THE FIRE KINLERS - CHAPTER 4

THE CHARCOAL BURNERS

When the Angle, Saxons and Jutes came to Britain in the fifth century, Winchester was already an ancient city. There are signs of a primitive civilization having been there, which are similar to the Stonehenge. When Claudius Caesar came he found "Caer Gwent" a thriving metropolis with a surprising degree of civilization. The Romans named the town "Venta Belgarum", the Market Place of the Belgians. There Caesar established one of his largest and most important military stations which were called Castrae. So the people called it "Gwenta Castra", which name has been moulded by the touch of time into the beautiful name of Winchester. It was therefore the logical place for the residence of the Saxon kings, and the bones of many of them who died there are preserved in the Cathedral.

The residents of the New Forest in Saxon days were, however, mostly Jutes. One of our family's most distinguished neighbours in those days was Goderic Malth. He lived with all his Jutish vassals near what is now the village of Minstead, and his name is still perpetuated in the place where he once lived in the name of the Harcourt estate, "Castle Malwood".

Our ancestors held a large estate of wooded lands in the same district, according to the Anglo-Saxon chronicle compiled by Alfred the Great and kept at Wolvesey Castle. By the time of the conquest a large part of this estate had been denuded of trees which had been used partly for charcoal burning, and perhaps also sold for the building of ships. So when the lands were confiscated, all save a few acres around the homestead, in order to create a royal game preserve called the New Forest, this land was re- afforested.

Naturally the people whose lands were thus taken from them were ready to fight, and the Church was on the side of the people, for the clergy at that time were mostly Anglo-Saxons. It was partly with the idea of providing themselves with a fortress in case of hostilities with the Normans that they set about enlarging their Cathedral. The ground around the Cathedral was marshy, and it was necessary to lay the foundations on piles or stakes driven far into the ground. So when they asked King William the Conqueror for permission to cut trees from the New Forest to make the piles with, the wily monarch told them they could only have what they could cut down in one day. However, they had what we call in Canada a "Bee". They got everyone in the country, young and old, to come and cut down trees, and the consequence was that they had sufficient to make foundations for a church 556 feet long and 217 feet wide at the transepts one of the largest churches in the world at that time. The high tower was wide enough to hold a regiment of bowmen, and the whole building strategically dominated both William the Conqueror's palace and the Castle of Wolvesey. The large building was of Purbeck marble, quarried in the Isle of Wight, and carried across the Solent at low tide in hand-barrows. It is with great pride that we can think of the part our ancestors took in the building of this magnificent temple in which so, many generations of our family have worshipped, and in which some of their remains are interred-for the name is to be seen on an old tombstone in the south transept.

By way of redress for the loss of their lands our ancestors were granted the privilege of cutting down trees in the New Forest for the purpose of making charcoal, and also the privilege of pasturing their horses and cattle.

They were thus really better off than ever. They were relieved of the responsibility of a large estate, but at the same time had all the privileges thereof necessary for the earning of their livelihood. The feudal system may have lowered their social status, but it undoubtedly left them free to improve their material condition. For the New Forest became in the Middle Ages the manufacturing district of England, and charcoal burning, the most ancient of its industries, was more stimulated than ever because it was fundamental to practically all others. Charcoal was needed to smelt the iron ores which were to be found in the forest, and the Crusades and the wars with France furnished a steady and ever-growing market for steel. Glass was also manufactured in the Forest from very early times, another industry requiring great heat. Then there was pottery and the making of bricks. Clothing and weaving of various kinds of fabrics was also carried on extensively. All this activity caused the Forest to become quite densely populated, towns and villages sprang up all over, acres of trees were chopped down. Iron ores and fireclay were dug up, and everywhere, in the centre of all this activity, the mainspring of it all, was the white curling smoke of the Charcoal Burner's fire.

Of course being a Captain of Industry in the Middle Ages was not at all the position of affluence and power that it is today. These industries were carried on by the Yeomen in their own cottages or in their small yards. They made a living and that was all. If the demand for their manufactures was keen they were able to afford some luxuries; if it fell off altogether they were in dire distress. However, by means of the Guilds they were able to organize to protect themselves against want and to educate their children, so that the Yeomen of England were often more cultured than the nobility, whose children were trained more in the arts of war than in the crafts of peace.

Many of the charcoal burners lived in huts made of turf, but the cottage on the freehold near Minstead which was the remnant of the once extensive Purkis estate was of brick. This freehold was handed down from generation to generation for nearly nine hundred years; the oldest son always occupied the cottage, carried on the business of charcoal burning, and was the village magistrate.

