that Tallis, then Byrd, had to adapt to changes or face dire consequences. Quite how Byrd managed to keep out of trouble remains a mystery, Outwardly though he supported his Queen: privately he was a Catholic writing music for an underground movement.

Under Elizabeth, Priests had to swear an “oath of supremacy” acknowledging the Queen as “Supreme Governor” of both church and state. Attendance at church was compulsory. Those who refused to attend – called recusants – were taken to the Ecclesiastical Court.

The Queen made a number of orders including the removal of rood screens, defacing stained glass and breaking up of idolatrous images. Today this would be called vandalism, but then it was considered progress. It seems that Blackmore willingly complied with the dictates. Unlike a number of other churches, the 1565 visitation merely records “Oui bon” [ERO D/AE/V1]. (“Omma bene”, clearly written against other entries, Latin for “everything correct”).

Roman Catholic religious services were illegal in England and Wales between 1559 and 1778. The fear of revolution and invasion from Catholic Spain caused the law to be strengthened, in 1581 and 1585, whereupon the saying of Mass, even in a private home, was illegal; priests so doing faced the death penalty.

Locally, John Payne, priest to the Petre family at Ingatestone Hall was found guilty and hung, drawn and quartered at Chelmsford in 1582. “The manuscripts of the Custos Rotulorum preserved at Chelmsford yield up the information that in April, 1582, one John Gaye, of Blackmore, was examined as to his knowledge of ‘Payne the traytour’, recently executed and of his accomplices. He confessed to having said at Writtle that Payne was reported to have ‘belonged to one Master [William] Shelley [of Stondon Massey]’” [Reeve. p184].

If William Byrd had thought that Stondon Massey in 1593 was a quiet Essex backwater to pursue his religion, he surely must have considered this against the backdrop of Shelley’s indictment for treason and Payne’s martyrdom for being a Catholic priest to his patron, the Petre family, at Ingatestone Hall.

Bibliography
Reeve. History of Stondon. Supplementary Notes (1914)

Area: 'Tallis, Byrd and The Tudors'

Programme three in the series 'Sacred Music' has just had its first broadcast on BBC FOUR. Entitled 'Tallis, Byrd and The Tudors', we learned about these two Elizabethan Catholic composers who lived and worked in Essex.

Tallis worked for the Anglican Church following the dissolution of Waltham Abbey where he was organist between 1538 and 1540. He composed such pieces as 'If Ye Love Me', simply because as a musician this was the art professionally required of him at the time. The Church was the only place for his creativity.

Byrd, the younger of the two men, was quite a different character. He was a closet Catholic writing subversive liturgy for families such as the Petres at Ingatestone Hall. The present Lord Petre was interviewed at his home and viewers were shown paintings of William Petre, the first Baron and canny Tudor Secretary to the monarchs, then John, William's son and patron of Byrd. The Petre family were keen musicians and invited Byrd to Ingatestone Hall at Christmas 1585 for merrymaking and the odd secret Catholic mass. Byrd's settings of the Mass for Three, Four and Five Voices (part of the Mass for Four Voices sung by The Sixteen at Ingatestone Hall) are deliberately written for an intimate, domestic area. This is dangerous music.

The choice of Byrd's home at Stondon Massey, after the London Plague of 1592, seems to have been a deliberate hideaway from prying villagers and a walk across country to what was a hotbed of recusancy in the nearby village of Kelvedon Hatch.

Byrd is portrayed as a 'protest singer' in the composition of 'Why do I with paper, ink and pen' - a reaction to Edmund Campion's execution / martyrdom at Tyburn - and in the writing of 'How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land' (in Latin) to that Psalm 'By the Rivers of Babylon' (no don't mention Boney M please!).

These were indeed turbulent times! Repeated fines for recusancy and maybe anonymous burial at night fall in the churchyard at Stondon Massey.

A really great film. Will watch the repeat!

