Our Parish News series featuring fascinating information about people and things in the four parishes continues this month with something a bit different – the uncovering of a more than 50-year old mystery linked to Little Maplestead’s Round Church. You can find out more on Page 5 and see whether you can help with finding a solution…
Next month’s subject for this feature has already been submitted but, if you have an interesting story to share about your parish or the people who lived or live there in our winter double issue, please e-mail a Word document of about 400 words, with any accompanying pictures, to the editorial address on Page 31.
In addition to the articles on past and future parish events, gardening, nature notes and Parish Council news, this issue contains information about how to claim refunds if you have been charged for using Central Connect’s demand-responsive bus service – it should have been free for the 3-month trial period to the end of October (Page 7) – and details of Braintree District Council’s Local Plan review (Page 8), with the possible consequences of any resulting developments in the four parishes.
And finally, just another reminder to please support our advertisers – and always mention Parish News when you do: without their involvement and contributions there would be no magazine.
Thank you.
Braintree Community Transport
Volunteer Driving Opportunities
Do you have a few hours to spare each week?
Do you have a willingness to help and would like to put something back into your community?
Braintree Community Transport are looking for volunteer drivers, either using your own car or driving one of our 12-seater minibuses.
No commitment – hours to suit yourself.
Out of pocket expenses are reimbursed and your pensions/benefits will not be affected.
To find out more please call 01376 557 883 or e-mail community.transport@braintree.gov.uk
Cover Picture of a Barn Owl: Steve Grimwade
Letter from the Reverend Beverley Vincent
September has been a particularly sad month for me, and I know that many of you too have been affected by grief.
I was still mourning the loss of two dear colleagues who died in August when my husband Barry and I had to prepare ourselves for his mother’s passing. Despite a long and full life, you never feel ready to say a final goodbye to a parent, however old they or you are.
Then Gill Peskett, a well-known and loved member of Great Maplestead, former Churchwarden and WI Chair, lost her battle to cancer. I think it’s fair to say Gill leaves a huge hole in the hearts of all those who knew and loved her, not least her four children. The many lovely tributes are testament to the high esteem she was held in.
Whatever your beliefs one thing is sure, we will all leave this earthly life. So how do those of us left behind find hope? It’s surprising to me sometimes that even families who claim no Christian faith find comfort in the promises we have in scripture.
I find it difficult to choose which verses help me the most; two passages are at the top of my list. The first is from the final book of the Bible (Revelation 21:1-7), when we hear about God wiping every tear from our eyes, and that death will be no more, and there will be no more mourning or pain, because God is making everything new. A wonderful image of what lies ahead.
In the second passage from the Gospel of John (John 14:1-14) Jesus tells his disciples (and us) that in God’s house there are many rooms, and he has gone ahead to prepare a place for us. I find it comforting that there is a special place prepared for each of us, and those we love, when the time comes to leave this life. There are so many words in the Bible that bring hope, but an alternative is a quote from the great philosopher Winnie the Pooh: “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”, he said.
The consequence of loving another is the sorrow of parting but, as Queen Elizabeth II said: “Grief is the price we pay for love”. I’m sure none of us would want a life without love. Therefore, as we cherish the memories of those we see no longer and give thanks for all they meant to us, let’s reach out in love to neighbours and friends who are mourning or lonely. Bring love, joy, peace, patience and kindness to those in need, after all, these are the gifts we will be remembered for.
Blessings.
HARVEST SERVICE
Rev’d Beverley
This year's Harvest Service for the four parishes was held at Gestingthorpe. Some 35 people attended and the homily was delivered by Ashley Cooper, who described many of the changes in local farming practice over the last 84 years, taking as his starting point his father's reminiscences of September 15th 1940 (Battle of Britain day) watching the Spitfires and Hurricanes in the sky while ploughing his fields in his tractor. Ashley stressed how farmers rely on many other people who contribute directly or indirectly to the system for producing food for everybody. After the service, a dozen people stayed on to picnic in the sunshine on the grass outside the church porch.
A Round Church Mystery…
While looking through the Round Church archive, I discovered an article in the Essex Chronicle dating from August 1974. The article was about a matchstick model of the Round Church that had been made by Len Rainer. It piqued my interest, as I haven’t seen this model at all in the 30-plus years I have lived in the village.
Len also made a model of St Peter’s Church in Sible Hedingham – they were a labour of love, according to the article, with the St Peter’s one taking nearly 7 years to make! From the article it seems to have taken Len 3 years or so to construct the Round Church model. The reason for making them appears to have been purely to raise money for charity.
