The Foxearth and District Local History Society
Current Publications
Kelly's directory is a valuable way to discover the shop-keepers, tradesmen, landowners, professionals and local dignitaries in every village at the turn of the 19th/20th century.
It also gives a brief description of every village, mostly concentrating on the churches and charities, but mentioning schools and postal services. It's a valuable resource for the family or local historian.
Kelly's Directory
Keith Slater's presentation
, now available as a PDF
from this website, provides a walk in sequence through Cavendish from one end to the other in old postcards, showing many areas of Cavendish and also the people who lived there
Keith Slater
Professional photographers took photos of ‘beauty-spots’ for the tourist trade, but also photos of communities, with their cottages and children. The resulting postcards, displayed in the local post offices, were eagerly purchased by families to send to distant relatives and friends, often annotated with names and arrows.
The planners of Braintree District Council have, in the past, referred to the north Hinkford parishes as the Heritage jewels
of the Braintree district. It isn't hard to see why: the parishes that border the upper Stour are one of the few unspoiled
pre-industrial landscapes in Essex, rich in mediaeval buildings and landscape features.
Glemsford's waterworks was the greatest and most visible project of the Glemsford Urban District Council. Glemsford managed,
in 1896, to break away from the yoke of the Melford Rural District (created in 1894). it survived as a separate organisation until
1935. Despite its various problems, the new water supply became a life-saver for the residents of Glemsford.
by Andrew Clarke
A
sample of the water was submitted to analysis, when it was found that
the quantity of iron contained in it was more than 4 1/2 times greater
than in 1907. This result was very disappointing.
James Spalding Gardiner (1820-1910) was the patriarch of a large family, a farmer applying scientific methods, and a political campaigner. He belonged to a social class that can be described as “yeoman farmer”, situated in the rural hierarchy below the gentry but above small-holders and labourers
by Andrew Le Sueur
, Gardiner was deeply engaged in politics. He was driven by a mix of strong civic duty, a search for justice, love for the countryside (which he thought ignored or misunderstood by Westminster and Whitehall) and love for his country (which he feared would be undermined by Irish Home Rule)
A lot has been written about Clare Castle over the years, but there is little that
serves as an introduction, and pulls all the evidence together
to attempt a fuller picture that explains why it is ther
e and its purpose.
Andrew Clarke
At the start of the seventeenth century, the castle and lands went into private ownership.
At the time, a Suffolk Traveller, Robert Reyce, noted that the castle was in, ‘lamentable ruins upon a most beautiful situation’
and it seems that the town had only six-hundred inhabitants.
It helps the local historian to understand many historical events by knowing what the transitory and long-term weather
was like. Over years of work as a local historian, David Lindley has built up an archive of reports of weather events in East Anglia
David Lindley
1917:August 8 -- A terrific storm burst over Bulmer on Sunday last with 2 inches of rain in two hours,
corn which was shocked was severely damaged especially the oats.
At Lower Houses, two cottages were flooded to a depth of 3 feet, the inhabitants having to take refuge in the bedrooms.
Upper Houses was entirely cut off and they had to be taken through the floods by Albert Rowe with a horse and cart.
G.English of Hole Farm, saved his pigs with difficulty, during the past week they have had 5 inches of rain.
How and why we created a map of the fieldnames of Cavendish, and why it became an intriguing task.
For the people who lived in Cavendish
until the mid-twentieth century, the landscape and the fields were a central
part of their lives. Most people here worked on the land, or on the products
that were manufactured from the produce of the fields. The rest sold them the
things they needed to live their lives. They could recite the names of all the
fields from Pitchers to Finsted End and tell you of their vices and virtues.
They knew all the farms, their produce and their prosperity.
An account of a remarkable undertaking: The promotion and building of the railway line to Sudbury from Marks Tey, and its effect on the community.
”As the train entered the branch line at Marks Tey, the engine's chimney struck the triumphal arch, causing it to crash onto the boiler of the engine. Thus garlanded, the train continued on its way to Sudbury, being greeted en route by a band at Bures and bells at Sudbury, where a great crowd awaited it. ”
A remarkable survival of poll-tax records with the names of many local people and their trades in the fourteenth century
”One should also note the enormous proportion of artisans in some of the
villages. The most likely explanation is that each recorder took a different view of the categories and some lumped everyone who
worked manually in one category, others were keen to distinguish all the trades they could”
An index of the surnames of the local Essex families mentioned in the 1851 Census in the Hinckford Hundred, the parishes of northern Essex.
The parish register of burials for Borley
the rural world of Essex in the 1840s, remembered in 1900 by 'Joseph' who was brought up on a farm in a village.
”I remember travelling from Witham to Chelmsford in 1843, in an open railway carriage,
that is, with no roof, sides, or windows, and with seats for the passengers resembling forms built on the floor of the truck.
This line, now the Great Eastern Railway, was unique in running fifty miles from London without a tunnel”
At long last, a fairly complete list of the field names of the four parishes, along with their location and the farm they belonged to.