Stondon Massey: Sacred Music on BBC FOUR and 'Through Changing Scenes' at St Peter & St Paul Church. An update

Stondon Massey (Essex) will be on television tomorrow. The third programme in the series ‘Sacred Music’ (BBC FOUR. Friday 4 April. 8pm) features ‘Tallis, Byrd and the Tudors’. William Byrd lived for the last thirty years of his life at Stondon and was buried in the churchyard. We can expect a re-enactment of his burial in the film. The programme features music by the acclaimed choir, ‘The Sixteen’, recorded at Waltham Abbey. Andy King Dabbs, producer and director, spent five and a half hours with his film crew at Stondon Massey last autumn.

Meanwhile tickets for ‘Through Changing Scenes – a history of Stondon Massey church and village in words and music’ are on sale. There will now be two performances at St Peter & St Paul Church on Saturday 19 April: one at 7.30pm, and an additional performance at short notice at 4.00pm. The church holds only 80 people and demand for tickets has been higher than anticipated. See elsewhere on ‘Blackmore Area Local History’ for details.

BLACKMORE HISTORY NEWS - April 2008

Stondon Massey

April is a big month for historic Stondon Massey: on TV on 4 April, and ‘Through Changing Scenes’ on 19 April. St Peter and St Paul Church will echo again to the words of their previous Rector and historian, Reverend Edward Henry Lisle Reeve, and will feature music by local Elizabethan composer, William Byrd.

Due to rapid sale of tickets, there will now be two performances: at 7.30pm, as scheduled, and a matinee presentation at 4.00pm.

Feedback

Comments on ‘Blackmore Area Local History’ are now being received. One response was, “It’s very informative and makes wonderful reading. The Churchwardens references are very helpful and I shall be looking some of them up when next at the Essex Record Office”.

You can now E mail me. Go to 'Profile' on left hand side of this page and click 'E mail'.

Summer is coming

Folks are out and about photographing Blackmore Church (see below for links). Summer opening to visitors begins at the Priory Church of St Laurence, Blackmore from 22 April. Obviously subject to other needs (e.g. funerals) and the availability of stewards, opening times are Tuesdays to Fridays (Tues & Thurs, 2.00 to 4.30pm, Weds & Fris, 1.00 to 4.00pm) and Sundays (from 4 May), 2.30 to 4.30pm. These opening times will change in early October 2008.

The National Trust

With an early Easter, places of historic interest are re-opening for the summer season. This month I want to sing the praises of The National Trust. I visited Lyme Park, Cheshire, over the holidays and was once again really impressed with the activities laid on for families and children. It’s great to see them there! Sponsored by Cadburys – all chocolate gratefully received for the plug!! – Easter Egg hunts were in full swing as well as an informative ‘round the house’ quiz about pests. Children were told about Dave the Death watch Beetle, Wilma the Woolly Bear, Millie the Clothes Moth, Sammy the Silverfish and Bertie the Bookworm. This is teaching children about conservation in a lively and informative way. Adults too learn from this style of presentation and can discover more through reading the leaflet ‘A Future For The Past’.

Over the weekend I visited Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire – another National Trust property - and spoke to one of the informative stewards who was in the Library. In bookcases from floor to ceiling are 10000 books. But this is not a browsing Library. The books are there for show and must not be touched. The reason is that oil from fingers causes deterioration. So these books have become, understandably, museum pieces. I asked how they were checked for woodworm. Periodically volunteers dress up in white overalls with face-masks and place each book in turn under a “lamp” which detects spores.

Wimpole Hall and Home Farm – it’s lambing time now – is a great place for families, and many with children under eight years’ old were enjoying a sunny Sunday afternoon out. When I joined The National Trust several years ago it had a slightly old-fashioned image. That cannot be said now.

In Essex the nearest National Trust properties are in Coggeshall – Paycockes and Grange Barn – and make an enjoyable afternoon out for all ages.