The picture on the right was taken in 1977. It shows Len Rainer (centre). The person on the left we believe is Trevor Howard, vicar of St Andrew’s, Bulmer but the third person we haven’t yet been able to identify.
From various events held at the church over the last year or so, snippets of information about Len Rainer have come to light. We know, for example, that he owned a newsagents in Halstead before he moved to Great Yeldham, then Earls Colne and that he was a keen train enthusiast.
The picture on the left shows the Round Church model under construction and is taken from the 1974 article. What happened to the model remains a mystery. We have a witness who remembers seeing it at an exhibition about the history of Great and Little Maplestead, held in Great Maplestead Village Hall – this may have been in the 1980s but it would be of interest to have that confirmed.
Unfortunately, this is the last known ‘sighting’ that I have been able to establish; the model seems to have completely disappeared after that. At a recent Craft Fair at the Round Church someone mentioned that they had seen the St Peter’s model on display in Sible Hedingham church; this is something I am going to investigate with the church’s PCC.
If I am able to discover the whereabouts of the Round Church model, or even if it still exists, I’ll write a follow-up article and let you know.
So, does anyone recollect seeing the model? Do you know where it might be now? Has it been hidden away or maybe destroyed? And, does anyone have any further information on Len Rainer? If you can help answer any of these questions, please e-mail me at: pccroundchurch@gmail.com
Mark Townsend
Celebration and Bus News
Celebrating ‘Essex Village of the Year 2024’
A sunny Sunday in August and residents turned out in their numbers to enjoy a free BBQ laid on and hosted by the Parish Council to celebrate Great Maplestead's ‘Village of the Year’ win.
Many thanks to Ann Crisp for organising the event, the band of willing helpers and BBQ-ers, Hards and Humes in Halstead for supplying the sausages, burgers, rolls and burger buns and, of course, Aaron Whippy for bringing along the ice-creams!
Sincere thanks also to the Rural Community Council of Essex, whose award provided the excuse and the funding that made it all possible.
Steve Harris – Parish Council Chairman
Village Bus Service Update
Central Connect have confirmed that the DaRT 3 Demand-Responsive bus service they have been operating since the end of July is being provided free-of-charge during the 3-month trial period to the end of October.
The company have therefore agreed to refund any fares that have inadvertently been charged during this period.
If you have been charged and are able provide details (dates and amounts paid) to robbrudenell@greatmaplesteadpc.co.uk, he will arrange for any refunds to be claimed.
For all other information about the bus service, please call Central Connect on: 0115 777 3187.
Local Plan Review
Braintree District Council recently completed an initial Call for Sites as part of a Local Plan Review consultation process. Developers, land-owners and others were invited to suggest sites that may be suitable for development through until 2041. Most development needed between now and 2033 has already been catered for by the existing Local Plan but more land may be required for longer-term housing and infrastructure needs.
The sites put forward are not confirmed allocations but only proposals at this stage; they will be robustly assessed for development suitability/availability.
BDC has previously stated, when reviewing development boundaries as part of a Local Plan Review, that “development will be focused in those settlement areas that are most sustainable and provide local services/ facilities to meet day to day needs.” Furthermore, Local Planning Policy SP1 and the National Planning Policy Framework state there should be a ‘Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development’ – in other words, “to secure development that improves economic, social and environmental conditions in the area.”
All four parish villages have all been designated ‘Tier 3’ by BDC, as they are considered “unsustainable due to a total reliance on other local towns and villages for key services and facilities”. Any proposed new developments would therefore conflict with current local and national planning policies.
With no regular, reliable scheduled bus service, most residents are reliant on private cars for transport; narrow unlit roads, most with national (60mph) speed limits, few pavements and poorly-maintained surfaces, preclude safe cycling or walking. Potential developments would therefore conflict with Local Planning Policy SP3’s sustainable principles: “development locations should be accessible by a choice of means of travel.”
BDC uses a calculation for development sites – 25 houses per hectare – that is way in excess of the existing density in most villages and disproportionate to their rural locations. Developments of such a density on the sites that have been put forward – none were for Gestingthorpe – could mean an additional 56 houses in Great Maplestead, 22 in Little Maplestead and 46 in Pebmarsh. This would not only dramatically increase the size of these villages but also, using another BDC metric – 2.3 cars per household – mean nearly 300 more cars being used in the local area.
