Earls Colne
Earls Colne maps (2 available)
Map of Essex
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
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Earls Colne books (15 available)
Earls Colne memories
Read and share memories of Earls Colne and Essex inspired by Frith photos
blacksmiths
I attended the grammar school 1936-9. Whilst waiting for buses home I used to talk to the local blacksmith. I said to him ,"My granddad uised to be a smith"
When I told him my surname was `King` he asked "Was he Tom King ?" I did not know as my relative had died when I was two but asked "Why?" I was told "All smiths named King were `Tom` Many years later checking the family tree I found it was correct ,three generations of smiths all surnamed King were either named or nicknamed `Tom`.The first was at Aingers Green Gt.Bentley. I then wondered was Dick Turpin`s partner in crime,Tom King a forebear of mine ? It seems NO, ...read more here
Contributed by Peter King
Essex memories
blacksmiths
I attended the grammar school 1936-9. Whilst waiting for buses home I used to talk to the local blacksmith. I said to him ,"My granddad uised to be a smith"
When I told him my surname was `King` he asked "Was he Tom King ?" I did not know as my relative had died when I was two but asked "Why?" I was told "All smiths named King were `Tom` Many years later checking the family tree I found it was correct ,three generations of smiths all surnamed King were either named or nicknamed `Tom`.The first was at Aingers Green Gt.Bentley. I then wondered was Dick Turpin`s partner in crime,Tom King a forebear of mine ? It seems NO, ...read more here
A memory of Earls Colne contributed by Peter King
Where I grew up.
I lived most of my life in Sible Hedingham, as a family we moved there from London in 1962. I was just 2 years old at the time. My father Robert Farren, "Bob" as he was best known and my mother Ivy, took over the licence of The White Lion, Church Street. Growing up I never imagined that I would ever live anywhere but there. My parents retired after 28 years behind the bar.
The White Lion can be seen in picture S276003 of Church Street, it is the second building on the right hand side of the photograph. The first building is, or I should say was a General Store. You could buy just about anything there from linens, ...read more here
A memory of Sible Hedingham contributed by anne elder
Braintree County High School
I own a picture of the students of BCHS taken in 1947. Such a view has many many names and connections. There is the headmaster Dr. Cordingly [he of the famous stick]. Here is the vicar Hartley Brook's daughter. My old girl friend Shirley, and members of my class including Billy Cranfield, Ron Whittaker, David Woodward, Valerie O'Neill and a crowd of others. There also is "Madame" Elliot who tried in vain to teach me french. I visited the school a couple of years ago to discover to my distress, that it was no more. Perhaps some of those I have named will contact me. I am a physician in Oakland California USA...yes me, the most unruly nuisance of a kid ...read more here
A memory of Braintree contributed by Malcolm Stewart-Morris
Extracts From Earls Colne & Essex books
Prior to 1935, all that would have been seen from in front of
the church would have been the top of the church spire. In the
foreground would have been a collection of dilapidated shops, and
a large wooden maltings out of shot to the right. In 1935 the
buildings, including the maltings, were demolished as part of a
road improvement scheme.
An extract from from"Braintree Town and City Memories".
One of the features of the gardens is the way in which the visitor is met with different views and layouts, from open spaces to densely planted areas, or along wide pathways with narrow winding pathways off to the sides.
An extract from from"Braintree Town and City Memories".
Continuing the development of houses along the main Dunmow to Colchester Road, these
fine houses, dating from the turn of the 20th century, were also built for the growing middle
class. They were known locally as ‘The Villas’. Mr Leonard Alden, who ran a tailor and
outfitter’s business, had one of these houses.
An extract from from"Braintree Town and City Memories".
This road runs between Coggeshall Road and Bradford Street; it replaced the old road,
which ran 30 or 40 metres back from the left-hand side of this picture, when Sydney
Courtauld built Bocking Place in 1885. Houses started to be built on the right-hand side of
the road from the turn of the 20th century, and provided housing for the up-and-coming
professional and business people.
An extract from from"Braintree Town and City Memories".
The large weather-boarded buildings on the
left are the silk mills of Warner & Sons, who
had taken over the business of Walters & Co
in 1894. Daniel Walters came to the town
in 1822, and these mills were built in 1856.
Behind these is another range of buildings
constructed in 1869. Both firms produced
silk products for the royal family, and Warners
have woven velvet for every coronation since
that of Edward VII.
An extract from from"Braintree Town and City Memories".