We can picture the cottage with its stacks of wood and charcoal piled all round, and at short distances away the curling smoke from the "heths" as the charcoal kilns were called. We can see John Purkis going from one heth to another , adjusting the draughts and inspecting the fires, and instructing his boys in the art of building a heth. First they would build a high fence of brick or faggots in a circle to fend off all unwanted draughts and eddies of wind. In the centre of the enclosed space a thick pole would be set and billets of wood are heaped round and round till the pile is complete. The pile would then he covered with peat and damp earth and holes left at intervals for the passage of air currents.

Then the big pole would be taken out of the centre and the space filled with white-hot embers. The thick white smoke would then start to rise and for eighty-eight hours the fire from the centre would battle with the moisture in the green wood and the surrounding peat and clay. The combustion must be slow and steady. The charcoal burner must peer within the ventilation holes and observe and regulate the process of combustion by opening some holes and closing others. Experience and fine judgment are required. It is a fussy and exacting job, developing precision and steady nerves. Centuries of peering into the heths have drawn sharp lines upon our features from the sides of the nose down to the corners of the mouth. The smoke has made our eyes watery, our skin dry, and the nasal passages delicate and prone to infection.

For the Fire Kindlers have been steadily employed at their job from the beginning of civilization; they have been doing it in the New Forest for a thousand years and they are still doing it in the same place and in the same way. At times the industry has languished and almost flickered out, but from time to time the winds of fate fan the flame again. So it was during the Great War. Braziers of charcoal were the only practicable means of supplying heat in the trenche s, as they burned slowly and sent out no smoke to attract the attention of the enemy. Members of the Purkis family were kept very busy in the New Forest "keeping the home fires burning" in the manufacture of charcoal. The old guild was revived in the form of the "Associated Charcoal Burners and Woodsplitters of the New Forest".

Mediaeval mysticism played its Part in the charcoal burner's life also. As the ancient Freemasons building the lofty cathedrals and castles saw a spiritual significance in what they were doing and set to work to build a spiritual temple not made with hands, as the Alchemists experimenting with the transmutation of metals sought a Philosopher's Stone and meditated upon the transformation of human character, so the Charcoal Burners sought a principle that would mix fire and water, and as a result of their spiritual meditations developed an altruism of spirit. The spiritual and cultural side of life have always been strongly developed by the family of the Fire Kindlers in all ages, and this has fitted them to play a leading part in the life of their community.

It is most remarkable how, as though they might be maintaining the traditions of the rulers of some far-off Greek city-state, the Purkis family has supplied a continuous succession of magistrates and mayors to their communities. Sir William Purches, a descendant of that family which lived near the Temple, was mayor of the City of London in 1494.

Mr. James Purkis of Minstead told me that his fathers had been magistrates as far back as anyone could remember in that village. His father used the parlour for his courtroom and the kitchen for the jail. For if anyone was arrested at night, he would lock them up in the kitchen overnight and take them down to Lyndhurst jail in the mor ning. They have supplied a City Treasurer to Winchester in the Middle Ages; there was a well known Clerk to the Court of Chancery towards the end of the 18th century. But familiar as our family has been with the magistrate's bench, we are practically strangers, I am happy to say, to the defendant's rail. Lord Palmerston, speaking about our name, said that never once had it appeared in the records of the criminal courts. We have a clean sheet in the matter of crime that is almost unique. Needless it is to point out perhaps that Lord Palmerston bestowed his praise upon us before the invention of motor cars and the intricacies of Highway Traffic Acts!

It seems that in the matter of morals, as in ambition and in financial standing, the family has been remarkably faithful to Greek ideals.

In all things, the history of our fathers seems to exemplify the Aristotelian ideal of the golden mean - moderation in all things. They have never been very rich, nor yet very poor; almost continuously throughout the ages they have lived in that happy state for which Agar prayed. They have always taken the lead in local government, but never have they entered the larger sphere of national politics. They have never sought title nor have they left our traditional interests and occupations in the selfish pursuit of wealth for its own sake; and if they have never climbed very high, they have never fallen very low. Like Plato's men of gold, our fathers have spent the early part of their lives establishing themselves by industry, and the latter part establishing the reign of justice and order. Their spirit has been one of personal detachment, of zeal for the welfare of the community. As well as magistrates, there have been many clergymen, missionaries and social workers. Such is the torch they throw to us-

"Be ours to hold it high. For should we fail

"They will not sleep . . .

The colours of the armorial bearings of the Hampshire branch of the family seem to be symbolical of the art of charcoal burning. The lion gules (red) is always symbolical of the sun, heat or fire, while the fesse azure (blue) symbolizes water. So the lion gules debruised by the fesse azure appears to represent the moderation of fire by water as in the process of charcoal burning , the process of combustion is hindered by moisture and so charcoal is made. It is possible that the bezant or ball of gold between the Lion's paws in the crest represents the glowing charcoal.

When the family associated with the Templars in London differenced these arms, the colour sable (black) might have been chosen to represent the Templars who wore black robes when not on the battlefield, and the crescent in the Lion's paws possibly denotes participation in some victory over the Saracens.

