Blackmore Area Local History: Stock

Showing posts with label Stock. Show all posts

Saturday, 30 March 2013

Essex 1927: Stock

Friday, 1 July 2011

BLACKMORE HISTORY NEWS - July 2011

Welcome to this month’s round-up of local history and heritage in and around Blackmore, Essex.

St Christopher’s Church, Willingale. The Bells

The bells of St Christopher’s, Willingale (traditionally Willingale Doe) - see photograph - rang out for the last time on 25 June 2011 ahead of a project to restore the tower and augment the number of bells from four to six. The existing four bells – which date from 1610 to 1797 – with a “2^nd bell” cast in the early twentieth century from Prittlewell, left the village for Whitechapel Bell Foundry for retuning in early July. A fifth bell used for chiming only, which came from neighbouring Shellow Bowells, will be returned. A new bell will be cast to complete a ring of six. In the meantime work to construct a new bell frame will proceed. This will be placed lower in the tower to place less strain on the structure and create a better sound out of the louvre windows. The Victorian bell frame will remain in situ unused. Ringing will in future be performed from a new mezzanine floor placed in front of the west window and in full view of the congregation. The project is supported by a National Lottery Grant and funds raised locally and is expected to be completed in time for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. (More later this month)

St Andrew’s Church, Willingale

Villagers held an event at St Andrew’s Church, Willingale (traditionally Willingale Spain) on 11 June. The church is one of two in the same churchyard. Locals have started a Friends of St. Andrews Church group. A correspondent wrote, “The Churches Conservation Trust who owns one of the two churches we have in Willingale has just put a new roof on the chancel of St. Andrew's and we organised work parties to do a 'deep clean’. It took 14 of us the best part of 3 days!! It looks lovely now - and really cared for, so we decided it needed a Friends group to fund raise for CCT and one or two things to be done in the church”.

The ‘Tea and Tours event’ in St. Andrew's was a tremendous success. New displays for the church have been made and organisers busied themselves with preparing a tour script and baking the cakes!!!

Essex University Visit

The Annual General Meeting of the Essex Society for Archaeology and History was held on 18 June at Essex University. Members afterwards viewed the Albert Sloman Library which houses the large collection of books owned by the Society. Fascinating!

Bookshop

I enjoy looking around second-hand bookshops. One of my favourites is Castle Bookshop in Osborne Street, Colchester. On my most recent visit I picked up ‘Ingatestone and the Great Essex Road’ by E. E. Wilde (1913) at a very reasonable price.

King James Bible Celebrated

Churches across the county have been celebrating the 400tjh anniversary of publication of the Authorised Version of the Bible with marathon readings at Ingatestone and Brentwood, and a Flower Festival entitled ‘1611 and all that!” at Stapleford Tawney.

Garnham Descendants

Sharing local history and heritage is an objective of this site, so it was nice to meet a couple from the USA who had contacted blackmorehistory and were on holiday tracking down their family history through visits to local villages and the Essex Record Office’s extensive archives. They are descended from Frederick Garnham who was killed at the beginning of the First World War in the retreat from Mons. His story is told on www.blackmorehistory.co.uk .We spent a happy couple of hours comparing notes in Blackmore Tea Room.

Trooping of the Colour Flypast

The Battle of Britain Memorial flight and the Red Arrows came right over our house on their way to Buckingham Palace on 11 June.

Church Theft

Sadly there are those who thieve ancient items from churches, and disturb their structures. The internet is a great resource but is probably a showroom for these miscreants who steal things to order. I am always careful not to advertise some of the more moveable objects. A story I heard recently concerned a church in England – not in Essex – where in broad daylight workers turned up supposedly to repair the roof. They busied themselves for two days but it was only when a local historian wondered what was happening decided to contact the local minster to ask what work was being done that the truth was revealed. “Nothing”, the Reverend replied. The Police were called and turned up in the nick of time. The workers were almost ready to despatch their booty of lead.

