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Glemsford Local History Society is dedicated to the study and distribution of the details of Glemsford's past. Preserving Glemsford's past for future generations Glemsford Local History Society Glemsford is a village in the county of Suffolk in England. It sits on a small hill above the River Stour and the River Glem, from which it takes its name. Glemsford is an ancient village, dating back to Domesday, and before. Although it may have acquired its nickname only last century, it is possible to trace the history of the village across many more centuries through the huge variety of buildings and fieldnames. Find out more Latest Publication This latest publication by the Glemsford Local History Society is a longoverdue reprint of a book, the text of which was dictated to a schoolboy, Perry Baxter, of what was then Clare Middle School as part of a history project in December 1978. He is a grandson of Ted Hartley, whose memoriesthese are. The resulting tape was then transcribed by his father Terry, Ted’s son-in-law and subsequently published. We are delighted to have since been able to digitize the text and photos belonging to the Hartley family in order to produce this edition. The book is available at our monthly meetings and from Glemsford Library, Hunts Hill Stores and Willow Tree Farm Shop. However, if you live some distance away you can still purchase the book by contacting us. Events Find out more - Current and Previous John Miners Horsehair Tales September 11th 2025 Annual General Meeting Members' Talks October 9th 2025 Kate Jewell O'Donoghue 'By The Moonlight I Must Go To My Bed.' Schools and Education in Medieval Suffolk November 13th 2025 Christmas Social . December 11th 2025 Adrian Tindall 'The Monastery Alone A City.' 1000 years of the Abbey of St Edmunds January 8th 2026 Andrew Mowbray Virtually Colchester February 12th 2026 Julie Whittle A Bulmer Family during World War II March 12th 2026 Pip Wright A Picture History of Margaret Catchpole April 16th 2026 NB Third Thursday Mark Bailey The Impact of Global Climate change on the East Anglian Coast 1100 to 1600 May 14th 2026 A Summer Outing To Be Arranged About Us Find out more Glemsford Local History Society has been active for many years now, and is dedicated to the study and distribution of the details of Glemsford's past. We aim to encourage the better understanding of the past and present through lectures, activities, visits and research. Meetings Find out more The Society meet on the second Thursday of the month in Glemsford Primary Academy Hall at 7.30pm. We have a wide range of speakers, visits to places of local interest and other events to celebrate our life in ‘Glorious Glemsford’. Membership costs just £12 per annum. Visitors £3.00 per time. The People of Glemsford Find out more about the families of Glemsford throughout the centuries from personal accounts to sourced information. Find out more Tracing your family tree? We are not a family history society and do not hold census or similar records. You may find the information you require at the following web site - Suffolk Archives There is also a Suffolk Family History website which may be able to help with your enquiries. Our secretary will always try to answer general questions about the village, based upon her own personal knowledge and not on formal research. If unable to answer a query herself, she will pass it on to someone in the village, whom she thinks might be able to help. This of course may take some time. If you have information on particular people or properties in Glemsford, which you would be willing to have added to the website we would of course be delighted to receive it. We currently have the following requests for person identification. (Click) Display Cabinet from the Arnold & Gould horsehair factory Link to horsehair factory video on the industry page

Requests for Information We have a request for information regarding this picture. It was brought to one of our meetings by a visitor in the hope that someone can identify the people in the photo. She is able to identify the person in the back row 5th from left as Cyril Watkinson from the Bakehouse and Victoria Sterry in the front row 2nd from left. This snap shot was taken from a glass frame so not the best quality due to reflections. If you are able to help, please pass any information you have to one of the committee or complete the form on the contacts page on the web site

