Beckenham

Carrie, Jeff and I went in search of Beckenham on Saturday. Beckenham is the village (now a suburb in the London Borough of Bromley) where my great great great grandfather Edmund King was born to Thomas King and Zoe LaCorish? (foreign born frenchwoman!). The name of the town appears to derive from Beohha's homestead (Beohhan + ham in Old English) The River Beck was named after the town. The word Beck also means a stream in middle English. The trip was something to do on a cold March Saturday as much as a pilgrimage to ancestral lands. We didn't find the agricultural village where Thomas worked as a labourer at the beginning of the 19th century but we did find the George Inn, a nice pub founded circa 1647! After lunch we explored St. George's churchyard. I really didn't expect to find any family tombstones there, (thinking the family would be too poor to be able to afford one) but was hopeful and we didn't! We then drove around Beckenham and found Elmer's End where the King family is listed as living in the 1841 England census. We made it home in time for the England vs Isreal match and then dinner with the Vande Voorde's!

Also, today I have to share this bit of historic information. While searching around the Internet this morning, I discovered a new piece of information. Today is Lady's Day! It was the historic start of the new year in England, Wales, Ireland and the future USA until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752. The British tax years still starts on 'Old' Lady Day (6 April under the Gregorian calendar corresponded to 25 March under the Julian calendar). In addition, there are Quarter days : the quarter days were the four dates in each year on which servants were hired, and rents and rates were due. They fell on four religious holidays roughly three months apart. The English quarter days (also observed in Wales) are : Lady Day (March 25) Midsummer Day (June 24), Michaelmas (September 29) Christmas (December 25). The English term cross-quarter days refers to holidays derived from the Celtic calendar and is a day falling approximately halfway between a solstice and an equinox. These days originated as pagan holidays. They are Candlemas, May Day (May 1), Lammas, and All Hallows,(November 1).

Ok, so I might be the only one who thought that was interesting! You might too, especially if you read Jane Austen and wondered about these terms!