History Group – Learn & Understand Our Local Past

West Bergholt Local History Group

Until late in 2023, the village had an active history group investigating, researching and documenting local history.   They also visited places of historical interest such as Coggeshall Abbey Mill and Kelvedon.

The Group has been responsible for producing much the information contained in the history section of this website. Their work has also been cited on Wikipedia on a couple of West Bergholt-related pages such as:

The old church

Prolific Writer

One of their most prolific writers on West Bergholt History has been Jon Lander with his book “The Most Unfortunate & Ignorant Parish”. The book traces the village’s development from a tiny poverty-stricken group of cottages on the Heath to its present state. It features colour pictures of landmarks which played a part in its history; it also describes the people who dominated village life.  So why did letter writers to the Essex County Standard describe it as “a den of iniquity.”?  If you want to find out more you can still obtain a copy for £4.

What next

The Group stopped meeting mainly as a consequence of a lack of younger members willing to take the group forward. Many of the members are still passionate, though, that the considerable bank of material and knowledge they have garnered doesn’t just disappear. If you feel you might be able to help them, please contact the group by email to [email protected].

Recent news items

Read all about it

Find recent news items tagged as relevant to history below.  Please click on the heading to read the whole article…

If you would like to view all history-related news posts click the link – https://westbergholt-pc.gov.uk/tag/history/.

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