By request : The Parish Magazine articles as PDF

Ever since I started publishing my High Wych History articles in the Parish Magazine aka the Link, people have been asking me for prints of them.  So, by popular demand here is a nice listing of all those past articles  available for download as PDF’s. Click on the link of your choice and off you go.

Best Regards,   Theo

Introduction – The WI Scrapbook

Tales of the Rising Sun

The High Wych Shops

The High Wych Home Guard

Percy Wilson’s Passing

WW2 – The High Wych Home Front

Three High Wych centenarians

WW2 Child Evacuees in High Wych

High Wych Memorial Hall

High Wych Forge and Dixon’s Garage

Helmer and Dyer

Summer parties and fetes

Treading the Boards – High Wych Theatre Land

Early days in High Wych

The Kempthornes of Cornwall and High Wych

The High Wch Kempthornes in WW2

WW1 in High Wych – The Home Front

Johnny and Joe Holden – Two High Wych boys in WW1

Bessie, Martha and Frankie, 3 High Wych sisters in WW1

Three Walters and a woman called Louvain

Crime and punishment in High Wych

High Wych and Allens Green in the best kept village competition

Jack Oliver the local policeman in High Wych

Mathams Wood – Allens Green

Valentine Fane

The Hand and Crown

The Half Moon – Chandini –  A village pub turns into an Indian restaurant

John Prout of Blounts –  an agricultural pioneer

Douglas William Prout

In the course of my research on John Prout, the agriculturist working from Blounts Farm Allens Green, I came across details of his grandson Douglas.  Douglas was born in Sawbridgeworth in 1891,  whilst his parents, William Andrew and Jessie Sophia lived in Knight Street. At the time of the 1911 census Douglas was living with his parents in Ealing and working as a bank Clerk.

Douglas was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 8th battalion of Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire) Regiment.  He entered that regiment via the Inns of Court Training Corps. So perhaps after working in a bank he changed direction and worked at a sollicitor. That stands to reason as his father was also a law man. Little is as yet known  of Douglas’s time in the military. We do know he perished on 3rd September 1916 and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial so he must have been fought at the Somme. Douglas William Prout was 25 years old. He is mentioned on neither the High Wych, nor the Sawbridgeworth memorial.

I will shortly amend my records to include Douglas Prout on the list of High Wych WW1 fallen.

 

The High Wych Gang reunited

The below picture was sent to me by Eric Willison,  Readers of my articles may remember a group of (then) young people members of a local  youth club who were also involved in plays in the village hall.  The High Wych “gang” also often met in the upstairs room at the Hand and Crown.

HIGH WYCH GANG 2015Recently the meanwhile older (and wiser?) gang members met at the Manor of Groves Hotel. I am told they do not mind this photograph being posted here.  Rasing their glasses are:   Back row left to right: Eric Willison, Bob Springham, John Springham, Rosemary Felstead née Springham, Sandra Lant née Helmer,  Carol Springham née Cutting,  Bob Lant, Alec Felstead and Fred Morris.  Front row: Chris Bullock , Sonia Willison née Towers, Ann Morris née Buckley and finally Janet Springham née Needham.      Hand & Crown & High Wych Youth c1960 s

I can’t resist contrasting this with a picture from the olden days!

High Wych – One of the 100 parishes

 

 

What are the 100 parishes and where are they you may ask. In short it is an area of some 450 square miles in northwest Essex, northeast Hertfordshire and southern Cambridgeshire that is largely unspoilt and richly endowed with many fine examples of agricultural and built heritage. The 100 parishes society was formed in 2012 to raise public awareness and to encourage preservation of the region’s special characteristics. Underneath is a map taken from the society’s website.locationmap 100parishesThat website is the most visible manifestation of the organisation. Amongst other things it includes a short description of every single parish including High Wych. So, if you want to gather ideas for short walks or day outings, find out about local activities or just read up on our heritage, there is no better place to start. Recently your parish historian was involved in an update of the entry for our parish and without any false modesty I can tell you that I am proud of the result. You can see for yourself at http://www.hundredparishes.org.uk/

Those that did not come back (updated version)

IMG_5175
Inside Saint James’s Church High Wych is a memorial plaque listing the soldiers from our village that perished in the First World War. Outside is a memorial cross also dedicated to their memory. Originally there must have been a plaque with the cross as well, giving details such as the regiments in which the soldiers served. That however was vandalised or otherwise lost. Grace Dunn,  an earlier High Wych chronicler wrote that “nearly 100 served in the 14-18 war and 28 lives were lost plus 4 closely connected with the village.” This tallies roughly with recent research which came up with 34 names as listed below. Three of these do not have a clear connection with High Wych.  One of them remains a complete mystery.  Grace also tells us that “ours was the first memorial cross in Hertfordshire and paid for by Mr. Buxton.” Please find an up to date listing below. Separate “soldier portraits” are available for every individual.

