Reigns of Queen Mary (1553 to 1558) & Queen Elizabeth l (1558 to 1603)
After Lancelot Ridley was deprived of the living at Willingham by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1553, he was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Thomas Parkinson. He was a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, and had been Rector of Wimpole for three years before coming to Willingham in 1554. He not only held the living at Willingham for 31 years, but after 1566 he was also Rector of Wimpole and Orwell. One might have thought that having responsibility for three parishes would have been rather demanding, but it was reported in 1561 that “neither he nor his curate preached at Willingham very frequently.” There is no record of how frequently he preached at his other livings!
A Protestant Queen
A great deal was happening in England at this time. Within four years of Thomas Parkinson’s arrival at Willingham Elizabeth I came to the throne, very much the protestant Queen of a now protestant country. To spare England the bitter religious wars with which Europe was ravaged, she began working out a religious compromise. Whilst repudiating the authority of the Pope, she mixed protestant doctrines of the Church of England with catholic elements in its ritual. In the period of peace which followed, England prospered. This was the golden age of exploration, with Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake discovering new routes and new countries around the globe.
Queen Elizabeth l
Elizabethan Prosperity
Willingham prospered too. The population of the village had grown to around 400 in 1563, with 105 households. By 1575 the central core of the village had been established. Church Street was described as the spine of the village, linking the Green and its pond at one end to the Church at the other, and was lined with houses on both sides. The High Street was also built up on both sides and, as now, stretched from Over crossroads into what is now George Street. The third principal street was Throcknole End, (now known as Rockmill End and Green Street) which was also lined with houses on both sides. Also established by then on a smaller scale were Long Lane, Berrycroft, Fen End, Fews Lane (now Short Lane), and Mill End (later Dog End and now Silver Street).
Bourney’s Manor
Ownership of Bourney’s Manor, the smaller of the two Manors in Willingham, changed in 1572, after a long period in the hands of the de Bruyne family. The Manor house was situated on the High Street, opposite where the Post Office now stands. It was bought by Thomas March from Pampisford. The larger Manor in Willingham still remained in the ownership of the Bishop of Ely, and the benefice was rated as one of the most valuable in the Deanery.
Next time: Education comes to Willingham