Roy Hayter returns this month with an article
about a particular hero of his - Sir Francis Drake. Modern thinking is
that Drake was something of a pirate and a scallywag, but he was
certainly the right man in the right place in his day. Although he
married twice, this Sir Francis had no children and therefore no direct
descendents but his other relatives were spread all over the same area as the
Stentifords and from the time of the marriage of Winifred Stettaforde in
Buckland Monachorum on 9 Oct 1592 to William Drake, the two families
were brought into contact and remained so until the early years of the
18th century.
The Sir Francis Drake of whom Roy writes, made an
extensive fortune through his activities. Everything he did and
everything he gained was ostensibly for Queen Elizabeth I, but he
made sure that enough stuck to his palms on the way to her coffers to
make him a very wealthy man. He used his wealth to buy land and property
in the area around Buckland Monachorum where he had his home at Buckland
Abbey; a century later, his descendents were still in close contact with
our ancestors, who, at that time, had social standing, wealth and
land of their own.
For our second article this month, Doreen and Reg
Norton join forces to tell the incredible story of young Henry
Stentaford based on another discovery they made at the Public Record
Office at Kew. Doreen also has valuable information on recent changes at
Kew for any readers considering going there to research:
"Any of you who use Kew
will need to know that security is now much tighter; not only do you
have to give your bag for inspection at the entrance door, but it is
checked again as you go through the turnstile, to the upper floors.
You are not allowed to use bum bags, you must have a ‘see
through’ bag for all your paper work, your keys and purse.
No original documents are
allowed past the turnstile - they must be left in the lockers on the
ground floor. They have made a lot of improvements; the first floor is opened up
with an enquiry desk straight in front of you and the bookcases and help
desk have been moved to the right hand side.
Those of you who went when the 1901 census first came out on
microfiche and had to book your hour should know there is no need to
book now and you can use the microfiche readers for as long as you like."
