A Wantage author raised £500 for the Vale and Downland Museum with the sales of his latest book ‘The Lost Manor House of the FitzWaryns’, published in November.

With the sales of his book, Terry Randall, local to the town, aimed to raise the amount by Christmas.

On the evening of December 17, he presented a cheque to David Johnston MP at the museum, alongside Lin Lawson, the museum manager, and Suzi Tilbury, museum curator.

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Mr Randall said: “We managed to achieve our target of raising £500 for the museum by Christmas. I have only a few copies left of the original 200.”

The former motor engineer and physics teacher does not make any profits from the book. He had previously explained: “The whole point of doing the book was to encourage people to learn history about Wantage, and to raise money for the Wantage museum.”

He wrote ‘The Lost Manor House of the FitzWaryns’ after discovering the importance of the grade two derelict building he bought with his wife, Andrea, in 2004.

After extensive research, he was able to write a “good argument” as why he believed this house is part of the lost Wantage Manor, home for hundreds of years to the FitzWaryn’s dynasty, into which Dick Whittington married.

He also thinks it highly likely that the royal vill, where King Alfred was born, lies a few hundred yards behind the house in Grove Street, beneath what is now Sainsbury's car park.

It took him around two years to write the book, time he used to do his extensive research.

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