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But the town possesses a very charming Cloth Hall, which tells of the palmy days of the Newbury cloth-makers, or clothiers, as they were called; of Jack of Newbury, the famous John Winchcombe, or Smallwoode, whose story is told in Deloney's humorous old black-letter pamphlet, entitled The Most Pleasant and Delectable Historie of John Winchcombe, otherwise called Jacke of Newberie, published in 1596.
Bingley was really a very nice young fellow, living in a house far more worthy of the name than the slovenly rancho tenanted by his neighbour Winchcombe. He was the favourite of the colonists, having more money than the others, and keeping two servants. Always on his reception-day he provided his guests with hot bread and fresh butter, as well as with the indispensable rum-bottle and teapot.
My men and teams were generally off to the hills, Blockley, Broadway, Winchcombe, Farmcote, and suchlike out-of-the-way places, when the wet "rides" in the woods were drying up.
For whereas he builded a church at Winchcombe, vpon the day of the dedication thereof, he led the Kentish king as then his prisoner, vp to the high altar, and there set him at libertie, declaring thereby a great proofe of his good nature. There were present at that sight, Cuthred whom he had made king of Kent in place of Ethelbert, or Edbert, with 13 bishops, and 10 dukes.
Finallie, after he had reigned 24 yéeres, he departed this life, and appointed his buriall to be in the same abbeie of Winchcombe, leauing behind him a sonne named Kenelme, who succeeded his father in the kingdome, but was soone murthered by his vnnaturall sister Quendred, the 17 of Iulie, as hereafter shall be shewed. Malm. Matth. West. Hen. Hunt.
In the train he had selected the words of his greeting, going over them with care some slight expression of his gratification in meeting one of whom he, in common with the whole world, had heard but of course put delicately, very delicately; some slight reference to her distinguished parents and the part her family had played in the history of England made, of course, with proper tact; a sentence or two about her eldest brother Lord Winchcombe, who had won his V.C. in the late war under circumstances which could only cause he might or might not add this every Englishman's heart to beat higher than ever with pride, and the first steps towards what might well be the turning-point in his career would have been taken.
Some of our neighbours had given us specially lively specimens of the personalities indulged in at the meetings of their local bodies, Boards of Guardians, and Councils notably, at that time, those of Winchcombe and Stow-on-the-Wold, where these exhibitions appeared to form a favourite diversion.
Winchcombe explained, however, that he had not yet had time to cultivate much. "Only vegetables and such things, don't you know," he said. "I don't see them," I returned. "Well, no; we had a lot of caterpillars and blister beetles and things, and they ate everything up, don't you know," said he.
In each house a peon was kept to take care of the flock and to cook, and as the sheep appeared to take care of themselves, and the cooking merely meant roasting a piece of meat on a spit, there was very little for the hired men to do. "Why don't you do these things for yourselves?" I innocently asked. "I fancy it wouldn't quite be the right thing, don't you know," said Mr. Winchcombe.
The old abbey tithe-barn at Littleton of the fourteenth century, Wickhamford Manor, the home of Penelope Washington, whose tomb is in the adjoining church, the picturesque village of Cropthorne, Winchcombe and its houses, Sudeley Castle, the timbered houses at Norton and Harvington, Broadway and Campden, abounding with beautiful houses, and the old town of Alcester, of which some views are given all these contain many objects of antiquarian and artistic interest, and can easily be reached from Evesham.
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