Links

Returning to ‘singing the praises’. Top of the list of recommended links this month has to be the BBC / Open University series, ‘Sacred Music’. Go to:
http://open2.net/sacredmusic

This month’s links to other sites and blogs:
Unusual picture of bell tower, Priory Church of St Laurence, Blackmore
http://366pix.blogspot.com/2008/03/day-66.html

Another shot of Blackmore Church: comments about “loving Blackmore” and “Essex with its weather boarded spires”.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/celpelly/2314533480/

Can you help? Ancestor search for Susan Warwick, born Blackmore 1807
http://www.familytreecircles.com/journal_9165.html

Francis Frith collection – includes local memories and things about the past
http://www.francisfrith.com/archive/england/essex/blackmore/blackmore.htm

‘Keldon’ is a busy local historian who gleans a number of items for ‘History House’. I have picked up his latest contribution (http://www.historyhouse.co.uk/history/?p=88)
that refers researchers to a list of resources: http://www.cornucopia.org.uk/search?keywords=essex&search_form_submit=Go

Other blogs covering the ‘Sacred Music’ series theme are:
‘Music for grown ups’ reviews programme two on Palestrina
http://musicforgrownups.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/palestrina-portrayed/

‘Ikon Arts Management’ provides overview to ‘Sacred Music’ series
http://www.ikonarts.com/news/2008/03/sixteen-on-bbc4-tvs-sacred-music.php

The blog spot for the Diocese of Leeds Music Department – ‘Psallite Domino’ - says how wonderful the series is.
http://psallite-domino.blogspot.com/2008/03/sacred-music-program-on-bbc-four.html

Rosie Bell on programme one; ‘The Gothic Revolution’.
http://rosiebell.typepad.com/rosiebell/2008/03/sacred-music.html

Stondon Massey: Byrd on the box!

Programme three in the series ‘Sacred Music’, entitled 'Tallis, Byrd, and the Tudors', will be broadcast on BBC FOUR at 8.00pm on Friday 4 April. (and repeated at 1.30am on Saturday 5 April; 7.00pm on Sunday 6 April; and 2.05am on Monday 7 April). The programme is an hour long.

The following is taken from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk14/fri.shtml

Simon Russell Beale reaches the religious turmoil of Tudor England as he continues his exploration of the history of Western church music. He tells the story of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, two Catholic composers writing for a Protestant queen, who were at the centre of England's own musical Renaissance.

Tallis's career spanned the reign of four monarchs - Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth I - and his music reflects the religious upheavals and bewildering political changes that affected English church music as the nation switched between Catholicism and Protestantism. He began his career as an organist in Dover, moved to Waltham Abbey in Essex, then, after Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries in 1540, was appointed organist at Canterbury Cathedral. In 1543 he was made Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, a position he retained until his death in 1585.

Most likely born in Lincolnshire in 1543, William Byrd was a student of Tallis and the relationship between them was close. They jointly published 34 motets dedicated to Elizabeth I in 1575. When the older composer died, the music Byrd wrote in tribute was among the most beautiful and heartfelt of his prolific career. Appointed organist of Lincoln Cathedral in 1563, by 1572 he had joined Tallis as Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, sharing organist duties.

Byrd excelled in almost every musical form cultivated in the England of his time and, perhaps more than any other, his work is a musical record of one of the most challenging times in the history of sacred music.

Music is performed mainly at Waltham Abbey by award-winning choir The Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers, with a smaller group singing at Ingatestone Hall, Essex, (photo above) where Byrd risked his life taking part in secret worship. There is also music from the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace.

The Open University, who co-produced the series, has created a website linked to the programmes. The site features background information, programme summaries and a selection of music along with expert commentary. There is also space for viewer’s feedback. Go to:
http://open2.net/sacredmusic

The following is taken from:
http://open2.net/sacredmusic/tudors.html

“Through a succession of period documents and manuscripts Simon Beale tells the story of Thomas Tallis and his younger colleague William Byrd, the composers at the centre of England’s own musical Renaissance in the Tudor Age. He discovers the uncertainties of the life of a church musician in the sixteenth century, subject to numerous shifts of religious doctrine and worship from one monarch to the next.

