"IN nomine Domini. This is King Eadred's will. In the first place, he presents to the foundation wherein he desires that his body shall rest, two golden crosses and two swords with hilts of gold, and four hundred pounds. Item, he gives to Old Minster at Winchester three estates, namely Downton, Damerham and Calne."[1].
This Saxon king lived between 923 and 23 November 955 and was the grandson of Alfred the Great. He was the King of the English from 946 until his death and is buried at Old Minster, Winchester, which would provide a reason for Edred to be so generous to the Old Minster in his will. Edred died a bachelor, and was succeeded by Eadwig, the son of his elder brother, King Edmund I.
Both Eadred's Hyde and Edred's Court celebrate this King of England and his bringing Calne into the written world.
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| Edred's Court |
Built in the early 2000s (c.2003) by luxury property developers, Antler Homes, Edred's Court was developed on the site of the old iron foundry, known as Maundrell's Yard. The street has a courtyard-like appearance and is built next to Grade II listed Maundrell House.
The original foundry was built c. 1850s and was managed to c. 1885 by George Gough. Afterwards, the business was run by E.W. Maundrell, who had previously had an engineering business in the former nonconformist chapel in Back Road, off London Road. The foundry made a wide range of goods, that included manhole and drain covers (one can still be seen on North End). Until the 1920s, they manufactured equipment for C & T Harris. The foundry closed in 1957, while the site was still used for engineering until the late 1990s[2].
Eadred's Hyde
Previously a field owned, in the 1840s, by Dr. George Page, many time mayor of Calne, and commemorated by Page Close. Used as pasture by farmer Joseph Maundrell. More recently it was the site for the Wadworth's Jolly Miller, which closed in the early 2000s after a series of tenants had been unable to revive the business. It was demolished in 2006. This development of 4 dwellings was built c2008[3].
References:
[1]Translation: Harmer, F., 1914. Select English historical documents of the ninth and tenth centuries. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University press. Screenshots of section of Edred's Will: British Library. 2018. British Library [online] Available at: http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=add_ms_82931_fs001r# [Accessed 27 July 2018].
[2] Calne: Economic history | British History Online. 2019. Calne: Economic history | British History Online. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol17/pp79-94#highlight-first. [Accessed 01 September 2019].
[3] Jolly Miller, Calne. 2019. Jolly Miller, Calne. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/wiltshire/calne_jollymiller.html. [Accessed 01 September 2019].
