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Roxwell
Roxwell maps
Historic maps of Roxwell and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Roxwell maps
Roxwell area books
Displaying 1 of 18 books about Roxwell and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Roxwell
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Roxwell.
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The Last Village Policeman - Keith Brookes
My wife, family and I jumped at the chance of moving to Roxwell in 1982 for me to take over the position of resident Police Officer for Roxwell and its surrounding area. It transpired to be the best move we ever made. It was a job that I could not have done without my wife's support and assistance. The Police House/Office was in Stonehill Road, overlooking farmland and fantastic sunsets! Roxwell was and still is a wonderful place to live, and when I finally reached the end of my Police service in 1998, my wife and I continued to live in the village. The 'old' Police House was sold off nearly two years later after laying dormant and empty when we moved out. Essex Police, in their 'wisdom', closed all village Police Stations and what a great error of judgement that was - in my opinion!! We have nothing but good memories of Roxwell, its people and its proper country life which, sadly, is starting to fade as the village... Read more
Essex memories
Growing up in Cooksmill Green
I was born May 01-1953 at number 1 Kings Court Cottages to Albert and Dorrie Piddington, my dad worked for Edward Mallet at Kings Court Farm now known as Home Farm. We all lived and grew up at 2 Kings Court Cottages with my youngest sister Carole, elder brothers John and Ken. My memories of life in Cooksmill Green were of long summer days going to work with my dad at the farm, driving the tractors and working late nights getting the harvest in. My dad also looked after the stock at the farm and I remember steaming potatoes for the pigs to eat, I loved the potato harvest, spinning the potatoes with the tractor in the fields with all the people picking the spuds into those huge boxes, again working late nights to get the potatoes sorted and bagged. My good friend Neil Findlay and myself had the paper delivery round for many years in Cooksmill Green, we used an old Tandem bicycle for our deliveries, we knew everybody... Read more
Writtle Football Club
I was the first manager of Writtle Football Club and was a member of the club from 1966/67 until I left to come to Australia in 2000. I have many happy memories of my years at the club and remember great stalwarts of the club such as Ken Poole, Alfie Brown, Geoff Baker, Tom Farr and Gwen Farr, Fred Butcher and his wife Joan, who used to wash the kit and would have it washed and on the line before we made our way home from Paradise Road on Saturdays.
Now the club continues under the guidance of Eric Gallacher as chairman, whom I signed for the club in 1969. It is good to notice that the club is still going strong under Eric's guidance, along with the many other willing volunteers.
We have 2 excellent paintings of Writtle village by Ken Willett in our sitting room, one presented by the football club and one by the sports and social club. We have many happy memories of Writtle and... Read more
Norton Heath Equestrian Centre
My memories are of my year training at the equestrian centre when it was run by Victor Carter as a riding school and renowned BHS exam school. I trained for my BHSAI there, under Mr Carter, along with head instructor Pamela Green/Swain and John Mithcell - who's family ran/run the local RDA from their home. I was joined by Claire, Melanie De La Haye, Carol and Gill Smith during my time there. It was hard work but enjoyable. I returned to Norton Heath some 27 years later and was amazed at the transformation it had taken from being a riding school to a busy equestrian centre running shows of all descriptions - the school side had long since gone - shame really as I loved it there at the time.
Fond Holiday Memories
In the summer of 1963 my Dad took my sister (11), brother (4) and me (6) to stay with my Auntie Marie. She lived in the house adjoining the pub. I think it had a name like Penryn and appeared on the front cover of Country Life in the early 70's. I remember sleeping in the bedroom over the archway and waking up screaming in the middle of the night as I thought I had seen a gentleman dressed in black wearing a top hat walking across the room at the foot of my bed. Looking back I think I was probably woken by the noise of the pub turning out and a passing car probably caused a shadow across the wall. At the back of the property was a small apple orchard with a swing chair and we walked through grass that came up over our knees to have a swing. There was also lots of horse-radish growing and I think of my late Auntie every time I open... Read more
My Great Grandmother Mary Eve
Mary Ann Eve was from this area. She was my great-grandmother and joined her husband Robert Chilvers in South Africa after the Boer War. she died when I was sixteen years of age and I knew her very well. A feisty little Victorian type lady. I still have her family Bible and sewing machine and other nick nacks, my mother has always been meticulous with family history. In fact my great grandparents were my godparents. My Aunt Eleanor (in SA) has a beautiful framed picture of Mary Ann Eve as a single woman posing in her dress with a beautiful bustle. Mary Ann was an amazing cook and apparently worked in one of the great houses in the area as a very young girl. My mother joined her husband who was away in Germany with the RAF in England just before the end of the Second World War. She was 18 years old when she left S Africa, newly married, and travelled alone all the way on one of the Castle... Read more
Village Policeman
In the late 1950's I was the village policeman at Great Waltham. The police house was the last two-storied house at the Barrack Land end of Cherry Garden Road with my 'office'being in the kitchen and the tsble there was my desk. Next door to us was a lovely old lady - Mrs Woods and on the other side the Hornsby family, daughter's name Jenny. My duties in those days were not very onerous consisting mainly of attending motor accidents, moving on camping gypsies and paying occasional visits to the local pubs in Great and Little Walthams, Howe Street and Mashbury. My means of getting around was on a bicycle although about one a month a police car from Chelmsford would come to Great Waltham and I would act as observer for a couple of hours. My immediate superior officer was Sergeant Leslie Pye from Broomfield who was always very keen for us village policemen (including the one at Ford End (Const.Tom Mitchell) and Great Leighs (Const. Les.... Read more