“His journey takes him to some of England’s great cathedrals – Canterbury where Tallis was a singer, to Winchester where Mary Tudor was married and to Lincoln where Byrd started his career as the organist. In the account book of Lincoln Cathedral library he discovers one of William Byrd’s elaborate signatures and reflects on the composer’s powerful personality and sense of faith. He also visits many of the places in London and the Home Counties associated with Tallis and Byrd - attempting to find the houses they lived in, the churches where they worshipped (see note) and, ultimately, their graves.”

Note.
Records suggest that William Byrd and his family did not worship at his local church at Stondon Massey.

For example:

In 1615 Byrd “was summoned with his children to appear, to give account concerning their profession” [ERO D/AZ/1/4 f202].

In 1616 at the Ecclesiastical Court at Romford, “William Birde, gent, for a Recusant Papist and for absenting himself from church a long tyme and for standing excommunicate seaven yeares”. His daughter-in-law, Catherine, was reported as “similar” and a neighbour Charles Clark also recorded as “a Recusant” [ERO D/AZ/1/6 f81].

Stondon Massey: William Byrd - links to other sites

The BBC FOUR series, ‘Sacred Music’ screened over the Easter season in 2008 features the lives and works of Thomas Tallis, organist at Waltham Abbey, and William Byrd, the Elizabethan Composer who lived for the last thirty years of his life at Stondon Massey in Essex. The Open University, who co-produced the series, has created a website linked to the programmes. The site features background information, programme summaries and a selection of music along with expert commentary. There is also space for viewer’s feedback. Go to:
http://open2.net/sacredmusic

Tallis and Byrd are featured in programme three (of four) on Friday 4 April (8.00pm to 9.00pm).


Much is written on the internet about Byrd (apart from this blog). These are just a selection of links:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Byrd
http://home.sprintmail.com/~cwhent/WilliamByrd.html
http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/byrd.html

Stondon Massey: BBC TV / Open University series to feature St Peter & St Paul Church

Details have been released of a TV series, ‘Sacred Music’, which comes to our screens (if you ‘do digital’ that is) over the Easter period. The programmes will be broadcast on BBC FOUR.

And Stondon Massey, Essex, will appear in the third programme on 4 April 2008.

Stondon’s claim to fame is that William Byrd, a catholic and gentleman of the Chapel Royal, lived at Stondon Manor, from 1593 until his death on 4 July 1623.

Last October, Stondon’s Churchwardens were present at St Peter & St Paul Church during filming, which lasted for over five hours. One of them was interviewed and participated in a re-enactment of Byrd’s burial at night in the churchyard. Byrd is thought to have been laid to rest there - according to his Will - but without a surviving burial register for the period this cannot be proved. No memorial was erected at the time to the Elizabethan composer, no doubt because his Catholic conviction which brought him into conflict with the protestant locals.

In fact, it was not until the 1920s that Byrd received official local recognition, thanks to the efforts of the Rector and local historian, Canon Edward Reeve. On the south wall is a tablet commemorating the tercentenary of Byrd’s death, describing him as ‘A Father of Musick’ (see picture). The proceeds for the Tablet were paid for from the surplus received from Tercentenary Celebrations in London in 1923. The unveiling of the memorial, during a special Service on 12 March 1924, was attended by choristers from the Chapel Royal.

'Sacred Music', the TV series, (described as a history of 600 years of European Sacred Music from its roots in 12th Century Paris to the works of Johann Sebastian Bach), is an Open University documentary series which includes performances by conductor Harry Christophers and his world-famous choir, The Sixteen.

The series begins at St Paul’s Cathedral in London and journeys to Paris, Rome and Leipzig charting the political, social and musical developments of the time.

There is also a one-off 90-minute concert of music from the series which will broadcast on BBC FOUR on Easter Sunday.

Simon Russell Beale, the presenter, said in the press release: “I had a wonderful time making this series, travelling to extraordinary places, meeting fascinating people and above all listening to some of the most beautiful music ever written.

“The history of Sacred Music is an intriguing story and I hope the programmes will be a feast for both ear and eye.”

As well as London, the series also visits Dover, Waltham Abbey, the Cathedrals of Winchester, Lincoln and Canterbury, Stondon Massey in Essex where Simon visits the parish church of St Peter & St Paul, Ingatestone Hall and Harlington in Middlesex which features the parish church of St Peter.