Information relating to the history of the Parish and Church of Glemsford Anchor 11 Churches You are here: Home : Buildings and Streets: Church and Chapels Glemsford's Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade 1 listed building and dates back to the early 14th century. The Methodist Church is at the other end of the village and dates from the Victorian Era. Below you will find a link to a collection of stories and facts relating to the history of the Parish and Church of Glemsford by Rev. Kenneth Glass. A Short History of Glemsford by Rev K. Glass St. Mary's Church A History talk 2002 by Clive Paine A History of St. Mary's Church Font by David Newell A Guide to St Mary's A TOUR AROUND THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. MARY THE VIRGIN, GLEMSFORD Ebenezer Chapel (link to St Edmundsbury Local History) Text taken from the above link. By 1829 about forty of these Glemsford worshippers would start building their own chapel at Glemsford. The new Ebenezer Chapel at Glemsford was opened by Pastor Elvin in 1830 with a large congregation and the first resident minister appointed was Pastor Robert Barnes who ministered there for 27 years. Membership included Baptist leaning worshippers from Sible Hedingham, Clare and all the surrounding villages. A plaque over the door read, "Strict Baptists", and the congregation seems to have required strict rules of conduct for its members. The Ebenezer Baptist Chapel in Egremont street. An early C19 rectangular chapel faced with plaster There is a central circular panel with the words Ebenezer Baptist Chapel and the date 1829. The congregation had their own pastor, Mr, A. J. Ward in the late 1800's and the last, Pastor Laver, resigned in 1945. In 1859, 32 members left Ebenezer and built their own chapel, The Providence Chapel, at the top of Hunts Hill Link to Glemsford Local History Society Facebook GLEMSFORD CHAPELS Glemsford in the nineteenth century had a strong non-conformist interest and four denominations developed churches and built their places of worship. In 1828 Ebenezer Baptist Chapel was built in Egremont Street and opened in 1829, and through the years they maintained a strong Christian witness. They also were able to support their own ministers, Mr, A. J. Ward was Pastor in the late 1800's and the last, Pastor Laver, resigned in 1945, The sad dispute which troubled the Baptist denomination in the 1850's had its repercussions in Glemsford and in 1859 Providence Chapel in Hunts Hill was opened. Both Churches flourished whilst Glemsford was prosperous with a large population but grew less strong as the village declined and Providence Chapel is now closed and disused. A branch of the Long Melford Congregational Church was formed in Glemsford about this period and they built a small chapel off Egremont Street, It is interesting to record that the Congregationalists used the Chapel for a fortnightly midweek service on a Thursday, and rented the Chapel to a company of Methodists for use on Sundays. The Chapel was known as "Renters Chapel" for this reason. During the first World far the Congregationalist cause was revived and flourished again for a number of years, but the Chapel is now closed and used as a store. The company of Methodists mentioned above were a church of Primitive Methodists in the Sudbury Circuit and in 1914 they decided to build the present Chapel at a cost of £495, and it was opened on Whit Monday 1915; it has seating for 300 and useful Sunday School hall and vestries After the Union of Methodist Churches in 1934 it continued in the Sudbury circuit and remains today the most flourishing nonconformist church. Members of the Plymouth Brethren have a meeting place in Egremont Street and although small in number their influence in Christian witness has been felt in the village. Although Nonconformity came late to Glemsford it had a great impact and it is to be regretted that modern folk no longer take the interest in Chapel and Church that was shown during the nineteenth century, when these causes were formed and the last major restoration of the Parish Church took place. Reference "A Short History of Glemsford" by Rev K Glass (see above) Providence Chapel (Drapery Common) Link to Glemsford Local History Society Facebook Providence Baptist Chapel was built in 1859, when 32 people left the Ebenezer Chapel. Those headstones that are still visible are as follows:- 1) George Maxim of Stanstead (next village to Glemsford) died April 7th 1887 aged 52 Also on the same headstone William Robert Scowen died October 25th 1902 (born 1831 I think.) 2) Eliza Relton died November 28th 1905 Also Charles Relton, husband, died March 30th 1909, aged 83 years. 3) Esther Prentice died 26th September 1910 aged 68years. 4) Alfred Fenn died 3rd December 1914 aged 71 Also Hannah Fenn, wife, died 16th March 1917 aged 69. 5) James Cook, died 30th March 1927 aged 60. Alice Cook, wife, 23rd November 1945 aged 76. Martha Elizabeth Cook, daughter, died 20th January 1912, aged 16. 6) Charles Smith, died 2nd September 1902, aged 54 Hannah (wife) died 10th November 1904 aged 54 7) Thomas Wordley died November 20th 1864 aged 58 years. 8. James Smith 61 or 71 years? 1864? 9) Samuel Kemp, 23 years a Faithful and Earnest Baptist Minister, died July 1874 aged 48 years. Also George Kemp, same headstone. Back to top

