On the 24th April 1209 King John was known to have been in Alnwick. Legend has it that on the following day, St Marks Day, he went hunting in Aydon Forest { Alnwick Moor }and blundered into a bog. A Buston who was amongst the hunting party pulled him out and his act was commemorated by a tradition imposed by the King which required that all sons of Free Burgesses " go through the pool " before they could claim the rights and privileges of the Borough. The custom was observed for centuries with much ceremonial.
The unknown Buston's dauntless act was also the subject of a poem by the Rev. J C Hull.
It has 13 verses, the first of which is:
"Did yer iver hear
Hoo Busto o' Buston
Yence pulled the disgustin
King John- King John
Frae the freemens pond
{ just up abynn Alnwick }
Where he stuck in a panic
O rage and fear"
"Freemens Well is situated near a place called Fremen Hill and about 4 miles south west of Alnwick. It is a dirty stagnent pool nearly 20 yards in length and is supposed to dry up during the rest of the year but those who were in charge of the ceremony took special care that it did not lose any of its depth or size as St Marks Day approached, The well was specially prepared for the ceremonial plunge with the placing of obstructions to trap the heedless and unsuspecting novices into a miry plight. and swam through the pool
The young freemen prepared for their immersion by dressing in a white smock and cap ornamented with white ribbons. The sons of the oldest freemen have the honour of taking the first leap and when the signal is given they plunge into the well and swim through the pool with great labour and difficulty. After being well drenched and half sufficated in mud they are helped out of the puddle at the other end and afford a truly ludicrous and amusing scene to the spectators." {taken from an account researched by my father Arthur Kenyon }
In 1256 Huard and Reginald of Budeslesdone { another filiation of Buston } were accused of breaking into a farm belonging to Robert of Wooler. Robert however raised a hue and cry and chased them to Warkworth.
In 1279 William the son of the Smith of Amble is recorded as slaying Roger of Botelston after which he fled and was outlawed.
William of Botleston, sometime in the 13th century, gave land in Walkworth to Brinkburn Priory for the upkeep of an alter candle.
In 1636 the Surtees Society vol XKV { 1895 } records a notice from St Giles Parish Church, Durham: "Gulielmus Filius Gulielmi Buston Spurius Baptisabatur Secundo Die Januari 5 1636 "
This translates as " William son of William Buston, a bastard was baptised on the 2nd of January "
It was brought to my attention { somewhat gleefully } in November 1995 by my great friend and genealogist Alan Birdsall.
Thomas Buston born 1756 is my Great Great Great Grandfather. He lived at High Buston and was the Commissioner to the Duke of Northumberland. This was a senior administrative position with great responsibility and rewards.
However it was probably his marriage to Phyllis , daughter and heiress of John Storey, on 11th January 1787 that provided him with the means to build Buston Hall as on the death of her father he acquired the Learchild Estate near Alnwick and the " great tithes if Beanley".
His portrait now hangs in our home in Chester where he keeps a close eye on us and our friends.
Folded up in the Oak Box was a copy of The Newcastle Journal Vol. VII,- No. 334 for Saturday, September 15, 1838. It had been sent by post to Thomas Buston and has his name written at the top of the front page.
This edition contained a full account of the wreck of the Farfarshire steamer on the Fern Islands the previous week with the loss of nearly 50 lives.
That was tragedy enough but what captured the interest of the country at the time was the heroic effort of the occupiers of the outer Fern Lighthouse who heard the cries of distress.
They were of course Miss Grace Darling and her father William who gallantly " conducted the frail skiff over the foaming billows to the spot where the wreck appeared ". They rescued nine crew and passengers.
The very lengthy report makes fascinating reading and understandably is why Thomas decided to keep his copy.
The newspaper eventually came into the keeping of my grandfather Henry Buston who gave it on permanent loan to the Grace Darling Memorial Museum at Bamburgh.
However with the onset of the second world war the newspaper was returned to Henry in 1942 under cover of a letter, which was also kept in the Oak Box.
Eventually the copy will be returned as they requested to the recently refurbished museum..
"On 23rd September 1779 Paul Jones who had been cruising about the coast of Northumberland the whole day appeared off Alnmouth at 6pm. He continued his course south after firing a cannon shot at the old church. The ball missed but grazing the surface of a small field east of Wooden Hall struck the ground and rebounding three times, rent the east end of the farmstead from bottom to top. It weighs about 68 lbs and is in the possession of Roger Buston Esq of Buston, a country house about a mile and a half south west of Alnmouth". { from Tomlinsons "Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland "}
In 1826, the year of a contested political election, an election ballad was adopted entitled "Neutrality Broken". In it occurred the following couplet
"Oh Tommy! Oh Tommy! thou last of fifteen
Of the Bustons of Buston so noble and lean".
This alluded to the fifteen generations of the family of Buston of High Buston.
"The sandstone rock immediately above the bridge { Warkworth } and which is now included in the grounds of Pinegarth was formally known as "Cuddys Crag" owing to the towns donkeys collecting there for shelter in stormy weather. One night a party and ball was being held at Buston Hall when the bell rang and the door being opened a number of these donkeys whose riders had their faces blackened came right into the ballroom, filed round the amazed guests and passed out again without doing any damage, although some ladies fainted." { from "Walkworth and its Castle" by George Thomson }
William Thomas Buston, born in 1860 sailed for Virginia on the 31st May 1883 in S.S Sardinia. He died there aged 27 years. An entry in the "Death Book" notes both his departures.