The Whilton Stone

In 2014 farmers Gordon and Martin Emery ploughed up a lump of stone in the field below Whilton Rectory near Daventry. After he showed it to me, I agreed I would try to find out what it was, as I assumed it was connected with a Whilton family and would be easy to trace. This proved not to be the case.

They brought it up to our garage in the tractor scoop. The stone was thickly mud-covered and I brushed it off gently until it was possible to see clearly that this showed a carved shield. This was only the beginning of my journey of discovery, which was to have a number of hitches ahead. 

I began with research into the Whilton families who may have borne arms, only to discover that none of them had the remotest resemblance to the carving.

I then approached a herald, who was able to identify the shield. As soon as I knew it showed the arms of a member of the Skipwith family, I guessed the link must be with the Victorian Rector of Whilton, Rev Randolph Skipwith. I little dreamed that the original owner of the shield would have left a personal record of his life in his diary, which still survives, and that I would be able to date the stone to between 1670 and 1677. I did not expect I would be following up the family in various counties and other countries too. Nor did I expect the many links and influences of this ancient Norman family.

The stone shows the shield of Fulwar Skipwith, born in 1628 in Hackney, who was sent to complete his education in the household of Royalist Sir Simon Clarke in Warwickshire. His erratic diary from his teenage years at the beginning of the Civil War, includes a voyage to Barbados in 1645, serving Charles I, Sir Simon Clarke and later his widow with great loyalty. His writing records his secret courtship and subsequent elopement with Dorothy Parker of Anglesey Abbey, near Cambridge, followed by three marriage ceremonies in the uncertain period of the Commonwealth, all without the knowledge of his mother-in-law!

Through this marriage Fulwar became immensely wealthy and as a widower he later married another heiress, Elizabeth Cony. Newbold Revel Hall near Rugby became their main residence and he made some alterations to this old manor house. These almost certainly included the erection of the “Whilton stone” after he became a Baronet in 1670.

The bringing of the stone to Rugby Art Gallery and Museum has returned it to its origins. After seven years, the moving of the stone to Rugby is an example of co-operation between different organisations and people for the benefit of all. The rescue of the stone is also the result of Gordon and Martin Emery sharing the information about their find. Possessing an object is less important than sharing its significance.

The publication of the book has also led to some more illustrations coming to light, so that we now have more portraits of the Skipwith family, including the first Baronet and his two wives, and Rev Randolph, the Rector. The project has given me the privilege of being part of an old story coming to life.

The Mystery of the Whilton Stone

My story: Anthea Hiscock

(Chair, Whilton Local History Society)