Pictures on display, on large baffle boards in the Heritage Room at Village Hall Back to Streets 1 Brook Street. The entrance to Crownfield is in the space between the two rows of cottages. Those nearer to the camera were pulled down,along with the nearby factory. 2 The former Crown Inn. Later became Serenity House situated on the right hand side of Brook Street, just before Chequers Lane. 3 Oscar Clarke. With delivery van, outside Fair Green House and The Little Cottage. 4 The Prince of Wales Inn. Located in Churchgate, approaching St Mary's Church. 5 The Horsehair Factory in Bells Lane Now living accommodation, but the windows are still visible today. Believed to have been Kolle's from1884 -1905, and then Arnold and Goulds, from 1907 – 1998 6 Harvest time. A big annual event in Glemsford, was the arrival of the threshing machine. This was known as The Fortune Teller. This picture shows threshing taking place behind The Cherry Tree, circa 1906. 7 This photograph is outside The Black Lion in Lion Road, circa 1880. 8. Bells Lane Taken from the junction with Park Lane. The view extends to the poplar trees, known as the Twelve Disciples, but there have only been eleven for many years. They are at the top of Shepherds Lane. The house on the left is still standing and was once the home of Henry Cook, who in 1885, led the men of Glemsford to Long Melford in order to vote. There were no voting facilities in Glemsford, a great deal of animosity between the Conservatives and Liberals, and a lot of discontent over continuous wage cuts. The situation in Long Melford worsened with voting difficulties and the drinking of much beer. There was fighting and some destruction of property. The army was called and the Riot Act was read. 9 The former Cherry Tree pub. circa WW1,[currently Wong's Chinese Restaurant] complete with a wonderful flowering cherry tree.

The history of Glemsford Village. Old photographs and postcards of Glemsford . Glemsford Village You are here: Home: Glemsford Village Glemsford walks Glemsford is an ancient village, dating back to Domesday, and before. Although it may have acquired its nickname only last century, it is possible to trace the history of the village across many more centuries through the huge variety of buildings and fieldnames. Park Farm for instance is thus called because its land was once the deer park for the Abbot of Ely, in whose gift the village was. Park Farm itself stands close to the village church which is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. The church is a fine structure and, although not on the scale of Long Melford or Lavenham, is a good example of one of those churches which benefited from the successful East Anglian wool trade of the late middle ages. Elsewhere in the village are to be found many examples of English domestic architecture across the ages. There are several fine hall houses as well as a wide range of more modest weavers cottages which bear witness to several stages of the village's development over the centuries. On Bells Lane there is the structure of the horsehair weaving factory which prospered in the 19th Century. On Chequers Lane, a silk weaving operation still continues, having first arrived in Glemsford in the 1820's, from Spitalfields. Old Postcards Over the years, we have acquired a number of photographs of Glemsford, past and present. Some of these images are included in the collection of Old Postcards. The Station The Old Post Office The Church of St Mary Bells Lane Duffs Hill The Silk Mill Hunts Hill Bridge nr, Cranmore Scotchford Bridge Go to Old Postcards Early 20th Century Here we have included some first hand accounts of Glemsford in the Early 20th Century. Each document is saved in pdf format for you to click and view or download. Glemsford In the 1920s by Ted Hartley Glemsford In the Early 20th Century Extracts from 'Reubens Corner' by Spike Mays Glemsford Surroundings Over time we hope to create a collection of information regarding the surroundings of Glemsford. For now we have this interesting article about Stoke College. History of Stoke College Walks through Glemsford Links to documentation of walks around the village organised by the GLHS. 1998 Walk through Glemsford 1993 Glemsford Changes Glemsford Circular Walk

History of families of glemsford including war stories, anecdotes and connections. People & Memories You are here: Home: People & Memories Family Histories Find out more about the families of Glemsford throughout the centuries from personal accounts to sourced information. War Stories The Glemsford War Memorial A Young Man's War The Sudbury Lamplighter One day in May 2000 Windsor Castle connection George Cross for F.Craddock Memories of Thomas Brown Why Little Egypt? History of Morris Men Australian Connection Aspects of Life Australian Penal Colonies Jabez Copsey A Fire-Raiser of 1844 Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee 2022 Coronation of King Charles III May 6th 2023

