Welcome to the first Parish News issue of this year – and we’d like to use the opportunity to wish all our readers, advertisers and supporters a happy, healthy, peaceful and successful 2025.
Just over a year ago Parish News was in a precarious financial position and on the brink of closure. Strenuous efforts by a small, dedicated team of volunteers secured backing from generous donors, new advertisers and event organisers that not only saved the magazine but, in a significant change, also allowed it to be published in colour for the first time.
The small additional printing costs were more than covered – moving to colour attracted new local advertisers keen for their businesses to be shown to best advantage – so please use our valued supporters’ services whenever possible and always mention Parish News when you do…
Information about the new Waste Management Consultation, which proposes having extra bins and a more involved collection schedule, is on Page 5; fond memories of Dorothy Cornell, whose long life spanned the transition from candle-light and using a pony and trap to the internet age, are on Page 7; and a call to an important meeting about the future of Little Maplestead’s Round Church is on Page 11. In future issues we will be featuring the work of Toby Moakes, a young photographer from Gestingthorpe, who documents the natural world with considerable flair.
Finally, please keep in mind that Parish News is a vital community amenity, which exists to inform, entertain and be mutually beneficial for all those living and working in the four Parishes. Alongside local advertising, your contributions – for example, news from your villages and village halls, notification of upcoming events, Parish Council reports, gardening and nature notes, past memories and so on – are all essential ingredients of this eclectic mix.
So please, send your contributions in!
An Improved Way to Report Highways Defects
Essex Highways has updated its road defects reporting system, giving residents and road users more options to report issues directly through its 'Tell us' webpage.
This webpage (https://www.essexhighways.org/) is designed to capture all the necessary defect details, including the types of emergencies and progression of particular issues. Additionally, the 'Track It' feature allows the status of any defect to be monitored.
These improvements are intended to streamline management of the 50,000 or so defect reports Essex Highways receives annually, ensuring faster responses with a transparent rectification process.
Cover Picture: Winter Sunrise by Ann Crisp
Letter from the Reverend Beverley Vincent
I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year and now we are already in February. I wonder how many of you made New Year resolutions and how many have managed to stick to them! The good thing is that any of those unattained resolutions or ambitions can be reinvigorated next month for Lent. If you didn’t make any, maybe you would like to do a ‘spiritual health check’ instead. Our spirituality is interwoven with our general well-being.
Well-being is a hot topic these days; so many of us struggle with anxiety, depression or fatigue and we are encouraged to find ways to prioritise our own physical and mental health. Our spiritual health is also part of that and what makes us human, yet we rarely think about our spirituality. So how do we monitor our spiritual health?
As a Christian I take my spiritual health seriously; I make sure that I take things that concern me to God either in spoken prayer or in silence. I let go of my worries, trusting that my prayers have been heard and then listen for how I might respond. This might be in terms of continuing prayer, meditation, laying things down or picking things up.
I also make sure I’m attentive to my surroundings. We are so fortunate to live in a place that offers us the opportunity to see creation at its most beautiful. Above all I always try to develop an attitude of gratitude. These are simple daily routines that help me to sustain and monitor my spiritual health and keep me walking closely with God.
The beginning of a New Year is a good time for a ‘spiritual health check’ and to consider the closeness of our relationship with God. Just as we keep a check on our physical and mental health, should we not be alert to the warning signs that our spiritual health is in decline? All three of these elements are interconnected and if one area is struggling it impacts on our whole being.
If you would like to explore this more there is a helpful ‘Annual Spiritual Check Up’ resource provided by the C S Lewis Institute, to be found at: https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/annual-spiritual-checkup/
If you unable to access the internet speak to me or someone you trust who can help.
May you find peace and wholeness as you navigate this New Year and all that it holds.
Waste and Recycling Consultation
Braintree District Council is proposing to make changes to its household waste and recycling collection service in order to:
Improve the quality of the recyclable materials collected
Reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfill
Meet new recycling targets and support climate change ambitions
Comply with new legislation and make recycling simpler
Improve the financial sustainability of the waste service
These changes will also mean residents having to find space for more bins and coping with a more involved 8-week collection sequence:
Before deciding on whether to introduce the proposed changes, the Council is carrying out a Public Consultation so that local residents and other key stakeholders can have their say and help shape the future of the service.
The consultation opened at 10.00am on Monday 6th January 2025 and will close at midnight on Sunday 2nd March 2025.
