Blackmore Area Local History
A record of history & heritage: buildings, people & landscape in this corner of Essex.
Friday, 30 June 2023
William Byrd @ Stondon: This Evening. Our Special Talk to commemorate Byrd
William Byrd @ Stondon: This Evening. Our Special Talk to commemorate Byrd: Fri. 30 June: 7.30-9.30pm The Life and Times of William Byrd: A Local Histo Tickets, Fri 30 Jun 2023 at 19:30 | Eventbrite A final opport...
Sunday, 19 March 2023
Blackmore: Dedication of Memorial to American Airmen
Three years ago today the postponement of the dedication of a Memorial in St Laurence Church, Blackmore, was announced. The event finally happened in September 2022.
Local historian, Neil McCarthy, wrote a book about the loss of the aeroplane and its crew which is still available to purchase via Amazon.
While the book -- Forgotten Final Flight of Baby Doll lll -- will be available at a preferential discounted rate from St. Laurence's when the Church is allowed to reopen, it can also be obtained immediately, direct from Amazon.co.uk. The link is https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forgotten-Final-Flight-Baby-Doll/dp/B084P57ZH8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2H17EETB2N9B5&keywords=forgotten+final+flight+of+baby+doll&qid=1584645109&s=books&sprefix=forgotten+fl%2Caps%2C138&sr=1-1
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Friday, 3 March 2023
William Byrd @ Stondon: 'The Life and Times of William Byrd: A Local Histo...
William Byrd @ Stondon: 'The Life and Times of William Byrd: A Local Histo...: Tickets are now on sale for our talk about Stondon Massey's great composer. The event will be held on Friday 30 June at St Peter & S...
Saturday, 18 February 2023
Tuesday, 24 September 2019
Aeroplane Crash In Blackmore, 24 September 1944
Four American airmen who were
killed when their aeroplane crashed in a field in Blackmore on 24 September
1944 are to be commemorated on a Memorial to be placed in St Laurence
Church. It will be a visible and permanent
reminder of the brave contribution made by 30,000 American Army Air Force
personnel stationed in Essex between 1943-45.
Neil McCarthy wrote in the
September 2019 edition of ‘Church Matters’, the parish church magazine, “It was
on the evening of 24 September 1944 that a Martin Marauder B26, attempting to
reach its base at Matching Green while returning from France in appalling
weather, disintegrated on impact in a field adjacent to Fingrith Hall
Lane. Two other planes in the same
homeward-bound squadron also crashed elsewhere in Essex that night in almost
identical circumstances as the Blackmore crash”. See also: https://blackmorehistory.blogspot.com/2008/12/blackmore-notes-and-queries-3-americans.html
“For the first time, in 2016,
the names of those onboard B26 aircraft, no 42-95823, “Baby Doll III”, were
able to be known and honoured in the place where they died”.
The unveiling date of the
Memorial has yet to be announced as Faculty (the permission to make changes to
the church structure) has only recently been granted. The wording, as commissioned, on the wall
mounted plaque reads:
To the glory of
God and in commemoration of
The United States
Army Air Force Stationed at Essex Airfields
During World War
II who died so we would remain free
This plaque is
dedicated to the memory of
FIRST LIEUTENANT
RICHARD E. BAEHR
FIRST LIEUTENANT
FRANK I. YAWITZ
STAFF SERGEANT
EDWARD G. DEMYANOVICH
CORPORAL JOHN M.