Archive of Glemsford Local History Society newsletters and publications Publications By Rev K Glass A short history of Glemsford St Mary's Font You are here: Home: Publications Below you will find an archive of the Glemsford History Society Publications and Newsletters. Click on descriptions below to search newsletter.pdf for full article Summer 2021 no 46 The boy who burned down a barn [part 2] Transportation by Barbara Richardson-Todd Landscape Gardening in 18th Century by Stephanie Prythergch-Hemphill The Waterworks Tower by late Gillman Game 2008 first published Spring 2021 no 45 Somerton Church 1538 Edmund Hibble of Somerton research by Linda Ronalds The Organ of St Mary's Church by Patrick Hemphill The Boy who burned down a barn [part 1] by Barbara Richardson-Todd Winter 2020 no 44 William Oliver 1804-1853 Halstead An Artist in the Garden by Jenny Wears Glemsford Telephone Exchange from 2007 by Gillman Game Autumn 2020 no 43 Charity Schools in the 20th Century by Stephanis Prythergch-Hemphill Glemsford Flood 2004 by Patrick Hemphill Henbane in Glemsford by Robin Ford Summer 2020 no 42 Trade and industry in Suffolk in 19th Century by Stephanie Prythergch-Hemphill Field names by Jenny Wears Taxes by Jenny Wears Shepherd Collis Goodchild 1878-1953 foamer and landowner Spring 2020 no 41 Village Education in 19th Century by Stephanie Prythergch-Hemphill Glemsford Schools by Jenny Wears WW1 POW Camp by Jenny Wears Summer 2019 no 40 History of the Susan Pearman Cup of Gardening Club by Richard Deeks 1994 Autumn 2018 no 39 The 15th Century House moved from Glemsford to California by Jenny Wears The Conservation of St Mary's Font by David Newell Spring 2018 no 38 Transported Burglars from Glemsford [part 2] by Jenny Wears Attempted Murder and Suicide in Glemsford [part 2] by Jenny Wears A Police presence in Glemsford Winter 2017 no 37 Transported Burglars [part 1] by Jenny Wears Riot Night December 2017 memoir of Ernest Ambrose of Long Melford Coals for Glemsford by Jenny Wears Autumn 2017 no 36 St Mary's Font by David Newell The Morris Men of Little Egypt 25 years by Neville Parry Spring 2017 no 35 The Brook St Nissan/ Romney Hut memoir by John Suttle plus notes by Rowland Hill The Manns Soap Boilers by Jenny Wears Winter 2016 no 34 The Ship A long lost Public House by Jenny Wears The Wool Cloth Industry by Jenny Wears Autumn 2016 no 33 Glemsford Urban District Council 1896-1935 Summer 2016 no 32 The Bells of St Mary's by Jenny Wears Canon Algernon Ogle Wintle Rector of Lawshall and Barrel Organs Glemsford Farms 1994 by Gillman Game Glemsford Fire Brigade Spring 2016 no 31 Peverells and George Cavendish by Jenny Wears E W Downs Engineering in Glemsford. A report on a talk by Donald Roger-Brown from 1998 The Stormport Saga of George Lane by Patrick Hemphill Report on talk by Pip Wright 2016 Alice de Bryne of Acton Winter 2015 no 30 Jocelin of Brakeland Autumn 2015 no 29 Mary Holmes School Mistress in Glemsford by Anne Edwards Glemsford Station A Victorian Home 1943- 51 by Celia Hall Summer 2015 no 28 The Welsh Miners' Strike the Glemsford Connection by Sid Watkinson Glemsford Methodist Church by Marilyn Nash Glemsford Station 1943-51 A child's eye view [part 3] by Celia Hall Spring 2015 no 27 Glemsford Station 1943-51 [part 2] by Celia Hall Autumn 2014 no 26 Woodfield Alley to Shitpot Alley. Map and changes of names Bernice Victor Goodey WW1 by Glenys Day Glemsford Station 1943-51 A childs eye view [part 1] by Celia Hall Spring 2014 no 25 The Butterwort and the Paper Mill Autumn 2014 no 24 The Silk Mill in Peril Spring 2013 no 23 Parish Council acquire telephone box Old Street Names [part 2] by Jenny Wears Vernon Bode The West Drayton Druid by Pat Currie Autumn 2012 no 22 Old Street names [part 1] by Jenny Wears Spring 2012 no 21 Abraham Slater A Glemsford Baize Maker by Jenny Wears Callis, Methold and Wimbus. A Manor within the purlieu of Glemsford by Pat Currie Autumn 2011 no 20 The Glemsford Workhouse by Jenny Wears Spring 2011 no 19 The Glemsford Crane Henry Kolle and Sons London Horsehair Manufacturers Winter 2010 no 18 A Glemsford Walking Tour Autumn 2010 no 17 Spring 2010 no 16 A Present from Glemsford Autumn 2009 no 15 Deaths of Frederick John Craddock 1886- 1943 and Albert Sterry at Flax factory Lower Rd. Lost Mills of Glemsford by Jenny Wears Autumn 2009 b Autumn 2008 no 14 The Origin of the Glemsford Station Spring 2008 no 13 The Glemsford Waterworks by Gillman Game Summer 2007 no 12 Happy Vaccy [part 2] by Jean Cook A Glemsford Family 19th Century [part 3] by Sheila Willmoth Spring 2007 no 11 Glemsford Post Office 1898-1932 by Gillman Game Happy Vaccy Evacuation to Glemsford [part 1] by Jean Cook 2007 Wolsey's Faithful Servant George Cavendish Summer 2007 Autumn 2007 Spring 2006 Autumn 2006 Childhood Memories by John Slater Spring 2005 Early 19th Century Apprentices in Glemsford by Eileen Lynch Autumn 2005 1999 Vol 2 Ed 2 Colonel Meek The Pearman Family Glemsford Wills by Eileen Lynch Skeletons 1851 Spring 1998 vol 2 Ed 1 Pub Games in Suffolk by Sid Watkinson Chequers Cottage by John Slater Spring 1998 Autumn 1995 Spring 1995

