History Archives - West Bergholt

April 14, 2023April 14, 2023

Stroll with a Patrol and other News Updates

Essex Police Invite you to Stroll with a Patrol.

Other news items in this update include:

Stroll with a Patrol

PC Dex Adams, the Colchester Community Safety & Engagement Officer, invites you to join a patrol.

West Bergholt is one the first of dozens of locations where residents are being invited to join a patrol. They will be coming to West Bergholt at 6 pm on 7th May 2023, where you can join them at Orpen Hall.

The hour will start with a ‘Street Meet’ for those who wish to speak to the patrol but not join them on it. This is a really great opportunity for you and the local residents to come along, speak to, raise issues and get to know the community policing team that are responsible for our area.

Reporting a Crime

Related to the patrol, we have had a link shared with us for reporting crime to the police, click here if you want to use it.

Your Annual Meeting – Will you be attending?

The Annual Parish Meeting might be hosted by the Parish Council but it is very much YOUR meeting.

November 23, 2022December 29, 2022

Old Church Invite to Mulled Wine & Mince Pies

Invitation to Mulled Wine and Mince Pies with a side order of music by Octavia

Invitation To Enjoy Music, Mulled Wine & Mince Pies

Next Sunday, 27th November, the Friends of St Mary’s Old Church invite you to enjoy Mulled Wine & Mince Pies with them. This event will also afford you the opportunity to renew or join the friends.

Music

Octavia will be performing during the event, which runs from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. Octavia is a ‘sub-group’ of Quire.

September 11, 2022September 11, 2022

Essex Lights – A History Club Talk

Essex Lights – Guiding Seafarers

Essex Lights featuring image of the Dovercourt Low lighthouse

The next Local History Group meeting will learn about Essex Lights of which there are many. From Harwich, down the coast and into the Thames Estuary. Peter Jones will be presenting the history of these Lighthouses in the Orpen Hall on Wednesday 14th September at 7:30 pm.

Members cost is £2 and non-members £4 which includes refreshments.

Other talks coming up inlcude:

Steve Pollington talking about Sutton Hoo, and
Norman Jacobs on the topic of Colchester 1880-1980.

Spring & Summer Events

The Group’s last meeting in Orpen Hall on April 13th, was to hear about the history of the Minories in Colchester. This Grade II listed building is believed to have been built in the Tudor period but with subsequent modifications, in mid-18th century, turning it into the elegant Georgian building you see today.

May 19, 2022May 24, 2022

Food Stories Coming Here – June 19th

The Food Museum, formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life, is going on the road! They are touring their exhibition ‘Food Stories’ to communities across East Anglia arriving in the Orpen Hall on 19th June from 10 am until 4 pm. You can also get involved in the event yourself.

What are Food Stories?

‘Food Stories’ celebrates East Anglian recipes, cooking, farming techniques and dialect words that have been passed down through generations. The centrepiece of the exhibition will be a farm kitchen table featuring:

Farmers and workers at hayricks — Farmers Picnic?

local recipes,
photos,
sound recordings and
objects from their collection.

Visitors will be able to sit at, and engage with, the displays; you can also contribute your own recipes and memories to the exhibition. You will hear historic sound recordings from the region of people talking about their food and farming memories. Visitors can also participate in the University of Leeds’ cutting-edge dialect research by contributing their own dialect words.

Make your own contribution

April 7, 2022April 8, 2022

Daniell update and The Minories next up

The Minories – The Characters & the Context

The next Local History Group meeting will learn about The Minories in Colchester. Max Fox will lead this meeting which will take place on April 13th starting at 7:30 pm. Max has been a Tour Guide in Colchester for 28 years, a former Minories manager for Colchester Institute and a traveller through many ruins who has a passion for history.

As ever, all are welcome for a modest charge of £2 for members and £5 for visitors. Next month the group start their summer visits, the first being to Harwich Museum on Wednesday 11th May. If you would like more information about talks or visits please contact [email protected].

The impact of the Daniell Family on West Bergholt’s development

January 7, 2022February 3, 2022

JUMBO Update and the Impact of the Daniell Family

Daniell Family – Next Topic

The next Local History Group meeting will learn about the impact of the Daniell Family on West Bergholt’s development. Peter Noakes will lead this meeting which will take place on February 9th starting at 7:30 pm. As ever, all are welcome for a modest charge of £2 for members and £5 for visitors. The JUMBO meeting report is below.

January Cancellation

On January 12th, the Group were planning to invite members and visitors to investigate their village archive. Because of the current COVID-19 situation they have decided to CANCEL this meeting. Instead, they hope to be able to spend some time after their AGM in March discussing the archive. In lieu of this meeting, they plan to add an extra outside visit in their Summer Schedule.

November JUMBO Update

November 4, 2021January 7, 2022

From Digs to Jumbo – Local History Talks

The past & future of the Jumbo

The next Local History Group meeting focuses on Colchester’s Victorian water tower, Jumbo. Andrew Crayston, a Trustee of the Colchester & North East Essex Building Preservation Trust, will lead the talk. You will hear about the past & future of the Balkerne water tower, affectionately referred to as Jumbo. There are some useful links below to find out more about Jumbo.
UPDATE: read the meeting report here.

Where & When

The meeting will take place on November 10th in Orpen Hall starting at 7:30 pm. Members & non-members are welcome for £2 and £5 respectively (membership £10 per year). Please email the group at [email protected] if you want to attend; the group will then be able to keep you informed if there are any last minute changes to the meeting.

Roman discoveries at 2 recent digs

October 11, 2021October 11, 2021

Digs at Jacks & the Mercury Theatre

Adam Wightman Reporting on the Digs & Jacks & the Mercury

Following the success of their last meeting, Adam Wightman (Senior Project Manager of The Colchester Archaeological Trust), is going to update the Local History Group on these digs this Wednesday. Both digs were possible because of refurbishment works.

In the case of Jacks, just off the High Street, builders dug six shafts to create foundations to stabilise this 17th century building. This gave the Trust 6 windows on the past; find out what they found in Shaft C at Jacks.

August 25, 2021August 24, 2021

Charlie Haylock Coaches Ralph Fiennes

Charlie Haylock talk about his role in the Netflix film “The Dig”

Local Suffolk celebrity, Charlie Haylock returns to the Local History Group for their first talk in person since March last year. This time it is to talk about his work as the dialect coach in the production of the recently released film “The Dig”.

The film tells the story of how local amateur archaeologist Basil Brown, played by Ralph Fiennes, discovered the Anglo Saxon Royal ship burial at Sutton Hoo. Suffolk Landowner, Edith Pretty, employed Basil, an amateur archaeologist, in 1939 to satisfy her suspicions that the numerous mounds on her property had secrets to tell.

August 24, 2021August 24, 2021

Who Was Constable William Raven?

Find out about William Raven, Buried in Old St Mary’s Churchyard

William Raven, a resident of West Bergholt, was born in Coggeshall in 1817, joined the Essex Constabulary in 1844 and died in 1911. You can now visit his, & his wife’s, grave in (Old) St Mary’s Churchyard but what happened in between those years?

Find out when Professor James Raven, from the Universities of Cambridge & Essex, gives a talk about his ancestor. He will touch on a number of topics that bear comparison with today such as: