Weldon Village Green 

The Green in1970 showing the old school

The Village Green 

The Village Green is a place we take very much for granted, and do not stop to think of its history. 

We are told that Village Greens date back to Saxon times. Then it was decreed that an open space should be provided in the centre of a village, where people could assemble in times of danger. This piece of land was to be securely fenced, a supply of water provided also a forge; no houses could be built. 

When I first knew this village, a pump stood on the Green, this provided the surrounding cottages with drinking water. The well supplying the pump was filled in about 1950, after mains water was laid on. A forge also stood on the eastern side; this closed in the 1930's.

In 1685 the King granted Viscount Hatton the right to allow a weekly market, and four fairs yearly to be held on the Green. A market was still held in 1813, when goods mainly sold were pewter and other metalware, and clothing. A few years after the granting of the charter, a round house or lock-up was built on one corner of the Green.

The Green and Stamford Road - from a postcard posted in 1915

One fair carried on until the Second World War, rules for this fair were very strict. Nothing could go on to the Green until mid day Thursday, and everything had to be cleared from it by six o'clock on Sunday morning. Guy Fawkes night was celebrated by lighting a huge bonfire on the Green. This was banned in the interests of safety when fireworks became more plentiful.

The Green had been in the possession of the Hatton family since the time of Elizabeth 1^st. In 1968 Christopher Finch-Hatton, Earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham, presented the Village Green to the people of Weldon.

An old inn "The Nags Head", now closed, stands on one side of the Green.

Before the school was closed in 1972, May Day celebrations were held here, with Maypole and Country Dancing.                     

                  Annie Beaver (1903-1995)