Wheat and oats were important crops in Cambridge County. Two major rivers, the En and the Great Ouse, with its tributary the Cam, cross the county. Along the southern edge of the county is Cambridge City and Cambridge University. Cambridge University, situated on the River Cam, was established in the 14th century. London is about 50 miles to the south (Pigot�s Cambridgeshire, Page 21).
Agricultural wages in Cambridgeshire were near the lowest of any county in England from 1830 to 1860. Typical wages ranged from 7 shillings to 9 shillings per week (there are twenty shillings, s, in a Pound, �, roughly a shilling of a hundred and fifty years ago is worth, after inflation, between one and ten dollars today) (Pool 20-21). Cambridgeshire ranked between the second lowest to as high as the fourth lowest wage county in England during this time period (Jakes).
The Jacklin Ancestral Locations are in Cambridgeshire as shown on the following map. Click on a village to go to a description of it.
Thomas Stacey (6th-great-grandfather, 1702), the great-grandfather of Jemima Easy, was christened here.
Barrington is an attractive village on the River Cam (Wilson 115) with a Church.
John Goates (5th-great-grandfather, 1717) was christened here. John Goates and Ruth Chamberlain were married here in 1739. Other ancestors of Sarah Goates (2nd-great-grandmother, 1819) who lived here in the 17th century were the Ainger and Ellis families. John Jacklin was the Mormon Branch President in Bassingbourn in 1857.
Bassingbourn is a small village with ancient houses and remains of moats that add to the antique appearance. The church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. It was built in the 14th century and contains a nave, chancel, and a large embattled tower. A fair for hiring servants was held here annually in 1851 (History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Cambridgeshire, 1851, Page 301).
According to Arthur Jacklin, Alexander Jacklin (9th-great-grandfather, 1605) has his name inscribed on the Tenor Bell at St. Benets Church in Cambridge.
An ancestor of Sarah Goates (2nd-great-grandmother, 1819), Thomas Haggar (5th-great-grandfather, 1712), was christened here in 1712 and married his wife, Elizabeth Chapman, here in 1739.
We didn�t visit Croydon.
Elizabeth Carter (6th-great-grandmother, 1707) was christened here. Elizabeth is the great-grandmother of Jemima Easy (3rd-great-grandmother, 1797).
We didn�t visit Litlington. It is a little southeast of Whaddon.
The grandmother of John Jacklin (2nd-great-grandfather, 1819), Anne Howes (4th-great-grandmother, 1775), was born here. Her parents, John Howes and Elizabeth Parker, were also born here and married here. An ancestor of Sarah Goates (2nd-great-grandmother, 1819), Thomas Chamberlain (6th-great-grandfather, 1688), married here and was buried here in 1723.
Meldreth is a village that borders the village of Whaddon on the east. The Holy Trinity Church is an ancient structure consisting of a nave, side aisles, chancel, and an embattled tower but was thoroughly repaired in 1841. There are 18th century Meldreth punishment stocks and a whipping post but we couldn�t locate them in 2001 when we visited Meldreth (History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Cambridgeshire, 1851, Page 310).
Morris Goates (4th-great-grandfather, 1753) was christened in Wendy. His father, John Goates, was buried here in 1762. An ancestor of George Jacklin, Elizabeth White (5th-great-grandmother, 1738) was born in Wendy.
Wendy is a small village. The All Saints Church was rebuilt in 1735. The Earl of Hardwicke was the lord of the manor and the principle landowner in Wendy, Wimpole, and Whaddon. (History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Cambridgeshire, 1851, Page 316).
John Jacklin (2nd-great-grandfather, 1819) married Sarah Goates (1819) at the Church of England in Wimpole in 1840. Sarah was the third generation of her family who lived in Wimpole. Her father, Morris Goates (3rd-great-grandfather, 1793) was christened in Wimpole.
John Jacklin�s great-grandmother, Anne Stacey (5th-great-grandmother, 1729) was christened at Wimpole and her father, Thomas, was buried at Wimpole in 1746.
