A Lucky Find at Birdham

Lyn McCulloch, Barrymore, Marbury Rd, Comberbach, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 6AVU

Historian Vol. 9 No. 5 March 1991

My maiden name was Huntingford and I knew when I booked a cottage at Birdham this Easter that at least one Huntingford family had lived in the village in the l8th century. We live in Cheshire so research 'on the ground' as it were, is difficult.

We all enjoyed seeing the Mary Rose and the Victory at Portsmouth. The rest of the family enjoyed visiting Fishbourne Roman Palace, Bignor Roman Villa and Tangmere Aviation Museum. In return I was allowed to explore all the churchyards of villages I knew to have Huntingford baptisms, burials or marriages: Birdham, Sidlesham, Oving, Westhampnett, Diddling and Tillington.

When I came across a monumental stone leaning against a gravestone in Birdham churchyard I got very excited indeed. It was inscribed with the initials W H and the date 1743. "I'm sure that's a Huntingford!" I cried. The family exchanged knowing glances. Mother was imagining things again!

I had planned to visit the West Sussex Record Office at Chichester on the Wednesday. We called there on the Tuesday, which was the day after Easter Monday and were amazed to find it open. In Cheshire the libraries and Record Office are always closed the day after a Bank Holiday. (We discovered, later that Petworth House has a similar policy).

The Record Office was pleasant and the staff most helpful. I worked my way through the Birdham parish registers until I came to January 1st 1743. There he was. I could hardly believe my eyes. William Huntingford was buried in Birdham churchyard. I checked all the other entries for 1743 and found no other W.Hs.

We rushed back to Birdham and photographed the stone. It was only a quarter the size of a gravestone. Clearly it had been moved from its resting place. It lay propped against a gravestone just waiting for us to find it.

As I worked my way through the Birdham parish registers I noticed another William Huntingford. He was witness to a lot of marriages at Birdham Church. He was either a church-warden or a very popular chap!

The oldest Sussex Huntingford reference I have is for a William Huntynford of Diddling. He appears in a Lay Subsidy Roll dated 1524. Having got to Petworth House and found it closed we decided to go to Diddling. We found the tiny church of St Andrew's set in the corner of a field. What a glorious spot! We were enchanted. The sun was shining, the lambs were gambolling around their mothers and the larks were singing. I could almost imagine William Huntynford coming whistling down the lane to check on his sheep. Suddenly the 500 years between ourselves and a Sussex farmer who lived when the Mary Rose was afloat seemed to melt away.

We came home with some wonderful memories of Sussex and hope to return in the not too distant future.

Any references to Huntingford for my one name study would be most welcome.