Recorder's Report 2009

Debden Report Jan 2008 – March 2009

The recurrent topic of the future of the Village Hall continued to occupy the thoughts of many villagers disappointed at the unsuccessful bid for lottery funding to build a new village hall on the site of the current hall. New and more realistic ideas were put forward involving mainly the refurbishment and gradual improvement of the existing hall, and discussions with interested parties continued throughout the year.

Of great interest to this Recorder were some articles that appeared in the parish magazine about the dwellings and the residents of the street that runs parallel to the High Street which is now known as Deynes Road, but which used to be called Back Street in the early part of the last century.

Another article, in the form of an interview with Debden’s oldest member of the Pentecostal Church, described how the Church came into being in the early 1950s and its subsequent development. The Pentecostal church is very active in the village, mostly due to the bubbly enthusiasm of their new Pastor who has encouraged the younger generations to participate in many activities organised at regular intervals.

Early in the year the Searle Trust was established as a result of a bequest of Mrs Emily Searle, a village resident, with the object of furthering 'within the area of the civil parish of Debden such religious and other community purposes being charitable of the Church of England and other Christian organisation'. The Searle Trust will give grants, with an annual grant giving capacity of about £20,000, to any applications that have a charitable purpose that supports some community activity within the parish. It is hoped that in the years to come, the Trust will play a full part in the life of Debden in memory of Mrs Emily Searle.

The White Hart pub closed down and its premises are now used for an exotic Indian/Nepalese restaurant.

As a result of the parishes of Debden and Wimbish no longer having a resident incumbent priest, the Rectory has stood empty for a number of months and may be let for private occupation.

One of the most memorable fetes for years was held over the last weekend of August in glorious weather after a mostly wet dreadful summer. A classic cars and vintage vehicles rally on the Friday evening started the weekend followed by the fete proper on the Saturday afternoon on the Village meadow and '60 Beats' live music in the evening and, on the Sunday, a rounders match and family picnic. A most enjoyable time was had by all.

A group of enthusiastic villagers started the Debden Music Association in July. The aims of the organisation are to organise concerts and other musical activities and to encourage participation in these musical activities. Their first concert took place in the Parish Church of St Mary and All Saints on 4th October and it featured local amateur and professional artists and the Walden Big Band.

The twinning of Debden and Wimbish with the Nepalese village of Tang Ting was finally completed when a group of ten Debden villagers travelled to the remote village in Nepal in October. The object of the trip was to welcome the villagers of Tang Ting into the Tang Ting Twinning Association with a twinning ceremony and present them with gifts and a plaque to mark the occasion. By all accounts this was a very successful trip that provided the visitors from Debden with a useful close up understanding of the local community.

In February 2009 Elisabeth Blackie, the Debden Local History Recorder, became the new co-editor of the Parish Pump, the village monthly magazine which celebrated its 30th anniversary year.

 

Elisabeth Blackie

Debden Local History Recorder