Introduction to James Wigington
The Following precis was encouraged by the existence of three old trunks containing a cacophony of family voices melted into and preserved by that great instrument – the pen. Browsing through the diaries, the letters, the coal and bakery bills inspired considerable pleasure. After all, how often does one get to view and reflect upon eighteenth century culture as described by ones grandfather?
The earliest reference to a Wigington living in Shipston on Stour is revealed by an entry in a local church register. On 16th March 1763, a William Waring Wigington was christened – and he was James great-great-great-great Grandfather. According to a local newspaper cutting kept from the Banbury advertiser this particular grandfather was a descedeant of an old Shipston family, the head of which was a “Mr Orange Wigington.” Mythology suggests that ‘Orange’ was the first to settle in the town and is traditionally reported that he came over with William III, hence the curious family christian name which, as we will show, has been handed down in succession.