”Field names can come from a variety of things,
such as the nature of the soil,its size and location, the lie of the land, the crops, livestock, wild animals and plants, buildings
or land ownership. Sometimes, it can come from a historical event such as a battle, or the site of former industry such as a windmill.
Field names can date back many centuries and some have certainly lasted from when field names were first recorded in the thirteenth century.”
A list of all the householders in the four parishes, in alphabetic order, along with where they lived.
”Only 237 householders were recorded. The population was much larger, but only the head of each household was recorded. This is because
the purpose of the Tithe survey was to establish who was renting from whom, and who was responsible for paying tithes, and how much. The
censuses were a more reliable source for the names and the size of the population”
Recently, the society was given the original of a nineteenth century indenture. to our surprise, it detailed some of the lands formerly owned by Samual Viall who was a wealthy landowner resident in Cavendish.
”And, after that, of the said John Aldham and also all those pieces of freehold land whereof was called ‘Lattingswell’ or otherwise and the other of them ‘Mill Hill’; land containing together by estimation 2 acres and 3 roods with the same more or less lying and being in Foxearth.”
An account of the funeral service of Tom Hastie (GH), the local historian who was responsible for so much of the contents of this website
”In his retirement Tom visited the Bury Record Office week by week to study old newspapers where he would write down fascinating snippets of reported events giving incredible glimpses of life as it was over the last 300 years.
”
White's directory of Suffolk (1841) contains a detailed entry for Sudbury, with plenty of useful information for the local and family historian
William White
"For a long period before and after 1813, the vacancies in the hospital were not filled up, and the charity was grossly-abused. In 1822, there being only one person living in the hospital, (a man named Rayner,) and he was driven to apply for parochial relief.”
White's directory of Suffolk (1841) contains a fulsome description Long Melford, with a list of all the eminent residents and trades people
William White
"MELFORD, (LONG) the largest and one of the handsomest villages in Suffolk, is picturesquely seated on the north side of the vale of the river Stour, on the banks of one of its tributary streams.”
White's directory of Suffolk (1841) contains a description of Cavendish and Glemsford, including a list of all the local tradespeople and dignatories
William White
White's directory of 1841 contained an introduction with some intersting statistics about the rise in population of the county by more than one-third from 1801 to 1841 and about the state of care of the poor, sick and needy in the county
William White
On the ground of bribery and corruption, Sudbury has now no representatives in parliament, and proceedings have been some time in progress for its disfranchisement.”
The fictionalised account of the haunting of Borley Rectory, written by
Rev. Lionel Foyster, late rector of Borley
The ghostly experiences recorded can be vouched for by at least one of the characters mentioned in the book, and most of them by my wife and myself: many of them also witnessed by other disinterested people. They have been recorded just as they happened, no matter how impossible they may appear to be, or what skeptical people may have to say on the subject. It is another instance of the old saying “Fact is stranger than fiction.”
Who was the man behind the two famous books about Borley Rectory? Was he really the Psychic Detective he made himself out to be?
Richard Morris
Harry Price was driven by two passions, a yearning
for academic respectability, and the esteem of his peers. He always gave a
first impression of an extremely likeable and clubbable man, and
when the subsequent showed his more devious and ruthless side, it took
others off-guard. He was always a salesman.
When you read about Borley Rectory, and Harry Price's role in it, you tend to get detail. Here instead is the overview of what probably happened.
Andrew Clarke
What makes the Borley Rectory Affair unusual is the way that the characters leap out of the books as if larger than life.
This is not really a history of Cavendish, but a potpourri of the researches of the rector of Cavendish in the 1950s
Rev J. D. Barnard, Rector of Cavendish
Mr. Peter never occupied the Old Rectory, but built the new one situated to the north west of the Green. This served as the Rectory till 1947, when its upkeep proved too difficult in the hard days that followed the second great war, and a house called The Yews standing opposite the pond, or Waver, to give it its local name, was purchased as Rectory No.3, and Rectory No.2 was sold. There is probably no other parish that can boast of three rectories within 400 yards of each other.
Although Pentlow Church is probably the smallest of the local churches,
it is undoubtedly the oldest, and retains much of its original appearance.
Andrew Clarke
Pentlow Church is a very old Saxon church, probably over a thousand years old, and possibly even dating from the early years of the seventh century during the revival of Christianity in East Anglia. The Church of St. Gregory and St George (previously St George), is one of only four ancient round towered churches in Essex and is its most northerly church.
One of the first major County histories of Suffolk was written by The Rev. Alfred Suckling and published in 1845. The introduction is charmingly written, opinionated but lively.
Rev. Alfred Suckling
Suffolk is unhappily not free from examples of modern church building, those
plague-spots of architectural beauty. Should the stability of these structures transmit them
to posterity, which is greatly to be questioned, they will furnish to the pupils of a reviving
school, remarkable monuments of deficiency of taste, and ignorance of architectural
adaptation.