MYERS
Of the 391st Bombardment
Group who were killed
When their
aircraft crashed in a Blackmore field
On 24th September
1944
Tuesday, 2 July 2019
Blackmore: Church Restorations etc
An extract from The Essex Review, Volume 11, 1902
Blackmore.—The renovation of the church of St. Lawrence, which has occupied four years, is at length completed, and the restored building was publicly dedicated by the Bishop of St.. Albans on 9th June. The improvements include the entire re-framing of the roof of the nave, the re-building of the north arcade, re-erection of the north wall, renewal of the aisle roofs, and alterations in the chancel, new oak choir stalls, pulpit, lectern, and screen. A new organ and three painted windows have also been placed in the church. All the bells have been re-hung, and the tenor bell is re-cast. The unique spire and timber tower, which Mr. Chancellor has described as “the glory of Blackmore Church” (see E.R. viii. 65> 86), have been practically rebuilt, the old wood being utilised: as far as possible. A reference to the illustrations in Mr. Chancellor’s article above referred to, will show its peculiar three-storied character, which, with the dormer windows in the roof of nave, rendered the old priory church “a magnificent piece of carpentry.” Its dilapidated condition may be surmised from the fact that £2,500 has been expended on the restoration,, which has been carried out under the direction of Mr.Chancellor, in accordance with the historical associations of the ancient building. A strip of land has been given by Mr. T. R. Hull for enlargement of the churchyard. Altogether the sums given and collected are noteworthy in so small a parish, and are due chiefly to the untiring efforts of the Vicar, the Rev. W. L. Petrie
Blackmore.—The renovation of the church of St. Lawrence, which has occupied four years, is at length completed, and the restored building was publicly dedicated by the Bishop of St.. Albans on 9th June. The improvements include the entire re-framing of the roof of the nave, the re-building of the north arcade, re-erection of the north wall, renewal of the aisle roofs, and alterations in the chancel, new oak choir stalls, pulpit, lectern, and screen. A new organ and three painted windows have also been placed in the church. All the bells have been re-hung, and the tenor bell is re-cast. The unique spire and timber tower, which Mr. Chancellor has described as “the glory of Blackmore Church” (see E.R. viii. 65> 86), have been practically rebuilt, the old wood being utilised: as far as possible. A reference to the illustrations in Mr. Chancellor’s article above referred to, will show its peculiar three-storied character, which, with the dormer windows in the roof of nave, rendered the old priory church “a magnificent piece of carpentry.” Its dilapidated condition may be surmised from the fact that £2,500 has been expended on the restoration,, which has been carried out under the direction of Mr.Chancellor, in accordance with the historical associations of the ancient building. A strip of land has been given by Mr. T. R. Hull for enlargement of the churchyard. Altogether the sums given and collected are noteworthy in so small a parish, and are due chiefly to the untiring efforts of the Vicar, the Rev. W. L. Petrie
Monday, 1 July 2019
Blackmore: Church Restorations etc.
An extract from 'The Essex Review', Volume 1, 1892.
Blackmore.—A new organ in the Baptist Chapel was opened on April 27th, 1892, under the presidency of the Rev. G. Stevens, pastor.
Blackmore.—A new organ in the Baptist Chapel was opened on April 27th, 1892, under the presidency of the Rev. G. Stevens, pastor.
Saturday, 22 June 2019
Essex Parish Registers Indexed
The Essex Record Office has announced that Parish Registers in their keeping have now been indexed making it even easier to search entries and ancestors: http://www.essexrecordofficeblog.co.uk/time-for-an-index-essex-record-office-in-partnership-with-ancestry-com/
Saturday, 1 June 2019
Henry Fitzroy. Born Blackmore. June 1519
To commemorate the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Henry Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII, in Blackmore a display has been mounted around the eight sides of the Font in the Priory Church of St Laurence telling his story and connection with the village. The display will remain in place throughout the month following its 'unveiling' at the Blackmore Village Fayre over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. For those unable to see this in person, the eight panels are repeated below.
Henry
Fitzroy
Born
June 1519, Blackmore
Birth
Henry Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII
was born at Blackmore Priory in June 1519.
His mother, Bessie Blount, a lady in the retinue of Queen Catherine of
Aragon, was one of the King’s mistresses.
“Without the birth of Henry Fitzroy, Bessie’s own affair would have
probably gone unrecorded”. When Bessie became
visibly pregnant Thomas Wolsey discreetly dispatched her to Jericho House in
Blackmore, the home of the prior Thomas Goodwyn. “Bessie made her final appearance at court
early in October 1518”.