To access key services, medical facilities and even schools, the majority of owners of these additional vehicles would have to use a local rural road network that is not only poorly-maintained and unsuitable and unsafe for shared use but would potentially be unable to cope with the increased levels of private car, commercial and agricultural traffic it would have to carry.
Strong concerns have been expressed that, both during and following their construction, any potential new developments in the locality could have harmful environmental consequences, adverse social impacts and seriously detrimental effects on the existing, inadequate infrastructure.
The latest Local Plan Review updates can be found on the BDC website at: www.braintree.gov.uk/localplanreview or by signing up to e-mails from the Planning Policy Team at: www.braintree.gov.uk/policyconsultation.
Back to School in Pebmarsh…
We have started the academic year with a bang! The children have all settled very well and it is lovely that our small school is growing in numbers as more families join our school community. We have welcomed three new teachers to our team Mr Nichols, Miss King and Mrs Hare and we are very lucky to have them.
Before the summer holidays, we celebrated Earth Day by thinking about what we could do to save our planet, inspired by David Attenborough.
A number of our children wrote to him to thank him for the hard work he undertakes to spread awareness about planet Earth; they were lucky enough to get a reply and were delighted that they received a personal letter.
Last term we also welcomed our new school pet. He is named after a knight who is buried in our church and also the emblem on our uniform, Sir William Fitzralph (Fitz for short). The children visit the church to learn about the knight and learn lots of interesting facts from Sarah Burgess, our church warden and Rev Bev. The children enjoy taking care of Fitz including feeding and bathing him daily. We plan to have a special service at the church, with our families, to bless him once he is slightly bigger.
We still have plenty of space in our older year groups in school so, if you have recently moved to the area, please do not hesitate to come and have a look round. We have also started our reception class intake tours for 2025 so please call 01787 269 300 or e-mail: admin@st-john.essex.sch.uk
Teresa Gage Head Teacher
Recent Events
The
Maplestead’s
Autumn Show
– Saturday 7th September
This was a very successful event and it was really encouraging to see some new faces from both villages – we were especially pleased to receive entries from St. Giles’ School.
The Village Hall was ablaze with flowers, fruit and vegetables and packed with cakes, photographs and handicrafts; the judges all commented on the high standard of the exhibits.
The Show Committee would like to thanks HIMS for sponsoring the Show and Radiant Beauty for sponsoring the sunflower competition. We would also like to thank all the judges and Bill Piper, Chairman of Little Maplestead Parish Council, who presented the prizes.
Following the Show the Maplesteads’ community spirit came to the fore, the event continuing as a social evening with food and refreshments.
The Committee would finally like to thank the residents of both villages for their support; we look forward to seeing you all at next year’s Autumn Show.
The prize winners were:
Vegetable Cup: Patsy Maile and Pam
Wheaton
Domestic Cup: Patsy Maile
Craft Cup: Barbara Boon
Men’s Cup: Keith Sheffle
Photograph: Alex Taylor
Photograph (under 16): Arabella Self
Flower Arrangers Cup: Philippa Mills
Flower Cup: Nadine Scurr
Novice Cup: Diane Smith
Young Growers Cup: Murphy O’Brian
Children’s Trophy (over 8): Abigail
Travers
Children’s Trophy (under 8): Dorothy Self
Sunflower Trophy: Patsy Maile
The Connie Hume Plate: Jenny Wright
Most Points overall: Patsy Maile
The Autumn Show Committee
The Little Maplestead Craft Fair
– Saturday 14th September
Our annual Craft Fair at The Round Church was blessed with lovely sunshine and many people turned out to support us.
We had a great variety of local handicrafts, ceramics, artwork, stained glass and jewellery and our local author, Julia Stone, attended too. It was a very enjoyable day and raised £1000 for much needed repairs to our very special church.
Many thanks are due to all those who helped in some way to make this a great success – without your support these events would not be possible.
Our thanks also to all those who attended.
Jane Stone
Gardening Corner
As we approach much shorter days it is still important to deadhead Roses, autumn planted Pansies and Violas and take the long growth from Wisteria. Cut the latter back to 3 buds from the base of the stem. In addition, cut back shrubs and perennials which overlap paths and lawns.
My recommended plant of the month is Star Jasmine [Trachelospermum jasminoides]. This climber is ideal on a wall and will give you a scented waft every time you walk past it next summer. Once established it can be trimmed into shape with shears but just be mindful – it does bleed a white sap, so your shears will need a thorough clean afterwards.
