Is
Chard Camelot or Shamalot ?
|
 My Book : Conscience of the
King by Alfred Duggan
"Cerdic
Elesing,
King of Wessex and ancestor of all subsequent
British monarchs, narrates in this fictional
biography how he murdered, cheated, looted and
lied his way to the great position he ultimately
held -- and in the process served with the great
Roman leader Ambrosius and the Saxon warlord
Aella, and was the foe Arthur defeated at Mount
Badon."
£7.99
Paperback
240 pages 198 x 129
mm ISBN:
0304366463
Publication: July 2005 Orion
Publishing
Group, Orion House, 5 Upper St Martin's Lane,
London, WC2H 9EA tel: 020 7240 3444 www.orionbooks.co.uk
The Wessaxens came
here for a visit 1513 years ago and liked it
so much they have stayed.
Wessex is the name of the
former kingdom which originated in
south-central England and expanded
to cover the whole of the south
west. The Encyclopaedia Britannica
lists Hampshire, Wiltshire,
Somerset and Dorset as the
"permanent nucleus" of Wessex.
Wessex began with the landing of
Cerdic Von Wessex in Southampton
Water in 495AD.
*Some experts believe that Cerdic
was another name for King Arthur
and that Camelot was in the area.
Don't let it be forgot,That once
there was a spot, For one brief,
shining moment that was known as Camelot
THE
KINGS of WESSEX
Wessex Rule
| Cerdic |
519-534 |
| Cynric (son of
Cerdic) |
534-560 |
| Ceawlin (son of
Cynric) |
560-591 |
| Ceol (son of
Cutha) |
591-97 |
| Ceolwulf (son of
Cutha) |
597-611 |
| Cynegils (son of
Ceol) |
611-643 |
| Cenwalh (son of
Cynegils) |
643-645 |
|
Under Mercian
Rule 645-648
|
|
| Cenwalh
(again) |
648-672 |
| Seaxburh (Queen of
Cenwalh) |
672-674 |
| Cenfus(line of
Ceolwulf) |
674 |
| Aescwine (son of
Cenfus) |
674-676 |
| Centwine (son of
Cynegils) |
676-685 |
| Caedwalla (line of
Ceawlin) |
685-688 |
| Ine (line of
Ceawlin) |
688-726 |
| Aethelheard
(brother-in-law of Ine) |
726-740 |
| Cuthred (kinsman
of Aethelheard) |
740-756 |
| Sigeberht |
756-757 |
| Cynewulf |
757-786 |
| Beorhtric |
786-802 |
Wessex
Rule claimants to
the title, 'King
of the English'
| Egbert |
802-839 |
| Aethelwulf |
839-858 |
| Aethelbald |
858-860 |
| Aethelbert |
860-865 |
| Aethelred
I |
865-871 |
| Alfred
the Great |
871-884 |
|
CERDIC VON WESSEX (d. 534),
At
the end of Roman Times , there
were lots of Saxon Mercenaries (
hired soldiers) living in
Britain. The Roman government
had paid them to protect many of
the towns.
Archaeologists
have dug up many graves from this
time. Some of the skeletons were
wearing special belts and carrying
spears. They are thought to be
Saxon Mercenaries because similar
objects have been found in Saxon
graves in Europe.
We
know of some Saxons who had
British names, The most famous was
Cerdic, the first King of Wessex.
In Brythonic ( the British
Language) his name is Ceredig.
Old
documents say that, like other
Saxons, he came to Britain from
Germany or Denmark. However,
Cerdic
was probably born in Britain. His
father was probably a Saxon
Mercenary in Winchester ( in
Hampshire) and his mother was a
local Briton.
When
the Roman Army left Britain,
Cerdic would have been a respected
officer in the mercenary army. He
would have easily been able to
make himself into a local ruler or
King. He probably called for his
Saxon friends and relatives from
Germany and Denmark to join him
.
They
set up the Saxon Kingdom of Wessex
and made Chard their capital.
Cerdic is described as an
ealdorman who in 495 landed with
his son Cynric in Hampshire, where
he was attacked at once by the
Britons. Nothing more is heard of
him until 508, when he defeated
the Britons with great slaughter.
Strengthened by fresh arrivals of
Saxons, he gained another victory
in 519 at Certicesford, a spot
which has been identified with the
modern Charford, and in this year
took the title of king. Turning
westward,
Cerdic appears to have been
defeated by the Britons in 520 at
Badbury or Mount Badon, in Dorset,
and in 527 yet another fight with
the Britons is recorded. His last
work was the conquest of the Isle
of Wight, probably in the interest
of some Jutish allies.
|
"ALFRED
THE GREAT
(848?-899).
The course of English
history would have been very
different had it not been for King
Alfred. He won renown both as a
statesman and as a warrior and is
justly called "the Great."
The England of Alfred's time was a
country of four small Saxon
kingdoms. The strongest was
Wessex, in the south. Born in
about 848, Alfred was the youngest
son of Ethelwulf, king of WessexEach
of Alfred's three older brothers,
in turn, ruled the kingdom. Alfred
was by temperament a scholar, and
his health was never robust.
