West Bergholt Local History Group
The village has an active history group who investigate, research and document local history. They hold meetings, which often involve external speakers and presentations, on the second Wednesday each month at the Orpen Hall. They also visit places of historical interest such as Coggeshall Abbey Mill and Kelvedon (see reports below).
The Group is responsible for producing the information contained in the history section of this website; they are also cited on Wikipedia on a couple of West Bergholt-related pages such as:
Prolific Writer
One of their most prolific of writers on West Bergholt History has been Jon Lander; the History Group still have copies of 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 you can still obtain a copy for £4 – contact Gill Poole.
Members Surnames
The following document contains the explanation of surnames origins as described by Charlie Haylock at a recent lecture.
More Information?
For further information please contact Gill Poole on 01206 240512 or email [antibot mailto=”gill@poolesofbergholt.com”].
Recent news items
Find recent news items tagged as relevant to history below. Please click on the heading to read the whole article…
- Remembrance & Old Church Update - Remembrance & Old Church Update Last week we announced the plans for a Remembrance Service partially in St Mary's (socially distanced and limited numbers) with Zoom. The new Lockdown has thwarted that and plans have changed. We also have an… …
- Lockdown Strikes – No Cakes! - Lockdown Strikes - No Cakes! Last week's news roundup spoke of fundraising ideas from the Friends of St Mary's Old Church but there will now be no cakes. Unfortunately, Lockdown restrictions have made it very difficult to organise the sale… …
- Cakes, History, Remembrance & Fitness - Cakes, History, Remembrance, Fitness & St Mary's Update - Updated for Lockdown This news update covers several topics, starting with Cakes, History & Xmas, then covering: Remembrance Day 2020, how it will be different; News about an Essex scheme to… …
- Lockdown Edition of Village Bulletin now Online - Lockdown Edition of Village Bulletin now Online The Lockdown Edition of the Village Bulletin joins pretty much every other Bulletin and Newsletter issued since June 2006. You can view them all on our website on the Bulletin Page. Highlights of… …
Continue reading "Lockdown Edition of Village Bulletin now Online"
- The Taylor Maids – History by Zoom - The Taylor Maids The "Taylor Maids" referred to are, of course, Ann & Jane Taylor, authors of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". They lived in West Stockwell Street in the 1800's and Peter Jones of the Local History Group will be… …
- Old Church Redecoration Ends at Last - Old Church Redecoration Ends at Last - Now Open Daily Having resumed work at the end of lockdown on 26th May, Bakers of Danbury are now completing the interior redecoration of the Old Church. The Friends of St Mary's are… …
- Lexden Road Pond To Get a Facelift - Lexden Road Pond Needs a Facelift Parish Councillors are developing an environment action plan using their professional skills and capabilities. This will help develop the village environmental care and management over the years ahead. As implemented it will run in… …
- Day 56 of (is it?) Lockdown – the Mental Health edition - Day 56 of (is it?) Lockdown If you're feeling mentally frayed these days, day 56 sees the start of Mental Health Awareness Week. We start with that and then address: Daily Poetry, Essex Country Parks will soon be reopening, A… …
Continue reading "Day 56 of (is it?) Lockdown – the Mental Health edition"
- Blame the Plantagenets for delays reopening Old Church - Blame the Plantagenets If the Old Church mediaeval paintings are, as believed, around 700 years old, then we can blame the Plantagenets for its delayed reopening. Apparently, deciding how best to preserve them has become a bit of a headache… …
Continue reading "Blame the Plantagenets for delays reopening Old Church"
- Mediaeval Wall Paintings Uncovered – Old Church - Mediaeval Wall Paintings Uncovered The Churches Conservation Trust has made great progress on internal redecoration work at the Old Church. Mrs Yvonne Henderson’s legacy provided much of the funding for this work. Workers discovered fragments of 3 mediaeval wall paintings;… …
Continue reading "Mediaeval Wall Paintings Uncovered – Old Church"
If you would like to view all history-related news posts click the link – https://westbergholt.org/tag/history/.