Baptism
There is no surviving record of Henry Fitzroy’s
baptism anywhere. It is possible that the
ceremony was held here at Blackmore around this Font. Cardinal Wolsey was a godparent. He was absent
from Court from 19 June to 29 June 1519.
Wolsey had been godparent for the boy’s half-sister Mary, the only
surviving child born of Queen Catherine.
Could this font have been the place where the ceremony quietly took
place?
Royal
Visitor
Henry VIII is alleged to have been a frequent visitor
to Jericho House where Bessie stayed after Fitzroy’s birth. The King is said to have given orders not to
be disturbed hence the expression used in Court, “He has gone to Jericho”. The Priory was one of the King’s “Houses of
Pleasure”. (The present Jericho Priory was rebuilt
c.1712.) Bessie Blount may have later had
a daughter by the King around 1520 at Blackmore. She was married off to Gilbert Tailbois (or
Tailboys), who hailed from a rich Lincolnshire family. They may have married in April 1522 because
“the king began to be conspicuously generous to Gilbert Tailboys”.
Henry
Fitzroy Coat of Arms
Priory
Blackmore Priory was dissolved in 1527 because of its
immoral goings-on. In that year there
were only four Canons in residence. From “the records of the dissolution … it does
appear that the prior was somewhat more worldly than he should have been”: its
debts ran to one third of the annual income. Perhaps
the expenditure was higher than usual, sheltering a future King? Cardinal Wolsey was granted the income from
the dissolution.
Honours
Much admired and spoilt by Henry VIII, Henry Fitzroy
was, by the age of six, created Duke of Richmond with the titles Earl of
Nottingham and Duke of Somerset. This
placed Henry Fitzroy in an honoured position because the title held precedence
over all other Dukes except potential legitimate sons of the King. By doing so, Henry VIII had elevated his
son’s position in society such that he would be a more eligible bachelor. By the age of eight Henry Fitzroy was Admiral
of England, Ireland and Normandy.
Early
Marriage & Early Death
Thomas Howard was the 3rd Duke of Norfolk,
a very powerful and ambitious man in the court of Henry VIII. He brought about the marriage to Henry VIII
of his nieces, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard and for good measure his
daughter Mary was married to Henry Fitzroy.
Henry Fitzroy died in 1536 of tuberculosis. He was 17 years old. His body was buried at Thetford Priory but later
transferred to Framlingham Church in Suffolk, where it lies in an ornate tomb
alongside other members of the Norfolk family.
Had he survived the course of English history could have changed and
Fitzroy crowned Henry IX.
Sunday, 31 March 2019
Blackmore: Copyhold Farm. Reader's Request For Information
Hello I am trying
to find out some details of the Tucker family and Copyhold Farm,
Blackmore. The 1901 Census shows them as
living in Cornwall. The 1911 in
Hertfordshire. In 1903 there was a birth
at Copyhold Farm, and two deaths one in 1905 and 1906. I think that they may have leased the farm but
any information that you may know would be greatly appreciated. As I live in Western Australia, it is
difficult for me to visit the Essex Records Office and I find their website
unhelpful.
Many thanks
Kind Regards
Lyn Tucker
Sunday, 24 March 2019
Ancestry DNA Result
The results are in. My wife bought me an Ancestry DNA kit for Christmas, perhaps to settle a query as to how much local heritage I have. Knowing that on all four sides of my family my relations were born within the last 200 years, probably, not further away from where I live in the Colchester area, Middlesex and Cambridgeshire there was always a question as to whether my family jumped the English Channel in 1066. The results are as expected except an indication of Norwegian or Swedish heritage.
I don't usually share personal history on this blog, but know that family historians look by and might be interested in this topic.
Do please share any comments you have about DNA testing. We are interested here to learn from those who have done the test, not the outcomes of paternity suits.
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Saturday, 23 February 2019
High Country History Group: High Country History Group Programme 2019
High Country History Group: High Country History Group Programme 2019: The High County History Group meets on the fourth Thursday evening in the month at Toot Hill Village Hall, starting at 8pm. The programme for 2019 has just been published online.