Nevertheless
in his early youth he fought with
his brother Ethelred against
Danish invaders. Alfred was 23
when Ethelred died, but he had
already won the confidence of the
army and was at once acclaimed
king in 871. By this time the
Danes, or Vikings, had penetrated
to all parts of the island. Three
of the Saxon Kingdoms:
(Northumbria, Mercia, and East
Anglia) had one after another
fallen to the Danish
invaders.
Under Alfred's leadership, the
Saxons again found courage. The
worst crisis came in the winter of
877, when the Danish king,
Guthrum, invaded Wessex with his
army. In 878 Alfred was defeated
at Chippenham, where he was
celebrating Christmas, and was
forced to go into hiding.
A few months later he forced
Guthrum to surrender at
Chippenham. The Danes agreed to
make the Thames River and the old
Roman road called Watling Street
the boundary between Alfred's
kingdom and the Danish lands to
the north. The treaty, however,
did not assure permanent peace.
The Danes assaulted London and the
coast towns repeatedly. In about
896 they finally admitted defeat
and ceased their struggle for a
foothold in southern
England.
Alfred was much more than the
defender of his country. He took a
keen interest in law and order and
was concerned with the improvement
of the cultural standards of his
people. He encouraged industries
of all kinds and rebuilt London,
which had been partly destroyed by
the Danes. He collected and
revised the old laws of the
kingdom. He invited learned men
from other countries to instruct
the people because even the clergy
of Wessex no longer knew Latin,
the international language of the
church. He established a school
similar to the Palace School of
Charlemagne.
The
"books most necessary for all men
to know" were translated from
Latin into English so that the
people might read them. Alfred
himself took a part in preparing
the translations. The 'Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle' was probably begun
under his direction.
Alfred died at the age of about 51
in 899. He was in no sense a true
king of England, for he ruled less
than half of the island.
After his death, however, his
capable son, Edward the Elder, and
his grandsons extended their rule
over all of England."
*From
Compton's Interactive
Encyclopedia Deluxe © 1998 The
Learning Company, Inc.
All the sovereigns of
England, except Canute,
Hardicanute, the two Harolds and
William the Conqueror, are said to
be descended from Cerdic.
The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle states that the kingdom
expanded from south to north
.
In
the 9th Century, Wessex rose to
become the dominant power in a
newly united England, which led to
its distinctive identity being
subsumed into the larger
kingdom.
However, when Canute
became king in 1016, he revived
the names of the former English
kingdoms and applied them to the
newly created office of Earl.
Canute originally kept the Earldom
of Wessex for himself, but later
awarded it to Godwin, who became
the most powerful private citizen
in England as a result. He was
succeeded by his son, Harold
Godwinson, later to become king
Harold II of England.
When the Normans invaded
in 1066, one of their first acts
was to abolish the Earldoms in
favour of the more manageable
shires as the largest units of
sub-national government, fearful
of the threat that powerful
regional government posed to their
centralising authority.
The
office of Earl of Wessex
remained dormant until our own
time, when Prince Edward, the
third son of Queen Elisabeth
II, became the 3rd Earl
upon the occasion of his
marriage to Sophie Rhys -Jones.
Therefore
once more bonding the Royal
connection to Wessex. We
congratulate them on the
recent birth of their daughter
Louise.
By
1066, Harold Godwinson's earldom
of Wessex had expanded to
include all the above counties,
plus Cornwall, Sussex and his
original territory of
Herefordshire. The Wyvern,
the mythical symbol of the
ancient kingdom of Wessex still
appears on many county crests in
the region today. The Wyvern
emblem was carried at the Battle
of Hastings in 1066 .
|
Chard
(Cerdre, Cherdre, Cherde)
was commercial in origin, being a
trade centre near the Roman road to
the west. There are two Roman villas
in the parish. There was a British
camp at Neroche in the
neighbourhood. Chard is situated on
the highest ground between the
Bristol and English Channels, on the
border of Devonshire, and was
anciently spelt Cerde, or Cherde. -
the royal house of Cerdic.
Because
of it's position being the highest
ground it was strategically in the
best position to defend and is
more obviously "Camelot" than
other such claimants.
In
the Doomsday Survey it is called
Cerdre, at which time the manor
belonged to the Bishop of Wells.
The
bishop of Bath held Chard in
1086. Bishop Jocelyn, of
Bath and Wells, incorporated this
borough 1234, and gave the land
from his manor of Chard for the
building of the town, previous to
which it is supposed to have
constituted what is now known as
the old town. He made
Chard a free borough, each burgage
paying a rent of f 2d. Trade in
hides was forbidden to
non-burgesses.
This
charter was confirmed in 1253,
1280 and 1285. Chard is said to
have been incorporated by
Elizabeth, as the corporation seal
dates from 1570, but no
Elizabethan charter can be found.
It was incorporated by grant of
Charles I. in 1642, and Charles
II. gave a charter in 1683.
Chard
was a mesne borough, the first
overlord being Bishop Joceline,
whose successors held it (with a
brief interval from 1545 to 1552)
until 1601, when it was sold to
Earl Poulett.
Parliamentary
representation began in 1312, and
was lost in 1328 by the neglect of
the freemen.
A
market on Monday and fair on the
25th of July were granted in 1253,
and confirmed in 1642 and 1683,
when two more fair days were added
(November 2 and May 3), the market
being changed to Tuesday. The
market day is now Saturday, fairs
being held on the first Wednesday
in May, August and November, for
corn and cattle only, their
medieval importance as centres of
the cloth trade having departed.
