GREAT AND LITTLE CHESTERFORD VILLAGE

RECORDER ANNUAL REPORT 2006/7

It has been an eventful year in the Chesterfords, starting with the very successful Great Chesterford Carnival in June 06 – info. included.

In September 06 Great Chesterford appeared on the national TV news and national newspapers when an illegal rave took place in a farmer’s field across the M11, resulting in a violent dispute after police attempted to dispel the revellers. It would appear that the majority of village residents were totally unaware of these goings-on, only hearing about it from the news the next day.

The annual Steam-Up took place in October, thanks to the Pumfreys of Little Chesterford who took over the organisation from the Culpins of Great Chesterford who had managed it for 15 years. Let’s hope such a popular and enjoyable event will continue for many years to come.

In May this year, 2007, a nostalgic return visit was paid to Great Chesterford by Dr Gilda Moss Haber, who with 30 Jewish refugees from Germany lived in the wartime Jewish Hostel run in The White House (Geldarts) on the High St. She was not a refugee, but a second-born British citizen. She gave a talk in the Chapel about her experiences – a transcript of this lecture has been added to the Collection.

In June 2007 Gt Chesterford appeared on BBC television again. The village was used by one if its more famous residents, Germaine Greer, to illustrate her programme about Buildings in Britain, especially the spread of housing development into the green belt around Cambridge.

In 2006, Great Chesterford was chosen as one of the first villages to undergo an assessment of the conservation area by Uttlesford District Council. A copy of the published report has been added to the collection. It contains some suggestions for maintaining our historical heritage, and redefines the boundary of the conservation area.

The Recorder Collection is now completely catalogued onto RUTH, and a start has been made on cataloguing the Local History Society archives, especially the photographs.

Additions to the catalogue include house sale brochures for some of the older houses in the village.

Two important donations were received in May 2007:

Anthony Collins, a past resident and member of the Great Chesterford Archaeology Society (now merged with the History Society), and finder of the Bronze Age Torc (now in the British Museum), was so impressed by the village website and the Recorder information, that he got in touch by email, and agreed to post his collection of photographs of artefacts and excavations undertaken during the M11 construction, and the Eastgate housing development and others during the 70s and 80s, showing the Roman road, wall, gate and temple. These have been scanned, downloaded to CD and returned, as have two booklets:

1) a transcript of the inquiry into the Bronze Age Torc, and
2) the Maze at Bridge End Gardens written by Tony Collins who was involved in the project in the 70s. Several photocopies of archaeological information about Gt Chesterford have still to be catalogued.

Another donation of photographs was received from Valerie Taylor, past editor of The Times of the Chesterfords. Included are many photos used in the publication – all of great interest to village historians.

The indexing of The Times of the Chesterfords which I started last year, has been finished, and is in process of being checked before, hopefully, being bound into three volumes. It has already proved useful in finding information for the many family search enquiries I have received recently.

One was via Ebay, when I was outbid for a magazine with an article on Lt Chesterford Fire. The winner emailed me to say he only wanted a photocopy. He lives in Australia and his ancestors were the Seamans of Gt Chesterford. On hearing I was the village Recorder, not only did he donate the magazine, but he is going to send all the information he has gathered on his family.

Another request is for information on the Kents, by a descendant (great,great,great,great granddaughter) now living in Edinburgh. William Kent was the village blacksmith, and his house Kents is still standing.

The Chesterfords Local History and Archaeology Society Interim Report No16, Commerce in the Chesterfords 1900-1950, by Ian Deatker, has been published. Next year’s should be Part 2 of a transcript of the Great Chesterford Baptisms 1812-1923, from the Registers.