1. Edward Banks was born in Birchanger in 1879. A gamekeeper by profession, in 1911 he lived at Tharbies Lodge with his wife Annie and their daughter Muriel. Edward served in the second battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment and died near Ypres on 26th July 1917.

2. Major Henry Griffith Boone was a regular soldier born in India. He hailed from Kent and served in the Royal Horse Artillery and the Royal Field Artillery. He too died near Ypres on 5th September 1917. As yet it has been impossible to come up with a High Wych connection.

3. Private Henry Brace was born in Allens Green in 1887. In 1911 he was a nursery gardener and lodged with William and Annie Kempthorne at Stonards Lane. Henry volunteered for the first battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment and died near Ypres on 11th March 1915.

4. William Burls was born in 1893. By 1911 he was living in Chingford and worked as a baker whilst his parents lived in Redricks Lane. He worked in a field bakery with the Army Service Corps at the front in France. He died in Colchester Hospital on 3rd February 1918. How he perished is unclear. He is mentioned on both the High Wych plaque and the Potter Street – Latton Memorial Cross.

5. Joseph Cakebread was born in Hoddesdon in 1884. In 1911 he lodged at Great Penneys in High Wych and worked as a gamekeeper. He served in the 2nd battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment and died on 4th November 1918 near Preux en Bois. He was married to Lily Maud. He is mentioned on the Gilston monument. Should he also be on the High Wych one?

6. Gunner Henry Camp was born in Great Amwell in 1885. By 1911 he worked as a policeman in Bishops Stortford. By February 1917 when he joined the Royal Horse Artillery he was High Wych’s local policeman. He died near Cambrai on 30th November 1917

7. Sergeant George Canning was born in 1882, in Allens Green. He was a regular soldier. By 1911 he was a corporal in the Essex Regiment and stationed in India. Together with the other soldiers in the first Batallion he was sent out to Galipoli where he died on 25th April 1915.

8. David Crombie Rodgers was born in Scotland in 1893 and served with the 6th battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, formerly the Hertfordshire Regiment. He died at the Somme on 5th October 1916. His name is mistakenly spelt David G.C. Rogers on the plaque in St. James’s

9. Charles Dedman was born in 1887 in Sawbridgeworth. In 1911 he lived at Hand Terrace with his parents, three brothers and a sister and was a farm worker. Charley joined the 13th Kensington Battalion of the London Regiment. Albert, his youngest brother joined the 1st Reserve Garrison Batallion of the Suffolk Regiment as he was declared not fully fit. Two other brothers, Alfred and Thomas most probably did not join up. Charley Dedman was killed at the Somme on the 9th September 1916.

10. Albert Henry Fish of Allens Green, son of Joseph and Ellen and a farm worker joined the Middlesex Regiment aka the Duke of Cambridge’s Own. He died at Arras on 3rd May 1917.

11. Charles Thomas Fish, the son of Thomas and Alice Fish of Friars Cottage High Wych, was registered as a farm labourer in 1911. A private with the Royal Berkshire Regiment, he was severely wounded by a shell explosion at the Somme in France. He was sent home where he died in January 1917.
Charles’s brother Frederick also served but survived. There were a number of soldiers with the name Fish in our area but the above two were the only fallen ones from High Wych.

12. Herbert Gayler was born in Stansted in 1884. In 1911 he was married to Fanny, 8 years his senior and worked as a cowman at Bakers Farm. He was a gunner with the Durham battalion of the Royal Garrison Artillery. He died in France on 16th August 1917

13. Thomas Greive was born in Sawbridgeworth in 1898 and was of Scottish stock. In 1901 and 1911 he lived at Actons Farm. He joined the 7th battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment, the “shiney seventh”. He died near the Somme on 21st January 1916. Gas and mines are mentioned in the regimental diary and it is possible he died underground.