Chard
was therefore a town of great
significance in the past.
In
Stuart times it was from Chard
that Charles I of England tried to
sue for peace with Oliver
Cromwell. It was refused and
Charles was soon defeated and
ultimately beheaded.
Duke of Monmouth Crowned King
in Chard 1685
Then in the reign of
James II it was at the epicentre
of the uprising against the
King. The final major
turmoil for 17th-century Chard
came in 1685 when the Duke of
Monmouth landed at Lyme Regis on
June 11 and recruited 3,000
volunteers as part of his famous
rebellion. He marched into
Somerset, was crowned king
in Chard and was the
subject of more coronations in
Taunton and Bridgwater, where
more local rebels swelled his
army to 7,000 men.After a series
of skirmishes near Bristol and
Bath, the rebels returned to
Bridgwater from where Monmouth
led them into the famous Battle
of Sedgemoor against James II's
Royalist army, which was
encamped at Westonzoyland.It was
the last land battle on English
soil and it ended in defeat for
Monmouth who was later beheaded
at the Tower of London.
The locals who had joined the
uprising were severely dealt
with by the infamous "hanging"
Judge Jeffries at both
Dorchester and Taunton Assizes.*
See list of those executed
below
The
town was also very much at the
centre of the industrial
revolution.
One of Judge Jeffries' victims
kept in the stocks for 320
years!
In
1843, some 50+ years before the
Wright brothers, the first powered
flight aeroplane was made and took
to the air in Chard. The inventor
was John Stringfellow. It was also
the place where the first artificial
limbs were made. Full descriptions
and models can be viewed at the
Chard Museum.
|
READ
ABOUT
THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE
LIFE OF CERDIC &
KING ARTHUR - Click
HERE or
*Ref: Arthur,
Cerdic, and the Formation of
Wessex By: John C. Rudmin,
864 Chicago Av,
Harrisonburg, VA,
22801
Joseph
W. Rudmin, Physics Dept.,
James Madison Univ.,
Harrisonburg, VA, 22807
(First submitted for
publication in Oct 1993) http://camelot.celtic-twilight.com/
rudmin/
Also view:
http://www.jmu.edu/montpelier/summer97/arthur.html
PEOPLE
OF CHARD EXECUTED AFTER THE
MONMOUTH REBELLION
CROSS, SIMON
|
EASTERBROOK, HENRY
|
HITCHCOCK, HUMPHREY
|
PILL, ABRAHAM
|
DAVY, WILLIAM
|
FOOTE, EDWARD
|
JERVIS, JOHN
|
WARREN, EDWARD
|
DENNETT, JAMES
|
GODFREY, WILLIAM
|
KNIGHT, JOHN
|
WILLIAMS, WILLIAM
|
Only
three years later the Protestant
William of Orange landed in
Brixham, Devon & became King
of England
|
|
 Cerdic reports on
behalf of Citizens of Chard.
Hail
to
my kingdom. and to my capital town, Chard. I
am King and like it and I keep an eye on my
subjects. In these columns I still reign. 497
- 2011AD. I have seen a lot of changes and I
am sure there will be many more. European
Federation ? Is that something new ? I think
not - I am in charge here and I am a
Saxon. Warnings to my subjects will be covered
by my Knight in Shining Armour. Welcome to
www.wessex.me.uk,
www.wessextouristboard.org.uk,Camelot and
Wassail. I am always available by clicking here
Oy vey we
are all Jewish
Want a laugh I have been writing to
one of those silly Jewish Conspiracy sites who
accuse the Royal Family of being Jewish
because they had their children circumcised by
a Jewish surgeon. They also claim that the
British Aristocracy is Jewish & much more.
The
word “Brit” apparently derives from the Hebrew for
“pact” or “covenant” ( i.e. the Jewish Covenant
with God.)
They have been publishing the comments from
Cerdic Von Wessex, who denies he or his family
are Jewish! They are simple enough to not
realize that a man who died in 534AD is
writing to them- no wonder they believe such
rubbish. Small minds are easily led. Can
anyone direct them to the Synagogue in Chard?
Their source is someone with a surname that
sounds like Madcow. Local farmers should be
ready for a cull.
From
The Knight in Shining Armour
In
our area we have found that whilst goods are
good value many of the services are overcharging
mainly because they feel they have a monopoly in
the area. We feel that consumers have the right
to know about overcharging, bad workmanship
& downright roguery. So we are prepared to
name & shame such traders. Your Knight in
Shining armour will report regularly on this
page- don't be caught out be wary.
|
Avoiding
a cowboy builder or unqualified
electrician has been made easier by the
launch of a new scheme to register and
assess tradesman who work in your home or
business.
Trustmark
is a scheme endorsed by the Government and
Trading Standards that can
help you be sure that the tradesmen you
ask to work in your home are reputable and
trustworthy.
Firms
wanting to use the Trustmark badge must
satisfy the scheme operator that they are
fit to do the work proposed, have adequate
insurance and operate a user-friendly
complaints procedure in case anything goes
wrong.
Many
recent television programmes
reveal ‘rogue traders’ or ‘dodgy
builders’ and have the audience
shaking their heads in disbelief
as to what they are witnessing.
