Last night society trustees were delighted to welcome 21 members of the Long Melford Historical and Archaeological Society (LMHAS) for a walking tour of the village, followed by light refreshments in the Parish Room. Happily the weather did its bit as the evening was glorious and the village looked a treat.
The tour began in the church, the building LMHAS members were most interested in following a recent talk by their president, Clive Paine, in which he made copious reference to our very own St Lawrence. We think we did justice to the church building, with brasses revealed, the listed organ viewed and discussed, the Frank Francis carved cross talked about, as also were the numerous wall plaques, the font and the pulpit etc, and a number of visitors bought church guides for some additional reading.
The tour proper then started with a walk down Church Road to Pink Cottage, with stops to talk about Priory Farm and the School House, then back up towards The Street with stops for The Priory, Churchside and the Parish Room. Our guests had by this time separated into smaller groups, each with a trustee; all had been given a leaflet detailing the main features of the buildings of interest, and this elicited many questions which (hopefully) all trustees were able to answer.
Turning left we meandered down to The Grange and back, with stop offs at The Old White Horse, Greengates (the old Wesleyan Chapel), Park House and The Swan, which in its current state elicited many questions from visitors. Carrying on, we stopped at Enniskillen, Pitt Cottage / The Stores and Wood Hall, for one of the highlights of the evening. Lauren had very kindly allowed nearly 30 people to wander down her drive to view the rear of this very lovely 16th/17th century hall, which was basking in the setting sun with all its wonderful wooden beams on show.
Carrying on we then stopped by Malting Farm before taking the footpath down to the church, giving us a chance to advise of the Commonwealth war grave in the Open Churchyard and the grave of Robert Branford in the closed churchyard. The latter rose to the rank of Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police, something highly unusual in the 1850’s for a black man with limited education. He had clearly impressed his superiors and judges by ascending to this senior rank, so much so that in 2017, 200 years after his birth, a memorial service was held by his grave, with senior members of the current Metropolitan Police Force present, reinforcing the importance of Robert’s achievements and acting as a continuing role model for the future.
After about 90 minutes, trustees and guests gratefully retired to the Parish Room for some well deserved refreshments and discussion of any further questions. We even sold a couple of the village histories and some more of Clive Paine’s church guide, all proceeds from which benefit the church renovation fund.
Hopefully our guests had a great time, we certainly did, and even better, LMHAS are reciprocating with members of LWHS invited to tour selected parts of Long Melford, along with a visit to their Heritage Cente. To see what LMHAS do, please visit their website: https://www.lmhas.co.uk/
The guided tour of LM will be on Wednesday 3rd July, commencing at 19.00 at the Heritage Centre, and is for members only; please let myself or Sue Sheppard know in advance, so that we can keep track and not lose anyone on the night.
Our next talk is on Wednesday 22nd May, at 7.30 in the LW Parish Room, when David Wood will tell us the history of Felixstowe’s Landguard Fort, and a fascinating story it will be; having visited, I can highly recommend it, and this talk should really whet the appetite of those who have yet to visit.
Lastly, here are reminders of two further trips organised by trustees, who have recently been exceptionally busy:
- Nethergate Brewery on Wednesday 5th June at 1.00 pm; and
- Harwich Historical Tour on Saturday 6th July
This is going to be a fantastic tour of the heart of the old town, guided by members of The Harwich Society with visits to the museums they operate, lunch on the Ha’penny Pier and a visit to Beacon Hill Fort in the afternoon. Pick up by dedicated coach will be from the The Swan car park at 09.00, with departure from Harwich at 16.00. With a subsidy from your society, we have set the incredibly low prices of only £15.00 for members and just £20.00 for non-members.
Please contact Sue Sheppard on 01787 247980 or email sheppard.susanm@gmail.com to confirm your booking, because numbers are limited.
sheppardandy
Little Waldingfield History Society 