Heritage & Environment

Heritage & Environment

Colchester Borough Council has issued a few news items lately that you might have missed and yet could interest you:

Heritage Open Days

This year Heritage Open Days is set to open the doors to over thirty historic properties across Colchester for FREE. This includes Colchester Castle on Saturday 8 September.

From 6-9 and 13-16 September 2018, Colchester’s sites of significant historical and architectural interest will be open free of charge. Other planned activities over the two weekends include accompanied guided walks, talks, tours and exhibitions.

Heritage Open Days is England’s largest festival of history and culture. It sees historic places countrywide throw open their doors to celebrate their individual heritage, community and history. It provides a great way to discover Colchester’s fascinating history and see inside venues that are usually closed to the public, all for free. Find out more here.

This promises to be a great event so why not make the most of it?

Environment

Recycling – Thank You!

The latest figures for recycling are out one year on from the collection changes which were introduced last June. Non-recyclable rubbish is down by 31% and food waste is up 80%, when compared to the same period last year.

Overall recycling is up to 53% of the total rubbish collected with recycling rates for all individual items also increasing. You can read more here.

KeepCups

Essex County Council has recently launched a Keep Cup campaign. It aims to get as many people in Essex to make a pledge to reduce the use of single-use coffee cups by opting for a reusable cup. More than 1000 residents have already made their pledge so why not make yours today?

Simply visit their website and make your pledge to show your support. Every pledge helps reduce the impact on the environment.

Save Paper When Parking

Save paper by switching from pay and display car park tickets to the FREE MiPermit app to pay for your town centre car parking in Colchester (and many other locations country-wide).

You can also use the app to:

set up a reminder to receive an alert when payment for your parking space is about to expire,
top up your parking without going back to your vehicle,
check on the app map to see where you left your vehicle and
check where your nearest car park is using your location.

You can find out more about the MiPermit app and register for an account here.

May 22, 2018May 22, 2018

Environment & Highways – 10th May 2018

Environment & Highways – 10th May2018

The Environment & Highways Sub-Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 10th May, elected officers and discussed History Group’s proposal to name alleyways, appointing a village warden, salt bags, allotments, handymen, items held over from the last meeting and other items raised.

Continue reading “Environment & Highways – 10th May 2018”

April 5, 2018April 5, 2018

Make-Do & Mend – a WW2 talk and food tasting

Make-Do & Mend

Make-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”

March 7, 2018March 7, 2018

Life on the Farm in WW2 & History Group AGM

Life on the Farm in WW2

After 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”

February 9, 2018January 30, 2024

The Local Story of Lancaster DV177

The 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”

January 5, 2018January 5, 2018

Open the Archive – History Group Explores Records

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).

November 10, 2017November 10, 2017

Friends Group Pay Respects at Daniell & Sons Memorial

Friends Group Pay Respects at Daniell & Sons WW1 Memorial

Lacking a village war memorial, some years ago The Local History Group compiled a list of those who died in WW1; the Friends of St Mary’s had this list copied by a Calligrapher and placed in the Old Church. It has become the Friends’ custom in recent years to gather in the Old Church to remember these fallen from the village; the bell would be rung and, Continue reading “Friends Group Pay Respects at Daniell & Sons Memorial”

November 1, 2017November 17, 2017

Bernard Colbron Remembered – A Lecture on Railways

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:

History Group chairman,
Parish Councillor and, of course,
Editor of the Village Bulletin.

… 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”

September 28, 2017October 6, 2024

History of Essex County Hospital

Essex 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

August 10, 2017August 16, 2017

Camp 186 – The Lost Town at Berechurch

Following their final summer visit, to Frinton on Sea’s “Cottage, Garden and Railway Museum” adjacent to the railway crossing gates as you enter Frinton:

Once occupied by the keepers of Frinton’s iconic railway gates, today Frinton’s Crossing Cottage houses an impressive selection of artefacts and archive material that tell the story of the local area in surprising detail. Situated in a well-maintained cottage garden, the grounds also include a wildlife area and information board. In 2009, the railway signal box was moved into the Garden and became another exhibit housing a snapshot of railway technology in a bygone age.

Continue reading “Camp 186 – The Lost Town at Berechurch”