Elsenham Report 2016

My role as the Recorder for Elsenham has become to say the least, somewhat blurred. Being also the Chairman of, Elsenham Village History Society, I find myself being even more reliant on the Society’s good works. As a large group it is able to manage large projects which an individual would find impossible. Much has been achieved over the last twelve months. I thank all members of the Club for their hard work. I would like to especially thank their Secretary, Mike Rea who assisted me with the production of this report.

War Memorial Project

Slate Tablets were installed on the Memorial in time for the Remembrance Day Service on 8th November. The new tablets approximately A3 size are affixed over the existing carved names. The names appear on the tablets in the order of death PLUS the additional names recently identified. Much research went into finding these 'lost' soldiers.

Sir Walter Gilbey’s Cottages

Assistance was given to English Heritage seeking old photographs of cottages erected by Sir Walter Gilbey to house his staff. Both photos and much information were obtained.

Recordings of Village Residents

The number of recordings and transcripts of the interviews continues to grow. The club has sent copies of some to the Essex Record Office Sound Archive. As of January 2016 some 16 recordings are available on the Elsenham Village website.

Web Site

The E.V.H.S. web site www.elsenham-history.co.uk continues to attract interest and is currently recording around ninety hits a week. s of January 2016 the total number of visitors exceeded 10,000! Recently added is a photo gallery of the steam rallies that were held by Elsenham Station in the nineties to celebrate the coming of the railway 150 years ago.

Ugley Hall Farm

Jean Reay donated a 8mm film to the society. With much help from Jean the commentary was updated. The film shows agricultural work on the farm. It was recorded over 50 years ago. We thank Jean for her kindness donating this important piece of film.

Memorial Chapel

Work continues on the refurbishment of the Memorial Chapel. Repairs to the gutters and drainage and edging boards provided to the French drains have been completed. The extremely old stove within the Chapel has been repaired and enamelled. A list of jobs to complete the internal refurbishments has been compiled. Internal work will include rearrangement of the pews, tiling of the floor and provision of electric light and power. The long-term aim is to bring the building back into usage. Then it can become a village resource - a 'History Centre' is envisaged. Also on the Cemetery site following the extensive repairs to the Lych Gate more has been done. The 'Children must be accompanied by Adults' sign has been repainted by a sign writer. The 'Elsenham Cemetery' sign has been redone in gold.

Local Matters

The 'Bovis Homes' site in Hall Road has stalled, pending planning matters. But sadly 'The Gables' a fine house which stood in Stansted Road was demolished. This is to provide an entrance road for a 150 plus housing estate. Yet another house, albeit a more modern one is also to be demolished possibly in 2016 for another 50 house development. Just to compound things another estate has started to be constructed also off Stansted Road. This will also be for 150 homes. Needless to say the Elsenham Village History Society has extensively photographed the houses and fields prior to work being undertaken.

Ray Franklin
Elsenham Local History Recorder