Information about events taking place in the society calendar. Events & Meetings Previous meetings on "Event" drop down box You are here: Home : Events On these pages you will find information about the events taking place in the coming months including talks, visits, activities and research. You will also find reports of prvious meetings should you have missed them. Scroll down to view. For further information please contact us here. Our programme of talks is provided by a variety of local speakers. Upcoming Events 2026 Julie Whittle: A Bulmer Family During World War II. March 12th 2026 Pip Wright: A Picture History Of Margaret Catchpole. April 16th 2026 NB. 3rd Thursday Mark Bailey: The Impact Of Global Climate Change On The East Anglian Coast 100 to 1600. May 14th 2026 A Summer Outing: To Be Arranged. June 11th 2026 A Summer's Evening Function: To Be Arranged. July 9th 2026 September 11th 20255 John Miners Horsehair Tails October 9th 2025 Annual General Meeting Committee Reports and Members' Talks . November 13th 2025 Kate Jewell: By The Moonlight I Must Go To My Bed. Schools and Education in Medieval Suffolk. January 8th 2026 Adrian Tindall: The Monastery Alone A City 1000 Years of The Abbey Of St Edmunds.. Our November talk given by Kate Jewell was entitled ‘Schools and Education in Medieval Suffolk’. Way back in 1234, Pope Gregory decreed that within Christendom every parish priest should have a clerk who was responsible for bringing boys into education, and this was certainly prevalent in the Suffolk of the late 14 th to early 16 th century when records show that elementary school for the formal education of boys existed in many towns and villages. Education was always linked to religion. Boys from wealthy and well-to-do backgrounds often had to pay a fee to the local employer/landowner before being sent to schools, the aim being to groom them for future priesthood. Books and documents still in existence show that the teaching, usually done by the local priests, was in both English and Latin and much was achieved ‘by rote’ chanting. Content included early alphabets and basic prayers, although in the grammar schools, which boys transferred to from the age of 12, more advanced primers were introduced containing collects, prayers, psalms, classical texts and lists of the seven sacraments and deadly sins. For these boarding schools, boys took with them an enormous pile of ‘necessaries’(clothes, shoes etc.); they sat on graded ‘forms’; texts were almost exclusively in Latin; discipline was strict and hours were long. However, the boys did enjoy their food and hated Lent when diets were restricted! Kate concluded her talk by briefly mentioning the life of girls who were essential for the running of households, many, like Alice de Bryene from Acton, becoming more than proficient in management and control of large farming communities. A dismally, wet and miserable January evening did not deter 41 members and visitors from attending Adrian Tindall’s talk entitled ‘The Monastery Alone a City’ - 1000 Years of the Abbey of St. Edmunds. Early research shows that Bury St. Edmunds was a significant town even in Saxon times, known then as Bedricesworth and by 630 AD Christianity and religious sites were prevalent. The martyrdom of King Edmund in 869/70 AD, set on record by Abbo de Fleury 100 years later, led to a great monastery being established by King Canute c.1020AD built around, and containing , the shrine of the murdered king. This was one of the greatest and wealthiest Benedictine monasteries in all of NW Europe, its wealth and power ever increasing until the Dissolution in 1539. Plans and archaeological digs show where the original buildings would have stood, the majority of them now in ruins showing only the flint-like inner structural core as the outer limestone facing stones have long been taken. Huge buildings such as the Norman Tower, St. James church (now the cathedral) and St. Mary’s church survived as they were all on the Abbey fringe, thus to be shared by the townsfolk. The present Abbey gate is a later addition, as the original one was destroyed by the local inhabitants in 1327- 46. (Angry relationships between town and Abbey were never cordial; the abbots