Sir William Purches bore the "Lion Sable" as did also Rev. Samuel Purchas, author of the "Pilgrims" in the seventeenth century. So it would appear that Rev. Samuel Purchas was a descendant of his. Rev. John Purchas, an author of some popular hymns in the nineteenth century, belongs to the same branch of the family. He demonstrated the family's characteristics of stubbornness and fidelity to their principles. He lived in the early days of the Oxford Movement and was a very high churchman. He was tried on two occasions on charges of illegal Romish practices in his church at Brighton. The case went before the Privy Council who ordered him to pay fines amounting to over � 2,000 and had an indictment nailed on the door of his church. He made all his property over to his wife and defied the Privy Council. He never paid a penny of his fine and continued to worship according to the dictates of his own conscience, fearing none but God.

Members of this London family were merchants as well as soldiers and clergymen and they were associated with the East Indian Company. In that way a branch of the family settled in India, where the name is to be found. one of whom became a Grand Master of the Grand Masonic Lodge of India.

One of the London family was a member of the Grand Lodge of England when Freemasonry was reorganized in 1717.

Many members of the family have been prominent in Masonic circles.

John Purkis (1781-1849) a celebrated musical genius and composer, born in London, might belong to this branch also. He was associated with the Temple Church as a Deputy Organist. He was blind from birth but obtained his sight at the age of 30 by means of an operation. He was also Organist of St. Olave's Church, Southwark, and was the inventor of the once famous "Apollonicon" organ.

The family in Hampshire seem to have mostly been occupied with charcoal burning or farming during the Middle Ages. The ancient homestead near the spot where Rufus fell, had but two acres left of freehold property after William Rufus confiscated our land and there the industry of making charcoal was carried on continuously. Had it not been for the craftsmanship of our ancestors in this important industry, they would have been reduced to serfdom by the Norman conquerors. Some members of the family leased land and became farmers, but the name does not appear at all in any lists of landed gentry. They were tenant farmers and moved from place to place as their leases expired. Many of these lost their name in the course of time, becoming named after th e places they inhabited. It is of course impossible to estimate the extent to which our blood and lineage has spread during the two thousand years in which our name has been associated with the New Forest.

It must be remembered that the Saxons before the conquest had no surnames, neither had the Normans in the sense that we now have them. They were called after the place where they belonged as "Henry de Breteuil, "John de Vaux", etc.

The name "Purkis" which was a Greek trade name, was held only by the son and heir who carried on the trade of fire kindling or charcoal burning and who inherited the estate, other sons would have a Christian name to which might be added a nickname, another trade name or a place name.

Our name has been a puzzle to students of nomenclature. Some of the best writers on English names have omitted all mention of it, others have simply stated that despite the fact that it appears before the conquest it is not Anglo-Saxon. Again others less wise and more imaginative have tried, by changing the essential vowels, to make it look like a corruption of Anglo-Saxon, and to give it a correspondingly Saxon meaning as in the examples quoted in the opening chapter.

That the name should have been so carefully preserved throughout the centuries is, surely significant of its spiritual importance. And it is all the more remarkable because during most of the time nearly all who bore the name were Yeomen, a class of people far more subject to influences which might occasion a change of name than any other.

The Charcoal Burner associated with the death of Rufus was the owner of the homestead in the New Forest and the name of Purkis. All who bear the name to-day claim to be descendants of his. Several have had in their possession genealogical t rees showing their descent from him, but they all seem to have disappeared at the present time. The last one to go was in the possession of Mr. Thornton Purkis in the City of Toronto, Canada, and that was destroyed by fire in 1934.

The family seems to have always been prolific, and as there have always been, many daughters as well as sons, our blood and our influence must have spread very widely among the middle classes of England. In fact, the family may he said to be typical of the English Yeomanry, a cultured, philosophic, industrious and happy people.

As industry continued to thrive and expand with the dawning of the Renaissance, the family fortunes expanded in like manner until our prosperity aroused the envy of the feudal lords. Besides the forest was being spoiled and depleted, for, in addition to the demands made upon it for charcoal, a new industry was established in the waters of Southampton. In the 15th century the building of warships, the stout hearts of oak that defeated the great Spanish Armada, called for the heart of the forest to be sacrificed for them, and so it was that by Act of Parliament "I Elizabeth V" the felling of timber in the New Forest was forbidden.

So were the changes rung and the curtain dropped upon another epoch in the history of the New Forest and the Purkis family. Deprived of their raw material, the various industries moved to other localities, and the people went with them. The ring of the axe was heard no more in the woods, the curling white smoke arose no longe r from the heths to mingle with the floating clouds and hang like incense before the setting sun, and deep silence fell upon the Forest.