Stan Kirby was one of the thousands who were rescued on the beaches on
Dunkirk in June 1940. This is his story.
DL
‘Cor’ said I, ‘there’ll soon be enough for one each’. Several boats had been hit and were out of commission as far as we were concerned. One or two bodies laid at the waters edge, we were told they were ones that started to jump the queues. Could of course have been start of panic, if not stopped at the start
This is the final part of an ambitious project to place the entire parish records of Pentlow Church
on the internet. This lists the births in the parish from 1539 to 1814.
GH
This is part of an ambitious project to place the entire parish records of Pentlow Church
on the internet. This lists the weddings in the parish from 1539 to 1836.
GH
This is the start of an ambitious project to place the entire parish records of Pentlow Church
on the internet. This first installment lists most of the deaths in the parish from 1539 to 1814.
GH
A fascinating glipse into what life was like in an East Anglian town during the last war, taken from the local paper
David Lindley
...
In which we hear of the immorality of a Pentlow girl, and the intrigue that followed on her pregnancy. From the Epiphany 1589 Sessions Rolls.
Essex County Archive
...that he allured her to commit whoredom with him, and that he has had the carnal use of her body divers and sundry times since, but how often she remembers not.
The Navigation of the river Stour was made famous by Constable, whose family prospered mightily from it. It has led to the assumption that the river hadn't been navigable before...not so!
Andrew Clarke
'The leading boat contained a small platform at the bows to enable the towing horse to be ferried across the river when the tow path crossed from one side to the other. This occurred thirty-three times on the trip from Sudbury to Brantham. At Bures, the towpath changed side six times. The horses were, of course, specially trained.'
Elections conducted by The Borough of Sudbury, were, at one time, conducted disgracefully.
'The expenditure at the election in 1835, when bribery was unrestrained by either party, amounted upon an average to at least £35 a man for men of all description upon the register.'
'...gross, systematic and extensive Bribery prevailed at the last election for the Borough of Sudbury'
This is an account of a fifteen year quest into the mystery of the contents of Captain Bennets trunk. It all started when Michael was talking to the Essex historian Herbert Hope Lockwood in front of the Bennett monument in St Margaret's church, Barking.
"It's strange" said Bert "but no-one really knows anything about him, apart from the hearsay that Bennett (or his father) was one of Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovell's captains and that he survived the Great Scillies Disaster of 1707 through sheer navigational skill".
Michael Wand
'I give and bequeath unto the said Abraham Edlin all the furniture in the Room called my Chamber together with the Chest of Drawers and the Iron Chest with all that is therein contained upon this Condition that he do not disclose or make known the Contents thereof or any part thereof to any person and in case he do make the same known contrary to this my desire my will and meaning is that he forfeits this my devise to him and in that case I give the same unto my Cousin Mary Masters'
At Thaxted church is the most original georgian church organ in existence, famous also for being the organ on which Gustav Holst composed the famous 'Thaxted Hymn', the central part of 'Juupiter' in the Planets Suite. Of course, it is now under threat, and the leading expert on church organs, Nicholas Thistlethwaite, gives the details of this national treasure in this fascinating account
The Revd Canon Dr Nicholas Thistlethwaite
'when the verger was about to ring the bell and summon the congregation for the usual week-day evening service, he could produce no sound. Still many were assembled, and divine service proceeded; but when the Minister ascended the pulpit, he perceived, from signs not to be mistaken, that the whole of the immense and massive roof had shifted and sunk, and might at any instant crush him and the whole congregation'
This is a meticulous transcription of the list of the Beccles men who served in the first world war. This was published in book form in July 1920, and based on the official rolls published during the Great War and a great deal of research, including house-to-house distribution of forms sent out in July and collected in early October, 1919
Transcribed by Nick Pulford
THE Committee responsible for the publication of this List feel that no apology
for any seeming delay will be needed by any one who at all realizes the amount of
labour entailed in its preparation and the many difficulties in the way of carrying
it to a successful issue.
Beccles' Historian, David Lindley, has assembled a huge archive of transcriptions taken from local papers about Beccles and the surrounding area, a mine of information to anyone interested in the town, and about the history of town-life in East Anglia
David Lindley 2006
It would be difficult to describe the mingled feelings of surprise and horror
excited by the sad report which was whispered at every breakfast table in the town on Wednesday
morning. Seldom has such a gloom been cast over the town, and the rumour was at first deemed
incredible.
The well-known Beccles' Historian David Lindley has assembled a huge archive of transcriptions taken from a wide range of historical sources, and arranged them by the road or area of beccles, to allow people researching a location to do so easily. It is a huge resource of great value to local historians throughout East Anglia
David Lindley 2006
The earliest mention of the Old Market in the history of Beccles is rather unflattering. In 1418 three men were up before the Court of
the Manor of Beccles charged with not removing a dungheap from the Old Market despite having been ordered to do so at the
previous Court six months earlier. It must have matured during that time! They were fined eight pence.