14. Frederick Herrieven was born in Woodbastwick, Norwich in 1894. Of Irish Stock, he joined the 2nd Batallion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. He was killed near Ypres on 7th August 1917. As yet there is no proof of a High Wych connection.

15. Ernest John Holden (Johnny) was born in High Wych in 1898. He served in the 2nd battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment. Sadly he was amongst the 20.000 soldiers who lost their lives on 1st July 1916, the first day of the battle of the Somme. Johnny’s brother Joe also served but survived.

16. George Howe was born in High Wych. In 1911, aged only 15 he was working and living with his parents at Actons. He joined the Hertfordshire regiment and later was transferred to the Royal Berkshire. He died on 17th February 1917.

17. Ernest Frank Ingram was born at Hoskins High Wych on 25th February 1888. He joined the Coldstream Guards in 1904 most probably lying about his age. He served in Egypt from 1907 to 1911. In 1912 he married Olive Kempthorne. He was one of the first soldiers to be sent out to fight in France. Tragically he died on 16th September 1914 during the battle of the Aisne. He was the first High Wych man to fall.

18. Samuel Jenkins was born in Redricks Lane, High Wych in 1886. In 1911, just like his dad and his uncle he lived and worked there as a nursery labourer. He served with the Essex Regiment and died at the front on 30th November 1917. No further details known as yet.

19. Charles Hugh Pearson Lipscomb was born in Sawbridgeworth, the son of the vicar of Gt. St, Mary’s. By 1901 Charles worked in a bank. By 1908 he had emigrated to Canada where he married and joined the Canadian Mounted Rifles. On 18th April 1917 he died in Northern France. Charles Lipscomb is mentioned on both the High Wych and the Sawbridgeworth war memorials. Why that is, is unclear. Enough people remembered him. That is for sure.

20. Ernest Charles Mascall, also known as Charles or Charlie was born in 1899 the son of Thomas and Mary of Hand Terrace. In 1915, just having turned 16 he lied about his age and tried to enlist. He was returned home after a month. Later on, enlisting under the name Ernest he did enlist with the Bedfordshire Regiment. He died at the front on 27th April 1917.

21. Charlie’s older brother, George Mascall was born in 1893 and worked as a gardener. He joined the Hertfordshire Regiment and died on 15th February 1919. Two years earlier he had married Annie Clements in High Wych Church. George is buried in St. James’s Church Yard and is commemorated on both the High Wych and the Sawbridgworth Monument.

22. Percy Morris was born in Allens Green in 1897 the son of Alfred, a farm worker and his wife Eleanor. He joined the 6th Batallion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment and died on 31st July 1917 near Ypres Percy is commemorated on the Menin Gate, the Sawbridgeworth Monument and the High Wych Monument.

23. Fred Arthur Paveley was born in Hand Terrace Sawbridgeworth in 1893. He joined the Hussars of the Line but was later transferred to the Duke of Cambridge’s own Middlesex Regiment. Fighting at the Somme he got wounded and died on 27th October 1916.

24. Herbert Michael Paveley, Fred’s younger brother joined at quite a young age, perhaps he lied to enlist. Initially he joined a training reserve battalion (TR). Later he was transferred to the 11th batallion of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). He took part in the hundred day offensive which resulted in the breaking of the Hindenburg line. He “died of wounds” on 27th September 1918.

25. Henry George Pavitt, George as he is called on the plaque in St. James’s was born in North Ockenden in 1891. He served with the Essex Regiment in Egypt and died there on 25th November 1917. No proven connection to High Wych or Sawbridgeworth has been found as yet.

26. Douglas William Prout was born in Sawbridgeworth in 1891, a grandson of John Prout the agriculturist. Douglas was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 8th battalion of Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire) Regiment. He perished on 3rd September 1916 and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial so must have been fought at the Somme. Douglas William Prout was 25 years old. He is mentioned on neither the High Wych, nor the Sawbridgeworth memorial.