were hated for their wealth and tight rein of town control). Today we can find evidence of the huge Abbey church, its nave, chapter house (with graves of six abbots!), chapels and crypt; some recent reconstructive pictures show how magnificent it would have been. The Great Court which housed stables, bake and brew houses and workshops is now the Abbey gardens, and many will recognise the Abbot’s bridge, still standing. Adrian’s most interesting talk certainly reminded us of what a fascinating place the St Edmundsbury Abbey was, and still is today. At February’s meeting speaker Andrew Mowbray took us on a ‘Virtually Colchester’ tour explaining, via maps and pictures, much of the history of this ‘oldest recorded town and newest city’ (2022). Evidence shows that the Celtic tribe Trinovantes had a settlement dating back to AD10, ruled by chieftains, situated in the Gosbecks area and known as Camulodunon. In AD41 Emperor Claudius’ invasion resulted in a large Roman settlement being built on the hill where the city now stands. The Iceni tribe’s rebellion, led by Bouddicca in 60AD, destroyed the town, but it was rebuilt by the victorious Romans with even greater splendour. It boasted a theatre, an amphitheatre, a temple, gates and roadways, ( a chariot circus was also situated a fair way off!) all surrounded by a sturdy wall, much of which is still standing. Come 450AD the Romans had abandoned Colchester to neglection. The 11 th . century saw the arrival of the Normans who adapted and improved much of what remained. Trinity Church tower maintains Roman brickwork, whilst St. Helena Chapel was Norman built. However, the ‘jewel in the crown’ is Colchester Castle built by the Normans, but standing over the original Roman temple which was erected in AD 54 by Nero to honour the murdered Emperor Claudius whose God-like status inspired worshippers. Andrew concluded his talk by visiting the 17 th century describing the Dutch Quarter formally inhabited by Flemish weavers, and the horrors of the 11 week siege during the Civil War. Finally we heard of the chequered history surrounding the building of the ‘Jumbo’ Water Tower on the very top of the hill. Colchester – a place really drenched in history!

A child's eye view of living at Glemsford Station during the 1940s by Celia Hall Station You are here: Home : Buildings and Streets: Glemsford Station History moves on. Those of us of a certain age have to come to terms with the fact that events of our life time, that still seem like "News" or "the way things are", are already History for the younger generations. When Celia Hall offered to contribute more of her work about life on Glemsford's station during the 1940s, we were delighted to accept. A Child's Eye View by Celia Hall An Arrival I was five years old when I arrived at the station with my parents, Charles and Mary Turner, and my brother Peter, who was 15. It was an icy February day and we found that the inside of the station house was colder than outside. It took days for the one kitchen range to warm the house enough for us to take off our outdoor coats. This coldness was probably partly caused by a crack down one wall in my brother’s bedroom through which we could see daylight. Later we were told this was the result of a bomb being dropped behind the house. It was not a good start. The Signalwoman However, things began to improve for me once I could begin to explore the station and surroundings. My first surprise was to find that we had a signalwoman rather than a man. The staff at our previous station, Worstead, in Norfolk, were all male, so I was pleased to see a young woman here. She had taken the place of a man who had been called up into the army. Her name was Lily Farrance and she was a war widow, which I found terribly sad. We took to each other immediately and I spent a lot of time with her in the signal box over the next two years. Then the war ended and she had to leave to allow a man to take the job. The signal box was fascinating – bells rang, levers were pulled and I could look down on the passengers waiting on the platform and watch the tiny branch trains pull in and stop just outside. The drivers and firemen soon got to know me and Lily would hand me the tablet (giving right of way to the train on the single track) to hand to the firemen. She told me to say ‘Right o’way to Clare’ as I did so, though I had no idea what it meant and just repeated it parrot-fashion. This always caused amusement for some reason. On winter evenings, Lily cooked cheese on toast for my tea on the black stove at the end of the signal box and I enjoyed eating it at the table overlooking the platform where I could watch what was going on. The Stationmaster's Office My father’s office was not such a friendly place. If a train were late there was much bell-ringing and urgent