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…
- 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… …
- Cakes, History, Remembrance & Fitness - Cakes, History, Remembrance, Fitness & St Mary's Update - Updated for Lockdown This news update covers several topics, starting with Cakes, History & Xmas, then covering: Remembrance Day 2020, how it will be different; News about an Essex scheme to… …
- Lockdown Edition of Village Bulletin now Online - Lockdown Edition of Village Bulletin now Online The Lockdown Edition of the Village Bulletin joins pretty much every other Bulletin and Newsletter issued since June 2006. You can view them all on our website on the Bulletin Page. Highlights of… …
Continue reading "Lockdown Edition of Village Bulletin now Online"
- The Taylor Maids – History by Zoom - The Taylor Maids The "Taylor Maids" referred to are, of course, Ann & Jane Taylor, authors of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". They lived in West Stockwell Street in the 1800's and Peter Jones of the Local History Group will be… …
- Old Church Redecoration Ends at Last - Old Church Redecoration Ends at Last - Now Open Daily Having resumed work at the end of lockdown on 26th May, Bakers of Danbury are now completing the interior redecoration of the Old Church. The Friends of St Mary's are… …
If you would like to view all history-related news posts click the link – https://westbergholt.org/tag/history/.
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