Community, Parish Council & Village
History Everywhere – 20th OctoberDo you enjoy walking in the countryside? Did you wonder about particular features that you see around you? Is it Saxon or Roman? Or perhaps why a town looks and feels the way it does? If so, this one-day course, led by Nicholas James, is definitely for you.
Britain’s history lies in its familiar geographies. Town and country have been shaped by Continue reading “History Everywhere”
County Maps of Essex – 1576 – 1805County Maps of Essex was the topic of discussion at the Local History Group’s last meeting on 12th September. An audience of 40 members and visitors heard speaker Peter Walker introduce his specialist subject. It soon became clear that our County was one of the most mapped counties in England. Peter started with one produced by Continue reading “County Maps of Essex – 1576 – 1805”
War Memorial protected from the elementsA couple of years ago Gill Poole (of the West Bergholt Local History Group) approached the Parish Council. She raised concerns that the tiled war memorial, dedicated to the brewery workers who served in WW1, was becoming weather damaged.
Originally installed inside the Truman Building, the Essex Chronicle reported the original unveiling on 10th September, 1920 as follows:
Fine War Record
A handsome memorial tablet to the employees of Messrs. Daniell and Sons Breweries Ltd., who served in the war was unveiled at West Bergholt Brewery on Monday afternoon in the presence of a large gathering. No less than sixty-six names are inscribed on the tablet out of a total of about one hundred employees who rallied round the colours when the call came, practically every available man of military age and fitness going into the Forces. Fortunately, most of the men returned; nine gave their lives and several others were badly wounded.
The tablet is erected on the wall just inside the main gates of the brewery. Mr. W. Gurney Benham, Chairman of the company, presided, and Mr. T. B. Daniell, a former chairman, unveiled the tablet, which in addition to the names recorded bears the following inscription:-
“TO THE HONOUR OF THE MEN FROM DANIELL AND SONS’ BREWERIES, WEST BERGHOLT AND COLCHESTER, WHO SERVED IN THE BRITISH FORCES IN THE GREAT EUROPEAN WAR 1914 – 1919.
‘AND THEIRS WERE DEEDS THAT SHALL NOT PASS AWAY, AND NAMES THAT MUST NOT WITHER.’ ”
Developers moved the tiled memorial outside onto the side of a peaceful walled garden when they transformed the site from brewery to housing. The tiles then started to deteriorate having never originally been intended for outside display.
So the Parish Council had the idea to cover the memorial with a weatherproof clear display cabinet. The project, which was led by Parish Cllr Brian Butcher, has taken 18 months to come to fruition and was only possible with a contribution & permission from Boydens Estate Agents, who are the management agents of the site. The cover and installation costs came to a total of £2,064.65 with a generous donation from Boydens (Colchester) of £500, £75 from G & O Investments (freeholders) and with the Parish Council paying the remaining sum.
The weatherproof oak cover looks great and is a poignant memorial to the workers of the Brewery who served in the First World War, in this commemorative year.
Pictured at the unveiling are:
Picture courtesy of Tony Morris.
Also reported in Gazette News.
The Jazz Century – Cakewalk to CultureAfter its summer break, the West Bergholt Branch of WEA is welcoming the return of popular tutor Graham Platts with a Jazz theme. Members enjoyed Graham’s previous courses:
For this course, Graham’s subject is “The Jazz Century – Cakewalk to Culture” the origins Continue reading “The Jazz Century – Cakewalk to Culture”
Make-Do & MendMake-Do & Mend continues the History Group’s World War 2 theme with a talk from Liz Bruce & Mary Dean about ‘Life on the Home Front’. Liz & Mary are members of the Frinton and Walton Heritage Trust; the talk will also include a culinary treat with some wartime recipes to taste.
The talk will take place in the Continue reading “Make-Do & Mend – a WW2 talk and food tasting”
Life on the Farm in WW2After the formal AGM, Peter Jones will introduce a short film called “Life on the Farm in WW2”. As in WW1, growing food in the British Isles became very important as importing food from abroad became increasingly difficult.
In Continue reading “Life on the Farm in WW2 & History Group AGM”
The Local Story of Lancaster DV177The subject of the History Group‘s next meeting is all about the fate of an RAF Lancaster Bomber, DV177. Taking place in the Orpen Hall on February 14th, Michael Foster will provide an insight into “The Local Story of Lancaster DV 177”.
Lancaster Bombers were very important during World War 2 and DV 177 was returning from a raid when Continue reading “The Local Story of Lancaster DV177”
Open the Archive“Archive Night” is the topic of the next History Group meeting taking place in the Orpen Hall on 10th January at 7.30pm. The meeting will be lead by group chairman, Peter Noakes.
The History Group has a substantial archive which members of the committee have started to discover and evaluate. At this meeting, the group will use some of the useful information discovered by Barbara Skudder and Jon Lander. The intent is to review the history and development of West Bergholt. Much of Jon Lander’s published material is already available on this website, as he said in 1999:
West Bergholt has never been the site of a battle, Queen Elizabeth did not sleep at Bergholt Hall, there are no treaties or charters bearing its name.
People will tell you that nothing much has ever happened in our village, a sleepy little place in the shadow of Colchester. In fact, West Bergholt has a rich and exciting history of its own……
The Group hopes to encourage other interested members to help them appreciate more fully the contents of the archive. It also hopes that it can be made more generally accessible to the village. All, members and non-members alike, are very welcome to join the meeting (Members £2 and Visitors £3).
Bernard Colbron Remembered
The next meeting of the West Bergholt Local History Group sees the inaugural “Bernard Colbron Memorial Lecture”. Marking Bernard’s contribution to the village over many years as:
… this last meeting of 2017 will take place on on Wednesday November 8th in the Orpen Hall starting at 7.30pm. It follows a very successful October meeting when Dr Casales Continue reading “Bernard Colbron Remembered – A Lecture on Railways”
History of Essex County HospitalEssex County Hospital is the subject of the Local History Group‘s next meeting in the Orpen Hall on October 11th. The Group is hoping for another large audience for the meeting which starts at 7.30 pm. Dr. Fabrizio Casale, a retired consultant, will be talking about “The History of the Essex County Hospital”. Over recent years the facilities
Continue reading “History of Essex County Hospital”