[WED]Guildhall

[Lyn Nunn]

I liked Roger's suggestion ....... I have heard the snail eating thing
before somewhere so maybe, Roger, your family is not so weird.

I was puzzled by the fact that my Tincknell family was living in Guildhall
during the census ... why were they and a few other families living in a
hall? Hazel Hudson was able to enlighten me and I will be eternally grateful
as there is no way I could have figured it out -

The houses in Guildhall were "Sundowners" which meant they were houses built
on land by the river that was previously unfit for building but had become
liveable after drainage improvements in the 1700s. The poor built the houses
and as long as they could build the house in a day and have the fire going
by sundown then the house was theirs. Guildhall was not a hall and the name
was first used in the 1800s but local people always called it Guilo,
pronounced Guylo. In 1609 a lease describes the land as being Guildhole and
gradually this changed to Guildhall. In 1588 deeds show the area as Gylle
Hoole - probably Giles's Hole or Gilly's Hole or hollow. Who Giles or Gilly
was is not known.

I look forward to learning more "local knowledge" - it just adds so much to
the story.

regards to all

Lyn







Lyn Nunn
Brisbane
Australia

lyn@xenon.net
lnunn@optusnet.com.au