Janelle Penney has meticulously gone through the Norfolk Chronicle from 1780 to 1783, and transcribed, from the microfishe, everything of interest in the newspaper, from Advertisements, letters, news, announcements and gossip, and has caught a snapshot of a fascinating age
Janelle Penney 2006
...We hear that among the many natural curiosities that adorn this kingdom,
not any thing affords a greater satisfaction to the public than the Oriental
Boggery, or Royal Hunting Tygress [sic], the only one alive in the three
kingdoms, now exhibiting, together with several other Animals, and
curious Birds, all alive, at the Swan with two Necks, the upper side of
the Market-place....
William Hodson was a pioneering antiquarian who published this charming account of Sudbury in the 1887 journal of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and Natural History. Hodson was a man of extraordinary energy who did much to record Sudbury's past at a time that old houses, paintings and documents were little valued. He died in 1894.
WW Hodson 1887
...In several of the houses in this street are seen the outlines of small rectangular, or square windows, now blocked up by the side of larger openings. Many of the upper stories overhang the narrow footway, and the low rooms, whose brick or pamment floors are beneath the street level, have plain or moulded ceiling joists, with plaster between the rafters. By the side of the narrow fireplaces are long narrow cupboards, shewing where the wide open hearths and cosy "ingle-nooks" formerly were...
The title of this short article about Gustav Holst and the 'Planets Suite' is taken from a mysterious inscription on one of the bells in the tower of Thaxted Church. The following was written after visiting the church, and pondering on the lack of anything other than an eight page pamphlet about the church's most famous musician who wrote 'The Planets Suite' whilst staying at Thaxted before and during the First World War.
'It was the first time he had known what it felt like to be living in the depths of the country, where the everyday things that he had always taken for granted became suddenly transformed into matters of vital importance. Water had to be pumped, and when the rain-water butts were empty the sky would be anxiously scanned for clouds of the right shape. And when the rain fell, day after day, it would prove a calamity for having interfered with they hay-making or the harvest.'
The initial proofs of a long-lost script for a BBC radio program dating from 1956, with contributions from many of those people who were directly involved in the affair, has recently turned up. It is a wonderful summary of the affair, for anyone who wants a 'helicopter view' of an extraordinary business.
Burroughs, Sutton, Goldney, Salter, Underwood, Howe, Douglas-Home, Glover, Cuddon& Henning
What we need is not so much discussion of events of so many years ago, as more research into these apparently preternatural manifestations, without publicity and without practical jokers and without fraudulent psychical researchers.
This fascinating account of the farming year was taken from Webb's Practical Farmers' Account Book, dated around 1900, but probably written some time earlier. Clare Sewell Read was an East Anglian farmer.
Clare Sewell Read
'The Farmer's brightest prospects are now bursting upon him, and the fields are all ripening to harvest, while the wavy corn recalls the many bygone years of "peace with plenty crowned," and the many happy harvest homes.'
The complete text of our first printed publication.
(there are a few printed copies left if you are quick!). The book
Richard Morris
It was widely rumoured that the Rector had had an
early dalliance with Charlotte and that David was John
Foster’s son. Certainly the pair had a close father and son
relationship but there is no absolutely no evidence to
support anything other than this
Ted Heathcote worked at Wards' brewery in Foxearth as an engineer from 1946-1960. The Society's first book, 'Foxearth Brew', by Richard Morris, relied on Ted's memories for the details of the brewery in the 1950s
Ted and Louie Heathcote
I think that the position of engineer at Ward's brewery attracted me more because a house went with it rather than the work. This work entailed many varied jobs combining maintenance of two steam boilers, electrical generating equipment, refrigerating chilling plant, plumbing and water pumping plant, beer boiling machines and washing machines, rewiring various houses and the 35 public houses houses owned by Ward and Son.
The story of the Chelmsford Barber and Mary Whale is recorded in great detail in the report of the Chelmsford Hundred Jury for 1602. The story has it all, Sex, Public outrage, libel, attempted bribery, violence and poetry.
Humphrey Clarke
But if Clim Poope were now alive
He would not wish himself to thrive
Till he had cuckold his brother Whale
But tut, this news is very stale
'The 1870s were a low point on the relations between Farmers and their
Workforce in East Anglia, and Essex saw some of the greatest militancy. It
all ended in the farmers claiming complete victory in their organised
campaign of 'Lockouts'. It was a hollow victory, as farming was about to be
plunged into a recession that was to last over fifty years. Out of these
troubled times emerged a figure that now seems like the stuff of heroes. He
appeared out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly, the charismatic
Charles Jay'
Andrew Clarke
We now take the Pleasure of thanking you for your Trouble you are takeing for us. Three of us revive at 3 o'clock, and 3 at seven o'clock. We had a good round the station and then we had the beef we should not have at home. Then see
the Magor and he sent a man round the streets to show us about, on Tuesday we were swareing in as constables, and 2 suits of good clothes, and then the drill came, we can do that better than hopping over clods all day.