Saturday, 5 January 2019
Saturday, 22 December 2018
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Blackmore. Remembrance 100. Twenty-one days. Twenty-one names. (21) Arthur John Nash
Arthur John Nash
|
War Memorial: Place
and inscription
Blackmore
War Memorial: Pte. A. Nash Essex
Church
Window: Arthur J Nash
Ongar
& District War Memorial Hospital Roll of Honour (Blackmore) as A J Nash
[ERO A10815]
|
Rank:
Private
|
Regiment:
Essex
Regiment. 2nd Battalion. Service No: 27552 [CWGC]
|
Service Details:
Enlisted:
Epping [WFA]
No
medal card for Arthur, John, Arthur John or John Arthur Nash in Essex Regt.
[Ancestry.com]
|
Personal and family
information:
Son
of Mrs Eliza Chumbley, Blakmore, Ingatestone, Essex [source: Essex Regiment
Museum database]
Born
High Ongar in 1882, he was the son of Eliza Nash, who was probably widowed
soon after his birth, and who in 1884 married William Chumbley of
Blackmore.
Arthur
John Nash was baptised 6th August 1882 at High Ongar. He was the
son of John Henry and Eliza Nash. The father’s occupation is blank which
suggests a death [ERO D/P 68/1/11].
There is no record of a burial at High Ongar [ERO D/P 68/1/24].
Walter
Thomas, the son of William Thomas and Eliza Chumbley was baptised at High
Ongar on 30th November 1884 [ERO D/P 68/1/11].
1881
Census: [possible record of Eliza’s first marriage]
15
Hind St. Poplar, London, Middlesex, England
John
H. Nash. Married. [Age] 24 . Railway Engine Stoker. [Born] Poplar, Middlesex, England.
Eliza
Nash. Wife. [Age] 23. [Born] Ongar, Essex, England.
1891 Census.
High Ongar, 15 High
Ongar St.
Thomas Chumbley. Head.
Married. [Age] 30. Agri. Lab.
[Born] Chigwell.
Eliza Chumbley. Wife.
Married. [Age] 33. [Born] High Ongar.
Arthur Nash. Son.
[Age] 8. Scholar. [Born] High Ongar.
Walter Chumbley. Son.
[Age] 6. [Born] High Ongar.
Wm. Jeremiah Chumbley. Son.
[Age] 2. [Born] High Ongar.
Emily Chumbley. Dau.
[Age] 0. [Born] High Ongar.
1901 Census.
Blackmore:
Arthur Nash not
present.
William Chumbley. Head.
Married. [Age] 40. Lab [agr mach]. [Born] Bethnal Green.
Eliza Chumbley. Wife.
Married. [Age] 43. [Born] High Ongar.
William Chumbley. Son.
[Age] 12. [Born] High Ongar.
Emma Chumbley. Dau.
[Age] 10. [Born] High Ongar.
Alfred Chumbley. Son.
[Age] 8. [Born] High Ongar.
Bertha Chumbley. Dau.
[Age] 6. [Born] High Ongar.
Leonard Chumbley. Son.
[Age] 2. [Born] Stanford Rivers.
Bertie Chumbley. Son.
[Age] 1. [Born] Blackmore.
1911
Census.
Blackmore
Parish:
William
Chumbley. Head. Married 27 years. [Age] 49.
Farm Labourer. [Born] Bethnel
Green.
Eliza
Chumbley. Wife. Married.
[Age] 53. [Born] High Ongar
Essex.
Arthur
Nash. Son. Single [Age] 28. Farm Labourer. [Born] High Ongar Essex.
Walter
Chumbley. Son. Single.
[Age] 26. Farm Labourer. [Born] High Ongar Essex.
Alfred
Chumbley. Son. [Age] 17.
Farm Labourer. [Born] High
Ongar Essex.
Bertha
Chumbley. Daughter. [Age] 15. Servant Domestic. [Born] High Ongar Essex.
Leonard
Chumbley. Son. [Age] 12.
School. [Born] Stanford Rivers
Essex.