27. Alfred William Sapsford, Will, was born in Great Hallingbury in 1890, the son of Alfred and Louisa. He was a regular soldier having joined the Grenadier Guards in 1908. By 1914 he was a corporal in the 2nd battalion. Young Will was killed in action near Ypres on 27th October. Of the 1025 officers and men of that battalion 959 were casualties by the end of November. ………

28. Alfred William Skingle was resident in High Wych on 29th May 1915 when he joined the Hertforshire Regiment. The family lived in Sheering in 1901 and Alfred went to High Wych School 1911. He died near Ypres on 2nd September 1917.

29. Arthur Springham was born in High Wych in 1878. He married his wife Alice and in 1911 lived with her at Stanstead Abbotts. A horsekeeper by profession, he joined the Army Service Corps and was sent out to the Middle East where he served on a motor ambulance. He died in Iraq on 4th November 1917.

30. Ambrose Stowers was born in High Wych on 4th October 1885. In 1911 he was registered as “woodman on an estate”. Ambrose volunteered for service and joined the Bedfordshire regiment. His unit fought at the Somme where he perished on 18th July 1916.

31. William Henry Tucker was born in High Wych and served with the Grenadier Guards. He travelled down to London in November 1914 to join up. He was “killed in action” on 27th March 1918 and was buried in Faubourg-d’Amiens Cemetery near Calais.

32. James Henry Wakeling was born in High Laver in 1890. In 1911 the family was living with his parents James and Annie at Rowney Farm and worked there as a stockman. He died in the Middle East on 6th May 1918. James Henry is mentioned on the Basrah Memorial, on the High Wych plaque and the Old Harlow Memorial Cross

33. James Henry’s younger brother Frederick was born in Walthamstow in 1894. He joined the Essex Regiment and died of his wounds at sea on 22nd August 1915. Fred is mentioned on the Galipoli monument, the High Wych plaque and the Old Harlow Memorial Cross

34. Thomas William Ward was born in High Wych in 1881. In 1903 he married Eliza Jane Lane and was working as a gardener then. Thomas and Eliza had a young son, Arthur. Thomas William Ward served in the Royal Garrison Artillery and died in Flanders on 23rd April 1917.

35. Walter Richard Webb was born in Redricks Lane in 1888. In 1911 he still lived there and worked as a glazier. A person with the same name joined the Coldstream Guards and was sent out with the expeditionary force to France. He died near Saint Nazaire on 7th October 1914. Whether the two are one and the same cannot as yet be ascertained.

The above information came from Ancestry.co.uk, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Wikipedia and as always HALS. Contact me if you have any remarks, corrections or additions.

Walter Richard Webb

Hello,

You may remember an earlier mention of this soldier listed on the plaque in St James’s Church. There was indeed a Walter Richard Webb, born in Redricks Lane in 1888. In 1911 he still lived there and worked as a glazier. I had thought that this might one and the same as a person who joined the Coldstream Guards, went out France and died near Saint Nazaire.
I have now established that this is definitely not the case. So I am back to square one and the question is what happened to Walter Richard Webb and why was he mentioned on the memorial plaque? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks already.
Theo

Percy Wilson’s passing

The second world war brought hard times to our village. By January 1941, many men were away fighting. Many families had evacuee children from London’s East End staying with them. The presence of a number of airfields also caused problems in our region. There was still talk of a coming invasion. Amidst all that, “normal life” had to carry on. Most of the men staying behind were agricultural workers whose job was essential for the war effort. They engaged in hard physical  graft.

hw 40 percy wilson

Percy with his horses at Actons

Percy Wilson, originally from Langley in Essex moved to High Wych from Sawbridgeworth in 1938 with his wife Beryl and children. There was twenty years between the oldest and the youngest child. Percy had found work as a horse keeper with Wilfred Mynott at Actons farm and accommodation for his family in a cottage next to the farm.  By 1941 the oldest Wilson child,Raymond was away in North Africa fighting with Montgomery’s eighth army, and two of the older girls were “in service”. Father Percy was indeed excused military service because of the farm work he did.

