The Tichborne Dole - The Story of Lady Mabella

On March 25th each year a reenactment of an ancient custom takes place near Limerstone, on the Isle of Wight in southwest Great Britian. The ritual blessing and distribution of flour linked to the Tichborne Dole, a charity initiated in 1150. It seems that Sir Roger Tichborne ruled the house of Tichborne with little compassion. But, his kindhearted wife, Lady Mabella, who lay dying, wished to provide the local poor a with a provision of food from the Tichborne lands. In response to her request, the stern and loveless man, mocked her and offered that he would set aside a parcel of farmland for the poor if she could circumscribe it while a torch burned to mark time. Too weak to stand, she fell to her knees and crawled out a twenty-three acre tract, still knows as "The Crawls." She then pronounced a curse on any Tichborne descendent who failed to honor the pledge, and promptly died.