Wimpole is a parish that belonged to the Earl of Hardwicke. Today, there isn�t anything that could be considered the village of Wimpole. Even in 1638, the settlement was scattered. There is New Wimpole (a hamlet started in the mid-19th century along the main road) and the Wimpole Hall grounds where the Church of St. Andrew is located. The north chapel section of the Church dates from the 14th century. The rest of the Church of St. Andrew in Wimpole was built about 1732-1748.
From the end of the 17th century, the history of Wimpole is the history of Wimpole Hall. Wimpole Hall is the largest and finest mansion in the county and is surrounded by a beautiful park. Wimpole grounds increased in size from 1638 to the mid 19th century. In the early 18th century and late 17th century there were many small farms with tenants living on their holdings. This was very unusual for this part of Cambridgeshire.
The central part was built in 1632. The landscaped parkland surrounding the Hall includes a recreation of a formal Dutch garden, Picnic area and Home Farm. A walk in the park surrounding Wimpole Hall makes the immense size of the parkland clearer (History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Cambridgeshire, 1851, Page 297, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Cambridge, Page 210-214).
Today, Wimpole Hall, the former residence of the Earl of Hardwicke, is an impressive building and an English Heritage Site. It was a spectacular manor with a beautiful and large garden while the Jacklins lived in Whaddon. There is a building on a hill near Wimpole that appears to be a church. We thought it was the church on our first visit to England. Because of foot & mouth disease, we couldn�t visit this impressive �church�. This building is a fake castle, or �folly� as they call it now. The Earl built a garden that covered square miles, not just acres, and is very impressive, even today. There are lakes near the folly. Lord Hardwicke wanted a castle remnant in his garden to make an �object for his house.� The folly was built about 1771. The real church was rebuilt in 1748 and is adjacent to Wimpole Hall. John Jacklin married Sarah Goates, who was from Wimpole, in the Wimpole Parish Church in 1840.
Philip Yorke, became the 3rd Earl of Hardwicke in 1790. He created the Wimpole Farm (National Trust 33). It was a model farm first built in 1794 dedicated to developing agricultural improvements. Lord Hardwicke wanted to be a model employer. To accomplish this, he gave prizes to the tenants with the best-kept cottage and garden, founded a Sunday School, wouldn�t allow a beerhouse, and was even the president of the Agricultural board in 1814 (National Trust 35). He died in 1834 (National Trust 36).
It was during the time of the 4th Earl, that John Jacklin was an adult in Whaddon. The 4th Earl of Hardwicke was Charles Philip Yorke. The Earl spent �100,000 to remodel the hall in the 1840s. To put this remodel cost in perspective, it cost the equivalent of about 5,000 man-years of peasant labor. The wealth of the Earl compared to the Jacklins is phenomenal. There is a substantial building near the hall. This is simply the horse stable. It was built in 1852. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Wimpole in October 1843 (National Trust 38). The 4th Earl died in 1873.
The 5th Earl of Hardwicke, also Charles Philip Yorke, was known as �Champagne Charlie� and �Glossy Peer�. He seldom even visited Wimpole and ran it into the ground. Within 15 years of inheriting Wimpole, he amassed almost �300,000 in debt! This debt is equivalent to about 15,000 man-years of peasant labor. The debt was with the Agar-Robartes Bank. Wimpole Hall is an English Heritage Site today.
Barrington. Map
Bassingbourn. Map
The St. Peter and St. Paul Church was built in the 14th century.
Interior of the St. Peter and St. Paul Church.
Font in the St. Peter and St. Paul Church.
Cambridge. Map
Croydon. Map
Litlington. Map
Meldreth. Map
Interior of the Holy Trinity Church.
Window in the Holy Trinity Church.
1820 organ in the Holy Trinity Church.
Cemetery at the Holy Trinity Church.
Wendy. Map
The All Saints Church was rebuilt in 1735.
Wimpole. Map
Church of St. Andrew in Wimpole.
Window in the Church of St. Andrew.
Font in the Church of St. Andrew.
The folly in the Wimpole Estate gardens.
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Church in Barrington.
House in Barrington.
The Holy Trinity Church.
House in Meldreth.
Cemetery in Wendy.
House in Wendy.
Wimpole Hall.