Residents can participate in the consultation by completing an on-line questionnaire that can be found at https://engage.braintree.gov.uk/enGB/projects/waste-services-review
The survey should be completed on-line wherever possible. However, anyone needing assistance to access the survey can contact the Customer Services Centre (csc@braintree.gov.uk or call 01376 552 525) who will help ensure everyone has an opportunity to provide feedback on the proposals.
Note: the deadline for submitting completed questionnaires is midnight on Sunday 2nd March 2025. Any received after this time will not be considered.
A decision on whether or not to proceed with the outlined proposals will only be made once all the consultation responses have been fully considered by the Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday 27th May 2025. Until then the existing waste collection and recycling arrangements will remain in place.
Things to do in February
In Memory of Dorothy Cornell
Dorothy Cornell, who died in November at the age of ninety-nine, had memories of Gestingthorpe that take us back to the 1920s.
Spending her early years at Rectory Farm, the family then moved to the Barracks (Hill Farm Cottages). Here she recalled playing in the harvest fields, picking Water Cress for her mother and being conveyed across the ford, when flooded, in a pony and trap – so she could walk to school.
She remembered Miss Oates hosting games for the school children on the lawns of the Hall and also giving cooking apples to their mothers in particularly cold weather.
One Saturday evening, when Dorothy was about ten, she joined her father in a bike ride to Sudbury. Returning, he stopped at the Cock and Blackbirds in Bulmer, where the landlady invited Dorothy inside to play with her children. It was then that she met her future husband Jack and lifelong friend Evelyn.
In 1933, the family moved to one of the newly built Council Houses, in Sudbury Road, their water still being obtained from a pump.
Leaving school at fifteen, Dorothy initially worked for the Nott family at Crouch House. Every day she would push a pram to Wickham Hall – along the now busy Hedingham Road – to collect the family’s milk.
For a couple of years Dorothy worked as a nurse at the Isolation Hospital in Halstead, before becoming a milkmaid at Hill Farm. After milking the cows by hand, she took the milk around the village in a pony and trap. In snowy weather blacksmith Dick Nice would add ‘frost nails’ to the pony’s shoes.
Joining the Women's Land Army, Dorothy also drove tractors and helped in the fields, working for a while at Northeys Farm, North End.
On her twenty-first birthday, June 29th 1946, Dorothy married Bulmer threshing contractor Jack Cornell at Gestingthorpe Church.
The couple lived in Belchamp Otten and then Bulmer. In 1953 they moved to Mosses Farm in Cock Road, Little Maplestead –where Dorothy remained for some six decades. For many years Jack and Dorothy worked the fields of this traditional small farm together, whilst also keeping pigs, turkeys and chickens.
A true country woman, Dorothy will be remembered for her wonderful sense of humour, her practical good sense, her ability to find laughter in almost any situation – and for being able to raise people's spirits by her simple smiling presence.
Ashley Cooper
longer tribute to Dorothy
Improving Safety and Mental Health
In response to parishioner concerns about the safety and structural integrity of a footbridge on the public footpath opposite the church that goes towards Castle Hedingham, Great Maplestead Parish Council requested a replacement ‘footbridge kit’ from Essex Highways. It was delivered in early December and, thanks to the efforts of a crack Task Force team (plus a tractor!), the old bridge was removed and the new one assembled and installed on site before Christmas.
Work continues on installing the various elements of the Mindfulness Garden on the Village Playing Field. In addition to the shrubs already planted, a Willow Dome – a feature construction intended to eventually become a quiet sanctuary for residents –has now been installed, made from whips woven together to grow into something like the picture (right) in a few years’ time.
As a living structure, the Dome will grow and change and evolve over the seasons. We are sure that it will be a valuable addition to the playing field’s amenities for many years to come and are confident that the living willow will also work to absorb carbon dioxide and provide a natural habitat for wildlife. Some previously acquired benches and planters will be added to the Mindfulness Garden as soon as weather conditions allow.
Parishioners have reported that the flooding near the Poll Miles cross-roads coupled with a lack of gritting along that section of road made journeys using Maple Lodge Road hazardous during the recent cold spell.
The flooding issue has been reported to Essex Highways but, as you can see, it isn’t considered an urgent enough problem for any immediate remedial action.
To deal with the lack of gritting the Parish Council will be installing an additional salt bin near the junction of Maple Lodge and Gestingthorpe Roads to give users the means to cope with future icing problems.
