Glemsford Local History Society promotes the history of the village and is dedicated to the study and distribution of the details of Glemsfords' Past. About Us You are here: Home : About Us Glemsford Local History Society promotes the history of the village and keeps a resource of all the information gathered. Over the years, this site has been added to by the efforts of many individuals, all contributing to a growing picture of the history of this fascinating village. Our Background The Society has been active for many years now, and is dedicated to the study and distribution of the details of Glemsford's past. A lot of the information on this website was carried out by Steve Clarke, who has given permission for its continued use. We are greatly indebted to him for his much appreciated input. Without it, this site would not exist. Our Aims We aim to encourage the better understanding of the past and present through such activities as lectures, activities, visits and research. We meet every second Thursday of the month in Glemsford Primary School at 7.30pm. We welcome your continued support and that of others. Contribute Has your family lived here for generations? Maybe you have inherited some old photographs. The Society always welcomes new members or stories of the past. If you think you have any interesting anecdotes or facts about Glemsford, why not get in touch . We would love to hear from you.

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

King Charles III Coronation 2023 A selection of photographs from the Coronation Exhibition at St. Mary’s Church, Glemsford. Celebration with neighbours and friends at Melton House, Hunts Hill, on the afternoon of Sunday 7th May, 2023. Pauline & Patrick Currie(hosts), Pat & George Flinn, Dawn & Bob Crick, Margaret & John King, Janet & Clive Austen, Gillian & Steve Paterson.

The Glemsford War Memorial The War Memorial You are here: Home: People & Memories: The War Memorial This page correlates the names of the men on Glemsford's War Memorial with the real people listed in the Census documents of 1901. Inevitably, there are some people who remain invisible, and a few who have disappeared. As before it is based on Martin Edwards' immense work on the War Memorial names which has made it possible to peer through the mist and catch a glimpse of the men who gave everything. It is intended as a matter of pride, and as a compliment, that Glemsford should be called “an ordinary village inhabited by ordinary people". There will still be some inconsistencies and a few confusions - some names are quite common. George Bradenham Henry Charles Brewster Walter Brewster George Brown Ernest Brown George Clarke Chatters W William George Clarke Eaton Cross William Debenham Cyril Game Dennis Golding Lambert Goody Albert Hartley Eliazer Hartley George Honeywood Walter Jarmin Lambert Jarmyn Edwin Keefe Harry Lorkings Harry Mizon Frederick Oakley Ben Oakley Edwin Piper Wallace Playle Samuel George Smith Ambrose Suttle Albert Twinn Arthur C and Wallace W Twinn The rest of this page comprises men whose details have emerged from the 1911 Census but for whom there are no details in 1901. ALBRIGHT, Frederick Arthur BROWN, Arthur BYFORD, John JOSSLYN, William W J SLATER, William SPARHAM, William The rest are men whose names, for one reason or another, do not appear on the War Memorial, but who were born or resident in Glemsford. ARBON, Alfred I CLARKE, Arthur COPSEY, Christopher Simon CUTMORE, William FILBY, George William GAME, Jasper GARWOOD, Robert HARDY, Charles MIZON, Walter OAKDEN, William PLUMB, William REYNOLDS, Fred SMITH Victor Albert TERRY, Archie Louis THOMPSON, John THOMPSON Tom TWINN, Reginald Charles Download War Memorial

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 Glemsford Schools Schools You are here: Home : Buildings and Streets : Schools For well over 100 years, children in Glemsford have been making their way to the village school. Despite many alterations, inside and out, the building is easy to recognise as the three schools which were built as a result of the Education Act of 1870: Infants, Boys and Girls. The story of education which has developed on Lion Road since the 1870s allows many insights into life in the village, for the school has been a focal point for generations of villagers. Articles about Glemsford School Some personal accounts, documents and facts about the Schools in Glemsford, originally compiled and wrtitten by Steve Clarke. Blazes blowing a yard Heating the School Illnesses In the 1890s Logbook Voices from the past The Infants' School Tough conditions The Schoolmistress Undervalued teachers Staffing the School During the 1800s Treats and Holidays Days off School and Health 19th century Visitors and other interruptions Eleanor Bowrey In search of a schoolmistress Back to top

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!

