The Duckery, Mells & nursery rhymes

Out with the Village Detectives today for one of our monthly investigations of a local village.  We start off somewhere for coffee to hear from one of our number what they have found out about the history and then walk the village learning about different people, buildings and happenings, then we retire to a pub for lunch.  The Horner family have lived in Mells at least since Henry VIII for whom the current Jack Horner was some kind of agent.  Henry wished to demolish the Abbey at Glastonbury but the Abbot was aghast and said that the people of the town had helped pay for its building so would the donation of 12 Manors of his diocese be recompense to Henry and allow the abbey to remain.  And so it was agreed and Jack Horner was sent to fetch the seals/documents or whatever, which were put in a pie to be taken to London. Jack Horner managed filch one - the Mells Manor estate - hence the nursery rhyme ' Little Jack Horner sat in a corner eating his Christmas pie.  He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum  and said what a good boy am I - before handing the rest over.  Of course the family deny this and say they have documents to prove that he paid £80 for it...

The area also has the hill down which Jack was supposed to have fallen while going up with Jill.

This house is grade 11 listed.   The left hand side was formerly the home of the butler to the Manor and his wife and a lesser workman the other side which used to have a saw mill attached which ran off power produced by the sluices on the right  The village was run under feudal lines until quite recently and householders were not allowed to choose their baby's name, couldn't own a dog without permission, had their doors painted the estate dark green colour etc. etc.  and in earlier times of course everyone paid tithes for their land and had to give their time to the landlord and work his fields