Our Historian comes up with a number of fascinating, curious, and sometimes disgusting, snippets of local history.
The Hysterical Historian
Before coming to Cavendish and becoming an intrinsic part of our village life, Squadron Leader F Pawsey DFC was one of the ace Spitfire pilots of WW2, between 1942 and 1944. Later in life, Fred Pawsey JP became headmaster of Headingham Secondary School, and later helped to run Hedingham Comprehensive.
"These were hectic times and there was air combat but we were almost entirely engaged in ground attacks on railways, bridges, motor transport and even leaflet dropping !. The German flack was becoming extremely accurate and we lost a number of aircraft but with my "sharp tool" (the Spitfire), my good eye and common sense and luck I survived.
Since time beyond memory, children and tourists have been shown the doors of some Essex Churches, and told the story of the Danish Pirate who was flayed alive and his skin nailed to the church door where it lies to this day underneath the ironwork.
"....he heard his master say that he had read in an old history that the church of Copford was robbed by Danes, and their skins nailed to the doors; upon which, some gentlemen, being curious, went thither and found a sort of tanned skin, thicker than parchment, which is supposed to be human skin, nailed to the door of the said church, underneath the said iron-work, some of which skin is still to be seen."
Michael Heathcote found this delightful piece of past history amongst a bundle of old papers found stuffed in between the joists of a ceiling and floor in an old house in Sudbury where he was working
Suffolk and Essex Free Press Sepateber 19th 1867
'Those who had been employed in (the fields and who had endured the heat and burden of harvest time had special cause of gratitude to Him who had spared them and blessed the labours of their hands. They might not forget how, during a portion of this harvest time, not a few were stricken down by the excessive heat and unable to pursue their work, while others were called away from their harvest toil, in the midst of their employment, and from among their companions in labour, to their final account.'
The use of teams of oxen for ploughing still determines the way the east-anglian landscape looks. Headlands and field-boundaries were designed to accomodate the long teams of yoked oxen. Because the horse became more popular, we have forgotten the important role of the oxen in pre-industrial farming.
Michael Williams and H. H. Kames
FOR TWO thousand years and more, oxen (or bullocks) were the main beasts
of burden on British farms and roads. Then, in the 40 years from 1800 to
1840, they all but disappeared - hustled into history by social reforms,
industrialisation and a growing need for speed.
Why is the Australian accent so close to the East-Anglian? Why are towns and cities in America and Canada named after Suffolk and Essex places? Here is the story of Nineteenth-century emigration from the region
Humphrey Clarke
Over the course of the 1800s, thousands of people had migrated in search of a better life, their correspondence reveals that the majority were successful, alluding to the suffering they had escaped whilst expressing their joy at the higher standard of living and increased opportunities they now received. By the end of the century people from the eastern counties were spread amoungst Britain's colonies and the emerging United States, provoked to move from their birthplace by the grinding struggle of rural life in an age of agricultural depression and social change.
A shocking story about an attempted massacre, and a grisly murder by a deranged farmer at Pebmarsh.
Halstead & Colne Valley Gazette
In reply to my question prisoner said, "I have shot a sheep and here's the head, mate," at the same time handing me the bowl. At first I thought it was a sheep's head, but on looking at it 1 saw it was the head of the deceased, whom I knew very well.
I said "Sam, whatever have you been doing? You have killed poor old Cockerill." He said "I shot a cock pheasant and he came down with it."
Foxearth's church spire was one of the glories of the border parishes, 130 feet high, and visible for miles around. After a freak summer storm in 1948, it was suddenly gone.
Perhaps the worst result of the storm locally was the destruction of the lofty spire of Foxearth parish church. It is thought that the spire was struck by lightning and the wind blew the wreckage into the adjoining field, the tower also being damaged. Here, as elsewhere, trees were blown down the Rectory and Brewery house were damaged. also other property in the village.
A story of phlegmatic courage, by an allied airman who had crashed behind
enemy lines, and of the French resistance who risked torture and death to help him to evade capture
and return. Butch Baker later became a well-known and much-liked Foxearth resident who
contributed greatly to the community; affable, good-humoured and
generous.
Butch Baker
A German officer stopped his car by me, got out and spoke
to me. Through a daze I realized he was asking me the way somewhere.
Fortunately my face was covered with dirt and bristles so its changes of
colour were not noticeable. I quickly said I was a stranger myself to
these parts. An innocent looking Frenchman was passing on his bicycle so
I pointed to him and said he might know. He must also have been doing
something nefarious as he just about fell off his bicycle when I pointed
at him. Of course he might have caught sight of my dirty face.
This is one of the few genuine diaries of the Dunkirk evacuation, written by a young Lieutenant who eventually lived in Pentlow on retirement.