Many of us take it for granted
that we are not or will not be a
victim.
The Office of Fair Trading
state that ‘cowboy builders’ and
‘rogue tradesmen’ are a £1.5 Billion
problem, with 38% of the public not
trusting tradesmen at all, and 65%
of people feeling uncomfortable
about leaving trades people in their
home unaccompanied. Having trust in
your tradesman is paramount when you
have to live with the final
consequences
|
J.M.REFRIGERATION
It has unfortunately been
brought to our attention that a trader
in Chard has failed to meet his
obligations in regards to another
trader in Chard, Mr. Jon Sloman
trading as J.M.Refrigeration of 4
Leicester House, Crewkerne Road,
Chard, Somerset TA20 1HA
who states " For All Your
Refrigeration Needs Sales &
Service" took a Williams Refrigerator
from a well known local shop on the
understanding that he would sell it
for the trader. It is believed
that he sold it for £300 well over a
year ago. However he has never passed
the money on - further he claims that
the money was used to pay for his
"Service Contract" with that trader.
Yet since the date he took the
refrigerator away he has failed to
appear to do any service. (They have
full receipts of the service done
prior to that date) He has been
requested to produce documentation but
has failed to do so. Caveat Emptor- It
is in the interests of the community
that the Knight in Shining
Armour warns the people and
businesses of the area.
|
Con-Man Selva
Carmichael to star and produce Bollywood
Movie in Chard
after his earlier appearance at Bristol
Jail!!!
See the Documentary made by MAKE World
Media Ltd using our research on Selva
Carmichael.
The
link is https://vimeo.com/90620930
The password is swindlers
Selva Carmichael , real name Selvaraj
Narasimman, 46,( Known as El Con by Daily
Mirror readers) who wooed investors with trips
abroad and promises of a quick return on their
money, was jailed for four-and-a-half years in
Bristol Jail for cheating investors in a Spanish
property scam. Carmichael, who operated his company,
The Carmichael Corporation, from offices in Bristol,
offered people the chance to invest in property
options or plots of land in the Spanish resort of La
Manga. But soon after the operation began in 1996
"the whole thing was falling to bits". Most of
the investors never saw their money again including
one woman who lost £100,000. Despite a police raid
on his offices in 1997, Carmichael continued to
trade as normal, telling investors that it was "all
a mistake" and blaming the police for his problems.
Promising investors that he was going
to transform the La Manga resort, the
self-proclaimed multi-millionaire, "wooed" his
investors with lavish trips to apartments in Spain
and promised them a 100% return within six months.
Carmichael pleaded guilty to nine counts of
obtaining money transfers by deception and one count
of attempting to obtain property by deception. It
was not known what Carmichael had done with the
money. After that he conned people in
the village of Coin outside Marbella when he started
managing the old BBC village of El Dorado. Stating
that he was best friends with Richard Bransom
who he called Branston and that he rode with
royalty. It did not take long before he was exposed
by the Daily Mirror and ousted from Coin & El
Dorado.
He also
opened a restaurant in Newcastle Upon Tyne and fell
foul of the local health authorities and was fined.
Then this year from "the Mail on
Sunday" 21 May 2006 by Tony Hetherington:
"ONETV is a shambles. The Advertising Standards
Authority upheld 65 complaints against the company,
all from viewers who said goods had not arrived and
OneTV had failed to refund their money. The company
in Colchester, Essex, whined that several top
managers had quit. And it is true that four
directors have walked out in recent months, but that
is just the start of it. Trading in the company's
shares has been suspended and customers seeking
reassurance from the friendly smiles of presenters
displayed on OneTV's website should know that some
of them have jumped ship as well. Debbie Flint is
one of the bestknown faces on various TV shopping
channels, but despite appearing on OneTV's website,
she quit last month, announcing: 'I have decided not
to present any more OneTV for the time being.'
Hinting at problems behind the scenes, she offered
her good wishes to employees 'during this difficult
time'. The people really facing difficulties though,
are the customers like the couple in Buxton,
Derbyshire, who told me they paid £97 for a DVD
recorder to be delivered by Christmas. When it had
not arrived by January, they cancelled, but months
later were still awaiting their refund. In the face
of all this, OneTV boss Graham Avery, 61, will say
absolutely nothing. Avery, who has
half-a-dozen other directorships, is probably too
busy driving between his television studio in
Colchester and his home in Ipswich in his luxury
Mercedes. But at least he is more savoury than one
of OneTV's owners, 45-year-old Selva Carmichael
- he prefers this to his real name, Selvaraj
Narasimman ."
Guess what!
I found con-artist Selva Carmichael in
a winebar in Chard on Wednesday 13th December 2006
spouting his next venture, and giving out his card
under the name of a dissolved company. ( He is
banned as a Company Director and been made bankrupt
twice). Mr Selva Car Michael is now self-styled
President of SELVASCREEN
INTERNATIONAL PLC. His
card reads:
SELVASCREEN
INTERNATIONAL PLC
Film Financing
Film
Production
Film
Acadamy
Film
Documentaries
Hollywood
Bollywood
Pinewood
Studios,
Pinewood Road,
Iver Heath ,
Buckinghamshire
SL0 0NH
|
On Location
To The Manor Born
at Cricket St.Thomas
or is it another El Dorado?
or in OneTV's studio
selling Sponsorships.
|
Our Search shows: Company
Details - SELVA SCREEN INTERNATIONAL PLC
Registered No. 05189862
Address: CGC 33-01 25
CANADA SQUARE CANARY WHARF LONDON E14 5LB
Type: Public limited with
share capital Incorporation
Date: 27/07/2004
Status: Dissolved company.