On the 21st of January the weather was awful. There had been snow recently which prevented the children from going to school. The clouds hung low when father Percy left for work. He had to take a cart with two horses and a load of manure over to Great Pennys, a farm just up the road. The idea was to meet a fellow worker from that farm, Ken Clarke, who was coming towards him, exchange carts and then return to their respective farms. As they met, two thirds of the way between Great Pennys and Actons, at 11.45 that morning, bombs were dropped from a German aircraft.
The aircraft was one of a convoy that had set out that morning in order to bomb Cambridge.  After the failure of the Blitz, the nazis engaged in the infamous “Baedeker offensive” and  targeted cities of cultural importance literally picking them from a tourist guide.  Baedeker is of the course the name of Germany’s best known travel book series.                                                                                                                         Because of the bad weather however the pilots turned back and, as they often did, dropped their bombs “just anywhere” in order to lighten their load and get home more quickly. It just happened to be in our parish, on that particular road, at that particular time.
The bombs fell on and exploded right beside the two farm workers and their horses. Ken Clarke lost his hearing as a result but poor Percy Wilson came off worse. Several pieces of shrapnel pierced through his body causing severe injury. The horses were also hit by shrapnel and although Mr Wilson was badly injured he was still most concerned for the animals under his care. Eventually an ambulance came and he was taken to the Herts and Essex hospital at Bishops Stortford. There,three days later at 6.20 in the afternoon Percy Wilson died from his injuries. Two of the horses meanwhile had to be put down.

hw 41 chris mynott's diary pages january 1941 1aPercy’s fate made a great impression  ion High Wych locals, not least  those living and working at Actons.  Young Chris Mynott,  son of  farmer Wilfred, the owner, fifteen years old at the time recorded it in  his diary, see above and below.

hw 41 chris mynott's diary pages january 1941 2bThis left Percy’s widow Beryl on her own with the task of bringing up the children. She found herself without a place to live. Luckily alternative accommodation was offered to her by the Buxton family, then owners of the big house at the Manor of Groves. There were vegetables from the garden and every now and then a rabbit. Eventually Beryl remarried. After the war, together with her new husband she moved into bigger and better accommodation in Mansfield. Beryl’s new husband was the local postman and a widower himself with a young son. That son, Colin, would eventually marry one of the Wilson daughters : Mary.  Colin and Mary were  together for 58 years. Sadly Mary (nicknamed Pixie) passed away in November 2013.

road at actonsThe road near Great Pennys where ………………

On a bright sunny Tuesday morning in the summer of 2012,  I had the privilege of talking to 5 of the surviving Wilson children; they are older now of course but all are still very active indeed. The memory of their dead father is a dear but distant one. Peggy remembers how on that fateful 21st of January the children hid under the table and how the sounds of the aircraft outside frightened them. The others  tell me about their long walk to school in High Wych along the lanes and how they sometimes had to hide in the ditches as the Heinkel and Junkers bombers flew over. Mostly however, their memories are positive. They tell me how their mother had a beautiful soprano voice and was a member of the High Wych and District Choral Society. Above all they made clear how despite all the hardship they look back on the years of their youth with fondness.

hw 65 hw silver lining club concert party b

Beryl Jackson (on right holding doll) in happier days : during a “silver lining concert party”

Information from this article was supplied by Dawn Evans, Peggy Holden, Mary Jackson, Gill Turner, (all 4 nee Wilson), Geoff Wilson, Colin Jackson and Lily Mynott, As always, contributions to and help with this continuing History of High Wych are always welcome. Please get in touch. Contact me at theo@vandebilt.co.uk or phone me at 01279 725468

 

The Hand and Crown

h&c website pic 2014

Within High Wych ecclesiastical parish but also within the civic borders of Sawbridgeworth stands the Hand and Crown. Legend has it that it is the oldest Inn in Hertfordshire. The sign of the hand and crown points to falconry being practiced. Indeed, pockets of land around Sawbridgeworth including Pishiobury and the Manor of Groves were donated by King Henry VIII to his then wife Anne Boleyn and Henry was an avid falconer. That however is as far as it goes and there is no actual documentary proof of this to be found in the archives. Neither Chauncy’s three volume history of Hertfordshire of 1720 nor Edward Cussans’ similar tomes of 1870 mention the place by name.

