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by John Clarke
William Maydwell was a resident of Woburn all of his life, the son of a tailor., When he left school he was apprenticed to Hulatts, the tailors and livery makers, whose premises were at the corner of George and Leighton Streets. He eventually set up his own business in Bedford Street, where he would often be seen sitting in the window sewing; this was before the installation of electricity and he was taking advantage of the natural light.
William was a member of the church choir and used to sing the bass solo in 'Good King Wenceslas' at the annual carol service. For his services to the church, he was presented with a gift of Maundy Money by Her Majesty The Queen, at St. Albans Cathedral in 1957, on the first occasion the ceremony was held outside London.
The Maundy Ceremony is held on the day before Good Friday and commemorates Jesus Christ's washing of his disciples’ feet at The Last Supper.
In the thirteenth century, the Royal Family introduced the ceremony of washing the feet of the poor and giving them money and gifts, to show their humility and compassion. When Henry IV became king he introduced the custom of giving gifts to the same number of people as the years of his for instance, if he was aged 40 he gave to 40 people.
By the 19th century, the tradition changed and the people were just given Maundy money, which consisted of two purses, a red purse containing ordinary coins and a white one containing specially minted Maundy coins amounting to the same number as the sovereign's age.
When William died in 1960, aged 92, he bequeathed his Maundy money to the Parish Church of St Mary's, who loaned it to the Heritage Centre for display. |
