PROGRAMME OF EVENTS 2025

 

THE DIARIES OF A FOXEARTH FARMER, 1888 – 1898

THE DIARIES OF A FOXEARTH FARMER, 1888 – 1898

A talk by Ashley Cooper

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11th March 2025 was the 25th Anniversary of the commencement of the Society, the AGM

of the Society AND a talk by Society President, Ashley Cooper. To say that there was a

good turnout would be an understatement.

Ashley commenced by acknowledging the generous loan of the diaries of John Row from

David Jackson, many years ago. From them, this presentation and two chapters from his

book, ‘Our Mother Earth’ were derived.

John Row was born in Harwich in 1843. He arrived in Long Melford as the stationmaster -

with a sideline in the sale of selling accident insurance to passengers (who were foolish

enough to travel on those ‘dangerous contraptions’). Later he established insurance offices

in Hall Street, Long Melford, (now known as Robins Row), where the words ‘Railway

Passenger Assurance’ can still be seen over the door.

In his mid-40’s’s, John Row entered farming by leasing two farms - Kings Prentice and

Highlanders Farm, of about 40 and 57 acres respectively. The original rent at Kings

Prentice was £2 per acre, but by the time he acquired Highlanders, the rent had been

reduced. This was probably as a result of the terrible time that the farming industry was

then having.

The population of our local villages had declined dramatically because of low employment

prospects, inferior trade prices and the improved opportunities that could be found by

emigrating abroad, to London, or the industrial North. As examples of the decline in

population, Ashley pointed to the census records which showed a 25% decline in

Foxearth’s population between 1851 and 1901, with similar reductions in Pentlow and

Borley. Farming was still a manual job—requiring an enormous labour force. Ashley

estimated that Foxearth would have had about sixty farmworkers in 1891, with a similar

number of heavy horses on the village’s farms, to do the work.

By 1895, John Row had taken on Lower Hall farm at Foxearth. Ashley showed

photographs of where these farms were and also provided an aerial photograph of

Foxearth, which clearly showed Ward’s Brewery, as it was a few decades later. This led to

a side issue and a question about the old gatehouse entrance to the Brewery, which still

exists today. The question, which gained a prize - what is the date shown on the house? 

The answer, 1907!

Ashley highlighted several entries from John Row’s diaries, written week-by-week in black

ink--but occasionally in red ink--to draw attention to a significant event or occurrence.  In

October 1892, he sowed his winter beans, ‘in a miserable wet seedbed.’ But the following

March was correspondingly dry. On the 9th he writes that he has finished drilling ‘earlier

than in other years’.

On the 12th is another positive entry - the birth of a foal, ‘Prince Charlie.’ But in April, Row

records the death of another horse while it was ploughing. Also in April “very dry, nothing

growing’. He references ‘cuckoo barley’ - an expression of a late-emerging, poor crop.

This is later confirmed by his entry on August 25th - ‘poorest harvest on record’.

During the talk, Ashley made good use of paintings by Ben Perkins, depicting the events

taken from Row’s diaries. For the August 1893 entry, Perkins had depicted a large wagon

loaded with wheat sheaves, together with an oak tree branch on the top of the load. There

was much discussion of the significance of the oak branch which was a symbolic tradition

of the end of harvest.

Farming did not improve for John Row! In August 1894 he writes, ‘such a miserable wet

time and prospects so disastrous to the whole area, that gave up making memorandum’.

He was beset with problems. Wheat prices were lower that before before the Napoleonic

wars--as it flooded in from the American prairies--refrigerated meat could likewise come

from abroad and there a farm workers strike in Belchamp Walter. By 1895 Row had given

up Highlanders Farm for Lower Hall, Foxearth. The ‘miserable time’ continued, with the

death of a cow which he states had been ‘poisoned’!

By 1898, however, there was some brighter, more cheery entries, with Wheat prices giving

Row a profit for which he was ‘well pleased’ The later entries from 1898 could almost

have been written by farmers of today, faced with the same issues ‘5th August –

Harvesting’ but then rain halted work until the 12th.  His reaper broke down, so he

purchased a new binder. That also gave problems which required a journey to London to

get spare parts. Finally the weather improved. From August 26th , the weather was fine and

dry. Harvest finished on September 9th, But, the dry weather continued. By the 25th , it was

too hard to plough, and he had to cart water to the livestock. After 6 weeks drought; the

weather finally broke on 15th October.

‘A farmer’s life doesn’t change’, said Ashley, to close his fascinating, knowledgeable,

entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable talk.

Kelvin Hastings-Smith

Tuesday 11th Feb 2025 - Graham Higgins - Tales from the Bench

 

Tuesday 11th February - Graham Higgins - Tales from the Bench

Life as a Local Magistrate in our historic English legal system

On a cold, damp February evening 40 people filled the hall to hear Graham’s Tales from the Bench. He started with a brief description of a Magistrate or J.P. They are volunteers who represent us, the public and sit in benches of two or three in a court building as a Bench, with a Legal advisor. There are three Jurisdictions: Criminal over 18, Youth Crime, and Family Courts. Cases are all indictable by a decision to Bail or Remand, Guilty or Innocent, Discharge, Fine, Community Order, Custody (up to a year in Prison). All cases start in Magistrates court, and 95% are concluded there. Sentences must be based on Sentencing Guidelines, which give a consistent national approach to sentencing, with a code that the courts must follow.

Graham then read two statements,

1) ‘Shoplifting, burglary and robberies are generally committed by impoverished drunkards, whose greatest encouragement is the little obstruction they find in the disposition of their plunder’.

2) ‘Shoplifting and robberies (e.g: theft of mobile phones) are generally committed by impoverished drug addicts, whose greatest encouragement is the little obstruction they find in selling their stolen goods’

The first is a 1751 quote from Henry Fielding (author of Tom Jones) and a famous Bow Street Magistrate. The second is Graham’s take, 274 years later, from his recent court sitting with two repeat offenders shoplifting £700 worth each. £700 today would have been worth 50 shillings in 1751. A theft of 5 shillings had been a capital “hanging offence ”since 1699!

The most Common Crimes that come before Magistrates in 2025 involve: use of Knives to injure or threaten; Domestic Violence (often with mobile phone as a weapon!) coercion; sharing indecent images; Motoring; Shoplifting; Possessing or supplying drugs; and Fraud.

Historically, it was Alfred the Great who first made crime and crime prevention a responsibility of the Community, through the “Hue and Cry”, where anyone wronged could call upon and compel everyone else in a community to chase a criminal. For more serious crimes, the “Posse Comitatus” could be raised by the king's county official, the sheriff, to track down a criminal. (The origin of the Posse seen in many US Westerns!)

If you were found guilty of a crime you would expect to face a severe punishment. Thieves had their hands cut off. Women who committed murder were strangled and then burnt. People who illegally hunted in royal parks had their ears cut off, and high treason was punishable by being hung, drawn and quartered.

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1215 King John’s Magna Carta of 1215 redefined the laws of England, but has been much revised since. Only three clauses remain:

The privileges of the City of London, and The Privileges of the People are famous clauses that establish the principle that no one, not even the king, is above the law. "No free man shall be seized, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or ruined in any way" "Nor in any way proceeded against, except by the lawful judgement of his peers and the law of the land". These clauses are considered the foundation of the freedom of the individual against arbitrary authority. They established the right of all to be judged by their equals and provided the basis for important principles in English law Habeas Corpus and access to court: Trial by Jury.

Graham entertained his audience with many historical facts & figures, interspersed with gruesome details of punishments. Wandering minstrels were to be “grievously whipped and burned through the gristle of the right ear with a hot iron of the compass of an inch about”. But most shocking to many was the treatment of suicide victims (the crime: “Felo De Se”). The body was dragged through the streets, and buried at night at a crossroads with a stake through the heart (it was not explained why!)

Many medieval crimes were ‘hanging offences’. During the 18th century the number of crimes punishable by death rose to about 200. Some, such as treason or murder, were serious crimes, but later, people could also be sentenced to death for more minor offences:- picking pockets, stealing bread or cutting down a tree. These were the kinds of crime likely to be committed by those in most desperate need.

But there were routes to escape the noose. By claiming “Benefit of Clergy”, many defendants found guilty of certain felonies were spared the death penalty. This was originally a right accorded to the church to punish its own members should they be convicted of a crime. If the defendant could read a passage from The Bible, they were instead handed over to church officials.

And many were sentenced to Transportation to the Colonies instead. Originally to America - some 60,000 until the War of Independence, then to Australia - 172,000 or more. Many of them eventually did well for themselves, and this eventually stopped when it was realised that many convicts were getting too rich from Gold prospecting! Historian Pip Wright records that out of 1000 persons sentenced to be hanged in Suffolk only 170 were executed (with transportation as an alternative until 1868) and reduction of capital offences after 1820.

Graham outlined our legal heritage, particularly the part Suffolk and Bury St Edmunds have played in it, leading the town motto of BSE to include “cradle of the law”. He related local events particularly the role magistrates have played in this history: from 1572, JP’s were also required to administer the ‘Poor Laws’, and provide a small income for the most needy from local taxation. He talked about some of his more unusual experiences on the bench, and how crime has changed over the years - but how many of the underlying problems are still the same. This was a fascinating talk from an excellent speaker.

JAN 2025 - BOOM & BUST IN MEDIEVAL LAVENHAM - A TALK BY JANE GOSLING

 

BOOM & BUST IN MEDIEVAL LAVENHAM - A TALK BY JANE GOSLING

Jane had been Manager of the Guildhall in Lavenham for almost 20 years before taking early retirement from the National Trust. She described herself as a timber-frame buff, so living in Lavenham was a bit like being a child in a chocolate factory! She had studied medieval architecture for many years and had helped establish the Suffolk Historic Buildings Group in 1993, and was still Chairman.

Through excellent illustrations, Jane took us from pre-historic times through to Lavenham’s heyday - the 15^th and early 16^th centuries. The town was fortunate to have as its Lords of the Manor the De Vere’s, Earls of Oxford, and although their seat was at Castle Hedingham, they seem to have taken a particular interest in their Lavenham holdings, and over the centuries helped to stimulate the financial growth there. They, and some of Lavenham’s wealthiest merchants, were responsible for the re-building of Lavenham’s impressive church, shortly after 1485.

In 1257 the De Vere’s were granted a market charter, which proved so successful that they later decided to move the entire nucleus of the town from the hill near the church, up to what is now the Market Place. The streets that radiate out from the market today all date from this time, although no buildings from the period survive.

We heard that Lavenham’s wealth came from a thriving industry in cloth production. Jane was keen to stress that although cloth is not possible without wool, the villages and towns around South Suffolk – ironically known nowadays as the ‘wool towns’ – were primarily agricultural areas, with the wool for the cloth being brought in from Lincolnshire and the Cotswolds.

What began as a cottage industry, with individuals working for themselves and selling to local markets, had by the late 1400s become a well organised and highly successful industry unrivalled in Britain. Men known as cloth merchants or clothiers took control of the whole process, becoming very wealthy and re-building Lavenham in the latest building styles. Such was the success of the cloth that Lavenham specialised in – a thick, course broadcloth dyed with woad and known as ‘Lavenham Blewes’ – that in 1524 Lavenham is recorded as the 14^th richest town in England, paying more tax in that year than cities such as York and Lincoln. The market expanded to export all over Europe, with Blewes being famous as far away as Northern Russia.

But inevitably, bust followed boom. Wars on the continent, heavy taxation and competition from Flemish weavers, who brought finer, more fashionable cloth, meant that great numbers of workers were already being laid off by the 1530s, and such was Lavenham’s reliance on the cloth trade, there was nothing to cushion the sudden lack of money and employment.

The irony is that, had the wealth remained, the wonderful buildings that Lavenham is so famous for today would have been swept away as style and fashion evolved. Nobody could afford to rebuild them, and those that were not lost at the time were covered over or divided into tenements. No new building took place for around 300 years, when the coming of the railway brought new industries such as horse-hair weaving, coconut matting and sugar-beet processing.

Before taking us on a visual tour of some of Lavenham’s fine buildings, Jane showed us how to recognise the signs of a medieval timber-framed building, the general plan of which changed little over three centuries. We learned how the oak frame would have been erected, how the open hall would have been a communal space with little furniture, and how a person’s wealth could be conveyed by the amount of decoration, carving and wall paintings they could afford.

Jane showed us some lovely examples, ending with some pictures of the sad state of many of Lavenham’s buildings in the late 1800s, with many literally falling down or being dismantled and moved elsewhere – even to America. By the 1940s, more of the ancient buildings were condemned by the local authority, being considered unfit for human habitation.

But happily, over 300 of them remain, now listed and protected for future generations.

Jane thanked her audience and hoped to be invited back in the future.

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2 illustrations: The Weavers House (top), demolished and re-erected in Walberswick on the Suffolk coast around 1890, and Little Hall, one of Lavenham’s earliest buildings dating from c1380.

History of Surnames - Charlie Haylock

 'History of Surnames'  Charlie Haylock

Report - Nov 2024

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Foxearth History Society hosted a jam-packed evening with the ever-popular raconteur Charlie Haylock, who spent the evening exploring the fascinating world of surnames. Having recently been awarded an honorary doctorate from Suffolk University for his work on the history of the English Language, it was a pleasure to hear Dr Haylock’s account of how hereditary surnames were introduced into England.

Dr Haylock explained that it all dated back to the arrival of the Normans in 1066. Prior to this, there were no hereditary surnames and in fact most people were identified by their nicknames, which might help others know your profession, place in society or the place you originated. One example was that names including Elf or Wolf denoted a person who was a noble and respected fighter and Dr Haylock referenced Alpheton, which was a town created by such a noble warrior. 

One interesting fact was that occupational names were not as large a category as might be believed and that nicknames were more likely to be based on looks or the place where you originated, as you would only be named this after you left. So if someone moved from Clare to Foxearth, they would  be known as Charlie de Clare, to help identify them. These ‘bynames’ however were not passed down to the next generation and could be picked up, dropped or changed at whim.

This changed following the Norman invasion as the arriving king wishing to swell his coffers, brought in hereditary taxation. Charlie explained that during the early stages of William’s reign it was decreed that if a person had produced a will naming their descendent as the beneficiary, the land and money would be passed on, however if there was no will clearly naming the beneficiary, all monies would be forfeit to the crown. This meant that it was essential to be able to identify the correct person to inherit. In 1085 William also commissioned The Domesday Book to record land ownership across England and this was completed in 1086. Following this, Charlie explained that there was much confusion as surnames no longer helped identify professions or where someone was from and Charlie recounted a very confusing and amusing tale of Burt the Baker and his family! But by the 1300s most people now held hereditary surnames across England, though these were often very much surnames of a particular area, for example Suffolk surnames would be Hatt, Palgrave, Walpole, Haylock and Kersey to name but a few.

Charlie went on the explain why it is sometimes difficult to track family surnames back, as sometime in 1400s to the 1600s, there was the ‘great vowel shift’, where the pronunciation of all Middle English long vowels altered, as did some consonant sounds, specifically becoming silent. These changes meant that the spellings of surnames could be very fluid, and as many people were unable to write surnames were often written down phonetically. Charlie went through a range of changes including the letters V U W and F, and the vast ways these could be pronounced. As such he suggested that when tracking a family tree prior to 1700, it would make sense to be flexible about the spellings and look at similar surnames or names where letters may have been pronounced differently. As he summed up ‘The only consistent thing about the English language is its inconsistency!’ but he also explained that this is what makes English the richest language in the world as we are open to adapting and adopting words from all languages.

Charlie then went through the different types of surnames:

Occupation: Smith, Fletcher, Cooper, Carter, Clark

Nicknames: Armstrong, Little, Blacklock, Beard, White

Sons and family of: This is a more complex set, as the adding of an s at the end of a name could indicate either the widow of, or the child of: Richards, Hicks. Old English names could also have ‘son’ added: Anderson, Sanderson; ‘ing’ or ‘kin’ added: Hodgin, Simkin; Norman names could end in ‘ett’, ‘ott’ or ‘itt’ Bennett, Wilmott; or ‘fitz’ again meaning  ‘son of’: Fitzwilliam, Fitzgerald; ‘Mc or Mac’ for the Scottish, McTavish, Macintosh; ‘o’ for Irish O’Deal, O’Hara and finally aP for Welsh, Apugh, 

Oath names: where surnames were given when an oath was sworn to the king, master or God, e.g. Pardieu.

Finally, Charlie went through the surnames of those in attendance and explained where and how all the surnames had originated, which was fascinating. Overall, it was a superb evening with a wonderful mix of humour and historical detail and it certainly left the crowd wanting more!

BARGES ON THE BLACKWATER Oct 2024

 FOXEARTH AND DISTRICT HISTORY SOCIETY 

BARGES ON THE BLACKWATER Oct 2024

There were barely any parking spaces on Tuesday evening, 8th October.  The hall was filled with an audience eager to hear the talk by Stephen Nunn.

Stephen Nunn and his wife, Christine, have a shared passion for sailing barges and more particularly the sailing barges of Maldon.  Their families have a long association with Maldon and Barges which was plain to see in the meticulously prepared and masterfully presented talk.

Stephen first became interested in the barges of Maldon when he was at school.  His history teacher, knowing that Stephen was not enjoying his traditional history lessons, introduced him to local history and took him to the Essex Record Office.  Stephen’s interest was peaked!  He has immersed himself in Maldon and Maldon Barge history ever since.

Stephen outlined a brief history of Maldon - from its first documented mention in the 10th century, the discovery of neolithic relics, the battle of Maldon in 991 and the rise of important and exclusive products sold with Maldon connections including salt, mud, malt and beer!

In 991 Viking ships appeared along the Blackwater and had to be enticed to leave at a cost of £10,000 (£40 million in today’s money).  In the 11th century Maldon had to provide a ship at a time of war.  The last ship built had Samuel Pepys as notional skipper!

However, the icons of Maldon were the barges which plied their trade on the Blackwater and onto London Water (the Thames) and down to Kent.  There have been many books written about barges, a list of which Stephen showed the audience, with particular attention being paid to Frank Carr’s “Sailing Barges” published in 1931.  The author sailed at Malden and spent his early life as a ‘mate’ before later becoming  the Director of Maritime at Greenwich.  Carr made sure that  these barges were put on the map and were not just cargo carriers.

The barges - not to be confused with the Thames Sailing Barges - were simple flat bottomed vessels designed to carry cargo of many types.  The barge would draw between 3 - 3.5 feet with very little keel (if at all).  This enabled the barge to sit on the mud beds  at low tide.  They were small vessels originally known as a Hoy (a heavy barge used for freight).  These barges were unstable in rough weather.  Lee boards were added which lie amidships and can be raised and lowered to stop the vessel slipping sideways.

From the start of Maldon barge building, the designs have evolved over time including the rounding of the bows, replacement of the tiller with a wheel (1880); Topsail added (1890); Bowsprits (1900).  Sometime later iron replaced wood but was not as successful as the pitch pine on oak frame.

The Thames Sailing barges were cheap to build.  The wherry was also introduced

The barges had many uses in transporting cargo and gained a reputation for transporting certain kinds of cargo.  ‘Brickies’ transported bricks, ‘Haylers’ transported hay; ‘stackies’ transported anything requiring to be transported as a stack (similar to ‘haylers’); ‘Golden dustbin’ the transport of rubbish - particularly from London which was taken by barge and dumped at sea!  (this caused quite a stir in the audience); ‘bulk carriers’.

The ‘haylers’ would take the hay to London stacked with bales and bring back manure!  The saying at the time, when horses were still in common use, was - ‘Hay up and Dung down’.  The stack of hay was so high that the skipper could not see where he was going so the mate had to sit on top of the stack and shout directions to the skipper.

Stephen took us on a short history of his family’s association with barges by introducing us to his maternal grandparents.  His grandfather was Charle Lavender (known as ‘liable’ Lavender) sailed as mate on a cargo barge whereas his grandmother’s family sailed fishing smacks.

Stephen told the audience a lovely story of how his grandfather sailed on the barge ‘Majestic’ which carried beer.  The journey started leaving Maldon for Gravesend to pick up the raw materials and deliver these to the Maltings at Fulbridge where he collected the barrelled and bottled beer for delivery to  a pub in Maldon.  At the time each barge on this run was given a beer allowance for the crew (to prevent pilfering of the cargo) but grandfather’s skipper didn’t drink and grandfather became known as ‘Beery Bill’!

Stephen touched on the more recent history of the use of barges - particularly the use of the barges during the Dunkirk evacuation of allied troops.  One barge was to be left on the French beach to be destroyed by enemy fire but a naval officer who had sailing experience sailed the barge back to England with 200 artillery troops on board.

Today there are several charitable trusts that exist to preserve the barges and provide opportunities for the public to engage with restorations, maintenance or just to go on trips on the barges.

There was so much more to this talk, Stephen was very enthusiastic and informative.  Stephen was heartily applauded for his talk.  

On a show of hands there is much interest from FDHS to organise a trip on a Blackwater barge.

KHS

Pillboxes and their role in the defence of Sudbury

 

Foxearth & District Local History Society Sep 2024
“Pillboxes and their role in the defence of Sudbury”

On the rather wet evening of 10th September a very respectable number of
hardy souls, gathered at Foxearth Village Hall to hear Kevin Gault’s talk on the
above. This was an event eagerly anticipated by yours truly, knowing something
of Kevin’s depth of knowledge and research of the subject, and he certainly
did not disappoint.
Long after WW2, these familiar marks on our landscape are still very obvious
and Kevin provided a wealth of information on the purpose, construction and
even the cost (a very reasonable £153.11 per pillbox). One important purpose
of these sturdy concrete structures was to provide reassurance to local
populations that serious thought had been given to defence planning should the
invasion threat become a reality.
The River Stour would have represented a considerable obstacle to an invading
force and defending it was therefore extremely important to prevent it being
crossed, hence the proliferation of defensive positions in the Sudbury area.
But it is not just pillboxes. A raft of other measures included bridges being
wired for demolition and improvised road barriers. which could be quickly
deployed.
There was a great deal of creativity and local variation in defensive measures
but the attempted disguise of a pillbox as a petrol station would hardly have
fooled a 3 year old let alone a Panzer division. A proposed mobile pillbox was
worthy of “Dads Army” and probably not a good idea. Its farcical appearance
would have been more likely to reduce any invading force to fits of laughter.
The question time at the end provided an opportunity for some of the audience
to share their own experiences of wartime Sudbury. The best anecdote
related to a situation where a large tree was blocking the line of sight from a
strategic point. The answer? blow it up! Unfortunately the amount of explosive
necessary was seriously overestimated with the result that, as well as the
tree, the windows of the houses over a considerable area were blown out. This
faux pas was cleverly explained away by blaming it on the wayward aim of a
Luftwaffe bomber.
I would add that my mother, when starting work as a telephonist in WW2, was
given a length of wood and was told it was for use as a defensive weapon to
repel any enemy, as on no account must the telephone exchange be allowed to
fall into enemy hands!
Thanks to Kevin, I can now tell the difference between a Type 27 pillbox and
the bigger and stronger anti-tank Type 28. I will also be looking out for the
“Essex Lozenge” and “Suffolk Square”. Not only that, I know what a “spigot
mortar point” was and the very place in Long Melford where one was once
deployed.
Finally if you happen to spot Kevin wading through nettles or peering into
flowerbeds, do not be alarmed. He will be looking for any remains of WW2
infrastructure, new examples of which are still being discovered and added to
the historical database.
David Mercer

July 2024 - Visit to 'The Middy'

Report - July 2024 - Visit to 'The Middy'   ‘The Line to Nowhere'

Mid Suffolk Light Railway museum (MSLR)

On arrival we were greeted by the Station Master for the day, John Stark, a former chairman of the Trust which runs the railway. There was a slideshow in the museum room and John set out the history of the railway, which opened in 1902 having received permission to create the line in 1900.

John was an exceptionally knowledgeable guide and delivered key facts and anecdotes throughout the presentation. He pointed out various artefacts in the museum and drew our attention to those items we would see out on the station platform and on the track.

The railway was created in place of a ‘good road network’, intended to open up central Suffolk and serve the busy farming communities. It was built cheaply but missed the great railway age of the 1800’s and as a result, was in and out of bankruptcy - often.

The line was to run from Haughly to Halesworth with connections at Needham Market and Westerfield. The connections were later abandoned and eventually only 19 miles of the proposed 42 miles of track was laid. LNER was to later absorb the line but it held out until MSLR resolved its debt (yet again) and took over the line in 1924. 

Typically, the line brought coal in, and sent crops out from the farming communities. MSLR was advised not to open a passenger service but to concentrate on the transport of goods. That advice was ignored for the most part and passengers were regularly carried - mostly children to schools further along the line. Travelling to Haughley provided a connection to Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and Cambridge, and onward to all parts of the nation!

The line really came into its own from 1938 and during the second world war. Work was undertaken to beef it up by way of construction to accommodate an influx of over 3000 American Service personnel. However, after the war the line went back to its former schedule of 3 trains a day and 1 on Sundays.

MSLR became part of the nationalised British Railways in 1948 but the line could not sustain itself and largely because the Americans had left and the aerodromes no longer bustling - or needed - the decision was taken to close the line in 1952. But, it stayed open until the end of the school year and the last train ran on 25th July 1953. This closure was 11 years before Dr Beeching’s, ‘The Reshaping of British Railways’ report in March 1963 which led to mass closures of unprofitable rail lines and stations, in order to stem financial losses of British Railways.

Having left the museum building we ventured outside in the cold and damp July morning to view the platform and station buildings. Facing us was a corrugated structure which had been used as a garden shed, but before that, it was the station building at Wilby. Behind this is the old Brockford ticket office, also an old hut. Further on is the old Mendlesham station building which had, since the closing of the line, been used as a chicken shed by a local farmer. All 3 structures have been lovingly restored inside and out to reflect typical station buildings from the 1940’s.

The interiors are striking for the attention to detail. Clocks, ticket machines and timetables abound and, if one tries hard, there is the faint smell of old stations (or was that the chickens?)

In 1990 enthusiasts set about forming a charitable trust with the aim of establishing a MSLR museum and restoring the line, station and engines. The Trust has gone from strength to strength, engaging volunteers from far and wide to contribute to the running of the enterprise.

For many years, the Trust has won awards for its sympathetic restoration projects and running of this exceptional museum. This was helped in no small manner by Michael Portillo (celebrity railway enthusiast and former MP) who, on visiting, could not be persuaded to stop driving one of the engines! But, like all volunteer organisations and charities, the Trust needs financial support if it is to maintain the railway, make improvements and extend it. A visit to this masterpiece will make a big contribution to running costs!

The next project is to gain permission from the Secretary of State to run the extended line with steam engines. The extension of some 500 metres will mean that there will be a kilometre of usable track. The need for permission arises as the line passes over a footpath and appropriate legislation has to be put in place, together with the provision of a level crossing. Hopefully, if all goes well, 2025 will see the project come to Fruition.

Kelvin Hastings-Smith

Foxearth & District History Society visit to Bulmer Brick & Tile - June 2024

Visit to Bulmer Brick & Tile - June 2024

Over 20 Foxearth History Society members went to Bulmer Brick & Tile Company for their June event, to hear Peter Minter and his family team explain the changes that have been made there over recent years.  Many visitors were ‘first-time’ members, and we were amazed by the scale of the operation, and the range of products now produced.

100 years ago, this was one of many brickmakers around the Stour Valley, mining the excellent London Clay found here.  But competition from mass production techniques, and the problems of World War II, led to the closure of most.  Bulmer Brickworks only survived WWII by making land drains for airfield construction,  with a skilled but elderly non-conscripted workforce.  They realised that their means of survival post-war was to focus on specialist restoration work, and their success now stems from that decision.  Standard housing bricks are no longer produced.

By now, Bulmer are the UK’s major (often the only) supplier of specialist bricks and tiles to the conservation and restoration industry, making materials for huge projects such as Hampton Court Palace (ongoing), and the St Pancras Station Hotel. In fact, a new kiln was built to accommodate that order alone.  They have 1000’s of pattern moulds in store, to simplify re-orders and supply new similar ones.  And they now make bespoke prefabricated brick arches & lintels, ready to drop in place.

Our visit started with Peter Minter showing us round how the clay is selected and filtered  to make high quality ‘Rubbing Bricks’, that can be cut, shaped and tapered for bespoke arches. The machine for preparing and processing the clay was an old monster, and the whole process at times seemed rather ‘Heath Robinson’ – but it has all obviously worked smoothly for generations, and produced millions of bricks of a standard that no other business can match.  It is very impressive to see tens of thousands of bricks in neat rows drying, indoors and out, to the precise level required to fire them in the home built kilns.  The kilns are lit about once a fortnight – the process of loading, heating, firing cooling and unloading takes about 7 days overall.