The series will be broadcast on Friday evenings from Friday March 21 for four weeks on BBC FOUR. The accompanying concert will broadcast on BBC FOUR on Easter Day, Sunday March 23.

Programme Three, featuring Stondon, will be broadcast on Friday 4 April. This edition centres on London, where two great Catholic musicians of the 16th century composed for a very Protestant monarch, Elizabeth I. Against a background of religious upheaval and political change, Thomas Tallis and William Byrd served as gentleman of the Chapel Royal, the musical powerhouse of the monarchy, and their music was fundamental to the development of the English choral tradition, regarded today as the finest in the world. Despite their own deeply held Catholic beliefs, they composed some of their finest music for the Anglican church. The singers of “The Sixteen” illuminate through rehearsal and conversation not only the music itself but the sheer clarity of sound with which the tradition is associated.

Locally, of course, more about William Byrd can be heard at the ‘Through Changing Scenes’ event, to be held at the church on Saturday 19 April. Tickets are available now.

A booklet will also go on sale in aid of Church Funds, entitled 'William Byrd: Some Notes".

Meanwhile, across the Internet and in magazines, the name 'Stondon Massey' is appearing in connection with the TV Series.

For enquiries about the church, its events etc, click on 'Aask Andrew' under 'Labels' (left hand sie) and add a comment or use the Comments field below. Both will reach my E mail box.

Stondon Massey: William Byrd - Last Will and Testament

An extract from the forthcoming book ‘William Byrd: Some Notes’

William Byrd, composer and resident of Stondon Place, died on 4 July 1623.

His Will, a copy of which may be seen in the Vestry of St Peter and St Paul Church, Stondon Massey (with permission), reads as follows:

In the name of the most glorious and undivided Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, three distinct persons and one eternal God, Amen.

I, William Byrd of Stondon Place in the parish of Stondon in the County of Essex, gentleman, do now in the 80 year of my age, but through the goodness of God being of good health and perfect memory, make and ordain this for my last Will and Testament.

First: I give and bequeath my soul to God Almighty, my creator and redeemer and preserver: humbly craving His grace and mercy for the forgiveness of all my sins and offences; past, present and to come.

And that I may live and die a true and perfect member of His holy Catholic Church without which I believe there is no salvation for me. My body to be honestly buried in that parish and place where it shall please God to take me out of this life which I humbly desire if so it shall please God may be in the parish of Stondon where my dwelling is: And then to be buried near unto the place where my wife liest buried, or else where as God and the time shall permit and suffer. And where I have been long desirous to settle my poor estate in the farm of Stondon place according to an award lately made between Catheren Byrde my daughter in law and me by a very good friend to us both.