Explore information about Glemsford's buildings and streets, it's past shops, schools, the train station and the local pubs and industry. Buildings and Streets You are here: Home : Buildings and Streets Shops Schools Station Streets Church and Chapels Industry Pubs Houses Facilities

A Young Man's War You are here: Home: People & Memories: Auxilary Fire Service Volunteer Roy is a cabinet maker and master story teller. Some of his stories are a mite taller than his cabinets, but he is a fund of anecdotes. He is also a scribe of no little skill and a lot of humour. He has contributed verses of his own to the Poems and Pints evenings at The Angel. The document below was first written down in 1994, as an effort at recording the exploits of the Glemsford Auxiliary Fire Service during the Second World War. It is all Roy's own work; it has been transcribed and adapted for this medium. A Young Man's War by Roy Porter

Events - Season 2023-24 A chilly January evening saw an amazing audience of nearly 80 members and visitors turn out to thoroughly enjoy a scholarly, erudite and entertaining talk on ‘The Black Death in Suffolk 1348 – 1500’ given by speaker, Mark Bailey. The Black Death was the greatest catastrophe in recorded history, a terror which struck communities worldwide. Believed to have originated from ground boring mammals such as marmots, the disease mutated to the human race becoming airborne and spreading rapidly. Shown firstly(1346) in European shipping routes, by 1349 it had moved to Suffolk along the main arterial routeways. Records show that 46% of parish priests died and were replaced, whilst in dense areas of poverty struck populations with poor nutrition, the disease reigned supreme! Coupled with a time of dramatic climate change (1351 was extremely cold), the vulnerable and frightened population had only one choice and that was to turn to God. Believing He had brought this horror upon them as a punishment, their faith strengthened, and to appease Him, avoid purgatory and protect their souls they turned to the church. The period from 1350-1530 in Suffolk saw money spent on the building and enlarging of many fantastic, large perpendicular churches, Long Melford and Lavenham, to name just two. This was made possible also by Suffolk’s prowess in the sheep and wool trade, and later with ‘ cheap and trendy’ textile production, which generated the enormous wealth needed. Mark concluded his talk by itemising the significant changes wrought by the Black Death many of which led to a much better life for the smaller communities of survivors. In fact, during the later period, records show that Suffolk, along with London and its proximity to the continent , became the most dynamic and flexible economy in the UK. An excellent much appreciated talk!

Facilities Telephones and Exchanges Glemsford first had a manual telephone exchange which opened in late 1907 or 1908. Pictures below show the first ATE and the telephone box located at Fair Green. The tired looking but much loved telephone kiosk at Fair Green had a thorough makeover during the summer of 2024 complete with new windows, signage and paintwork. Volunteers from Glemsford Local History Society undertook the work with a grant from Babergh District Council, courtesy of Cllr Stephen Plumb. The kiosk has been owned by the Parish Council since 2011. In keeping with a village heritage asset, vintage photographs will be displayed in the kiosk capturing the immediate street scene of days gone by. Below; The K6 Telephone Box - https://www.the-telephone-box.co.uk/kiosks/k6/ Photograph as recorded by the K6 project on March 25th 2023. Photograph by kind permission of Paul Bottomley. Link to K6 Project Two photographs from an earlier refurbishment completed in 2012. Interesting to see The Little Cottage at 13 Fair Green in the background, that has been considerably remodelled in recent years! The kiosk after refurbishment by history society members as at October 2024 The first Automatic Telephone Exchange (ATE) in Glemsford was located in Egremont Street. The exchange came into service in about 1930 replacing a manual exchange opened in late 1907 or 1908. It ceased operation in February 1974 when lines were taken over by the current exchange. It is now privately owned. Glemsford Telephone Exchange is located in Angel Lane and serves Glemsford and the surrounding area. It came into service in February 1974, taking over lines from the former exchange. Back to top

Public Houses in Glemsford and their history Pubs You are here: Home : Buildings and Streets: Pubs This house in Egremont Street is an excellent example of a "Yeoman's House", it was built about the year 1420. It was restored earlier this century and has a wealth of old woodwork. It has an original window of the type made before glass was used which is complete with slots and shutters. For many years it was the Greyhound Inn and the old brew house at the rear still has an old wooden mechanism for the control of ventilation during the brewing process. It lost its licence in 1907 and a fine story is told of the final night at the Greyhound. Apparently a coffin complete had been obtained, and after closing time a procession carried it, and presumably the spirit of the old Inn, to the churchyard. The quantity of free beer consumed on this occasion is still the subject of comment in the village. The Black Lion, opposite the School. The Crown Inn: one of several fine hostelries in the village, it was closed in 2009 by a brewery company, but re-opened by enterprising new owners in 2011.