Last Accounts Filed: - Last
Accounts
Analysed: -
See: http://www.ukdata.com/company-listings/Se-59.html
He pays by American Express card
No 374289252191009. He claims the Company is
owned by his wife and a friend, but it has been
dissolved. He arrived in Chard on
Wednesday 13th December & announced he will be
filming and starring as the Indian Prime Minister in
his Bollywood spectacular in February at Cricket
St.Thomas & that he wants to shut Holyrood
Street for filming.
This article has been followed
up by the Western Daily Press see:
Response from Mr Selva Car
Michael... alias of Selvaraj Narasimman
I
will try and reply the best whey I can and I trust
this might clarify the situation and I hope you
reflect on it.
In la manga , i felt that at the time
there was a great potential in acquiring land on
option and hold them for a period of time and
ofload them for a profit and thus make monies for
a small number of investors . As you expect a
large proportion of monies were laid out by myself
, my immediate family and a small group of
friends, we started well but because our lack of
understanding of spanish laws and things taking
longer then our prediction we encountered
financial problems and we just ran out monies thus
the predicment we got ourselves into and some late
investors losts monies and in any business there
are risks for high returns.
since i
owned the company I am responsible for the
outcome, To deal with spanish was difficult enough
but to be caught up in their system was even more
difficult. Because of non payment of promised
dividends the police became involved and their
presence made in more difficult for us to proceed
to finalise matters on behalf of us and our small
number of investors and all we were delayed.
I pleaded
non-guilty to charges for over 5 years but on the
trial week I was advised that these matters were
complicated for a simple jury to understand and
against my better judgement pleaded guilty. on
sentencing i realised that i should have pleaded
not-guilty and tried very hard to change the plea
on the basis that i made a mistake but failed.
on you
have pleaded guilty you know the rest. I didnt
wish to enter into something to lose monies for me
or my investors but these were circumstances
beyond my control. We were in La- Manga when a few
people knew it ,its fair to say its a popular
resort.
I am
involved in other business including the one you
potray , but as for One TV , i invested in shares
with Mr Graham Avery with a group of friends and
have no direct involvement in the management of
One TV and have sold that stock a long time before
it surfaced the company was in trouble ,
unfortunately the reporters in papers concerned
are not the most credible and tend to make up
their own stories and I taking legal advise on how
to handle it. I have new been the owner of One TV
or had anything to do with the management.
I took
time to respond to this, I have never said that I
was closing any street for filming, I am working
on a film project and at cricket st -thomas
witness by two individuals and i am even more
baffled why you placed my card number and its a
clear violation of privacy , we came to your bar
had drinks and paid for it and left. I trust you
will remove it .Should anybody use it clearly you
are responsible as a manager of the pub and i will
inform the authorities. I didnt come to
chard to con anybody as you portray and I trust
you do understand . I took the time to write this
and when I am chard next I will pop in to see
you.
Kind
regards,
selva
Second email from Selva Carmichael
I have
e-mail this article to my lawyers and asked them
to look into the content as its although you based
in on article that are written are wholly un-true
and are under litigation you are demed liable for
its content and clearly gone to other receipient
and liablious. will be in contact soon.
Kind regards,
selva
 Editoral
Comment: We are amazed to learn that twice
bankrupt Selva Carmichael has money to invest in
both a restaurant and One TV whilst the poor
investors who lost their money, when he failed to
buy the Spanish Land Options for them, have not seen
a penny in retribution. The authorities should look
into where the money he has to invest eminated from.
It is all very well a man being convicted on 9
counts, but in excess of £1 million disappeared
never to be found. Innocent citizens lost life
savings and the perpetrator continues on his merry
way. From 1997 Mr Carmichael was asked to
produce the purchased options & always stated
that they were elsewhere or some other feeble
excuse. If he was innocent he only had to produce
them. He never did. By any
chance we are a website protecting unwary
readers- not a pub
|
Chard
Is In The News
Yes,
at last we have fame in Chard with
romance in the air. As you will see
from the photo adjoining this
article it's all smiles as our happy
couple proceed to play bingo at the
Lacemill. Unfortunately all is not
as it seems as the poor chap is a
little short of funds as a result of
his passion for bingo. After working
hard for the community for over
thirty years the ex-mayor is in need
of funds and obviously needs
assistance from all those he has
helped over the years. So we ask all
of you to give generously this
festive season and think of the
poor. He has thought about you in
the past.
|
My next story is about a newly found
descendant of mine.
There has been a similar story in the Daily Mail
on February 9th 2007 in regards to Albert James
Turnbull from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, written by Liz
Hull, and incorporating my picture which was drawn
for this website by Juliet Davey.
Maine
man traces ancestry to 1st English king
By Glenn Adams, Associated Press
Writer | September 3, 2006
My Picture is copywrite
of Juliet Davey. For permission to reproduce:
julietdavey&yahoo.co.uk
 HALLOWELL, Maine --After
countless hours in libraries and on the
Internet, painstaking searches through
public records and a couple of trips
overseas, Francis Harwood says his direct
bloodline to England's first king more than
a millennium ago is confirmed.