Foxgloves are looking very tatty now and can be cut down or taken out. Occasionally they will send out side shoots from the base; these can be left, although there should be plenty of seed scattered around and about to germinate and come up as flowers again next year.
Continue to feed shrubs in containers – every two to three weeks should be sufficient. Shrubs and perennials in borders and lawns do not need feeding at this time of year.
In the vegetable garden ensure any main crop potatoes are lifted. Broad beans can be sown to over-winter. I would not recommend digging over a vegetable garden just yet; if we have a warm spell, weeds will germinate on the freshly dug soil. Compost courgettes and marrows before the first frosts turn them into a decomposing mess.
Perhaps make a note of where you grew certain veg this year as this will ensure you will be able to rotate your crops properly next year.
Bulbs are now in most garden centres and the selection seems to be wider and more colourful every year. Plant Daffodils, Croci and Hyacinths now but leave Tulips until November. This will help avoid Tulip Fire, a disease which deforms the leaves and flowers.
Enjoy your plot…
The Arborist.
Nature Notes
After a brief chilly spell we are enjoying, in mid-September, what is often called an Indian Summer. The Chiffchaffs are still singing in my garden and butterflies are prominent around fading buddleia flowers. I witnessed something I’d never seen before just a few days ago; a Large White butterfly lying on its back with its abdomen curled upwards and another hovering above it. Unfortunately, my interest interrupted what was clearly a prelude to mating but I was intrigued at mating behaviour so late in the year.
There’s always something to be learnt – I read that, in exceptional years, Large Whites produce a late brood of adults that are on the wing from August until October and these adults then mate and lay eggs that produce caterpillars that will feed through October and even into November, before pupating and over-wintering in the chrysalis. What I don’t understand is what has been ‘exceptional’ about this year? Largely cool and wet with fewer butterflies than we usually get – perhaps it’s just this late very warm spell that has triggered it.
Walking down to Hull’s Mill recently I was thrilled to hear, then see, a pair of Bullfinches. I regard these as one of the most beautiful birds in Britain and despair that they are in such low numbers. Checking my records, the last time I recorded them on the patch was in April 2021. They are elusive, with a very soft call, so they may be more numerous than they seem. It occurs to me that readers who see unusual or rare birds could drop an e-mail to Ann Harris (address on the inside front cover) and she will pass them on to me. This would help the growing database of records for the Parish.
At the end of August I saw a couple of spectacular moths, both on the same night. The Jersey Tiger (left) is a resident and immigrant. Until 1990 it was confined to south Devon as a resident species but has been expanding its range since then and I have been eagerly anticipating its arrival in the village. Friends in Earls Colne and Chelmsford had sent me confirmation of records there, so I knew it was imminent. And what a beauty it is!
The second surprise was another immigrant, the Beautiful Marbled (right).
This moth had never been recorded in the UK before 2001 and, up until 2017, there were only 50 records nationally. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it and it is now confirmed that there have been only ‘a handful’ of records ever in the County.
The surprises keep coming
Neighbourhood Watch, Coffee and Litter-Picking
Gestingthorpe Neighbourhood Watch (GNW)
GNW takes this opportunity to remind everyone of the Neighbourhood Watch run by Helen Skerratt for residents of Gestingthorpe. Helen’s contact details are shown on the inside front cover of Parish News.
GNW will post Neighbourhood Watch ‘alerts’ of suspicious activity or related news on the village Facebook page. If you don’t use Facebook, you can be sent ‘blind-copied’ e-mails. To receive e-mails, please tell Helen by contacting her on gestingthorpe194@gmail.com. GNW will store and only use your e-mail address for GNW purposes. There will also be posters displayed, ‘as and when’, on the Gestingthorpe Parish Council noticeboard.
Any suspicious activity should be reported by you to the Police (999 [emergency] or 101 [non-emergency]) or to Crime Stoppers (0800 555 111). Once you have done that, please tell us. GNW cannot report for you nor take responsibility for the outcome of people’s actions or inactions.
Gestingthorpe ‘Gathering’ Coffee Mornings
Wow! We have had some noticeable changes in the recent weather. That could well be one of the many topics you will chat about when you join your friends in Gestingthorpe Village Hall for a hot drink and some delicious cakes Please come along – we guarantee you a warm welcome!