Herbert
Chumbley. Son. [Age] 10. School.
[Born] Blackmore Essex.
Bertha
Chumbley married Alfred Godding, another victim of the First World War also
commemorated on the War Memorial at Blackmore.
|
Date of Death:
23rd
October 1916
|
Age:
34
|
Where died:
Killed
in action France 23.10.1916 [source:
Essex Regiment Museum database]
|
Place of Burial or
Commemoration:
Memorial:
Thiepval Memorial. Pier & Face 100
|
List of Sources:
Ancestry.com,
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Essex Record Office, Essex Regiment
Museum, Western Front Association.
|
Tuesday, 20 November 2018
Blackmore. Remembrance 100. Twenty-one days. Twenty-one names. (20) Ernest Charles Martin
Ernest Charles Martin
|
War Memorial: Place
and inscription
Blackmore
War Memorial: Pte. E. Martin Essex
Church
Window: Ernest C Martin
Ongar
& District War Memorial Hospital Roll of Honour (Blackmore) as E C Martin
[ERO A10815]
|
Rank:
Private
|
Regiment:
Essex
Regiment. 11th Battalion. Service No: 14241 [CWGC]
|
Service Details:
Born: Holloway, Middlesex,
Enlisted: Warley, Essex
Residence: Blackmore, Essex [Military genealogy.com]
No military record found 100114
Medal
cards of two Ernest Martins exist, but both show that they were demobilised
at the end of the war. An Ernest
Charles Martin was discharged due to sickness 6/1916, and so cannot be a
candidate.
|
Personal and family
information:
Blackmore Ernest Martin baptised 9th
August 1886 (born 15/12/1880). His parents were Charles, an agricultural
machine owner, and Emma [ERO D/P 266/1/11].
1881 Census. Blackmore
Charles
Martin. Engine Proprietor & Driver
(Agric). [Age] 47. [Born] Gt Baddow
Emma
Martin. Wife. [Age] 42. [Born]. Ripley, Surrey
Henry
Martin. Son. Ag Lab. [Age] 18. [Born] Gt Baddow
Cornelius
Martin. Son. Scholar. [Age] 13. [Born] Writtle, Essex
Walter
Martin. Son. Scholar. [Age] 10. [Born] Writtle, Essex
Arthur
Martin. Son. Scholar. [Age] 5. [Born] Writtle, Essex
Ernest
Martin. Son. [Age] 3m. [Born] Blackmore
No
record of family on 1891 or 1901 census in Blackmore.
Charles
Martin, Proprietor of steam thrashing machines Kelly's Directory 1890 and
1906
|
Date of Death:
27th
September 1916
|
Age:
35
|
Where died:
Wounded
9/15. Killed in action. France. 27.9.1916. No known grave. [source: Essex
Regiment Museum database]
|
Place of Burial or
Commemoration:
Memorial:
Thiepval Memorial. Pier & Face 10D
|
List of Sources:
Commonwealth
War Graves Commission, Essex Record Office, Essex Regiment Museum. Soldiers
who Died in the Great War.
|
Monday, 19 November 2018
Blackmore. Remembrance 100. Twenty-one days. Twenty-one names. (19) Herbert Charles Game
Herbert Charles Game
|
War Memorial: Place
and inscription
Blackmore
War Memorial: Pte. H. Game E. Surrey
Church
Window: Herbert C Game
Ongar
& District War Memorial Hospital Roll of Honour (Blackmore) as H C Game
[ERO A10815]
|
Rank:
Private
|
Regiment:
East
Surrey Regiment. 9th Battalion. Service No. 1040. [CWGC]
|
Service Details:
Medal rolls: E Surrey R Pte 1040 K in A
Victory/British
E 263 B p. 145
15
star E/1/4 B1 p. 56
First
served [1] France 25/8/1915. No
contact address.
|
Personal and family
information:
Charles,
the father of Herbert Charles, was born Q3 1868 Cockfield [FreeBMD], and was
living there in 1881 [census]. He
married Martha Kate Campen Q1 1890 in Cosford RD, which includes Cockfield
[FreeBMD]. Martha’s birth was also
registered Q3 1871 Cosford.
