Our History – ‘A Thousand Years of village news’
West Bergholt’s history might not be on the A-Level syllabus, but it certainly has plenty of interest; as local historian Jon Lander said in his book “A Thousand Years of Village News” some years ago:
West Bergholt has never been the site of a battle, Queen Elizabeth did not sleep at Bergholt Hall, there are no treaties or charters bearing its name.
People will tell you that nothing much has ever happened in our village, a sleepy little place in the shadow of Colchester. In fact, West Bergholt has a rich and exciting history of its own……
Jon Lander
December 1999
Much of this past that Jon Lander talks about can be found in this site. His articles, mostly sourced from the Bulletin, address diverse topics:
- Armoury Road – where did the road get its’ name from?
- Bergholt Sackville – why isn’t this the village’s name?
- Deported – the story of William Hawkins, West Bergholt to Australia.
- Fire Raisers – when the farmworkers were revolting n the 1840’s.
- Local Hero – The Queen’s Champion at the court of Henry VIII.
- Memories of mid-1930s – milk in jugs, cricket in the road & more.
- Model Railway – Fifty years and still going strong.
- Norman Conquest – Normans arrived in the village in 1067.
- Orpen Close – Named for Osmond George Orpen.
- People, Priests & Problems – The most comprehensive collection of articles going through the ages from Saxon to 20th Century.
- Rose Growing – Prominent man & winner of a National award.
- St Mary’s – Excavation at Old Church.
- Stubborn Rector – Another resident, another Queen!
- Village Shop Memories – Memories from 1950’s and a reunion.
- Wartime Occupation – World War 2 – first the evacuees and then troops.
If the subject interests you, you may also be interested in the West Bergholt History Group.
Other Sources
For access to various historic census, polls & other historic documents you could also try visiting
Oddly, the National Library of Scotland has digitised a number of historic maps and offer a useful utility to overlay different maps over the current reality; for example, below is a 1900(ish) OS map overlaying a current satellite view. The History Group published an article about this site in May 2019.
Recent news items
The most recent news items tagged as relevant are listed below. Please click on the heading to read the whole article…
- Food Stories Coming Here – June 19th - The Food Museum, formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life, is going on the road! They are touring their exhibition 'Food Stories' to communities across East Anglia arriving in the Orpen Hall on 19th June from 10 am until 4… …
- Daniell update and The Minories next up - The Minories - The Characters & the Context The next Local History Group meeting will learn about The Minories in Colchester. Max Fox will lead this meeting which will take place on April 13th starting at 7:30 pm. Max has… …
- JUMBO Update and the Impact of the Daniell Family - Daniell Family - Next Topic The next Local History Group meeting will learn about the impact of the Daniell Family on West Bergholt's development. Peter Noakes will lead this meeting which will take place on February 9th starting at 7:30… …
Continue reading "JUMBO Update and the Impact of the Daniell Family"
- From Digs to Jumbo – Local History Talks - The past & future of the Jumbo The next Local History Group meeting focuses on Colchester's Victorian water tower, Jumbo. Andrew Crayston, a Trustee of the Colchester & North East Essex Building Preservation Trust, will lead the talk. You will… …
- Digs at Jacks & the Mercury Theatre - Adam Wightman Reporting on the Digs & Jacks & the Mercury Following the success of their last meeting, Adam Wightman (Senior Project Manager of The Colchester Archaeological Trust), is going to update the Local History Group on these digs this… …
- Charlie Haylock Coaches Ralph Fiennes - Charlie Haylock & Ralph Fiennes Charlie Haylock talk about his role in the Netflix film "The Dig" Local Suffolk celebrity, Charlie Haylock returns to the Local History Group for their first talk in person since March last year. This time… …
- Who Was Constable William Raven? - Find out about William Raven, Buried in Old St Mary's Churchyard Constable William Raven William Raven, a resident of West Bergholt, was born in Coggeshall in 1817, joined the Essex Constabulary in 1844 and died in 1911. You can now… …
- Sutton Hoo – Dialects – History - Sutton Hoo in Local History Group's Resumption Plans Although West Bergholt is a substantial still growing village, it has an interesting history. Members of the active Local History Group continue to investigate, research and document it. They usually meet at… …
- Remembrance & Old Church Update - Remembrance & Old Church Update Last week we announced the plans for a Remembrance Service partially in St Mary's (socially distanced and limited numbers) with Zoom. The new Lockdown has thwarted that and plans have changed. We also have an… …
- Lockdown Strikes – No Cakes! - Lockdown Strikes - No Cakes! Last week's news roundup spoke of fundraising ideas from the Friends of St Mary's Old Church but there will now be no cakes. Unfortunately, Lockdown restrictions have made it very difficult to organise the sale… …
If you would like to view all history-related news posts click the link – https://westbergholt.org/tag/history/.
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