Steve Harris – Parish Council Chairman
Please Support our Activities and Businesses
The Maplesteads Autumn Show presents:
Gardeners’ Question Time
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
Following the success of last year’s Gardeners’ Question Time, we would like to invite you to join us in Great Maplestead Village Hall on Thursday 27th March
when our Gardening Guru and his two knowledgeable colleagues will be giving advice on pruning and many other gardening tips and tricks.
More details in next month’s magazine
Little Maplestead Church
Christmas Celebrations
Christmas seems such a long time ago now but we had such a happy time, with joyful services.
Our Carol Service was in a countdown format this year. Before the service began the congregation had to vote for their three favourite carols. We managed to vote “Once in Royal David’s City” as our favourite, in line with all the national polls.
At the Crib Service, the Nativity figures were unwrapped by playing pass the parcel, which even the adults needed no encouragement to join in. Children really enjoyed carefully placing the figures in the Nativity scene and adults came and took lots of photographs after the service.
Our service on Christmas morning was a late one, unexpectedly swelled by a family group of 13 (thank you Judy!), which made it very special.
I must finish by mentioning that we were gifted a beautiful tree by Maplestead Hall Farm, which stood tall and magnificent throughout all the services. Thank you!
Important: Parish Meeting about the Church
Everyone who lives in Little Maplestead is invited to attend a Parish Meeting to discuss the future of Little Maplestead Parish Church.
Jane Piper
We have a fine example of a round church in our village, one of only four of these churches still to be in regular use today, and it would be tragic if over 900 years of regular worship was not able to continue. Our regular congregation is getting smaller, volunteers fewer and our financial income has shrunk whilst costs have increased.
To survive as a Parish Church, we need more parishioners willing to attend services, to contribute financially and to give of their time and skills. We have vacancies on the Church Council and roles such as Churchwarden and Treasurer that need filling and are essential to the running of the church.
Please come along and share your views in order that we can find the best way forward for the future of our beautiful Church. The meeting will be held at the Church on Wednesday 26th March at 7.00pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Jane Piper
St Giles’ Church
On behalf of St Giles’ Parochial Church Council and the community of Great Maplestead we would like to say a huge thank you to every individual who helped to dress the church and contribute to the life of the church over the Christmas season.
A big thank you to Maplestead Farm for the very kind donation of a magnificent tree and well done to our floristry team who provided the fantastic arrangements which met all Eco requirements.
The choir came together and sung with great enthusiasm at the carol concert and the advent services prepared us for the big event which took place on Christmas morning. We hope those who joined us pulled their crackers at their Christmas dinners with a new insight into the reason for this festive tradition.
Now as we move forward into the New Year we take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy 2025 during which the church will be open daily as usual and welcome your visit. St Giles’ is a beautiful place for peace and respite so if you have never been inside the door do pop in.
In January the Community Payback Team started working on supporting Churchyard maintenance and they did a wonderful job on edging the pathway. It is planned that they will continue to visit us and undertake supervised tasks to help the church team keep the churchyard looking cared for.
As much as we all care for the churchyard it is a huge undertaking for any individual to maintain so all offers of help are gratefully accepted. The results speak for themselves.
New for 2025 is a battery recycling box in the Tower Room, in which you are welcome to deposit used batteries at any time. We also now have the ability to take monetary donations electronically with our tap and donate box, which is very easy to use!!
Don't forget to spot the snowdrops as you walk through the churchyard this month!
God bless
Denise and Paula: Churchwardens
Gardening Corner
February heralds the first signs of spring; aconites, snowdrops and February Gold daffodils give us a hint of colour after the grey, damp days leading up to the Christmas period and into early January.
Although we are experiencing mild winters there are still cold snaps. A good mulch with compost will help improve and protect plants but to make the mulch [home-made compost] it is advisable to turn the mixture while in a bin/container at least twice, ensuring a thorough distribution of material; the finished result takes about a year to mature.
For my plant of the month, I would recommend Mahonia – a tough spiky shrub which, according to the variety, can achieve 3 to 4 meters in height with a circle of yellow flowers – Mahonia x media ‘Lionel Fortescue’ is an excellent example. However, I would suggest planting at the rear of the border and away from a gateway as the glossy leaves can be rather spiky.
Start thinking about seeds to grow in the vegetable plot. Once the ground warms up a little prepare the soil by raking off any debris and breaking down the clods of earth with a spade. Broad beans can be sown in a pot in the greenhouse or cold frame but keep an eye open for mice, especially if you grow sweet peas – these small rodents can do a lot of damage.
Seed potatoes are now in the shops. It is worth mentioning the planting terms: first early, second early and main crop. If you look at the packet label it should explain when to plant and which of your chosen potato varieties will be ready to harvest first and in what order.
Garden ponds can freeze over in icy weather. If you leave a large ball on the surface this will help keep the water in the pond from freezing over –with its slight movement the ball keeps the water a little more fluid and maintains the oxygen levels in the water.
If you bring the mower out of the shed on a sunny day, stand the machine [if its petrol] in the sun for a while, have a cup of tea/coffee and, on returning to your machine, it should start quite easily – it’s amazing what a little warmth can do!
Look out for any slippery areas on paths; if you can scrape off any moss so much the better. Alternatively, cover the surface with sharp sand and brush vigorously to remove algae and green slime.
Keep busy out there!
The Arborist
Nature Notes
After a long freezing spell of weather, it is nice to see a frost-free lawn once again. The hard weather does threaten the lives of small birds and garden feeders come into their own as life-saving sanctuaries. Liquid water is also in short supply and we put it out daily during these spells.
The feeders themselves are emptied much faster and require topping up usually every second day. I’ve noticed that our robins are also taking sunflower hearts just now, a sure sign that there is very little in the way of live food, their usual fare. The other change we are seeing is that, as gunfire echoes around the village, the pheasants soon realise where the safe spots are and our garden regularly has a dozen or more seeking refuge.
Out and about, I never encountered Fieldfares and Redwings in any numbers until this month, when a single mixed flock feeding in a field must have numbered over two hundred birds. The other birds I usually see overwintering – Siskins, Bramblings and Redpolls – have so far eluded me, although with Christmas and the hard weather my Patch Patrols have been less frequent. I was, however, thrilled to spot a pair of bullfinches down at Hulls Mill one day in December. They always come in pairs, the male strikingly beautiful with his pink underparts, the female a more subdued brown. Both birds sport white wing-bars and rumps which catch the eye as they flit about. While they are uncommon in our area, they nevertheless have an enormous distribution, ranging from Ireland in the west right across Europe and Asia to China and Japan in the east.
To realise the full change that winter brings it is necessary to leave the Patch and head for water bodies like Abberton Reservoir or the coast. The coast is where you will find good numbers of Brent geese and visiting sea ducks like Common Scoter. Abberton has been spectacular this year with two species of rare Grebe showing well from the causeways.
The Slavonian Grebe breeds on a few Scottish lochs and, in breeding plumage, is spectacular. In winter, however, it becomes just black and white but still commands your attention with a ruby-red eye. There have been two or three of these at Abberton along with up to nine of the similar, but smaller, Black-Necked Grebes. The BlackNecks are more widespread, with some breeding in Essex most years. Like the Slavonian, they are beautiful in breeding plumage but rather drab in winter. Both species are easier to encounter in winter for us here in Essex.
Patch Patroller
Gestingthorpe Church and Village Hall
Gestingthorpe Carol Service
On 11th December Gestingthorpe Church was packed once again for the candle-lit service of carols and readings. The tradition of carols and readings from the Bible started on Christmas Eve 1918 at King’s College Cambridge. Since then it has been widely adopted in Britain and abroad and like most enduring traditions it has changed in the details.
In the last few years Gestingthorpe has offered mulled wine and mince pies before the service and introduced candlelight. Handbells before the service now follow the tower bells and the Halstead Exaltation! Choir lead our singing to great effect. This year, they turned down an offer to sing at Colchester Castle because they preferred to stay with us, which is quite a compliment.
Choosing the carols might be thought easy but can be a bit of a minefield. Carols like In the bleak midwinter for instance are loved by some but put off others! So mostly the carols are familiar favourites like Once in Royal David’s City. But, although we always start with a reading from Isaiah and finish with St John’s In the Beginning was the Word, we do vary some of the readings every year. This year, for example, Henry Longfellow’s Three Kings Came Riding from Far Away was new (and splendidly read), as were four of the other readings. The choir always sing two carols that are not so well known: this time they chose Bright Mystical Starlight and Mary, did you know?
Finding the balance between tradition and novelty requires quite a lot of thought, which may not be as evident as the work of the flower arrangers (Lindsay, Gill, Mary and Alice in particular) and those providing sweet music by bell, organ or voice. It all combines to provide a happy, uplifting evening.
Gestingthorpe Village Hall Coffee Mornings and Book Exchange Fortnightly on Fridays from 10.00am to 12.00 noon
The Cake Queens’ pinnies have been washed and ironed in preparation for the start of a new year of cake baking. Please join your friends and neighbours in the Village Hall for tea, coffee, cake and a chat. Bring a book to swap with one from our library or buy a book for £1. Our bookcase is located next to the big window in the small hall.
