Tichborne Dole, Friday, March 25, 2011
The Measures used to distribute the Tichborne Dole, Friday, March 25, 2011. The Tichborne Dole is an ancient British tradition which dates back to the 12th century and takes place in the village of Tichborne near Alresford in Hampshire, England, every year on March 25th, Lady Day. According to legend, the almost cripple, Lady Mabel de Tichborne, on her death bed, requested that the value of a small portion of the estates of Tichborne should be given to the poor of the district annually in the nature of a dole. Her miserly husband Roger de Tichborne is reputed to have replied to his wife’s request by intimating he would give annually the value of as much land his wife was able to encompass while holding a flaming torch in her hand. Lady Mabel the legend says succeeded in circumventing twenty-three acres of land crawling most of the way on all fours. On completing of the task Lady Mabel charged her husband and his heirs to forever give annually the value of that land to the poor adding a curse, that should the dole ever be stopped then seven sons would be born to the house, followed immediately by a generation of seven daughters, after which the Tichborne name would die out and the ancient house fall into ruin. The distribution of the dole continued apparently without a break until 1794 when owing to abuse it was stopped by magistrates. Following a period of misfortunes to the family the dole was reinstated and continues today. The Dole is distributed to the inhabitants of the Parishes of Tichborne and Cheriton, adults receiving one gallon of flour and children half a gallon with a maximum of four gallons to a family. MG7327 Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
Tichborne Dole, Friday, March 25, 2011
The Measures used to distribute the Tichborne Dole, Friday, March 25, 2011. The Tichborne Dole is an ancient British tradition which dates back to the 12th century and takes place in the village of Tichborne near Alresford in Hampshire, England, every year on March 25th, Lady Day. According to legend, the almost cripple, Lady Mabel de Tichborne, on her death bed, requested that the value of a small portion of the estates of Tichborne should be given to the poor of the district annually in the nature of a dole. Her miserly husband Roger de Tichborne is reputed to have replied to his wife’s request by intimating he would give annually the value of as much land his wife was able to encompass while holding a flaming torch in her hand. Lady Mabel the legend says succeeded in circumventing twenty-three acres of land crawling most of the way on all fours. On completing of the task Lady Mabel charged her husband and his heirs to forever give annually the value of that land to the poor adding a curse, that should the dole ever be stopped then seven sons would be born to the house, followed immediately by a generation of seven daughters, after which the Tichborne name would die out and the ancient house fall into ruin. The distribution of the dole continued apparently without a break until 1794 when owing to abuse it was stopped by magistrates. Following a period of misfortunes to the family the dole was reinstated and continues today. The Dole is distributed to the inhabitants of the Parishes of Tichborne and Cheriton, adults receiving one gallon of flour and children half a gallon with a maximum of four gallons to a family. MG7327 Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved