Programme of events 2025

 

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