Stondon Massey House

The long-time former Rectory at Stondon Massey, where the Reverends Reeve lived is up for sale. For more information on this Grade II listed property follow:

http://residentialsearch.savills.co.uk/content/assets/search/305927/HQBrochure . Offer price - £2,950,000: http://residentialsearch.savills.co.uk/property-detail/305927/list/property-for-sale/england/essex/chelmsford/cm99/0/0/1000000000/25.0/hi/gbp/2

Postcards

Our weekly sequence of Edwardian postcards is now complete except for those for Ingatestone and Fryerning. These will be placed on a web page on the main site sometime in the near future. Watch out for further information.

Links

For an extensive list of links to other sites go to: http://www.blackmorehistory.co.uk/externallinks.html

Thursday, 31 March 2011

Postcard Collection: Stock

The Street, Stock, which was once classified in this location as being in the former Buttsbury parish. This card dates from after the erection of the War Memorial.

Thursday, 1 October 2009

BLACKMORE HISTORY NEWS - October 2009

Welcome to this month’s round-up of local history and heritage in and around Blackmore, Essex.

A Farming and Family Centenary Celebration

Descendents of Arthur Henry Smith had a party recently to celebrate one hundred years of farming at Jordans Farm in Mountnessing. It was to there, in 1909, that my grandfather became a tenant farmer on land owned by Lord Petre. My cousin still farms the same land which is a great achievement and cause for celebration. The gathering, attended by many family and friends, provided an opportunity to view photographs and other memorabilia. Those into family history displayed their research and in preparation for the occasion I researched Arthur’s ancestors.

Researching a Smith family line at first sight sounds a daunting task given the fact that the name is common so I went with an open mind to the Essex Record Office one Monday morning. I had already obtained the census record for 1901 (when Arthur, aged 16, was living with his family) and the free listing of the 1881 census (obtainable from Ancestry.co.uk). But within the space of three hours I had established the name of my gt gt gt gt grandfather, Henry, through using census records back to 1841 and parish registers copied onto microfiche. Why? It quickly became apparent that my family had lived throughout the nineteenth century in the parishes of Stock and Buttsbury.

I will be posting my findings shortly on http://www.blackmorehistory.co.uk/smith.html.

This month’s photo is of Jordans Farm, taken in 1954, with thraves (known as stooks elsewhere) of corn in the foreground.

Early Essex Parish Registers Online

In April 2009 ‘Blackmore Area Local History’ reported that the Essex Record Office had embarked on a project, called ‘Essex Ancestors’, to digitise and put on-line through SEAX (the catalogue of archives) colour images of original Anglican Parish Registers (except marriage registers less than 50 years old). Early Parish Registers for local parishes are now available to view through SEAX (http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/default.asp). ‘Blackmore Area Local History’ will monitor progress and hopefully provide links this autumn to images through the ‘Parish Registers’ page of the main website. In the meantime Registers can be viewed on microfiche at the Searchroom.

The major advantage is that wherever you are in the world you can look up ancestors from the comfort of your armchair without going to Chelmsford. Those American friends, for example, looking for the Smyth family in Blackmore can see the original register entries for the first time and no doubt copy extracts. In this respect this is a marvellous innovation.

But is there a downside? If all Registers and Census material goes online will this mean a reduction in the footfall of visitors to archive searchrooms. As someone said to me when I visited the Record Office recently, this can be no substitute for talking with others during your coffee break as often other ideas come to the fore through networking. At a time when the National Archives (at Kew) is likely to close to the public every Monday, in order to make cuts, I am quietly concerned that access to original documents – e.g. church records, wills, inventories, house sales – could become more restricted. I can see the dilemma: an attempt to increase access to records and make cuts to the front line service. Taken to its extreme there must be a danger that these vast store houses of history and local interest become the preserve of academics, frightening off casual visitors and enthusiastic amateur historians. I trust that those responsible for our heritage have a policy which ensures that these records continue to be available for all, and attract people from all walks of life to learn about the past.

This is not a criticism, just an observation. At present I have found most archivists to be very approachable and only too willing to point people in the right direction.