Two more recent books, a royal commission report on the historical monuments of Hertfordshire from 1911 and Page’s Victorian County History for Herts, published one year later confirm the H&C as having been built in the fifteen hundreds. Page even put a nice picture next to its write up. See below.

h&C image.from pages victorian county historyRecently an interesting document came my way: an essay written in 1955 by Janet Needham, the 13 year old daughter of the then landlord Percy Needham. You cannot expect historical accuracy from such writing of course but it did provide a unique insight. Let me quote or rather paraphrase: “In the early seventeen hundreds Queen Anne came to visit the H&C. She stayed in what is now known as ‘Queen Anne’s Room’ or in short ‘Annie’s Room’. Shortly before this visit, the house had been converted from a farm into a coaching inn. Annie’s room has a lovely fire place with the coat of arms, and with a priest-hole beside it. Opposite is the prie-dieu. During the Reformation an altar would have been placed in here, with candles and a cross, for worship.”

A 13yr olds Description of The Hand & Crown 1None of this of course amounts to real and definite proof of the actual age of the Hand and Crown be it the building or the Inn. For that we have to go to the archives where we find a document dated 3rd October 1724. It is a settlement made out on the marriage of Edward Bussey (the younger) and his bride Ann Ford by Edward Bussey of Little Bookham Surrey, father of the groom and Nathaniel Ford, father of the bride. It concerns a house and land referred to as “Garlick’s Close” otherwise Cook’s Croft on Pissers Street (Pishiobury?) Sawbridgeworth. The property was bought from Messrs Peter Snow and William Hodsell. Ownership from date of the document was held by the respective parents until their deaths when it would pass to the young couple. From that I presume the house and land were a wedding gift from the parents on either side. There is no mention of the premises being used as an Inn. The “Hand and Crown” name only starts being used in the early eighteen hundreds.

1724 H&C settlement small

In 1847 the Hand and Crown was sold at auction. In 1861 ownership passed to Messrs Hawkes of Bishops Stortford, a brewery of reknown at the time. Hawkes became Benskins, Benskins became Ind Coope, Ind Coope became Allied Breweries.  The photograph below dates from 1877 and was given to me by Jenny Scott. Jenny Scott is related to the Hawkes . William Hawkes  lived at Falconers (sometimes spelt Faulkners) just opposite the Hand and Crown which of course served Hawkes beer.

Hand  Crown 1877 sDuring the tenure of the Needhams at the H&C, the son of the family found some items either in the priest hole or the altar recess. There was a “French Docket”, some foreign coins and an “engraving” mentioning ”Turlington Balsam of Life” This was a semi medicinal concoction for sale between 1744 and the early 1900s. Turlington bottles were and are collector’s items. The paper probably was a booklet or brochure advertising the balsam and published in the 1750s. It was donated “to the Key Glass Factory in Edinburgh Way for their Museum of Glass”.
1847 auction 6    turlingtons balsam brochures

Landlords at the H&C in the eighteen hundreds were Nathaniel Harrington, John Palmer, Edward Crisp, Joseph Wybrew, Daniel Cakebread, Robert Christian, George Baldock and William Burridge. In 1905 Edward Charles (Charlie) Nottage took over. Charlie Nottage and his wife Sarah (Sally) took over the Hand and Crown. The Nottages had three daughters, Martha, Bessie and Frankie and a son, Richard Charles who died age 13 in 1913. In the first world war, the three daughters all joined the VAD, as explained elsewhere.

H&C Landlady Sally Nottage 1905-1943    H&C Charley and  Sally Nottage 1905-1943

Charlie and Sally managed the Hand and Crown on their own until the mid twenties when they were joined by Bessie, now surnamed Chadwick and Frankie aka Em. Bessie had three children, Richard, Peter and Sally. Frankie did not marry.  Bessie’s daughter Sally now takes up the story.
“I was born in October 1926 in a backroom of the pub. The midwife who delivered me was “Grannie Springham” then living in one of the pink cottages on the Green. Grannie Springham used to lay people out and also was a midwife. She was about to retire in 1926 but promised my mother to deliver me as her last ever job.

Hand & Crown 2 (2)Growing up in a pub had its attractions. With our father absent Granddad was the head of our family. He was strict. Twice on Sunday we went to church. We also needed to be silent during meals as “talking gives you indigestion”. Granddad smoked a pipe and kept chickens, turkeys and ducks. One duck was a particular favourite. Joey, we called the bird. When Granddad went to the outside toilet he used to hand Joey his pipe who then kept it in his beak and stood guard outside. Thus the animal was saved from the pot.
Every week the brewers would come with a cart and two beautiful horses. The men wore leather aprons and wheeled the barrels in the yard and from there into the cellar. Once a year there was the hunt with the men all dressed up in their red jackets and the women in black. It was a very impressive sight.”Hand & Crown c1929 sOne “regular” who used to visit the Hand and Crown in the late thirties was Tamara Desni, aka Brodsky a German born actress. She was probably best known for appearing with Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier in the historical epic Fire over England. Her husband at the time (she married four times!) was the director Bill Gillett and they lived in the Thatched Cottage (H.W. Lane).

