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| Mr. John Weston of Bromsgrove has sent an interesting article which our readers will be glad to know about. It concerns Whitford Manor, near Bromsgove, where the old religion persisted after the Reformation. 'There are several barns at Whitford, some of them covered by typical ventilation holes about the size of a half brick. The barn nearest the road, however, has only five holes, all evenly spaced in a row about six feet above the ground. |  |
| They can easily be seen from the road and were known as the Five Wounds of Christ. The Quincunx, as it was known, was specially placed there in the days of Catholic persecution to be seen and recognised by any passing Catholics who needed help and safe lodgings. This secret sign also appears in the Midlands at Sebright Farm near Kidderminster and Bentham Hall near Bridgnorth, both of which had known Catholic usage. | |
The quincunx had a serious drawback -- if it was used all over the Midlands, it would only need one suspect under interrogation to blurt out the secret and this would make all these buildings unusable. Other methods were also used: one being linen placed on hedges in various patterns, indicating when Mass was to be said by an itinerant priest. Pickersleigh Court in sw. Worcestershire was known as Seven Sheets, apparently from such a pattern.'
Our area is a similar area to Whitford. Coughton, Oversley, Wixford and Salford Priors were parishes with a larger proportion of Catholics than most. We have not heard, however, of the use of the quincunx in these places. From what Mr.Weston says, if there are any examples, they are likely to be in buildings visible from the road. We would welcome any information which readers may have of any parishes in our area.