Standing in his living room before a 4-foot
framed diagram of his family line,
authenticated by the venerable College of
Arms in London, the 72-year-old Harwood
smiled with satisfaction.
"I gave them a lot of information so they
could connect the bloodline" to King Egbert
as well as all of the royal houses of
Europe, the white-haired Harwood said. That
included copies of birth, marriage and death
certificates and wills.
Many of the records are from archives in
London, but Harwood was able to do much of
his research in libraries of Maine's private
colleges and state university.
Along the way, he was gratified to draw
information by meeting distant cousins but
he also encountered frustrations of finding
that some potentially useful records had
been destroyed during World War II or
otherwise disposed of.
As blessed by College of Arms heralds, the
bloodline takes Harwood directly back to
Egbert of Wessex, who is widely considered
to be England's first king and died around
838. Also known as Egbert the Saxon, he
unified all of the kingdoms of England under
his rule in the early 800s.
The research even highlights ties, through
Egbert's marriage, to the emperor
Charlemagne, in whose court Egbert is
believed to have lived during a period of
exile from Britain.
Harwood said his direct tie to Egbert makes
him a relative of the present Queen
Elizabeth II and her son Charles, who will
assume the throne.
"Many people have the pedigree, but they
don't have the bloodline," he said.
Paul Milner, chairman of the British and
Irish Forum for the National Genealogical
Society, said royal connections are not so
unusual, but it's not easy to prove it.
"If he's used the College of Arms, chances
are he's got good documentation, especially
on the earlier generations," said Milner,
who was among more than 1,800 people
attending a four-day Federation of
Genealogical Societies conference in Boston
that concluded Saturday.
Milner said tens of thousands of people in
America have royal English ancestors, but
many who try to prove it find that it gets
harder to make the connections the farther
they go back.
To someone who's had occasion to spend time
in London, the name Harwood may have a
familiar ring. Francis Harwood showed photos
taken during his visit a decade ago to what
was long known as the Harwood Estate in a
section of the British capital that touches
the Thames River.
Many of the hundreds of houses, shops, pubs
and banks in the area were occupied under
99-year leases, some of which expired in the
1990s, then sold to lease holders, Harwood,
a retired accountant, explained as he spread
out an old map of the sector.
|
He said the family in
the United States lost contact with the
Harwood family heirs in 1910. But if they
had stayed connected, the American
Harwoods might have gotten a share of real
estate Harwood says is now "priceless."
A real estate agent told Harwood that a
one-bedroom flat was going for 350,000
pounds, or about $750,000. But Harwood's
quest isn't so much about money, it's more
about the intrigue.
"I've had a ball with this thing," he
said. "I love it."
He recalled walking along Harwood and
Tyrawley roads while visiting the former
estate in London in 1996. The latter name
corresponds with the middle name of the
first Harwood to come to America, whose
portrait hangs over the fireplace in
Francis Harwood's modest home.
Julian Tyrawley Harwood, Francis' great
grandfather, settled on an expansive farm
that was something of a mini-estate itself
in Augusta, Maine's capital city which
borders tiny Hallowell. The elder Harwood,
bearded and gazing soberly in his
portrait, lived comfortably there off the
family estate.
"He never worked a day in his life," his
descendant said with a grin.
Also invigorating Harwood's decades-long
quest are still-unanswered questions about
his lineage. His research has led Harwood
to seek a DNA match with a German
nobleman, Ernst August, Prince of Hanover,
to see if Harwood's roots go back to
Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, who was
Queen Victoria's father and the fourth son
of King George III.
If so, it would prove that Harwood's
great, great grandfather, British Lt. Col.
Edward Harwood, was the son of the Duke of
Kent, said Harwood.
That father-son relationship has never
been mentioned in family documentation,
said Harwood, who sees the omission as a
cover up of an illegitimate birth.
"It would have been a cover up for 198
years," Harwood said.
That matter drew the attention of Hereward
Davies in his 1985 book "Channel
Crossing." The book goes into considerable
detail about the Edward Harwood and the
London estate, while raising the question
of how Harwood came into all of his money.
"What was the origin of his wealth?"
Davies' book asks. "If a deception
actually took place, can it be that the
Duke was gratified to have fathered an
English son, would have him named Edward,
would cherish him discreetly, and would
make provision for silence, upbringing,
and posterity?"
Some illegitimate births were openly
documented centuries back, genealogists
say. Paula Stuart-Warren of the Federation
of Genealogical Societies and herself a
genealogist, advises people who are
learning to trace their lineages to be
prepared to make uncomfortable
discoveries.
"I tell people, if you're afraid of
finding a skeleton in your family tree,
stop now," she said.
|
Adverts
& MERCHANDISE
|
Cerdic's
Medieval Banqueting
|
Opening
soon the finest food in
Wessex - straight from my
banqueting hall
|
King
Arthur's Pewter Round Table 
One of
the greatest myths of
medieval literature
certainly is the epic
tale of King Arthur's
Knights of the Round
Table and their quest
for the Holy Grail. In
the writings of Chretien
de Troyes the quest for
the Grail becomes a
symbol for the medieval
ideals of knighthood,
gallantry, and chivalry.