The next Coffee Mornings and Book Exchange in 2025 will be on Friday 14th & 28th of February.
Please also see our ads opposite for details of the first Gestingthorpe Grill of the year in February and our annual Quiz in March.
All funds raised go towards the running & maintenance of Gestingthorpe Village Hall.
Forthcoming Local Activities
Hedingham Heritage Society
Our next few meetings are all about the birds and bees – with snakes to follow!
Thursday 6th February
‘A Taste of Honey’. Joyce Wells from the Braintree Beekeepers/Essex Beekeepers’ Association will be asking: “How much should we be worried about our bees?” Joyce will be telling us about their lives, health, their ecology and also about honey and beekeeping/farming.
7.30pm – Castle Hedingham Memorial Hall
Thursday 6th March
‘What’s Happening to our Birds?’ Drew Lyness, from the British Trust for Ornithology, will be telling us about some of the trends and research regarding our local bird populations; highlighting standout studies of birds and their habitats relevant to our area.
7.30pm – Castle Hedingham Memorial Hall
>> Our full 2025 programme will be available at these meetings << Do join our local and natural history society. Annual Membership for 2025 remains at £15.
Members come free to all walks and talks : Non-Members - £5. Everybody is Welcome. Contacts: Rob: 01787 460 664 : Trudi: 01787 462 889 : Mark: 07906 472 636 E-mail: hedinghamheritage@gmail.com or visit www.hedinghamheritage.org.uk
A Celebration Date to Note
Winter Fuel Payment –
Trading Standards has issued a warning to Essex residents about scam messages regarding winter fuel payments. These fraudulent texts direct recipients to a malicious website designed to steal personal information, including bank account details.
One alarming example of a hoax message states:
“When you receive this message, it means you have received a new round of winter heating subsidies approved by [named local council]. Please fill in the link below in time to receive your subsidy.”
These messages often create a sense of urgency, indicating that the link is only available for a limited time, pressuring residents to act quickly.
Residents are urged to remain vigilant and cautious about any messages with similar phrasing.
Never click on links from unknown or untrusted sources
This particular scam has been reported widely across the country. It is important to understand that Local Councils will only reach out to residents who they believe qualify for additional winter fuel payments by using their existing data – you do not need to supply any further details.
The Government's Warm Home Discount is automatically applied; eligible individuals will receive a notification letter from their Local Council, so no further action is necessary.
Parish News Information
Advertising/Announcements/Articles
The 2025 Parish News Business Advertising Rates for the year (10 issues, pro-rated as applicable) and for monthly single issue advertisements and event announcements are shown below, along with the Copy/Artwork Deadline dates for the next nine issues of Parish News:
Contacts:
Advertising
Articles
Please submit these by e-mail, preferably as a Word document attachment with separate images:
½ page: 150-160 words + images
Full page: 400-420 words + images
Ann Harris ann66harris@gmail.com Editorial Parish News Team parishnewsmaplestead@gmail.com
The Parish Representatives, to whom articles and event announcement submissions should be sent, are listed on the Inside Front Cover
Combatting Anti-Social Behaviour
Anti-social behaviour can wreak havoc on local communities; in future it will be dealt with under Respect Orders – new powers recently announced by the Home Secretary. These will see repeat perpetrators subject to tough restrictions on their behaviour.
Respect Orders will give police and Local Councils the authority to ban persistent offenders from town centres or from drinking in public places such as high streets and parks, if there is evidence that they have been causing misery to local people. The Orders will be piloted prior to their national rollout to make sure they are as effective as possible.
Perpetrators may also be required to address the root cause of their behaviour by being mandated to undertake positive rehabilitation, such as attending drug or alcohol treatment services or an anger management course, to address the underlying causes of their behaviour.
Failure to comply with Respect Orders will be a criminal offence. Police will have the ability to immediately arrest anybody who is in breach.
Police will also be given stronger powers to seize vehicles involved in antisocial behaviour, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing any vehicles bringing misery to local communities.
These powers will allow the police to deal more swiftly with the scourge of off-road bikes in public parks, dangerous e-scooters on pavements, street racing and car cruising.
The new powers will also be useful to the police in helping to better deal with people participating in ad hoc car meets, which often feature loud aggressive engine revving and intimidating music coming from perhaps hundreds of cars gathered in local public spaces.
