History of Guilden Sutton
Arthur Willis photo gallery
A collection of 500 annotated photographs showing Guilden Sutton from the 1920's to the 1970's. Goto the archive
The Growth of a Township
A further account of the parish of Guilden Sutton by H Arthur. This little gem of a book about the history of Guilden Sutton can be found at various places around the village including the history society. View here
War Memorial
Details of people remembered at the War Memorial View here
Guilden Sutton was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Legend has it that the parish has always been “off the beaten track”, with Roman Roads running close by. Indeed there is a delightful story that Cromwell’s men were unable to find it when they sought to punish the Royalist settlement, and that missing Chester plate is buried under an unspecified oak tree. Actual historic finds have been few: a bronze coin of Licinius I (AD307-324) found behind the Bird in Hand, a mediaeval lead spindlewhorl, four 17th cent. swords found in a house cellar, and a cannon ball.
A church was probably built in the 12th or 13th cent. The earliest register of births, marriages and deaths dates back to 1595; the Archdeacon’s corrections Books, recording the proceedings of church courts, refer to “Edward Dutton and Margaret his wife” being absent from church in 1673 and the churchwardens’ accounts reveal that 10s 6d (52.5p) purchased a coffin for Joseph Joynson in 1744.
In the mid 18th cent, the parish consisted of 12 farm houses and eight cottages. Always an agricultural community, the parish had the services of a man to prevent cattle straying. The church was much damaged by a great storm in 1802 and was rebuilt. By 1810, the village was growing and had 24 houses and 120 people, increasing to 42 houses and 234 people 60 years later, including farmers, a blacksmith, a tile and brick maker, two boot and shoe makers, a painter and a bricklayer. The Methodist Chapel was built in 1873, the original village school in 1891, and the present church hall in 1916.
In 1964, the Rev H A Clarke said in his history of the parish “Owing to the mechanisation of agriculture, the proportion who work on the land is very small indeed. It is in fact a dormitory village .... it is still rural but it is no longer an agricultural community as it was for many centuries. It will certainly grow in years to come but let us hope it does not cease to feel like an English village”.
More than half a century on, the same can be said.
SOUL CAKING
There is an article from the Guardian newspaper website which describes the history of Soul Caking and even provides a recipe for Soul-cakes which were given to people as they went door to door, singing and saying prayers for souls over the Halloween period. See article here
Guilden Sutton is referenced in several instances of Folk traditions including this one:
http://www.folkplay.info/Notts/Td00279.htm
Also Guilden Sutton is referenced in this little booklet by Alex Helm on Cheshire Folk drama - see page 23. https://folkplay.info/files/booklets/cheshire-folk-drama-1968.pdf
I am grateful for the help of Chris Little, a member of the Traditional
Drama Research Group who has provided the following (Feb 2004):
A chapter in Cheshire Village Memories II: being extracts from Thirty-Nine
Scrap Books and Jottings of Local History made by members of Women's
Institutes refers to winter customs in Guilden Sutton, as follows: Soul-caking was another occasion which
called for much visiting and there was one old character who visited
and sang carols at all the local farms on Christmas morning; he was
rewarded with 'Christmas spirit' and food
The following is an extract from 'In Pastures Green' by the Rev H. A. Clarke (An account of the Parish of Guilden Sutton completed in 1964):
XVIII. THE SOUL CAKING PLAY
Examples of the Mummers Play are found in many parts of England. It was generally performed at Christmas or Easter, but in Cheshire alone it is performed at All Souls Tide. Guilden Sutton is one of the very few Cheshire villages that has retained the form of this play. It was always performed by boys in their early teens. After the introductory song sung by the whole gang, the Letter-In announces the purpose of their visit.
“Open these doors to let our merry actors in For
we are in favour for King George to win Whether
we sit, rise, stand or fall We’ll do our best to
please you all”.
He then introduces King George, who, after a ranting speech, introduces his opponent the Turkish Knight. In the ensuing fight, King George is always the victor. For this he is bitterly reproached by the next character, the Lady, who calls for a Doctor. The Doctor gives an account of his travels and cures the fallen warrior. This ends the play proper, but a parade of minor characters follows — Beelzebub, Dairydout, Paddywack, Dick and his leader, and sometimes a sailor. Dick was a “pantomime” horse, with a real wooden head — the only one in Cheshire — which was held by the one doing this part. These minor characters are not part of the Mummers Plays as performed elsewhere in England. Some of them are thought to be relics of the Miracle Plays, characters who caught the fancy of the peasants who retained them in their mumming long after the originals had vanished. The horse appears to have been grafted on from an old fertility rite connected with the end of harvest. In Guilden Sutton the number of minor characters simply varied with the talent available. Most of them wore their ordinary suits, trimmed with coloured fringe paper round legs, arms, and waists. It was all very unsophisticated, a genuine survival of the rural peasantry from time immemorial. Unfortunately, it ceased during the first World War, and was never revived. There are many people still in the village who have either seen it or taken part in it. They all speak of it with affection.
NOTE: 'In Pastures Green' exists as a photocopy of a typewritten document. It has recently been machine read and is in the process of being checked for misreadings and will shortly appear on this website. BL