The Holy Grail is a cup
in which Joseph of
Arimathia gathered the
blood of Jesus Christ
during his crucifixion.
After uniting the
Kingdom, King Arthur
sends out his best and
most
valiant knights,
Lancelot, Gavian, and
Parcifal among them, to
quest for the Holy
Grail. To share their
adventures with their
brethren the
knights come together in
the castle of Camelot
around a large round
table where all are
equal in honor. No one
shall fee superior to
the other knights and
all of them share a
place of equal prestige.
Thus is formed the
Brotherhood of the
Knights of the Round
Table. Many of them will
die on King Arthur's
side in his last battle
against the evil
Mordred. Only Galahad,
the son of Lancelot and
the most noble and
purest of all Knights
will finally find and be
allowed to touch the
Holy Grail. This replica
of King Arthur and his
Knights of the Round
Table is magnificent in
detail and clarity and
is sure to be the
centerpiece of hours of
conversation. The table
is a pedestal table that
is elevated higher than
the stone floor on which
it sits.
There is an indention on
the stone floor to
secure the round table.
The floor is 18" in
diameter and the table
is 10" in diameter. The
Knights of the Round
Table pewter sculptures
are 4"+ and are
accompanied with chairs,
which sit 1 1/4" tall
and 1" wide. Also, the
knights have a pewter
base and do not come a
wood platform. King
Arthur has a prestigious
throne to denote his
station. The entire set
makes for a breathtaking
scene of King Arthur and
his noble knights.
Available
from
http://www.historicalnames.com/
detail.aspx?ID=444
|
The Cerdic
Badge
|
Cerdic's
Armour
White T-shirt
|
Cerdic's Crown
|
Make Your
Dog King For A Day
With his own T-Shirt
|
Cerdic Wall
Clock Its Been ticking
since 497 B.C.
|
|
Cerdic's
Saxon Lager Drinking
Vessel
|
|
|
Just click on
Cerdic or the Blue Line to
go to the purchase
site.
Cerdics merchandise
|
|
|
CERDIC's COLUMN
INFRASTRUCTURE
MISSING
Chard is a wonderful sleepy town
in South Somerset. Having come from the
bustle and problems of Saxony I find it
refreshing and the people friendly and
polite.
In summer one notices the
beautifully kept flowers and the pride
that townsfolk have in their town. Whilst
many townsfolk are quick to show their
discomfort in the problems of modern day
living, on the whole, there is an
excellent quality of life here.
But one feels there is a burning
question. Wither Chard? For this one time
market town, lace town, wool town, Capital
of Wessex has actually lost its "raison
d'etre" in the 21st century.
Whilst there is an excellent
industrial base here one should realize
that "industry" is a thing of the past in
Britain. Dysan are moving their industrial
base abroad, many industrial companies
find it too expensive to continue in
Britain. Will Numatic also think the same
way as Dysan?
Those
that do not understand that our industrial
base will continue to wither have their
heads in the sand.
So what will replace it? What is
the new revolution in the 21st century? As
silicon valley has shown it is new
technology. Today one must embrace this
new technology rapidly. Therefore Chard's
future is in our youth. They MUST be
educated to face today's world. Our one
skill over developing nations is our
education, knowledge, and vision.
Our vision is to prepare our
youth to be white collar workers instead
of blue collar workers. To have have an
educated centre of excellence so that new
companies want to come here to utilize
that knowledge.
Now is the time to create that
new generation that wants to bring vision
and prosperity to Chardshire rather than
letting them go elsewhere to seek it.
Everyday we neglect this forward planning
is another day lost to other competitive
areas.
Chard
was, some time ago, designated to be a
town of 60,000 yet today only boasts
12,000 inhabitants. It is the largest and
most important town between Dorchester and
Exeter. It is close to a motorway and the
coast. What a haven for tomorrow's
entrepreneurs.
In Tower Hamlets, one of the most deprived
areas of London, the local council is
awarding grants to companies of up to
£10,000 for computers and computer
training. The most available here is £700.
Over the last few years new towns have
evolved like Telford and Milton Keynes.
Older towns like Peterborough, Runcorn and
Cumbernauld have refound themselves. One
must ask themselves why a major company
like Thomas Cook went to Peterborough.
It was because their town council and
particularly my old friend Jean Barker
realised the necessity for that change. Oh
yes she was a Conservative mayor and
because of the influx of population Labour
took control.
Fear of change is a disease that is
terminal. Since We have been here we have
been attacked by a narrow minded civil
servant for having the audacity to start
the www.wessextouristboard.org.uk website
and we have been attacked by a group of
shopkeepers and bed & breakfast
internet dyslexics for unfounded and
untrue morality reasons. In both instances
the real reason was the fear of
constructive criticism and change.
Now they have sacked
their Independant Mayor for blowing a kiss
at the town clerk & offering her a
holiday. That was after he had given over
30 years fantastic service. One can only
laugh at the dinasaurs who then banned him
from holding public office.
John Wilkes was not the most popular of
politicians but he upheld the right to
freely criticise and be constructive.
That is progress and we must expect some
change.If we are to proceed forward we
need fresh blood, new ideas and a vibrant
community. If we don't then will the last
person in Chard remember to turn the
lights out."