Bulmer Brick made for a fascinating visit – a genuine ‘working museum’ and unusually one that produces top-class products in high demand.  In fact, they have just been awarded £93,500 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, aimed at preserving the historic craft of brick-making for future generations and opening a better public Museum on site.  It is already well worth a visit, and could be even better in future.

Here are some websites that tell much more, with photos:-

https://bulmerbrickandtile.co.uk/

https://gestingthorpehg.co.uk/blog/f/the-bulmer-brick-tile-company-ltd

and 

https://drojkent.wordpress.com/2015/11/28/a-visit-to-the-bulmer-brickworks-sudbury-essex/

Mark Mathieson

Report may 2024 - The life of Flora Sandes. "You'll make a Lovely Sergeant"

You'll make a Lovely Sergeant

This was the engaging title of the May FDLHS presentation by Janette Robinson, formerly an archivist at Wickham Market. The quoted headline refers to the only western woman to have served on the front line during WW1.  Janette’s presentation was exceptionally well prepared and delivered with great clarity, demonstrating her passion for the subject.

That subject was FLORA SANDES, a nurse who became a household name, commemorated on  postage stamps, featured in the film ‘Where the Lemon Blossoms Bloom’ and even had a pub named after her. But her claim to fame was her recruitment into the Serbian Army, and her rise through the ranks, serving in both world wars along the way.

Flora was born in 1876 in Yorkshire to an Irish family. Her father, a vicar, had left Ireland with his wife and seven children. Flora was the eighth! The family lived in Marlesford until 1893 when they moved to Thornton Heath.

Flora and her sisters were sent to finishing school in Switzerland where she became fluent in French but she wanted to do all the things her brothers did.  She became adept at fencing and, when she moved to Thornton Heath, purchased a racing car. In 1908 she obtained a Mechanical Proficiency Certificate and took part in car rallies, races and hill climbs. She even won an RAC competition but, because she was a woman, she was not awarded ‘winner’ status.

At this time secretarial work was undertaken by men. Flora was not going to sit back and let them have all the fun - she enrolled on a secretarial course determined to ‘type around the world’. She travelled from London to Egypt and then on to America, where she moved from city to city as a typist. She was tracked down by Pinkertons Detective Agency on behalf of her bereaved brother to look after his 5 year old son.

On her return to the UK she enrolled with the St John’s Ambulance Brigade and the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) specialising in war injuries. All members had to be able to ride (she was an accomplished horsewoman) and have their own horses. Eventually she became an ambulance driver.

At the outbreak of WW1 Flora approached the British Red Cross but was rebuffed through lack of practical experience. Undeterred, Flora and 7 other nurses travelled to Serbia on a 3 month contract at a Serbian Military Hospital. Conditions at the hospital were grim. Lack of equipment, medical supplies and staff meant that each nurse had 140 patients to care for. At the end of the contract, Flora and an American nurse named Eleanor Simmons returned to England and embarked on a fund raising campaign. At the end of 5 weeks, the couple had raised over £2000 which purchased 120 tonnes of medical supplies.

On their return to Serbia, Flora was assigned to Vallejo hospital where she encountered an epidemic of typhus, malnutrition, insanitary conditions and lack of doctors. She found herself carrying out amputations (without anaesthetic), contracted typhus and almost died. Yet again she wanted to be more involved and contrived to enlist for the Serbian military, for which she needed the permission of the General of the army. The circumstances of her enlistment for the frontline is, we were told, taught at Sandhurst today.

One of her first duties was to take part in a retreat over mountains to safety. Flora was involved in the combat that followed and the survivors were evacuated to Corfu. Promoted to Corporal, Flora returned to field duty. During a battle ‘to the last man’ Flora was hit by a grenade suffering 24 wounds which necessitated 19 separate surgical operations. As a result of her heroic actions on the battlefield she was awarded the Order of Karadorde’s Star (equivalent of the Victoria Cross).

But this was not the end of the story of this brave lady. Flora embarked on lecture tours, published two biographies and, not settling to civilian life,  donned her uniform and rejoined the Serbian army (at the age of 65) when Serbia again became involved in military conflict. As WW2 progressed, she was arrested by the gestapo and imprisoned but later released.

There is much more to this incredibly brave life lived to the full.  By the time she was 69 years old she returned to Suffolk, where she died at Ipswich in 1956.

And the pub - a Wetherspoon pub in Thornton Heath - named ‘The Flora Sandes’ which sadly closed in 2008.

Kelvin Hastings-Smith

FHS Report April 24: “If these walls could speak” (My 600 year old house).

FHS Report - April 2024.  Roger Green:

“If these walls could speak” (The history of my 600 year old house).