telephone calls on a large black wind-up telephone and messages tapped out in morse code. I kept in a corner while this was happening. My father took great pride in all ‘his’ trains being punctual, constantly taking his gold watch out of his waistcoat pocket to check the incoming train times and ensure that the outgoing trains left to the second. He was formidable if anything went wrong. His clerk must have found him difficult to work for Gangers and Shunters There were, of course, other staff on the station. A group of gangers ‘lived’ beside the track in a hut made from sleepers, with a thin chimney poking out of the roof to take the smoke from their stove inside. Their job was to inspect the rails and track for faults and remedy them. They had a long distance of track to look after and to travel to the farthest points they used an ingenious type of trolley. This consisted of a wooden platform on wheels. Poles could be attached to two of the wheels and by moving these poles up and down all the wheels could be made to move. The faster they worked the poles, the faster the trolley would move. I longed to travel with them, but it was considered too dangerous. I could only watch them working close to the station. They moved along the track tapping the rails to determine by the sounds given whether anything was wrong. The shunters, who arranged the goods trucks into the required formation for a particular train, were highly skilled in the way they went about doing this. They would alter the points to enable trucks to be moved from one track to another, then the shunting engine would ‘nudge’ a truck down the track towards a second one. A shunter would stand by this truck and calculate the exact moment to lift its coupling chain and drop it over the hook on the first truck. They continued until the whole arrangement was complete. I’d watch this for hours. Mixed Freight All kinds of goods travelled to and from the station – grain, sugar beet, coal and livestock. On one occasion a pony arrived and the farmer who had come to collect it put me on its back and sent it off down the lane and over the bridge with me clutching its mane and trying not to fall off. I’d always loved horses but it was the first and last time I rode one without a saddle and bridle. Porters and Carman The porters, who had a tiny room on the platform, were kept busy all day. They opened and closed the crossing gates, carried passengers’ luggage to and from the trains and kept the coal fires going in the ticket office and waiting room. It was their job to paint the edge of the platform with the right-angle shaped brush and maintain the station’s gardens. This was deemed very important because all the stations on the line competed each year for the ‘Best-kept station’ prize. The last member of staff was the carman who drove the station lorry carrying goods to and from the station. I regularly had lifts to the village with him. Travel by Train Trips on the train were always fun in the single carriages with their leather straps to open and close the windows, landscape pictures on the walls above the seats and a mirror in which passengers would check their appearances before leaving the train. Less comfortable, but exciting, were the times I was taken onto the footplate of the goods engines working in the goods yard. The cold of the wind coming in contrasted with the intense heat from the firebox as the fireman stoked it up. I bounced around clinging to anything I could find to stop myself falling out. (No health and safety rules then.) The Community I knew a great many people because of living at the station. Besides the staff I became friendly with all the passengers and each year my father arranged for me to sell flags for the railway benevolent fund because he knew that no one would refuse to buy a flag from me! In the village I was known as the ‘stationmaster’s daughter’, which meant that I had to behave myself because my father would have been informed quickly had I not done so…. Further accounts from Celia The Yard and Orchard My perfect playground Keeping Clean Keeping amused Not as expected Heating, lighting and water Less happy times War, storms and floods by Celia Hall by Celia Hall by Celia Hall by Celia Hall

How to contact Glemsford Local History Society Contact You are here: Home: Contact I want to subscribe for upcoming events information. Your details were sent successfully! Send Or contact: Margaret King GLHS Secretary Tel (+44) 01787 280996 marjonking@gmail.com