Which award we both gave our Christian promises to perform, but having been let and hindered therein by the undutiful obstinancy of one whom I am unwilling to name: do now ordain and dispose of the same as Followeth. First, the whole Farm to remain to my self and my assignees during my life; and after my decease, I give the same to my daughter in law Mrs Catheren Byrd for her life; upon the conditions following, viz: to pay Twenty eight pounds, fifteen shillings and fourpence yearly to mr. Anthony Lutor or his assignees for the fee farm rent. And to pay to mistress Dawtry of Doddinghurst 15 shillings yearly for the quit rent of Maleperdus freehold: Also to pay unto my son Thomas Byrde Twenty pounds yearly during his life: And to my daughter Rachel Ten pounds a year during her life. And the same payments to begin at the next usual Feasts of payment after the day of my death: And after the decease of my said daughter in law mistress Catheren Byrde and of the aforesaid lives: I give and bequeath the whole Farm of Stondon Place to Thomas Byrde my grandchild, son of Christopher Byrd my eldest son by the said Catheren; and to his heirs lawfully begotten for ever: And for want of such heirs of the said Thomas Byrde son of the said Christopher: I give the same Farm of Stondon Place to Thomas Byrde my son to his heirs lawfully begotten: And for want of such heirs: I give the Inheritance of the said Farm to the four sons of my daughter Mary Hawksworth wife of Henry Hawksworth gentleman as they are in age and seniority viz: First to William Hawksworth and his heirs lawfully begotten and for want of such heirs to Henry Hawksworth his second brother his heirs lawfully begotten, and for want of such heirs to George Hawksworth and his heirs lawfully begotten, and for want of such heirs to John Hawksworth the fourth son of the said Mary Hawksworth my daughter: And to his heirs lawfully begotten. And for want of such heirs of the four sons of Mary Hawksworth my daughter and her husband To William Hooke son unto Rachel Hooke my daughter and to his heirs lawfully begotten and for want of such heirs: To the right heirs of me the said William Byrde for ever: Item I give and bequeath to the four sons of Mary Hawksworth my daughter and her husband To William Hooke son unto Rachel Hooke my daughter and to his heirs lawfully begotten and for want of such heirs: To the right heirs of me the said William Byrde for ever: Item I give and bequeath to my daughter in law mistress Catheren Byrde and her son Thomas Byrde all my goods moveables and unmoveables at Stondon Place. And also all the woods and Timber trees wheresoever they are growing in and upon the said Farm: upon this condition only to see me honestly buried and my debts truly discharged, to which end and purpose; I do make and ordain Catheren Byrde my said daughter in law and Thomas Byrde her son whole executors of this my last will and testament. Item I give and bequeath unto my son Thomas Byrd all my goods in my lodging in the Earl of Worcester’s house in the Strand: And where I purchased a perpetual annuity or rent charge of 20 £ a year of Sir Francis Fortescue knight unto 200 £ be paid in which annuity I have given to Elizabeth Burdet my eldest daughter for her life: I do now declare how it shall be disposed of after my said daughter’s decease, first if my said son Thomas Byrde concur with this my last will and Testament and accept of his annuity according to the same: Then I give the one half of the annuity being Ten pounds a year or one hundred pounds if it be paid in: to the said Thomas Byrd his heirs, executors and assignees. And the other half of that annuity I give and bequeath to Michael Walton with marriage of his wife Catheren Hooke my grandchild for her marriage portion. Always provided that if my son Thomas Byrd do seek by law or other ways to disturb or trouble my executors and not agree to the same: Then I do hereby declare That my will and intention is: That the said Thomas Byrde my son shall have no part of the said annuity: but I do hereby give that part of the annuity That I had given to my son Thomas Byrd: to Thomas Byrd my grandchild to him and his heirs for ever.

And having now by the leave of God Finished this my last will according to the true meaning of the said award and our Christian promises: I do now by this my last will and Testament utterly revoke and annul all former grants, writings and wills as far as in me lieth whatsoever is contrary to this my last will and Testament:

In witness thereof I, the said William Byrd have set my hand and seal the Fifteenth day of November in the years of the reign of our Sovereign lord James, by the grace of God King of England, France and Ireland the Twentieth and of Scotland Fifty six defender of the faith re 1622:

By me Wyllm Byrde

Sealed and delivered in the presence of Henry Hawksworth.

(Proved by Thomas Byrd and Catherine Byrd 30 October 1623)

We cannot know for certain whether Byrd was buried at Stondon, but it is unlikely that he travelled between the date of his Will and his death.

Stondon Massey: William Byrd - Our Shakespeare of Music

An extract from the forthcoming book ‘William Byrd: Some Notes’

William Byrd and Thomas Tallis were the great composers of Elizabethan England. In 1575 they were granted the exclusive right to produce printed manuscripts. Byrd, we know, lived for the last thirty years of his life at Stondon Massey. He was one-time organist at the Chapel Royal and Court Composer to the Petre family at Ingatestone Hall.

A Roman Catholic in a very Protestant era, Byrd was an unpopular man in the parish. The Churchwardens, who had significant power in those days, presented his name before the Essex Archdeaconry courts for failing to attend church and take communion, and for failing to pay church rates. This was a compulsory local tax intended to pay towards the upkeep of the church building and to provide for the poor of the parish.

