Halstead Market Hill

A thriving Christmas market in the 1970s

Halstead Market Hill

Another view of a busy Christmas market in Halstead during the 1970s

Halstead High St. 1967

Taken from St. Andrews Church

Halstead High St. 2009

Taken from St. Andrew's Church

High St. Congregational Church

High St. Post Office

Built on the site of the High St. Congregational Church

The Bus Station 1950s/60s

Built on the site next to the Manse attached to the High St. Congregational Church

Halstead High Street

A snowy scene from the 1970s

Halstead High Street

Another snowy scene from the 1970s

Sainsbury's 2000s

Built on the site of the Bus Station

Townsford Mill 1800s

Townsford Mill 2000s

Skating on the River Colne

Winter 1963 provided an opportunity for skaters make the most of the frozen River Colne

The town of Halstead is located on the borders of Essex and Suffolk seven miles north of Braintree, eight miles south of Sudbury straddling the river Colne.

Halstead derives its name from the Old English word 'heald' meaning a sloping hillside and 'stede' a place of shelter. Archaeological evidence indicates that Halstead has been occupied since the early Bronze Age. The sites of Iron Age and Roman settlements, including a villa, were discovered in the vicinity of Greenstead Hall, where Saxon pottery was also found.

Latest News

NEW ONLINE SHOP

Visit our new online bookshop, click title for details

Published by - 01 Apr 2025

Halstead Heritage Museum

The Halstead Heritage Museum is now open for the 2025 season.
Click the title for details.

Published by - 06 Feb 2025

The Halstead and District Local History Society was formed on Thursday December 16th 1976 at a meeting held in the Scout Hut, New Street, Halstead. The Society currently has a membership of over 100 and holds meetings on the third Thursday of each month in the Baptist Church, Hedingham Road, Halstead, Essex. Each year we run a varied programme of local history related meetings spanning the dark ages to more recent times including the influence of the industrial revolution on the area.

The society has a comprehensive collection of photographs dating back to the 1800s showing scenes from Halstead and the surrounding district. Come along to the Halstead Heritage Museum if you would like to see more.

Evacuate to Halstead!

During the Second World War many children were evacuated from East London to Halstead. Some of their experiences were captured in the

local newspapers of the time.

Read more on our 'Evacuate to Halstead!' page.

Over a Century of Shopping in Halstead

by Dave Osborne, revised by Andy Harris and Adrian Corder-Birch

Since its publication in 2016 Dave Osborne’s book ‘Shopping in Halstead a Century Ago’ has proven to be one of the society’s most popular books. When our stocks were depleted, the society committee agreed that we should take the opportunity to comprehensively review and revise the content making use of the many new photos and information that has been donated to the society since 2016.

Andy Harris and Adrian Corder-Birch have built on Dave Osborne’s foundation to create an expanded view covering over a century of retail businesses in Halstead illustrated with numerous photographs of many town centre premises.

Priced at: £11.00

COPIES OF THIS BOOK ARE AVAILABLE FROM:

Halstead & District Local History Society, The Queens Hall, Chipping Hill, Halstead, Essex, C09 2BY

email: museum@halsteadhistory.org.uk

from our new online shop

Published by Halstead and District Local History Society

The Halstead & District Local History Society is open to all. If you’re interested in local history, why not come along to one of our meetings?