|
| THE
VILLAGE
OF WILDHERN
|
 |
| 1920
|
Some people think that the name 'WILDHERN' is a combination of 'hern' (or heron) and wild
(a modern spelling of 'wyld' meaning a croft.) Another view is that the name 'hern'
or heron would have more to do with a wetter, lowland area. The village name may
derive from Wilde Herne/hurne meaning 'wild corner' or Wildherne meaning
'wilderness'.
An ancient well in Wildhern is 185 feet deep and reputed to be 350 years old and is still, along with other wells in the parish, used to measure the water table by the Water Authority.
|
 |
|
1919
|
 |
| The
Forgotten Fields of Wildhern
|
| Oh
yes, there were so many once, |
| Each
named and framed by hedge or fence. |
| Four
acres here, a few more there |
| Like
Stoney Piece and Beggars Lot. |
Gorse-covered
- each a hostile plot
|
Of
land for horse and plough; then came The War.
|
Our
need for food to stand the test
|
| Brought
prisoners - Italian men |
| And
British tractors fighting hard to clear this land. |
| Another
war which killed old appellations, |
Battling
onwards, shattering Webb's Rest,
|
The
Heaths, Short Croft and Witterns.
|
| Great
Burrows next and on to Carthorse Ground |
| Then
Dine's and Cook's and Taylor's too. |
| Heedless
of such names, mangling, scraping. |
| Roaring
and scoring out old boundaries |
Yet losing the game of history which was played
|
And
written upon that hard north Hampshire clay.
|
| Unknown
by name, just hectares now |
| With
only Dilly left from yesteryear; |
All
else is ploughed-up anonymity, to hide
|
| Those
once-familiar names, which like much land, |
Have
all and sadly, long been set aside.
|
|
By Robert Jules Vincent
|
