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Books > Dunmow, Thaxted and Finchingfield Photographic Memories
Debden, the Cross Roads c1955 (ref. D89002) | This was The Fox, one of five
hostelries serving Debden in the
1950s. The area to the right is
the edge of Debden Park - the
grounds of Debden Hall that
were landscaped in the late 18th
century, possibly by the mighty
Humphrey Repton. The Hall
itself was demolished in 1935.
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Felsted, the Mill c1960 (ref. F76015) | Felsted had two watermills at the time of the Domesday survey, and it is likely that Felsted Mill and
Hartford End Mill are on the same two sites. The current building here dates from 1858, its
predecessor having burned down. It is now a house, though it had continued working until 1960,
grinding wholemeal for a Chelmsford health-food company.
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Felsted, the Old School House (the Guildhall) c1960 (ref. F76007) | Felsted`s Guildhall, like
Finchingfield`s, was built
to accommodate the
Trinity Guild. In 1564 it
was taken over by Lord
Riche as a schoolroom.
This was the start of the
famous Felsted School,
which rose to the height
of its fame in the 19th
century under its
headmaster W S Grignon.
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Finchingfield, the Green c1960 (ref. F77014) | The Fox (left) was owned
by the now-defunct
Dunmow Brewery. In
1999, the pub became
famous for its pet
chicken, Violet, who had
allegedly been pecking at
the war-memorial. The
village became split over
the matter, and the
publican had Violet`s life
insured. The affair made
the newspapers as far
away as Australia.
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Finchingfield, the Memorial c1965 (ref. F77063) | The red brick building in the
centre was a day school and
lecture hall attached to the
18th-century Congregational
church (the white pediment
behind it). The school has
been converted into a house
by the architect Robert
Wood. Note the staddle
stones around the war
memorial: granaries were
traditionally built upon
these, as rats cannot
negotiate them.
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Finchingfield, the Green c1960 (ref. F77007) | Finchingfield`s waterfowl are bold creatures, accustomed to this kind of attention. The feeder`s
headscarf, mid-calf hemline and big collar and cuffs are typical of the period. The tall Georgian
building behind her was the Congregational church`s manse.
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Finchingfield, Church Hill c1965 (ref. F77079) | ), an ungainly man
who nevertheless impressed all the right people with his powers of oratory. He had organisational flair, too, and kicked
Finchingfield`s vestry meetings into shape. After seventeen years here, he was seduced by Parliament`s offer to become
their parish lecturer, and left for London.
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Finchingfield, Vicarage Lane c1960 (ref. F77059) | This is the road that leads to the village school. The house in the
centre, Cabbaches, proclaims the date 1390 on a plaque near its
front door. It is built along medieval lines, with a central hall
flanked by a buttery and solar - a provision store and relaxation
room respectively.
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Finchingfield, Haverhill Road c1960 (ref. F77025) | This part of
Finchingfield is known
as Duck End. The mill
lurks behind the
attractive cottages in
the foreground. It has
been said that For Sale
signs appear on
Finchingfield`s most
desirable properties
whenever bonuses
come up in the City.
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Finchingfield, the Pond c1960 (ref. F77021) | When cars were rarer
here, the village children
used to sit on the green
and hold sweepstakes,
guessing on the
number-plate of the
next vehicle to pass
through. They would
have a field day now.
This row of cottages
pictured is called the
Causeway. The
dormered Causeway Tea
Cottage on the right
now offers `Full Monty`
cream teas.
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Finchingfield, the Pond c1965 (ref. F77064) | The driver of this MG
Magnette was perhaps
distracted by the vista
around him, and has
himself become something
of a tourist attraction. The
building on the bridge
(dated 1910) was a grocery
shop in the 1960s; it is now
a craft-shop, with Olly`s
Unisex Hair Salon upstairs.
Its small annexe is the
Hansel und Gretel gift-shop.
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Finchingfield, Sunnyside House c1960 (ref. F77015) | When the photograph was taken, this attractive 17th-century house was the headquarters of
Wiffen`s Coaches Ltd: note the cavernous garages at the rear, and the petrol pump (left).
Sunnyside remains intact today (as does the water pump on the green), but the garages have
been supplanted by a new road - Coachman`s Mead - and, to the right, a new house.
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Finchingfield, the Green c1965 (ref. F77075) | The house nearest the
camera was once the village
poorhouse. It dates from
the 16th century. There was
room for about thirty
inmates, who were expected
to earn their keep, mainly
by spinning. Later the
house became a butcher`s:
older residents recall blood
dribbling down into the
picturesque village-pond.
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Finchingfield, the Green c1960 (ref. F77047) | Finchingfield
combines a water
supply (Finchingfield
Brook) with a
defensible site
(Church Hill). What
made sense to Saxon
settlers has made it
Essex`s most
photographed village.
This has its pros and
cons: the narrow
bridge looks quaint,
but it has to take up
to 500 coachloads of
visitors a year. And
there is no car-park.
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Great Bardfield, Brook Street 1903 (ref. 50565) | This fountain (left) was
provided in 1860 by Henry
Smith, who also built the
Town Hall. It pumped water
from a spring in Hall
Meadows. The inhabitants
were reluctant to forsake it
when Bardfield acquired a
mains water supply in the
1930s. Like The White Hart,
The Three Horseshoes (right)
is now an ex-pub.
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Great Bardfield, High Street 1903 (ref. 50566) | Bardfield has a wealth of old
buildings: the house on the left
is 15th-century, as is Gobions -
the distant white house. The
village was once famous for its
fair, where horses were bought
and sold, and the `trashy
articles displayed on the
hoopla stalls flashed under the
naphtha flares like the crown
jewels`, as one witness
poetically put it.
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Great Bardfield, High Street c1965 (ref. G93013) | Great Bardfield is a village that bills itself as a town. Its 17th-century Town House, on the left, was once a sort of part-time
guildhall. The garage opposite has reverted to domestic duties, but Hitchcock`s (where the lorry is) is still a thriving concern
- part grocer`s, part post office. The Brick House, beside it, used to be a fur factory.
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Great Bardfield, Brook Street and Memorial c1965 (ref. G93004) | Great Bardfield`s central green - the area on the left - has been heavily built upon. A Friends` Meeting House was erected
there in 1804: the tree-shaded wall on the left surrounds its graveyard. At that time, Great Bardfield Hall was owned by a
Quaker family - the Smiths - who were great benefactors to the parish.
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Great Bardfield, Brook Street c1965 (ref. G93008) | The White Hart (right) is a 15th-century building with later additions. The thatched roof at the left-hand road junction
belongs to Serjeant Bendlowes`s Cottage. Bendlowes held various official posts under the Tudor monarchs, some of whom
had to turn a blind eye to his Catholicism. The Cottage is one of several almshouses he endowed.
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Great Dunmow, Braintree Road c1955 (ref. D90033) | The bus in the distance
has just passed Ford
Bridge. Once called
Stratford (the `street
ford`), this was where the
Roman road crossed the
River Chelmer. In the
distance are the trees of
Merks Hill - itself a
known site of Roman
habitation - and on our
left is the ribbon
development that had
started creeping along
this road in the 1920s.
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