Ralph Clarke
Rumour comes that the CRE has been killed. "Oh My God!" says Graham, but his face lightens for a moment on hearing that it is some other CRE. It is in fact Le Sueur. He, Hodgson and Galloway were talking together on the beach when another bomb from the same stick as mine killed all three. Tubby White was wounded. Now it is not fun anymore.
On the surface, this particular quarrel involved a difference of opinion over whether a pew could be reserved, or 'appropriated' for a particular family. Such appropriations were simply a matter of custom and had no legal basis. However, much more was at stake, as the local farmers squared off against a high-church rector with radical social beliefs.
Bury and Norwich Post 1862
Mr Gardiner returned to where I was sitting and came directly into the bench and said to me
"You consider yourself a gentleman, but you have proved yourself a low blackguard".
He was in a great passion and this was said loud enough to be heard all over the church. I said
"Thank you for your compliment". I spoke in a quiet whisper;'
Rev Kenneth Glass wrote this booklet in 1962. It has not been bettered as a general introduction to the history of the village and so we managed to trace him to get his kind permission to republish the work.
By Rev Kenneth Glass
TYE GREEN still remains where in olden time the Tythings were held, A
very different public meeting was held there on a warm Saturday in August
1900 when a deputation from Ipswich and District Trades and Labour
Council was present. Here the gathering of Mat Weavers was told that it
was surprising the low wage paid to their craftsmen, and a wonder how
they existed on it. The female workers of the silk industry were urged to
combine and try and improve the conditions under which they worked.
Frank Hale was born in Cavendish in 1912. In 1978, he described his memories of old Cavendish to his granddaughter Sarah. Frank ran the Butchers' shop in the village
"He had a huge hood that went right
over the top of the cart like a pram has, and a lot of us boys when he
went by the Green, used to all hang on the back of the cart, and we could
stop the pony. The old man used to get his whip and try to hit us, but
when he'd got his hood up he couldn't see us."
This is a transcript of a tape recording made by Ted Hartley of Glemsford, December 1978. The Hartley family had been wheelwrights in the village since at least 1750.
D.E.Weston, Clare Middle School
'When the watertower was painted on the inside every 3 or 4 years, the water became undrinkable, so the villagers fetched brook water in cans and buckets.'
Anyone interested in Cavendish and the families who lived there in the Nineteenth Century will be fascinated by this detailed description of the village over a hundred years ago, before the railway had come, and when the roads were surfaced with stones.
John. Braybrooke
"At the top of the Bells garden, on the Green, stood the Cage and stocks where they put people when they were drunk. At that time the public houses were open all the Sunday morning until two o'clock. When we came out of our church we could always see men rolling up and down streets drunk. "
Six hundred years after it ceased to have any legal basis, the 'swimming' of suspected witches continued sporadically in East Anglia. Here is a late example of a petition to a magistrate to have a neighbour swum, and tested for 'Familiar Spirits'.
"They do say your Worship that sich folk are increasing about in this world., and if you have so many in your parish they do a sight of harm. Also, everyone who sees my wife says they never seed such a complaint and call out she is certainly bewitched, she fare haunted night and day, she fare
dried up like a crisp, she say."
In the first half of 1944, three aircraft were shot down, or crashed, at the Wales End road near Cavendish.
"He knew one bomb had exploded and also feared that there would be more than one in the wreckage, he dashed passed the wreckage and warned a small group of civilians to stand back. Near the blazing plane he found one man lying in the leaf mould with his clothes and body alight."
The second of Vernon Clarke's wonderful historical guidebooks to Essex rivers. If you want an intelligent guidebook to Essex, Vernon's are difficult to better. Long out of print but, with the kindness of his heirs, republished here
'Tilty is the idyllic site of a Cistercian Abbey founded in 1153 — just as beautiful, in its own way, as the better known sites of the Cistercian Tintern and Fountains Abbeys. But at Tilty all that remains are some stones in a field and the 1220 Gate Chapel, which had added to it in the 14th
century a chancel with a large east window of exquisite tracery. It was retained at The Dissolution and later turned into a parish church. The abbey had its fish ponds, its sheep, its vineyards and its water mill (run from a millpool formed by damming a stream). The present mill building dates
from the 18th century and it worked until 1957.'
We take a number of reports from the papers where sad accidents are
described in some detail. There is a huge variety of accidents that are
described, from being gored by a bull in one's living room to being
suffocated by a fire. The roads were an awful cause of death. The carnage was quite bewildering.
"Inquis- at Lavenham on William Manning, it appears deceased was driving an empty waggon and set off at a brisk trot, he attempted to dismount the thiller horse which he was riding and in doing so he fell and both near wheels going over him he was killed immediately. This frequent accident
of this nature (the 4th in 2 months) demonstrates the need for laws to be obeyed to prevent this occurrence."
A local walk with my dog along a local country road in the spring of 1998, and a chance meeting with a friendly local farm labourer who fleetingly referred to a story of a local plane crash only a few fields away, started me off on a compelling quest.
