In Rural England

Press, Volume C, Issue 29513, 13 May 1961, Page 3

In Rural England

Tbe Wicked Village. By Donald McCormick. Jarrolds. 175 pp.

Under the above title the author, who lives in a converted oast-house in Sussex, has amassed village lore from a number of sources, and has fused them in a chronicle of rural life in the mythical village of Codiham 'pronounced Codgem >. ‘Us be proper wicked in Codgem' is the local motto, and the proof of his proud boast is fully exemplified in a number of historical episodes. The most notorious of these was the much-publicised diversions of the Merry Monarch with a young lady called Miranda Puttock, known to posterity as the 'Kings's Damsel' in an enormous circular bed. 12 feet in diameter, which is still preserved in the local inn. Then there was the horrific but authentic story of the Cannibal Squire, Sir Jervis Thyme, whose dietetic tastes were said to include newborn babies, and whose four successive wives met unexplained ends. Though successful as a marauding sea-captain—a profession highly approved by Queen Elizabeth I, his misdeeds aroused her disapproval, and he was not. in fact, knighted until the reign of James L These and many other highlights in the careers of local unworthies illuminate the author s pages, and coming down to the present day we are told how his oasthouse, a tall three storeybuilding with a large circular living room on the ground floor, was converted by a local builder into a gentleman’s residence. Like most villages, whether wicked or virtuous. Codiham ran to a football team, though for lack of funds and proper training it was woefully unsuccessful in League contests. Calling itself, with the customary pride of those associated with historical villainies. "The Cannibals,” it never succeeded in winning a match until “Sailor" Thompsett. a Cbdgem character of many and diverse activities, arranged to import a French goalkeeper, appropriately named L’Amour. whose ambition was to become a barman in an English inn. Beautiful as any Adonis, and with a magic skill for keeping the enemy -side out of the Codgem goal L’Amour enthusiastically filled the twin roles of saviour of the football team and village Casanova. In a delightful book the author contrives to evoke the spirit of rural England with a foot in the traditional past and a forward-looking eye to the advantages of the modern world.