Historic Villages advertised by Beresfords Estate Agents

An innovative way of advertising local properties, amenities and, for this site, history has been created by Beresfords, a local estate agent. Local villages are covered in short ‘You Tube’ presentations.
For Writtle, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRSN99s1fJk
For Ingatestone (and a quick mention of Mountnessing, Stock, Fryerning and Blackmore) go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUnoKY2fivU&feature=related
For Shenfield, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_xswZXg0G4&feature=related
For Brentwood, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qg0fnqTAB4&feature=related

Runwell

David Mallinson, from Denver Colorado USA, wrote on 13th September 2009: “I read with great interest your blog entry (http://blackmorehistory.blogspot.com/2009/07/runwell-revd-suckling-memorials-1845.html) with respect to Fleming's (or Flemyngs's) Hall [Runwell] as my family owned the property from 1908 to 1986, and I myself lived there from 1967 until the property was sold in 1986.

“I note the source for the excellent rendering of the front of the house is the Rev Alfred Suckling's work 'Memorials of the antiquities and architecture, family history and heraldry of the County of Essex’ (John Weale, London, 1845). I would imagine that copies of the above work are hard to find nowadays, having said that do you know the whereabouts of any copies?”

The book itself is very rare but available through the Essex Libraries Network. The Essex Record Office has a copy. I purchased a very tatty copy, minus cover and all plates, from E bay a couple of years ago for about £20. I believe that in the book business this copy is called a "breaker" - all the good bits removed and sold on as framed pictures, unless, of course, one is interested as much in the text. Either that or I have just invented a new word for the Oxford English Dictionary.

London Underground

A sightseeing site in Botswana has been quick to pick up the reference in the Mangapps Farm Railway Museum item to the London Underground. It has added it to the numerous links on its history. See http://www.sightseeing.co.bw/search/History_Of_The_London_Underground_.html

Links

For an extensive list of links to other sites go to: http://www.blackmorehistory.co.uk/externallinks.html

Friday, 29 May 2009

Stock: Revd. A. Suckling. Memorials (1845)

The following is taken from Revd. Alfred Suckling’s book, ‘Memorials of the antiquities and architecture, family history and heraldry of the County of Essex’ (John Weale, London, 1845).

By considering the present name of this village as a corruption of the Saxon word Stoke, I think we shall be nearer the true derivation than Mr. Morant, who fancies it has obtained this appellation from a log of wood, which, I confess, conveys to me no distinctive or peculiar signification. My own derivation seems confirmed by the circumstance that soon after the Norman Conquest this village was called in modern language, the place of the steward. I have not learnt, however, whose steward resided here, though it was probably the officer of some of the great barons who had obtained large grants of lands in this part of the kingdom. The church at Stock stands on an elevated site, commanding very beautiful and extensive views, and is conveniently situated for the parishioners, whose houses form a long and continued street at no great distance. It comprises a nave with a north aisle, and a chancel, much modernized, but kept in very neat condition. The octangular pillars, which support the pointed arches of the nave and aisle, are remarkably short in proportion to the height of the arches themselves, and have assumed a fearful inclination to the northward. The only window deserving notice for its tracery is that at the east end of the aisle, but even this is stopped with masonry.

Mr. Morant informs us, that a tradition exists amongst the inhabitants that their steeple has been destroyed by fire. If this calamity really occurred, it must have been at a very distant period, for the present tower, which is of timber, and framed with exquisite skill, like that at Margareting [Margaretting], bears very evident marks of considerable age. Its ornaments, and the shape and tracery of its windows, which are all carved in oak, point out the fashion of the latter portion of the fifteenth century: the upper part is plain and more modern, and sustains a spire of wood. On a bracket, inserted into the north side of the tower, are the letters R R. and E H. with the date of 1683.

Attached to the south wall of the nave, in the interior of the church, is a shield of arms, on which the following bearings present an instance of false heraldry, viz.: Sable, three greyhounds current argent, paleways; within a bordure gules.

MONUMENTS.

