Tichborne Dole
Tichborne Dole
The tradition of the Tichborne Dole dates back to the 12th century (circa 1150) and is held every Lady Day which falls on March 25th (regardless of the day of the week) when approximately two tons of high-grade self-raising flour is dispensed. If Lady Day falls on a weekend that figure can be 20% higher due to more people not working on the weekend. The terms of the Dole stipulated that the adults from the parishes of Tichborne / Cheriton and Lane End (Hampshire) are entitled to claim one gallon of flour each whilst the children were entitled to claim half a gallon each.
Before the flour is shared out it is blessed by the local parish priest and the huge flour box is sprinkled with incense and holy water. Then a blessing is made on the soul of Lady Mabella Tichborne who started it all.
Who was Lady Mabella Tichborne?
Lady Mabella Tichborne - noted for her charity and piety - was married to Roger de Tichborne. Sir Roger was a professional soldier and his character was in stark contrast to that of his saintly wife. Even the imminent death of Lady Mabella failed to arouse any compassion in him. Her final request that the value of a small portion of the Tichborne estates be given annually to the poor of the parish in the form of a Dole was greeted with typical cruelty. No supporter of charity Roger answered his aged wife's plea by saying that he would agree to give every year the value of as much land as she could encompass while holding a blazing torch in her hand.
The Crawls
According to local folklore Lady Mabella - who was crippled by a wasting disease - crawled around 23 acres (93,000 square metres) of land before the torch went out. She charged her husband and his heirs to forever give the produce value of that land to the poor as agreed, however being mindful of Sir Roger's black character – Lady Mabella added a proviso to her request. She said that should the Dole ever be stopped then seven sons would be born to the house / followed immediately by a generation of seven daughters / after which the name would die out and the ancient house fall into ruin.
To this day there is a field at Tichborne known as "The Crawls".
The custom of giving the Dole - in the form of bread continued for over 600 years until 1794 when Magistrates abolished this custom due to abuse by vagabonds and vagrants.
The Curse
The custom of giving the Dole - in the form of bread continued from the time of Lady Tichborne's death until 1796 when due to disturbances during the handing out of the Dole lead to local Magistrates ordering it to cease.
Clearly somebody had forgotten Lady Mabella's curse!!
At that time Sir Henry Tichborne had seven sons. In 1802, George, the sixth son, died at the age of 13 and the same year the old house partly fell and was partly pulled down.
Four years later John - the fifth son died unmarried in the East Indies.
Another four years saw Benjamin - the second son die in China. He had also been a bachelor.
A few years later - seventh son Roger died. He was married without children. However, Henry - the eldest son managed to father seven children ........all of them girls.
Edward - the third son changed his name to Doughty in 1826. He produced the much wanted male heir. Sadly in 1835 the six-year-old Henry suddenly died. Edward Doughty immediately revived the Dole which has continued ever since.
James - the fourth son married in 1827 and produced two sons. One son was born before the restoration of the Dole and the other after the restoration of the Dole. The eldest son - Roger Charles Tichborne was lost at sea in 1845 however he was impersonated two decades later. The unsuccessful claimant was unmasked as Arthur Orton - a butcher. The legal case dragged on for two years and cost the family £100,000 to defend their estates.
Alfred Joseph - the youngest of James's sons was the only one to survive Lady Mabella's deathbed curse. He was the great grandfather of the late Sir Anthony Doughty Tichborne - the 14th baronet.
The Seven Sons
· Sir Henry Joseph Tichborne, 8th Bt (1779-1845)
· Capt Benjamin Edward Tichborne, EICS (1780-1810 in China)
· Sir Edward Tichborne-Doughty, 9th Bt (1782-1853)
· Sir James Francis Tichborne, 10th Bt (1784-1862)
· John Michael Tichborne (1788-1806) Died at Vellore, near Madras, India
· George Tichborne (1789-1802)
· Roger Robert Tichborne (1792-1849) married Rebecca Nunez, no male issue
The Seven Daughters of Sir Henry Tichborne, 8th Bt and Anne (daughter of Sir Thomas Burke, 1st Bt)
· Eliza Anne Tichborne, married the 11th Baron Dormer
· Frances Catherine Tichborne, married 11th Baron Arundell of Wardour (3rd wife, married 1829, died 1836)
· Julia Tichborne, married firstly (1830) Charles Talbot, secondly Washington Hibbert
· Mary Tichborne, died 1827
· Catherine Caroline Tichborne, married William Greenwood
· Emily Blanche Tichborne, married firstly John Bennett, secondly Matthew Higgins
The above table was found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tichborne_Dole
Other Information
· Villagers just don't want to miss the occasion as it is both an important link with the past and a great opportunity to meet the neighbours :D
· To carry their Dole back home villagers bring carrier bags / pillow cases / any type of suitable receptacle.
· Their booty (the flour) - a family of six merits the maximum of 28lbs of flour - is worth having in any age and is particularly welcome to the elderly and needy.
· Only those families living in Tichborne, Cheriton and Lane End are entitled to the Dole.
Written by: Andria Owen
Written by: Andria Owen