By Bob Simpson
'On impact the Mosquito appeared to somersault twice, and immediately burst fuel, and debris into an opening cone of searing flames that quickly sprang up across and up the hillside'.
We are privileged to be allowed to republish this classic booklet. For many years after it was first published in the late seventies, it was the ideal guide for anyone exploring the historic and picturesque Stour Valley. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the area, it is the perfect place to
start
'Exploring the Stour Valley with Vernon's booklet is like being accompanied by a distinguished and interesting guide, informative and always succinct. Vernon's engaging personality comes through on every page.'
a collection of stories which illustrate that the successful introduction of the Threshing Machine did not benefit everybody. In fact, the catalogue of accidents around the Stour Valley make painful reading.
'There was a fatal accident at Hundon when Charles Biggs aged 22 in the employ of Mr Taylor fell into the threshing machine. He was due to have been married that day but as the bride to be became ill and the wedding was postponed.'
The Bury & Norwich Post October 2nd 1883
An 'extent' is a description of the estimate of the area and value of a manor, including a list of the tenants, with their holdings, rents and services compiled on the testimony of a sworn jury of the inhabitants of the manor.
Remarkably, the population of the parish had not changed significantly by the end of Queen Victoria's reign
There is there a wood called le Hoo, which contains 10 acres, and the underbrush from it is worth yearly, without waste, 5s.; and the grass from it is worth yearly ss.; and the feeding of swine there is worth yearly 12d.
This is a complete book, still being added-to, which explores the 'Borley Rectory' saga from a historians' viewpoint. It is 'a collection of essays that were written to explore a particular thought or theme. They do not attempt to construct an encyclopaedia on the subject of the haunting'
Harry Price traversed the entire spectrum of emotions and beliefs, from complete scepticism to uncritical belief in the paranormal, from amused mischief to desperate faith. At different times, he did what we, in hindsight, adjudge to be silly or irresponsible.
This was one of a series of offprints on local villages, republished from the Suffolk Chronicle and Mercury June 4th 1937. The pocket must have been a very light one, but the photographs are charming. It includes a photograph of the tythe barn under which human bones from the 13 century were recently discovered.
'...almost opposite the house of
worship is the rectory, a rambling and spacious residence which suggests
the solid comforts of the better type of farmhouse so frequently to be
seen in the Essex countryside.'
Suffolk Chronicle and Mercury June 4th 1937.
Originally, part of a project to visit, photograph and describe all the
Essex Parishes. The Pentlow part was first published in the East Anglian
Daily Times in July 14 1937.
East Anglian Daily Times July 14 1937.
Here, in
fact, the wanderer from the drab city can realise something of the
priceless heritage which is the true heart of a great country, even
although his own particular walk of life leads him in far less pleasant
paths.
Master Ives worked all his life on the same farm, from 1848 onwards. Recalling those times in 1924, he 'spoke feelingly of what were known as the "good old days"-he emphatically declared that he would not like to live through those times again'.
The Suffolk Chronicle and Mercury 1924
Mr Ives, 76 years ago, began life as a bird scarer on the farm, and received wages of one shilling a week, and went through various stages which in those days agricultural workers had to go through.
A collection of historical documents about Foxearth
The person named in the margin having returned to this parish,from on board the Laurel hulk,at Portsmouth,without any other document of his having been set at liberty by authority,than a Certificate signed by Alexr.Lamb,Captain,which certificate is incorrect with respect to the date of the
conviction, and has led to a doubt,whether the certificate may be a forgery. I have therefore to request,on behalf of the inhabitants of this parish,that you will be pleased to inform me whether such person has been discharged in consequence of His Majesty's Free Pardon as set forth in the
certificate of Captain Lamb.
A collection of historical documents about Pentlow
A collection of historical documents about Liston
"I will that all such money as hath been paid for the workmanship of the Tabernakill of our Lady at Liston and shall be for the kerving and gildyng, myn executors shall pay theym and content for everything therto belonging. To the makyng of the batilment of the stepull ther £3. 6s. 8d.
A collection of historical documents about Borley
"The extract from the 'History and Topography of Essex' has been much quoted in books and articles about Borley Rectory despite being an immensely tedious and stultifyingly boring recital of the genealogy of the noble families who had only a slight and passing relevance to the history of
Borley.
The villagers were infused with a robust Protestantism, and would have watched the alterations and services with some amazement. However they were consoled by the enormous generosity of the Rector and his great hospitality, as it is noted that 'from several staggering forms observed in the
church and the churchyard in the evening, not only St Michael, but also Bachus had been commemorated.'
Bury and Norwich Post, October 10th.1863
The hearers were then exhorted, not only to value their high privileges, which were denied those who were without, but to exercise and profit by them, leading lives of faith, love and holy obedience.
The story goes that Catherine Foster was a simple-minded woman who poisoned her husband with arsenic in November 1846, just three weeks after their marriage at All Saints, Acton, near Sudbury. The crime was discovered when he vomited in the garden and the hens mysteriously died. She readily
confessed to the crime; she had married him to please her mother, and loved another man, so she cooked his potatoes in arsenic.