‘Gatherings’ in October/November will be from 10.00am to 12 noon
October : on the Fridays of the 4th*/18th November : on the Fridays of the 1st/15th/29th
Any funds raised go towards the upkeep and running of our Village Hall.
*Friday October 4th : The money donated for drinks and cakes will be passed on to Macmillan Cancer Support – any additional donations you wish to make will also be passed to them. If you can Gift Aid your donations that would be great and will provide extra funds to help in providing care and support to those who are unfortunately afflicted by this dreadful disease.
Gestingthorpe Grill & Village Litter Pick
Saturday 5th October
The last Gestingthorpe Grill for 2024 is on Saturday the 5th October and will run from 9.45am to 12.30pm. This coincides with the Village Litter Pick, organised by the Parish Council: meet at the Village Hall from 10.00am to 12 noon.
Please wear suitable clothing. Bags, litter-pickers, etc. will be provided. All litter-pickers are entitled to a free bacon roll & tea or coffee.
Events for Your Diary
Hedingham Heritage Society
Thursday 3rd October
‘The Battle of Britain’. Neil Wiffen the Records Manager at the Essex Records Office will be giving our twice re-arranged talk about the historic events of 1940 in the skies over Southern England and East Anglia. Many of you were disappointed by the previous postponements of this talk, which were outside of our control, so do make sure you come along this time.
7.30pm Castle Hedingham Memorial Hall
Thursday 7th November
‘Lawrence Oates and the Quest for the South Pole’. Ashey Cooper, farmer, local historian and author will be talking about Captain Lawrence Oates, who walked from his tent into a blizzard with the words: “I am just going outside and may be some time” before sacrificing himself in an effort to save others in Captain Scott’s doomed South Pole expedition.
7.30pm Castle Hedingham Memorial Hall
Do join our local and natural history society. Annual membership is £15. Members come free for 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
Essex Local Nature Recovery Strategy
More than ever, wildlife and their habitats are under threat for survival. The Essex Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) provides a new vision for our natural spaces and the draft strategy is open for public consultation and feedback.
Introduced by the Environment Act in 2021 and created with input from landowners, farmers, environmental NGOs, charities, local authorities and members of the public, the strategy identifies opportunities for the creation of new habitats, which are most likely to provide the greatest benefit for nature and the wider environment.
The draft LNRS outlines biodiversity priorities for nature recovery in the county, as well as a series of proposed actions to achieve these. Your participation in the public consultation is crucial for delivering a robust strategy for nature recovery, shaping a thriving natural environment for Essex. To take part please visit: https://consultations.essex.gov.uk/c-e/lnrs-public-consultation
Everyone’s voice matters
Scan the QR code to take part and provide your feedback and input. For more information visit www.essexnaturepartnership.co.uk
St Giles’ Updates
Churchwardens’ Report
St Giles’ Church has enjoyed some great community gatherings with very successful Coffee Mornings and Meet, Cake, Create and Café Church bringing people together in addition to our usual Communion services.
The church is open every day to provide respite and hospitality to those in need. As well as local walkers we have, in the last three months, had visitors from Haverhill, Cambridge, ‘Essex’, Enfield and Oxford in the UK and even visitors from Dallas Texas, St Petersburg and Melbourne Australia.
Comments recorded in our visitors’ book include ‘very amazing’, ‘wonderful monuments’, ‘thank you for being open’, ‘thank you for the wildflower areas’, and ‘thank you for the coffee!’ As it says in the bible, Hebrews 13.2: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers”. We are eternally grateful for the ability to open our church to all and thank those who help us to do this.
An addition to our wildlife area in the churchyard is a bird feeder and bug house, kindly donated: thank you Patsy. This is sited on the old bonfire area which has been levelled as we hope to be able to compost and reuse excess vegetation in future. If anybody would like to donate bird food at anytime please do just leave some in the church. A big thank you to Darkins Stores of Sible Hedingham who donated bird seed to get us started.
As the growing season draws to a close we certainly hope to be able to tidy and trim the churchyard as it prepares to slumber throughout the winter.
Denise & Paula, St Giles’ Churchwardens
Parish News Information
Advertising/Announcements/Articles
The 2024 Parish News Business Advertising Rates for the year (10 issues, pro-rated as applicable) and for monthly single issues are shown below, along with copy deadline dates for each of the remaining 2 issues.
Contacts:
Articles
Please submit by e-mail, preferably as a Word document attachment with separate images: ½ page: 150-160 words Full page: 400-420 words
Advertising 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.