In the late forties, early fifties cycling clubs started calling at the H&C. The first cyclist to come was a man from Leytonstone who turned up one day and asked for food. The Hand and Crown did not cater at that point. “I don’t drink tea” the man said, “I drink cocoa”. Mother Bessie served him a jug of cocoa, bread and butter, cake and jam which was all homemade. A week later the man turned up with a friend. More would come, 20, 30 of them. They were served dinner including pudding at half a crown and tea with scones etc at one and threepence. In the minds of many the Hand and Crown is still associated with cyclists sitting outside the pub in the sunshine having a drink and a rest.

Charlie Nottage died in 1940. Sally continued on her own for a while with the assistance of her two daughters, Bessie in the kitchen and Frankie behind the bar. During the second world war seven soldiers were billeted in the Hand and Crown. In 1943 Frankie took over as landlady. She carried on until 1955 when Percy and Jessie Needham took over.

The Needhams had previously been Landlord and Landlady at the John Barleycorn Inn in Threshers Bush near Harlow, for five and a half years. They had two daughters, Janet and Margaret, and a son, Graham. Sadly Graham died in 1993 age 59yrs.

Having installed Percy and Jessie as landlord and landlady, Benskins Brewery set about an extensive refurbishment programme. Jessie proved a worthy successor to Bessie Nottage and extended the catering. Food was now on offer every single day. Cycling clubs continued to use the Hand and Crown as a favoured stopover point. Workers at the Edinburgh Way Industrial estates discovered the attractions of the Sausage sandwiches and other culinary delights. Soon the pub was buzzing at lunchtime. In 1957 Benskins was sold to Ind Coope, but this made little difference to the day to day running of the place.

Hand & Crown Mary & Joe Mascall s

Mary and Joe Mascall’s golden wedding

Annie’s room was occasionally used for special celebrations. Mary and Joe Mascall celebrated their golden wedding there in the 1950s. On the below picture you can see quite a lot of locals from Hand Terrace and beyond. The Randalls, the Bardwells and the Searles can all be seen as can a regular John White. Host Percy Needham in all his glory stands on the right, Jessie stands in the middle of the back row.

Hand & Crown & High Wych Youth c1960 s

 The ‘High Wych Gang” in the late 50s

The room was also used by the High Wych Gang” (youth club) in the late 50s That Club in its various guises was an important feature in the sixties, seventies and even eighties. Led by (uncle) Stan Oakley, the High Wych Gang, performed plays, concerts sketches and pantomimes such as Cinderella. I wrote about these earlier on. Solid friendships and even marriages resulted from Club meetings. Reunions continued for many years and I am told one such meeting is being planned right now.
In December 28th 1963 Janet Needham married John Springham. “I got ready over the road at Falconers. Mrs Davies who lived there then kindly let my bridesmaids and I change in her house for more space and privacy! As our wedding car was waiting I met my father with whom I would set off to St. James’s Church up the road. We were both rather nervous so decided to have a quick drink for courage I had a brandy and milk and dad had a scotch. Bert Helmer and his wife stayed on to look after the pub whilst we were away at church. Another, more unhappy, situation had also arisen. Just before Christmas and whilst serving in the bar Mum tripped over my father’s foot and fractured her skull. She was in Haymeads Hospital, Bishop Stortford. She insisted that the marriage should still take place so after the service a friend drove me, my new husband John and four of our five bridesmaids to Stortford. We entered the ward armed with my bouquet, which I gave Mum, and a bottle of champagne. The patients and nursing staff all clapped and cheered!

Percy Needham passed away in 1967. He had been a very popular landlord. Jessie then continued on her own. She did well but retired in the early seventies. For a short spell she lived at Mulberry Green Harlow, and also at Actons. After that she moved to join her daughter and son-in-law John in Cornwall. She missed her friends though and moved back to a ground floor flat in Ware. She passed away in 1994 aged 84.

