The place known to the great public as Bisley is quite other than that
under present consideration. Bisley, the ground for rifle competitions,
is in Surrey, thoughtfully placed in juxtaposition to an eminent
cemetery. It bears every indication of newness-so far as any locality
of old earth can be new.
But the other is the original place of the name, possessing a
recorded history which goes back many hundreds of years. It is in
Gloucestershire high up on the eastern side of the Cotswold Hills at
their southern end where they rise above the Little Avon which runs
into the embouchure of the Severn to the Bristol Channel. The trace of
Roman occupation is all over that part of England. When the pioneers
of that strenuous nation made their essay on Britain they came with
the intention of staying; and to-day their splendid roads remain
unsurpassed--almost unsurpassable. In this part of the West Country
there are several of them, of which the chief are Irmin (or Ermine)
Street, running from Southampton through Cirencester and Gloucester
to Caerleon, and Ikenild Street running from Cirencester, entering
Gloucestershire at Eastleach. I am particular about these roads as we
may require to notice them carefully. There is really but one Bisley in
this part of the country, but the name is spelled so variously that the
simple phonetic spelling might well serve for a nucleating principle.
In all sorts of papers, from Acts of Parliament and Royal Charters
down to local deeds of tenancy, it is thus varied--Bisleigh, Bistlegh,
Byselegh, Bussely. In this part of the Cotswolds “Over” is a common
part of a name which was formerly used as a prefix. Such is not always
at once apparent for the modern cartographer seems to prefer the modern
word “upper” as the prefix. Attention is merely called to it here as
later on we shall have to consider it more carefully.
The most interesting spot in the whole district is the house
“Overcourt,” which was once the manor-house of Bisley. It stands close
to Bisley church from the grave-yard of which it is only separated by a
wicket-gate. The title-deeds of this house, which is now in possession
of the Gordon family show that it was a part of the dower of Queen
Elizabeth. But the world went by it, and little by little the estate
of which it was a portion changed hands; so that now the house remains
almost as an entity. Naturally enough, the young Princess Elizabeth
lived there for a time; and one can still see the room she occupied. A
medium-sized room with mullioned windows, having small diamond-shaped
panes set in lead after the pattern of the Tudor period. A great beam
of oak, not exactly “trued” with the adze but following the natural
trend of the wood, crosses the ceiling. The window looks out on a
little walled-in garden, one of the flower beds of which is set in an
antique stone receptacle of oblong shape which presents something of
the appearance of a stone coffin of the earlier ages. Of this more anon.
Whether at the time of the birth of Elizabeth the mansion of Overcourt
was itself in the King’s possession is a little difficult to fathom,
for, in the Confession of Thomas Parry written in 1549 concerning
a period a little earlier, it is said: “And I told her” [Princess
Elizabeth] “further how he” [Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour] “would have
had her to have lands in Gloucestershire called Bisley as in parcel of
exchange, and in Wales.”
In addition to its natural desirability in the way of hygiene and
altitude there seems to have been a wish on the part of family advisers
of those having estates in the vicinity of this place, to enlarge
their possessions. This was wise enough, for in the disturbed state of
affairs which ushered in the Tudor Dynasty, and the effects of which
still continued, it was of distinct benefit to have communities here
and there large enough for self protection. This idea held with many
of the families as well as individuals whose names are associated
with Bisley. Henry VIII himself, as over-lord with ownership derived
from the Norman Conquest, had feudal claims on the de Bohuns who
represented all the local possessions of the Dukedom of Gloucester and
the Earldoms of Essex Hereford and Northampton. Also the greedy eyes of
certain strong men and families who had hopes that time and influence
already existing, might later on bring them benefit, were fixed on this
desirable spot. Thomas Seymour, the unscrupulous brother of the future
Lord Protector, was high in influence in the early days of the Princess
Elizabeth, and even then must have had ambitious designs of marrying
her. On the death of Henry VIII he had, when Lord Sudeley, married the
king’s widow within a few months of her widowhood, and received a
grant of the royal possession at Bisley which, on his attainder, passed
on to Sir Anthony Kingston, who doubtless had already marked it down as
an objective of his cupidity.
The “Hundred of Bisley” was one of the seven of Cirencester which of
old were farmed by the Abbey of Tewksbury. Its position was so full
of possibilities of future development as to justify the acquisitive
spirit of those who desired it. In its bounds were what is now the
town of Stroud, as well as a whole line of mills which had in early
days great effect as they were workable by both wind and water power,
both of which were to be had in profusion. This little remote hamlet
had a progressive industry of its own in the shape of a manufacture of
woollen cloths. It also represented dyeing in scarlet and was the place
of origin of Giles Gobelin, a famous dyer who gave his name to the
Gobelin tapestry.
One other thing must be distinctly borne in mind regarding Bisley in
the first half of the sixteenth century; it was comparatively easy of
access from London for those who wished to go there. A line drawn on
the map will show that on the way as _points d’appui_, were Oxford
and Cirencester, both of which were surrounded with good roads as
became their importance as centres. This line seems very short for its
importance. To-day the journey is that of a morning; and even in the
time of Henry VIII when horse traction was the only kind available,
the points were not very distant as to time of traverse. To Henry, who
commanded everything and had a myriad agents eager to display their
energy in his service, all was simple; and when he went a-hunting
in the forests which made a network far around Berkeley Castle his
objective could be easily won between breakfast and supper. There was
not any difficulty therefore, and not too much personal strain, when he
chose to visit his little daughter even though at the start one should
be at Nether Lypiat and the other at Greenwich or Hatfield or Eltham.