We know that Byrd wished to be buried at Stondon Massey, but there is no evidence since no headstone was erected – in common with the early seventeenth century – and the Parish Registers for the period have been lost. St Peter and St Paul’s Church has a memorial to him commemorating the tercentenary of his death: he died on 4th July 1623. It bears the inscription “A Father of Musick”.


Much is written on the internet about Byrd. Other links:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Byrd
http://home.sprintmail.com/~cwhent/WilliamByrd.html
http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/byrd.html

Stondon Massey: Sacred Music on BBC FOUR

Those taking the following Open University courses will be glued to BBC FOUR on 4 April when William Byrd of Stondon Massey will be featured.

- A214 An Introduction to Music
- AA317 Words and music
- A179 Start listening to music
- AA100 The Arts: past and present

Information on William Byrd and the small village on Stondon Massey, Essex, can be found on this blog.

BLACKMORE HISTORY NEWS - March 2008

Following the success of ‘Through Changing Scenes’ at Blackmore, it’s Stondon Massey’s turn on Saturday 19th April, starting at 7.30pm. St Peter and St Paul Church (see photograph) will echo again to the words of their previous Rector and historian, Reverend Edward Henry Lisle Reeve, and will feature music by local Elizabethan composer, William Byrd. ‘Through Changing Scenes’ is a history of the church and village in words and music’. The music is provided by Tuneful Accord directed by Christine Gwynn, and the script, researched and written by me, told by members of the congregation. Profits will go to church funds.

Linked with ‘Through Changing Scenes’, two small books will be available telling the history of Stondon Massey. There will also be the opportunity to buy “Revd. E.H.L. Reeve. Chronicler Of The Great War” and “William Byrd: Some Notes”. All books are £1.50 each, more if posted.

Stondon Massey Church will also be featured on television. On 4 April, programme three in the series ‘Sacred Music’ will feature the life and work of William Byrd. Some of the programme was “filmed on location”. The series will be broadcast on BBC FOUR.

Will this mean a surge in visitor numbers this summer to our local parishes?

Over the next month, this ‘blog’ will feature aspects of Stondon’s history: not only some notes on composer William Byrd but also other local worthies.

Returning to the subject of books, I have written a number on aspects of Blackmore’s local history. A list is now included.

Here in this corner of Essex consultation around a Planning Appeal for the old school continues but in the meantime with Brentwood Borough Council approving a separate plan to extend the old building to permit conversion to a four-bedroom house. Letters associated with the Planning Appeal close on 7 March. My personal views are given on this blog.

As a parish, Blackmore covers about 2500 acres. In terms of housing, it may be divided into three sections: the old village, Hook End (or anciently Hooks End) and, Wyatts Green. The latter areas were scattered farms until the 1960s when estates were created. First Avenue, Hook End, were former ‘plot land’ dwellings, sold in the 1930s. In the old village (central Blackmore, actually towards the north of the parish) The Green and its surroundings lie within a Conservation Area. Essex County Council has recently undertaken an appraisal (the consultation period closed on 1 February) and this is of both historic and civic interest. This month I include a link to this and other Conservation Area appraisals.

Listed buildings are of importance to our history. Local Councils publish a ‘Buildings at Risk’ register. This includes Coachmans Cottage (Grade II listed) in Church Street but, a gold star is now required to its owner in that over the recent weeks it has been repaired. A link to Brentwood Borough Council’s register is now on this ‘blog’.

The landscape too is important to our heritage. This is illustrated in the nearby town of Chipping Ongar which has recently published its ‘Ongar Tree Strategy’. I include a short review.

I wrote last month that in terms of coverage Blackmore Area Local History will include the area roughly Epping to the west, Chelmsford to the north, Billericay to the east, and Brentwood to the south. I came across a map from 1848 which, being way out of copyright, I have included at the foot of the page. It gives a sense of relative location for those who are unfamiliar with this part of the county.

Coming soon to this blog
- Jericho Priory
- Early twentieth century postcards of Brentwood, Warley Barracks, Shenfield etc

Coming soon to Blackmore Village Website
- an index of Blackmore ancestors
- a transcript of the 1910 Electoral Register.

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