Restaurants Galore
The centre of
Chard is becoming alive at night with
new restaurants and cafes opening. Go to
our restaurant & cafe guide and
select your favourite repast.
Coming soon are
two new eateries. A Pizza & Pasta
restaurant in Fore Street and the
glamourous Cerdic's Banqueting Hall.
At Cerdic's there will be medieval banquets
together with Court Jesters, Musicians and
gallons of scrumpy and mead. It is
rumoured that anyone found drunk in the
centre of Chard will be placed in the stocks
to dry out.
We
now have an excellant Chinese &
Continental establishment in Holyrood
Street and Gandhi's Indian eaterie.
And the food at the Gallery at the back of
"Hooked on Books" has some of the finest
British cooking in the South West.
The new Vineyard restaurant behind
the Dolphin Inn looks well worth a visit.
New York may have its restaurant row but
Chard is catching up fast.
|
AN OFFA YOU CAN NOT
REFUSE
Now
that our site www.wessex.me.uk has
been such a success I hear that King
Offa of Mercia is opening a new
competitive site called
www.mercia.me.uk
ROYAL CHARD'S
CLAIM TO FAME
Our claim to fame?
Is it artificial limbs? Is it powered
flight? Is it the first woman Cabinet
Minister? or is it that Charles
Ist tried to sue for peace from here
before being defeated in the Civil War.
We could have a statue to him with or
without his head.
Our research fails
to show that Judge Jeffries ever came
through Chard. It seems that many people
from Chard joined up with the Duke Of
Monmouth when he tried to wrest the
throne from JamesII. The result was that
the Bloody Judge Jeffries sat in both
Dorchester and Taunton and condemned
people from Chard to death. We thank the
Chard History Group for their help in
providing background material.
Those people were
brought back here and the lower classes
were hung somewhere near Tescos whilst
others were beheaded near the toll
house.
Who do we
celebrate? What will bring the tourists
to Chard? Should we recall Judge
Jeffries to deal with the crime in Chard
to-day? A few hangings and beheadings
are cheaper than CCTV. Or we could let
them get a tongue lashing from that
certain "polite" shopkeeper in Holyrood
Street!
Of
course
not - There is only one way to bring
people to Chard. That is to celebrate and
tell the world about me, Cerdic Von
Wessex. I was the King of Wessex and my
descendant Alfred became King of England.
The basis and stories of the mythical
Camelot were based on me. So if Camelot
was anywhere it was here. My escalibur sword should
be placed in a rock in the middle of
Chard.
Newspaper Articles on King
Arthur being Cerdic
Debate
on
whether King Alfred was based on Cerdic
and whether Chard could be the site of
Camelot has produced much discussion
locally with articles in :
The
Chard
&
Ilminster News
The Western Daily Press
Wyvern/ Wessex Car
Stickers Now Available
 
Support Wessex and
CCTV in Chard by purchasing a Wessex
Car Sticker. They are now available in
Chard at both The Tourist Office in
the Guildhall in Fore Street or from
Hooked on Books in Holyrood Street at
£1 each
A
Knight's Tale
I had to let
the drawbridge down recently to
entertain Barry Lawrence Goble of Boden
Street, Chard. He brought a copy of his
coat of arms verified by the College of
arms.
The
name
of Goble, sometime Gobel is believed
to have been a comparitively recent
variant on the ancient Anglo-Saxon
personal name of Godbold or Godbead.
Godbold is recorded in the "Doomsday
Book" "as a previous Anglo-Saxon
tenant".
It is believed that the family,
which included the Earl of Arundel"
(beheaded by Elisabeth I for being
Catholic) are renowned through
history and include Mamie Doud
Eisenhower, wife of President Dwight
Eisenhower. The interesting
part of all this is that the crest
includes the Wyvern which,
historically could only have been
carried by the Royal Family of
Wessex. Note it is a green wyvern .
Heraldic records, however, seem to
point more towards Sussex and
Burpham and Petworth. This ties in
with the connection with the Earl of
Arundel. Obviously the Godbold
ancestor came from Saxony and was
connected with the Saxon conquest of
South East Briton. However we can
not be sure that they were here at
the time of Cerdic.
Still Barry you were welcome to
tarry at the Court. Are there any
more applicants for the round table?
|
www.wessextouristboard.org.uk
is
prepared
for The Chard Trade
Association by
TheUK Informed Investor
(now in its 40th
year)
If your
business is not listed
call +44(0)
845 868 2810
for a
form.
This web
site may be reproduced in
part or in whole. We would
appreciate a reference to
our site if you do utilise
this site.
|
Chard
Information 24 hour Hotline
+44(0)
845 868 2810
We have been
requested to point out that
Chardnet is not an
official council publication.
We feel that it is obvious
that this site has been
prepared by The Informed
Investor, on behalf of
the Chard Trade Association,
free of charge for the
inhabitants of Chard and for
potential visitors in order to
assist and help them. There is
an admirable official site for
those who wish to visit it
on
|
FEATURES
We include
sections of interest to the
community in our Notices,
Local
News, Tourism
and our Heart
rendering columns.
Thank you for reading our
site and please feel free to
comment on any part which
you feel about. We hope in
our small way to make Chard
a better place to live and
work in.
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