The
1911 Census records:
Charles
Games. Head. Married. [Age] 43. “Farm Labrour”. [Born] Suffolk Capfield.
Martha
Kate Games. Wife. Married 21 [years]. [Age] 41. [Born] Suffolk. Capfield
Herbert
Charles Games. Son. Single. [Age] 19.
Cow Boy. [Born] Suffolk.
Capfield
Robert
Henry Games. Son. Single. [Age] 17.
Cow Boy. [Born] Suffolk.
Capfield
Jane
May Games. Daughter. [Age] 12. School. [Born] Suffolk Capfield
Alfred
Thomas Games. Son. [Age] 8. School.
[Born] Blackmore Essex
Ross
Cocksedge. Nephew. Single. [Age]
22. Horseman. [Born] Suffolk Shimpling
For
Capfield read Cockfield, near Lavenham.
The
1910 Electoral Roll for Blackmore has Charles Games as a voter living at
Swallows Cross.
Colin
Game (a descendant) says that Jane May Games should read Iona May Game.
Herbert
Game is a name occurring more than once. Another, Herbert Game (H C Game’s
uncle), fell in the Essex Regiment. He was born Cockfield, in Suffolk; lived
at Brentwood; and, enlisted at Warley. A/Sgt Game was killed in action in
France, aged 38, on 15th October 1916. He was the son of Robert and Sarah Ann Game
and husband of Alice Louisa Game of Farnborough in Kent [source: Essex
Regiment Museum database].
|
Date of Death:
16th
August 1916
|
Age:
25
|
Where died:
Killed
in action at the Battle of the Somme [CWGC]
|
Place of Burial or
Commemoration:
Thiepval
Memorial. Pier and Face 6B. [CWGC]
|
List of Sources:
Commonwealth
War Graves Commission, Essex Regiment Museum, Free BMD, Colin Game a descendant
of the person commemorated.
|
Sunday, 18 November 2018
Blackmore. Remembrance 100. Twenty-one days. Twenty-one names. (18) William Edward Rudling
William Edward Rudling
|
War Memorial: Place
and inscription
Blackmore
War Memorial: Pte. W. Rudling.
Church
window: William E Rudling.
Ongar
& District War Memorial Hospital Roll of Honour (Blackmore) as W E
Rudley, (probably on account of the fact that it was several years after the
conclusion of the Great War that the Hospital was built) [ERO A10815].
|
Rank:
Private
|
Regiment:
Suffolk
Regiment. 2nd Battalion.
Service No: 27046. [CWGC]
|
Service Details:
Born:
Blackmore, Essex
Enlisted:
Epping [SDGW]
Medal
card: Victory/British K/1/103 B15 p. 2956 [Ancestry.com]
|
Personal and family
information:
Brother
of Mr. A. Rudling, of 10, Elm Park, Brixton Hill, London. [CWGC]
The name does not appear on the 1881 census
for Blackmore, or having been born in Blackmore. Perhaps a later resident.
William Edward Rudling was baptised on 27th
April 1879 at St Michael’s Church, Thorpe-le-Soken (Tendring district),
Essex. His parents were William (a
painter) and Sarah. The priest records
the place of residence as ‘Thorp’ [ERO D/P 8/1/6].
The
1901 census lists William Rudling, age 22, as a grocer’s assistant. He gives his birthplace as Thorp-le-Soken,
and lived in Church Street with John Martin (also born Thorpe-le-Soken) and
family, in what is now Longbeam Cottage.
1911:
Living in Blackmore, age 30 (so was 8 years older than in 1901!)
|
Date of Death:
16th
August 1916
|
Age:
38
|
Where died:
Killed
in action in the Battle of the Somme.
|
Place of Burial or
Commemoration:
Thiepval
Memorial. Pier and Face 2A.
|
List of Sources:
Ancestry.com,
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Essex Record Office, Soldiers who Died in
the Great War,
|
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