Museum News
Autumn 2023 What’s happening at Halstead Heritage Museum? – by John Walmsley
GRATITUDE (a mass noun) - definition: the quality of being thankful, to show appreciation.
And grateful we at the museum are, to two generous members who have donated £1500 towards our cause. Along with a grant of £500 from the Town Council which will go toward covering our costs.
One expense was for thirteen vellums that came up for sale of eBay. All of them pertain to property in Parsons Lane (Parsonage Street) going back to the seventeenth century. Sadly another two had been sold prior to our offer (one went to Italy, the other Brazil).
We were gifted an aerial photograph of the Halstead Isolation Hospital from the 1960s from a ‘walk in visitor.’ This is the best image that we have to date of this area.
Our Jim, has been spreading his word by giving talks to The Braintree Radio Club and The Halstead Royal British Legion. How many of us know that the donations that he receives for his efforts are all given to this our museum? TOP MAN JIM!
Thanks to Elizabeth Fall for giving us access to a huge set of transcribed parish records for the village of Stambourne. We have now scanned these.
On our bookshelf is The History Of Earls Colne Grammar School by A D Merson and published by the school governors in 1975. Founded by Christopher Swallow, vicar of Messing, this school was started in 1520 and funded by the income from various farms and fields in North Essex. The school had several sites in Earls Colne and ended its days in York Road. A fascinating look at the past and free to loan to our members.
