Tilley is a charming hamlet situated just south of Wem. At its heart lies a small cluster of half-timbered houses, surrounded by open green fields and scattered historic farmsteads. What makes Tilley unique however, is the fact that this cluster of late mediaeval buildings, including outbuildings has survived largely intact for over four hundred years.
The place-name Tilley is actually Anglo-Saxon in origin and the three Common Fields all have names that date from this early period. The village and its nearby hunting park (present day Tilley Park) are mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. It is probable therefore that the village has been around for at least 1,500 years, but apart from the place-names, trackways and basic layout of the village form, it was unlikely that any fragments of the original buildings survive. The Domesday record shows that both Tilley and Wem were laid waste in 1069-70 by Norman troops in the brutal reprisals following Saxon resistance to their invasion.
Deep in the Shropshire Record Office, an ancient Estate Map of 1631 (“The Tenants of the Lordship of Wem”) shows Tilley and its outlying farms in all their former glory. Of all the farms and buildings depicted on this map a truly astonishing 90% survive in some form or another.
The map section shows the centre of the village in great detail. The houses are shown like Monopoly houses rather than as accurate representations.
In order to find out more, the ‘Tilley Timber Project’ was set up in 2014 to try and date as many of the surviving buildings as possible. We wanted to know how old the present village buildings actually are.
To start a project such as this comes with a few problems. Firstly, dating the timber frames is expensive and needs an expert input. Another crucial aspect was village participation; without the consent of all their various owners, we would have no timber to date. In the end the strong and enthusiastic local interest carried us through. Fortunately the team applied for, and was awarded a generous Heritage Lottery Funding grant in 2014. With this financial support, the Tilley Timber Project went on to become one of the largest dendrochronological surveys of its kind in Britain at the time.
The project’s dendrochronologist Dr Andy Moir took a series of slender core samples from selected beams in houses and barns. By taking several samples, especially on the larger houses with wing extensions such as Tilley Hall and Tilley Manor, it was possible to date the various construction phases. Samples were also taken from ancient standing oaks to build a complete chronology from the present day back to the earliest observed growth ring from 1375.
Taken together, these samples showed the pattern of rings laid down during the lifetime of the tree in the form of a ‘bar code’. This growth pattern or bar code was then compared with reference chronologies and it was often possible to identify the felling date of the trees with astonishing accuracy. Where bark is present, it is possible to give a precise year, and sometimes even the season of the year (each tree ring has four phases, spring, summer, autumn and winter). Where no bark is present, the sample will give a less precise range based on the surviving thickness of outer friable layers of sapwood.
The felling date is the year that the tree was cut down. We know that oak for building was almost always used “green”. Oak hardens within a year or so of felling and is far less easy to work with, so we can say with considerable confidence that the actual process of construction of any building is most likely to have taken place within a year of the felling date. Many samples showed trees that had been felled in the winter, a relatively quiet time for an agricultural community. Furthermore, when comparing the patterns in detail, small local climactic characteristics enabled us to say that with one single exception, all of the oak in the village came from the immediate local area.
When the results came through, the earliest felling dates were from a wall frame in the Smithy, and from re-used cruck beams in the roof of Ferndale barn. These dated to 1459, a period related to the Wars of the Roses, and specifically to the aftermath of the battle of Blore Heath near Market Drayton in September 1459.
After the battle, the victorious Yorkist army pursued the retreating Lancastrians, and according to Garbet’s ‘History of Wem’ “A large town called Wem was demolished to the ground, with it walls and castle. I have reason to believe this was done by the Earl of Salisbury in 1459 after he had defeated and slain Lord Audley.” This destruction was instigated because Wem and much of the local area belonged to supporters of the Lancastrian cause. When Wem was demolished, it is unlikely that Tilley escaped for the Yorkist force then moved south to Ludlow. Given the felling date range it is therefore entirely plausible that earliest timbers represent evidence of a rebuilding programme that followed the destruction of the village. It may also help explain why there are no buildings in Tilley that pre-date this event, despite subsequent excellent levels of preservation.
Tilley then developed peacefully over the years that followed, with investment and building programmes in 1504, 1617-20 and 1656, into the hidden gem enjoyed by walkers and visitors to our (decidedly modern) 18th century pub today. Unaffected by the English Civil War or the Great Fire of Wem, it is a truly remarkable story of rural survival and preservation.
Alastair Reid
