| John
Knibbs
John Knibbs was born in 1807 at Deddington, Oxfordshire, England. He is best known for his role of Town Crier at Deddington. I'm not sure when he was appointed to this role, but records show that he continued with it right through to his 80's. He was the son of William Knibbs and his wife Ann Fardon. His father was a Saddlemaker by trade, but was also a Sergeant Major in the Oxfordshire Yeomanry which was a voluntary force. They were much like independent troops of cavalry for home defence within their own county. John's mother was the daughter of Thomas Fardon who was an Ironmonger as well as a watch and clockmaker from Deddington. Clocks made by the Fardon family are valuable collectors' items these days. John lived in Deddington all of his life, and we know that he married Mary Ann Knibbs who was his second cousin. Mary Ann was also born in Deddington. John and Mary had five children |
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John chose not to follow in his father's footsteps in the saddlery
business, or indeed in the clock making business from his mother's side
of the family. Instead, he worked as
a Thatcher, and in 1851, we can see his son Richard joined him in that
business.
Another of John's roles was that of Beer Taster. Deddington boasted three beer tasters. These men were officially appointed by the "Court Leet". These courts were held in most towns and villages in the country and were presided over by the Lord of the Manor. They dealt exclusively with local matters including local government and issues such as trading standards and breaches of local rules. The word "leet" is presumed to have stemmed from the word "Elite" indicating it was made up of 'respected' members of the community. As well as beer tasters they also nominated overseers of Butchers and Bakers to ensure correct weights, measures and quality of products were maintained. John's role was to ensure that beer maintained it's excellent quality. The role of Town Crier was also decided by the Court Leet, so I suspect that John was a well respected member of the Deddington community. One other of John's functions in the village, was that of Drummer to the Deddington Rifle Corps. A joke was made at John's expense in Joseph Wilkes' bird's eye view of Deddington in 1865, where the Deddington Rifle Corps was drawn in place by the town hall, whilst far off, in St. Thomas' Street he showed John Knibbs beating the big drum, quite alone. This was probably in reference to John's other responsibility of 'beer taster'. The Parish Magazine makes reference to "The late JOHN
KNIBBS (died 14 March, aged 94) who lived under FIVE SOVEREIGNS, was
for many years, and within a few years of his death, a Member of the
Church Choir, which he attended with great regularity as long as his
strength and age permitted him." John's involvement in the Church Choir was no doubt looked on with
envy by his father William. On 7th November 1841, the Rev. Cotton
Risley recorded in his diary: |
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John Knibbs is mentioned in Mary Vane Turner's book "The
Story of Deddington" which was first published in 1933. He is also included on "The Old Trades of Deddington" poster produced by the Deddington News and shown here on the left. The Deddington Online web site makes reference to several of his family including his father William, his aunts Jane and Sarah Knibbs and cousin Edward Bates Knibbs. |
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