1. The monument to the memory of Twedge, mentioned by Morant, has disappeared: on it was recorded a donation of twelve pence weekly for the maintenance of four poor aged men for ever - two to be inhabitants of Stock, and two of Boreham.

2. Zephaniah Peirse, A.M., hujus parochiae Rector, ob. 22 Jul .A.D. 1703, aetat, 60. Elizabetha uxor ejus ob. 26 Nov. AD, 1727, aetat 72.

3. In memory of Mr. John Cox, who departed this life the 17th of May, 1801, aged 81 years. Also of Mrs. Elizabeth Foster, who died 12th Dec. 1803, aged 84 years.

4. Here lieth the body of Elizabeth, the wife of John Mason, and daughter of Mr. Thomas Angier, who departed this life Mar 25th, 1741, in the 26th year of her age. To whom God grant rest. Amen.

The font is placed near the west pillar of the aisle, and though plain is very ancient.

There was lately residing at Stock, a boy, named Hills, the son of an industrious labourer, who had five grandfathers living. This extraordinary fact is thus explained: Farrow, who had a father living, married a young woman named Waldon, whose father was alive also, they had a daughter who married Hills, the father of the boy, who had a father and a grandfather living, thus Hills, sen., Hills, jun.; Farrow, sen., Farrow, jun., and Waldon, make the five, Their united ages amount to 332 years. I do not know whether the boy was favoured with a like supply of grandmothers.

This village has been celebrated by the Poet Cowper in one of his humorous pieces, entitled “The yearly Distress, or Tithing-time at Stock in Essex; - Verses addressed to a Country Clergyman, complaining of the disagreeableness of the Day annually appointed for receiving the Dues at the Parsonage.”

The piece is too long for insertion here, containing seventeen stanzas; but the lovers of merriment will not be disappointed who trouble themselves to search for it in Cowper’s printed works. Stock is, moreover, entitled to notice as having been the preferment of the Rev. Charles Hoole, whose life will be found in Wood’s Athena Oxon.

Thursday, 30 April 2009

Stock: Windmill

A tower mill built c1816 and the only one remaining of this type once common in south Essex. It has Grade II* listed status. For more information about its history and opening times, follow this link: http://www.stock.org.uk/articles/mill/mill1.htm and http://www.visitessex.com/thedms.aspx?dms=13&venue=0248996

Monday, 27 April 2009

Area: Windmills

“Windmills are an important feature in the landscape, something understood by the County Council, which maintains post mills at Aythorpe Roding, Finchingfield, and Mountnessing, and the tower mill at Stock. Other prominent windmills regularly open to the public are to be found at Bocking, Rayleigh, Stansted Mountfitchet and Thaxted. At their zenith, in the second quarter of the C19, there were at least 285 windmills in Essex, of which 188 are known to have been post mills, 63 smock mills, and 20 tower mills. A dozen or so of these were tide mills, but only three survive: particularly at Battlesbridge and Fingringhoe, but with a good example, restored by the County Council, at Thorrington.” [Bettley / Pevsner. The Buildings of England. Essex. 2007 (author, David Andrews) p51]

Aythorpe Roding Windmill (photographed) is owned by Essex County Council and opened regularly to the public during the summer months. (In 2008 on the 4th Sunday in the month) Teas are sold in aid of local church funds at the nearby Village Hall. For a history of the post mill, follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aythorpe_Roding_Windmill

For an overview, the following sites are recommended

Windmills in Essex: a link to ‘Windmill World’
http://www.windmillworld.com/uk/essex.htm

About Vincent Pargeter, Essex millwright: a link to ‘BBC Essex’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2009/01/27/vincent_pargeter_millwright_feature.shtml

Friday, 20 March 2009

Stock: The Hoop

This is a 450 year old weather-boarded pub known locally for its range of real ales. In recent years it has been tastefully refurbished.

‘Essex pubs’ does not appear to have this hostelry listed.

Visit its website: http://www.thehoop.co.uk/
Beer In The Evening reviews: http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/70/7070/Hoop/Stock

Sunday, 2 November 2008

War Memorials Locally