Between the seventies and the nineties, when current owners Bill and Jackie White took over, a number of companies owned the Hand and Crown. Forgive me if I cannot mention them all or reconstruct what happened when. Amongst them were Ind Coope, Allied Breweries, Brent Walker, Pub Masters and Punch Taverns. Managers during that time were Ken Marriage, Kevin Green, Peter de Sauvry and Daphne Lampard.
Bill and Jackie started out in 1992, initially as managers but in 2009 they bought the freehold. During that period the H&C also changed from a place for drinking to a gastropub. Over the years a number of VIPs found their way there. Kenny Ball was one as was Rod Stewart and the boys from Blue, one of which lived just down the road. When the Beckhams threw a pre world cup party in 2006, Jenson Button, one of the guests came to the H&C for a bite and a drink.

2014 H&C interior

The Hand and Crown’s interior as it is now.
One intriguing aspect of the H&C is the presence of a tunnel starting underneath the present kitchen in easterly direction towards the house named Falconers. What the purpose of the tunnel was is not known. One possibility is the transport of barrels of beer from Falconers to the pub. After all William Hawkes, one of the founding fathers of that brewing dynasty lived at Falconers from the 1850s to the 1880s. They very possibly did brew beer on the premises. Another possibility is tied to the fact that Falconers had (or still has?) an underground water cistern, so the tunnel may have been used to pump water between the two houses.
Nowadays the Hand and Crown is under the management of Andy Wolohan. Bill and Jackie White are in the process of slowing down and do not live locally anymore. The food is still good and appreciated by many.

Thanks this time go to Sally Elkins (nee Chadwick), Jenny Scott, Janet Springham (nee Needham) Jackie and Phil White, Eric Willison, and Andy Wolohan. Information was also found in Wikipedia and at HALS. The Hand and Crown website can be found at :  http://www.handandcrown.co.uk/

A Christmas Truce

sawbo footieHello,

The above photograph comes from a report on a recent charity football  match in memory of the famous 1914 Christmas Truce Match of 1914. It was published in the Herts and Essex Observer.    The event was well attended and raised £ 500 for the Herts Memorial Fund.  See   http://www.hertsatwar.co.uk/memorial for more information.  Three cheers for Gary Hanson  who organised the event.

A lot of information  abut the Truces (there were a number of them) has recently come to light. There is even a dedicated website : http://www.christmastruce.co.uk/  People may also have noticed  that the diary of Regimental Sergeant Major George Beck is being uploaded.  the link is http://news.dorsetforyou.com/rsm-beck-diary/ Thanks to the Herts at War people for alerting me to this.

The truces arose spontaneously and were not much appreciated by high command on either side of the fence.   Pope Benedict V had already failed to bring about an official one.  The story also goes that after the event participating soldiers were moved about for fear that fraternization with the army had weakened their resolve.

That is why in 1915 and subsequent years there were no repeats. The below article (from the Dundee Courier of 23-12- 1915 ) shows how quickly the media switched back to brute hostility mode.

Dundee Courier - Thursday 23 December 1915 1Dundee Courier - Thursday 23 December 1915 2Even today when, thanks to modern communication methods, we should be able to understand one another  better, there is little proof that that is happening. It is far too easy to blame it all on Johnny Foreigner. Let us not do that. Let’s work together!

Have a Happy Christmas.

Theo

The (Rising) Sun High Wych 1834

1834 1230  herts mercury rising sun for sale

Hello,

Recently I came across an advert from the Herts Mercury, published  in their edition of 30th December 1834.  See above. It tells us that the “well known public house called the Sun together a grocer’s shop” plus a homestead, 7 acres of land and six capital cottages will be auctioned following the bankruptcy of Joseph  Rivers.

A number of questions can now be asked:                                                         1. who was Joseph Rivers?  Was he perhaps related to the Rivers family from the nursery of the same name?                                                      2. Who bought the Sun – Rising  Sun and who became landlords?

It may very well be that I will have to rewrite my Rising Sun article as a result of this find.  I will definitely have to do some extra research. Meanwhile, does anybody have any ideas?

Let me know.  You can do so through the comment function (which now once again works) or through e-mail.

Regards,  Theo