"He said it was a deeply moving sight. The poor woman who was only 18 years of age, gave a heart rending speech from the scaffold imploring other young women, who may be te'mpted as she was, not to follow her example, but to stand firm and stick to their marriage vows. Catherine Foster
was the last woman to be hanged in public in Bury."
A charming court report about whether a farm track should be repaired by the Highway Board. A court case with great character, including a juror who overslept and a comic yokel
Suffolk and Essex Free Press, April 8th 1869
' Where were you between 1820 and 1830?'
' I cannot tell you, for I aint no "scholard" and never kept no account. There were other soft roads in Cavendish but they have been made hard, I helped to cart faggots out of Easty wood.'
The story of a violent and bad-tempered farmer from Middleton, Sudbury, who kicked a thirteen-year-old farm worker too hard and caused his death, told vividly by the coronor's inquest
Bury and Norwich Post, December 30th 1844
'On Sunday morning he told me his leg ached, and he looked very bad; I walked home with him; he rested near Mr Leader's, nearly half way home, and said he had not got so far he would go back again and lay on the horse stover until I came back from dinner; but I said you had better go home as
your mother will get something to make you better.
I saw him no more until the next Sunday just before he died. '
There was a great deal of emigration from East Anglia in the 1800s, and for one family at least, it all ended happily
Suffolk and Essex Free Press, November 4th 1846.
'we hope Mr Wilson will send out more people for many men work in the copper mines and farmers cannot get the work done. . '
It is remarkable to think that a belief in witchcraft was still sufficiently strong in the area in the 1860s to cause a man's death by attempting to 'swim' him to see if he was a witch. Less surprising, perhaps, that a man could earn a living by telling fortunes; though how it was that a deaf and dumb man could do so is a puzzle.
Bury and Norwich Post, March 15th 1864
His habits were peculiar and his inability to express himself otherwise than by grotesque gestures and was also very excitable caused him to be regarded by many as possessed of the power of witchcraft.
What starts as a simple accusation of rape against a priest by a sixteen-year-old girl, and counter accusations of the existence of a brothel, soon evolves into a vicious quarrel between a Borley landowner and the influential vicar of Foxearth.
Haverhill Echo, December 5th 1871
''I said "let me go, let me go". .
He gave me a shilling and said "don't tell your mother. Don't let your mother see your clothing tonight; wash them yourself". .
He kissed me again and bade me goodnight and I left..
Whilst I was down defendant put a pocket handkerchief in my mouth so that I would not make a noise:'. '
Recording the curious tale of the disappearing corpse from Foxearth Graveyard. Foxearth is, of course, the next parish to Borley, and this scandal would have been the talk of the parish for many months.
Suffolk Free Press, July 14th 1864
'Nothing was heard in the night, either of the men who did the work, or the waggon brought to convey the body away,but certain labourers,in the parish of Otten Belchamp,who were going to their morning's employment,aver that they met a yellow painted vechicle, driving at a moderate
pace,towards Belchamp, on which were riding five or six men,but they were so disguised as not to be recognizeable by any of them.'
Memories and Obituaries of Foxearth people who fought in the First World War
A search through the archives and the memories of old villagers, prompted by studying the list of Foxearth people on the War Memorial who served in the First World War.
A strange attempt at murder, by what must have been a deeply disturbed young man
Bury & Norwich Post, July 22nd 1829.
'he had no malice towards Green but meant to destroy himself and fearing that Green would prevent it he resolved to kill him, a paper was found in a box with a sketch of a man hanging and a account of the Trial Of W.Viall.'
Bull-baiting was once customary and legal, taking place anually in Bury in the Market Place. It is odd to stand in what is now a car-park, and imagine the 'brutal and brutalizing practices' that took place 'amidst all the appliances for the light of the Gospel and the principles of common
humanity'
Bury and Norwich Post, November 7th 1792.
On Monday last it was nearly the cause of loss of life to several individuals as a girl about twelve years old was tossed by an exasperated animal and much hurt that it was feared for her life,one Burton,a wool comber,was also dreadfully gored.
A sad story about a scuffle on the way home after the pubs closed, where a knife was drawn and a young man died. The charge was manslaughter, as there seems to have been some provocation.
Bury & Norwich Post, July 22nd 1829.
'Directly after that I felt blood running down my side and my leg and fell on the footpath. The two other men went away and left me and I was led home by George Golding. The prisoner, John Ager, is the same man who told me not to go any further with the girl.'
This records the public hanging of some petty burglars.
The account is fantastic for the behavious of Wright's mother who, according to the correspondent 'gave proof of her utter want of feeling'
Bury & Norwich Post, April 7th 1824.
'"what are you to be done to"
he replied "hanged mother",
"well" rejoined the mother, "be a good boy and don't be hung in your best clothes but let me have them, I had better take your red waistcoat now".'