Belchamp Walter in the 17th Century

When it comes to thinking about what it was like in the 19th century there maybe a few misconceptions. These relate to how the "working" people carried out their lives and how the landowners interacted with them. Far from being a Dickensian idyll where a "Scrooge" reforms and makes the lives of Tiny Tim's family something to make their existance tolerable, things were far different.

The country was entering the "industrial" and "commercial" age, Belchamp Walter was about to change from its medieval past. Queen Elizabeth died in 1603 and she had been casting her sights more globally than any time in the previous English history. Instead of just fighting the French, the Spanish and other European nations, the "New World" was a source of wealth and the Indian sub-continent was now in the sights of the English.

The wealth that was aquired in this period probably was responsible for major changes to occur in the village. This coupled with the general unrest generated by the English Civil War, which saw new families to appear in the villages history. The timeline of events is not clear as well as the "political" reasons behind the events.

The Manor by was owned by Sir John Wentworth in the 16th Century.

The Manor was sold to John Raymond I in 1611.

The Hall was at this time an Elizabethan Timber Framed building of a construction similar to what you will see at The Munt Cottage. This is the only surviving example of that construction technique in the village and dates from the 14th Century. At the time the village was likely to have centered around the Church and Hall, although there may have been a community well established at the crossroads of what we know as the village today. These dwellings were those constructed as a consequence of the demolition of dwellings around the Hall and Church in the 14th Century because of the Black Death.

Politics

Many political changes happened in this Century with respect to Belchamp Walter. Not only did the Hall and its lands change hands it may have been a reflection of the national events of the time. King James I and then Charles I were on the throne at the start of the Century. Charles was executed by the emerging republican forces with resulted in the English Civil War (1642).

This is not to say that there were not other disputes in the country at the start of the Century as there was a considerable continuing "rivalry" on the religious front. James I (1603-1625) continued Elizabeth's Protestantism which was opposed by many including Guy Fawkes and other Catholic insurgents.

Why did William Smythies, the vicar from 1623 to 1643, resign?

Was there something else going on? or was it just the fall-out of the Civil War?

Why was William Ayliff listed as a "Patron" of St. Mary's Church in 1679?