There was a full house on 9th April when local historian Roger Green led us all back in time some 600 years to accompany him from the Market Hill, Sudbury down what was to become Friars Street to a group of houses built opposite the Priory. His house No 64 was called Crooked Cott before Friars Street was actually built. The roadway (now School Street) stopped there by the gate to the Priory and there is still a generous forecourt for carts and carriages - and now cars - to turn. 

Roger Green has lived there for 41 years. The modern-day group of houses often linked into each other as ownership changed over the centuries. A spiral staircase from next door actually now ends in Roger Green's wardrobe! Three of the houses now have rear extensions but two do not! 

Roger took us back to C16 and Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. He noted that the last Prior had sold off land at that time and received housing in lieu, probably Nos 62 & 64. 

Starting with John Cotton the last Prior, Roger led us through a whole range of owners and residents to the present day; From the C16 when the Ruddells family owned almost all the houses in that row. They were in the wool trade and in the 1620s they had an office in Friars Street which was then being constructed. But in 1637 George Ruddell lost a court case for refusing to pay a local weaver for substandard work (in his view) and the blow to his reputation led to a move to Bocking in Essex - and the eventual resurgence of the family as the best weavers in that locality, and the purchase of magnificent Spains Hall in Finchingfield in 1760.

We heard of Susannah Gainsborough (Thomas’s sister) who had a milliner’s shop there.  Also about the Gardiners, the story of Theophilus Lane and the Hills family - all of whom lived in the row of houses. And a clay pipe manufactory which was unearthed in the garden!

Roger Green concluded with the tale of  barge folk and the mystery of Elizabeth Sarah Ann Plantin? or Norman?

There was much to keep the large audience entertained. A fascinating trip back in time. The walk down Friars Street past the cricket ground to the site of the Ship & Star pub will never be the same again.

An accomplished Musician, Organist and Head of the music department at Great Cornard school, Roger remembered St Peter's church with its organ becoming redundant in 1971, and facing possible demolition in favour of a car park. As volunteer Heritage officer with Friends of St Peters he has been credited with helping transform the church into our current vibrant and cherished Arts centre. His interest in the history of the church, younger than his house, led him into further research of the area, his house and others nearby. He still plays the organ in St Peter’s church. 

Our thanks for a most entertaining talk.

Michael Stebbing.

FHS Report March 2024 AGM & Talk: ‘An Election Entertainment’ by Stephen Astley

FDLHS. - Report for Parish News Tuesday 12th March AGM. &

 ‘An Election Entertainment’ by FDLHS. member - Stephen Astley 

Foxearth & District Local History Society held its A.G.M. on Tuesday 12th March.

2023-4 was another successful and interesting year with increasing numbers of both Members and Visitors. The committee was re-elected, and Keith Robson was chosen as our new Chairman.

Following a break with refreshments, Stephen Astley, ex-curator at Sir John Soane's Museum, spoke about William Hogarth’s sequence of four paintings (also reproduced later as a series of prints): ’’.  As the UK has an imminent General Election, he felt it a good time to look at the series.

The paintings illustrate the 1754 election of an MP in Oxfordshire. Hogarth mercilessly satirises the process of a Parliamentary election, with candidates vying for the votes of the easily duped electorate - which is desperate to be bribed. There had not been an election there since 1710.

The series demonstrates the corruption endemic in parliamentary elections before the 1832 Great Reform Act. Then, each constituency elected two MPs, and there was a property qualification for voters, so only a minority of the male population was enfranchised. Without secret ballots, bribery and intimidation were rife. Stephen pointed out and explained details and characters in each painting. 

The first painting ‘An Election Entertainment’ depicts a tavern dinner organised by the Whig candidates, while the Tories protest outside. 

In the tavern the two Whig candidates are ingratiating themselves with supporters. One candidate is kissing a conventionally unattractive woman, while a girl tries to steal his ring; the other is listening to a drunken bore. At the other end of the table the mayor is collapsing from over indulgence in oysters, while the election agent is knocked out by a brick thrown through the window by the Tory mob.

‘Canvassing for Votes’, The second painting depicts Tory and Whig agents, both attempting to bribe an innkeeper to vote for them. The crowd outside the tavern is visible in the background.

‘The Polling’, shows voters declaring their support for the Whigs (orange) or Tories (blue). Agents from both sides are using unscrupulous tactics to increase their votes or challenge opposing voters. Even a dying man is being carried to vote. In the background is a woman in a carriage with a broken axle (Britannia). 

‘Chairing the Member’, last in the series, shows the celebrations of and their supporters carrying the victorious Tory candidate through the streets on a chair in a traditional ceremony. He is about to tumble because one of his carriers has just been accidentally hit on the head by a Tory-supporting rural labourer who is attempting to fight off a Whig supporter.

The many now unacceptable practices now seem unlikely but still amusing.  We reflected how far our democracy has progressed and counted our blessings. Of course, such corruption does not feature in today's UK elections!  And at least we are not in Russia…