Next Meeting. 26 November 2015, 'The 1980s - A Decade of Disasters on Land, Sea and Air'

The final meeting of the High Country History Group for the year will be on Thursday 26 November, 8pm, Toot Hill Village Hall.  Our speaker will be one of our members, Patrick Griggs.  "In the late 1980's the UK experienced spate of air crashes, train derailments, fires on the Underground and also ship collisions which lead to much loss of life but also gave rise to many changes to safety regulations. As a specialist in marine and aviation law Patrick was involved in the legal aspects of many of these case and will give us a glimpse of what happened behind the scenes after these cases ceased to be headline news."

We will also have a huge history bookstall so that you can stock up on Christmas reading.

The evening will round off with wine and mince pies.  All welcome. Visitors £3, Members £2.

Journal No. 57 (September 2015)

There is certainly a variety of interesting items in the latest edition of The Journal, sent to members of the High Country History Group recently. These include:
- John Carey map of North Weald, c.1790
- Leverton Charities, Waltham Abbey
- Ongar and District Cottage Hospital, 1928-1939
- A Guide to St Martin's Church, Ongar
- More about the Petres of Stanford Rivers
- First World War Trunk returns to North Weald Station
- Private Victor Albert Burton
- Never Mind The Dovecotes
- Epping Workhouse and the case of Mary Ann Reid
- From the Greensted Registers
- WWII: If the Invader Comes
- Mother and Son: Elizabeth Blount and Henry Fitzroy, born Blackmore
- From the Papers

'Anglo Saxon Life' of theme of next talk - 22 October 2015

Just a quick note to remind you that our autumn season begins next Thursday, 22 October, with a talk by Peter Jennings on ‘Anglo Saxon Life’.  Members £1, Visitors £3 including tea / coffee as usual.

We will also have a book sale. 

Essex Industrial Heritage Fair. Braintree Museum. Saturday 10 October 2015

ESAH160: Essex Industrial Heritage Fair. Braintree Museum. ...: Final details of this special event are now available.  This promises to be an interesting day. Follow this link

Heritage Open Days in Chelmsford area: 10-13 September 2015

Historical and heritage events in and around the Chelmsford area this September.

Journal No. 56 (June 2015)

The quarterly Journal of the High Country History Group was issued recently to members. Contents this time:

- Ongar's First War Memorial

- Stanford Rivers Vestry Minutes - 2nd October 1817

- Christmas in the Trenches

- Royal Visit to Greensted Church

- Rector in Court Scene

- Theydon Mount Constable

- Insolvent Debtor

- The Petre's of Stanford Rivers

- Leverton Charities, Waltham Abbey. A manuscript volume in private hands

- Theydon Mount Wills: Family Connections using Wills preserved during the reign of James I (1603-1625)

- The 1831 Census for Stapleford Tawney

- Vestry Order Book for Stapleford Tawney (commenced 1824)

'The History of the Hoffmann Company, Chelmsford: 1898-1989' - 23 July 2015

The High Country History Group will be welcoming as our speaker Stephen Norris, author of the definitive history of Chelmsford from 1888 to 2012. The subject will be about one of the world's leading ball bearing manufacturers that shaped the town during the twentieth century: Hoffmans. 

Everyone welcome at Toot Hill Village Hall, Toot Hill Road, Ongar. CM5 9LR.  Thursday 23 July. 8pm. Members: £1, Visitors, £3.

'Canons, Cloisters and Castles' - 25 June 2015

The High Country History Group meet on Thursday 25 June at 8.00pm at Toot Hill Village Hall.

The guest speaker is Tony O'Connor from the Epping Forest Museum. His local history talk is called ‘Canons, Cloisters and Castles’

 

Details of his talk:

 

The Epping Forest District includes a wealth of monuments from the medieval period, from our market towns, through historic parish churches and the castle at Ongar, to the great abbey of Waltham Holy Cross. This talk explores this rich legacy and the story of the people who created it.

Everyone welcome. Members: £1. Non members: £3.  Including refreshments

Next Meeting, 28 May 2015

We are in an unusual situation where the last Monday in May – Bank Holiday Monday – is before the fourth Thursday in May.  Our meeting will be on Thursday 28 May, 8pm, Toot Hill Village Hall, when Nick Dobson, who gave a talk ‘Christmas in The Trenches’ last year, makes a welcome return.  His topic this time will be ‘An Underground Guide to Literary London’. 

We also have some books for sale this time for you to peruse over tea and biscuits.

Journal No. 55 (March 2015)

The High Country History Group (established 1999) produces a quarterly Journal for its members.  The latest edition contains the following items:

- Law and Order

- Benefactors to the Poor of Stapleford Tawney

- Fire at the Blue Boar, Abridge

- Theydon Mount Wills during the reign of King James I (1603 - 1625)

- Essex Quarter Sessions Order Book (1652 - 1661)

- What the Papers Say (1945 - 1955)

- Memories of Theydon Mount

- Tragedy at Theydon Bois 1940

- The Essex Great War Archive Project

- Notable Anniversaries in 2015

ESAH160: Essex Record Office Wills Online

ESAH160: Essex Record Office Wills Online: The Essex Record Office has announced that ‘Essex Ancestors’ their online subscription service which allows users to view digital images o...