Pearman family of Glemsford Butcher Family You are here: Home: People & Memories: Families: Pearmans By Jean Curtis Having always believed that my family on both sides of my Tree came from London, when I finally took up the challenge of finding out about them, it came as a great surprise to find that my maternal grandfather’s family (the Tindley family) originated from Sudbury, and my maternal grandmother’s family (the Butcher family) from Glemsford! The common thread running through both families is the Weaving and Silk industries, with grandfather and grandmother meeting in Sudbury and then moving to London, where my mother was born. Great great grandfather was Samuel, who ran a grocer’s shop, the address shown as White Ash. There is also a Samuel Butcher who is shown as a pork butcher and grocer in Egremont Road, although I cannot prove it is the same Samuel however. Alfred Butcher was my great grandfather: he was a silk weaver and he married a Rebecca Debenham. After his death in 1877, Rebecca married a Joseph Welham. My grandmother, Annie Elizabeth Butcher, was born in 1873, on the 1881 census living at Woodfield Alley. Her siblings were Albert, Alice, Ellen and Alfred. Are there any descendants of these Butchers still living in Glemsford who might remember the family? If so, I would love to hear from you. Notes We have started a little bit of research for this lady, but if anyone feel they can shed some light please send an email to Jean . Some of you may remember ‘Woodfield Alley’ from an earlier newsletter, it was a passageway that ran between ‘Patches’ and ‘Ash House’, Tye Green, and changed names three times over the 1871, 81 census returns and again in the 20th Century. Egremont ‘Road’ I suspect should be ‘Street’ but what about ‘White Ash’? Send email

Old photographs and postcards of Glemsford, Suffolk. Old Postcards You are here: Home : Glemsford Village : Old Postcards The Station The Old Post Office The Church of St Mary Bells Lane Duffs Hill The Silk Mill Hunts Hill Bridge nr, Cranmore Scotchford Bridge The Station The Station We start this page with a picture of Glemsford station. Today, the actual station is still extant, much modified. One of the large concrete level crossing posts still exists, and various other buildings as well. This view is now obscured by trees. The station closed in March 1967. Old Post Office The Old Post Office Robert Steed was contacted for permission to use this photo. This is what he replied: "My great great grandfather, Leonard Bradnam, and his son, George William Bradnam, ran the Post Office there for many years. I still have the bureau they are said to have used there". Church of St Mary The Church of St Mary This view of the Church of St Mary the Virgin contrasts well with the modern view on the right.The water in the foreground is quite clearly, an old "waver", or pond, that used to be outside Park Farm - for the use, no doubt of horses which had struggled up from the valley. It no longer exists. Bells Lane Bells Lane This view is of Bells Lane, taken from the corner of Park Lane, very close to the church. All the buildings seen in the picture still exist. The building on the left was owned by Mr Cook of Melford Riot fame. The background has changed a great deal, although the Horsehair factory buildings still exist. Duffs Hill Duffs Hill This tinted view of the village from Duffs Hill and Crown Field is fascinating. The Crown pub is to the left of centre, middle distance. Straight ahead from the camera is now the small collection of houses known as Spring Meadow. On the left, out of picture, is still Duffs Hill Farm, while the cottages on the left are at the end of Chequers Lane. Silk Mill Silk Mill A wonderful view of Glemsford Silk Mill, with the huge pond apparent. Silk weaving has happened in Glemsford since the 1820s. Hunts Hill Hunts Hill Hunts Hill has changed a lot, but much is recognisable. The Draper's shop on the right is now an estate agent. The building on the left is now the Briars Nursing Home. Just beyond it is the site of the Social Club. More of this site is described in A Walk Through Glemsford. Bridge nr Cranmore Bridge nr. Cranmore This bridge is on the outskirts of the village, near Cranmore Green, where there was a mill wheel. It would be quite difficult to reproduce this scene today. Scotchford Bridge Scotchford Bridge An additional picture has come to light, of Scotchford Bridge, where Glemsford gives way to Stansted. Quite who the gentleman on the bike is, we don't know. (Many thanks to Patrick Hemphill for providing this picture.) Scotchford Bridge Fred Hartley 's father lived and worked in Glemsford before and after World War 1, his father and grandfather before him. It is interesting to note which views of the village the publishers chose to include in this familiar style of format. The Church and the Schools are, perhaps obvious. The bottom left is looking up Egremont Street towards the "Cock" and the "Angel". The bottom right is looking down Egremont Street, past Flax Lane, to the "Angel". And this bridge forms the centrepiece. Is it the old Scotchford Bridge, or near the mill by the station?