Most of the latter end of 2009 seems to have been spent preparing for the many events scheduled for 2010. Approaches were made by representatives from St. Mary’s Church, Elsenham to assist with their 900 Years of Worship Celebrations. In 2010 the local Church or its immediate area has been involved in worship for 900 years.

The Local History Recorder was asked to produce a slide show on the Church’s History. This will be preserved on Disc for future reference.

An enthusiastic group have expressed the wish to form a History Society. Initial approaches have been made to attempt to secure funding for equipment. The Inaugural Meeting & its success will be “covered,” in next year’s report. Suffice to say that many things are planned.

The majority of Village organisations continue to flourish, the major exception being the Parish Council. Having had a number of members resign, it is proving difficult to fill the resulting vacancies.

The Eco Town debacle is still unresolved. There has been no progress on the proposed Stansted Airport Expansion.

Ray Franklin ( Elsenham History Recorder).

I follow with a brief piece taken from the Elsenham History Society Leaflet. This carries contact details and listing of a few events.

We meet four times a year in the Memorial Hall and between times we aim to organise visits and to encourage small working groups to work on particular aspects of village life. For example, farming around the village; the various nurseries that existed; the famous Jam Factory; what were the boundaries of the village over the years and who were our notable residents?

If you are interested in learning more, you can come along to our meetings which start again in autumn usually Wednesdays at 8:00pm in the Memorial Hall. You’ll be very welcome. We aim to have interesting speakers and to cover a range of issues. It doesn’t cost a fortune to join the society it’s only £5 for this first year. Gordon Barker's slide shows are very popular, with many photographs from his collection showing the village and its characters over the years. These shows are very well attended so make sure you don’t miss out.
To find out more about our Society email Secretary, Chris Bush:evhs@hotmail.com

Ray Franklin - Elsenham Local History Recorder