Friends of Essex Churches Trust: Spring Study Day. Wednesday 6 May 2015.

ESAH160: Friends of Essex Churches Trust: Spring Study Day,...: FRIENDS OF ESSEX CHURCHES TRUST SPRING STUDY DAY Wednesday 6th May 2015 Our Spring Study Day will be led by Dr Christopher Starr. The day includes a visit to Stapleford Tawney and Stanford Rivers churches.

ESAH160: The Society's Archives: Parish Registers

ESAH160: The Society's Archives: Parish Registers: Online historical research is an almost expected feature of our digital age.  In recent years the Essex Record Office, in its role as Di...

High Country History Group Annual General Meeting, Thursday 26 March 2015

THE HIGH COUNTRY HISTORY GROUP

GREENSTED, STANFORD RIVERS, STAPLEFORD TAWNEY & THEYDON MOUNT

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

to be held Thursday 26 March 2015, 8pm,

at Toot Hill Village Hall

As a member of the Group, you are invited to the 15^th AGM, followed by films introduced by David Welford.  As usual the formal business of the meeting will be conducted speedily. The evening will conclude with cheese and wine.  Members: £2.  Guests welcome: £3.  Please bring these papers with you.

Agenda

1. Welcome and apologies for absence
2. Minutes of previous AGM – will be read
3. Matters arising
4. Reports
1. Chairman’s report
2. Secretary’s report
3. Treasurer’s report: Separate attachment. It is recommended that the membership fee increases to £10 (2014: £7) individual, £15 (2014: £10) for family membership. (Please complete the enclosed form.)  This will be the first increase since 2012 and will fund our increased number of meetings and offset increased postage costs.
5. Presentation of the draft accounts (enclosed)
6. To elect the Committee:  nominations for all posts on the committee are invited.
7. Any Other Business.  This should be communicated to the Secretary before the meeting.
8. Date of next Annual General Meeting: 31 March 2016.

'The Wonderful World of Disney: Collecting Classical Antiquity': a Lecture at Ingatestone, 20 March 2015

The Essex Society for Archaeology & History

Presents

The Morant Lecture 2015

The subject of this year’s lecture is

The Wonderful World of Disney

John Disney (1779-1857) was a Barrister and Archaeologist and son of Rector John Disney. John Disney inherited his father’s antiquities, upon his death and continued to add to the collection. In 1850 Disney donated most of the sculptures to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. John Disney established the Chair of Archaeology.  The Disney family lived at the Hyde in Ingatestone and their monument is in Fryerning churchyard.

Presented by

Professor David Gill

Professor David Gill is a Professor of Archaeological Heritage and Director of Heritage Futures at the University Campus Suffolk.

On Friday 20th March 2015 at 7.30 pm

Venue: St Edmund & St Mary’s Church, Ingatestone

Members £5.00 in advance, Non-members and on the door £6.00. Booking required For refreshments PLEASE contact                 Dr Graham Gould on 02085561423, email drgegould@aol.com

Roman Essex

Part of Roman Mosaic from North Hill, Colchester,
at the Castle Museum in the town

'Roman Essex' is the theme of our next talk to be given by our Chairman Martyn Lockwood.  We meet on Thursday 26 February at 8.00pm at Toot Hill Village Hall. Members can also pick up their copy of the next edition of The Journal. Everyone welcome: £1 at the door (non members: £3).

British Newspapers Online

10 million pages now searchable at The British Newspaper Archive

The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) hit a major digitisation milestone this month: it’s added its 10 millionth historic newspaper page.

The website launched with 4 million pages in November 2011, so you’ll now find 150% more to explore. If you’ve not used the collection for a while, it’s definitely time to come back and take another look.

Much more to search and a great-value subscription

It’s not just The British Newspaper Archive’s coverage that has improved in the last few years. Back in 2011, a 30 day package was £29.95. Today, a 1 month subscription is just £9.95.

A subscription will give you access to the whole collection of historic newspapers and you can keep the pages you view forever by saving them to your computer or printing them out.

View the full list of subscription options at www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/payments

Thousands of pages are digitised every week and some fantastic content has been added in the last few months. Here are just some of the highlights:

1)      The Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror

Copies of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror from 1914-1918 are now available to search online. These national newspapers provide fascinating daily news, photographs and illustrations from World War One.

2)      58 new Irish newspapers

The collection of newspapers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has grown substantially in the last few months. At launch, seven newspaper titles were available, but you can now search a total of 65.

3)      Newspapers from World War Two

More than 350,000 pages from 1939-1945 are currently available to search at The British Newspaper Archive. 60 newspaper titles are already online, including the Aberdeen Weekly Journal, Lancashire Evening Post and Kent & Sussex Courier.

You’ll find more information at http://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2015/02/11/10-million-newspaper-pages-are-now-fully-searchable/

ENDS

Palaeography Lecture

ESAH160: Next Event: Palaeography Lecture: The Essex Society for Archaeology and History's next event will be on Saturday 7 February at Chelmsford Museum. Click for details ...