July and August are traditionally the highlight months of the British Summer ‘Season’. Starting with Wimbledon fortnight, the ‘Season’ continues with the Henley Regatta, the F1 British Grand Prix, Newmarket’s July Festival, golf’s Open Championship, Glorious Goodwood and Cowes Week. It culminates with the Salon Privé Concours D’Elégance at Blenheim Palace, featuring a show-stopping array of immaculately presented classic cars.
In addition to America’s Independence Day on the 4th and St. Swithun’s Day on the 15th – a possible harbinger of wetter weather to come – July, named in honour of the Roman emperor Julius Caesar, is also host to a number of lesser-known national and international celebrations: International Joke Day on the 1st , World Chocolate Day on the 7th, Shark Awareness Day on the 14th and National Cousins Day on the 24th .
These continue into August (no prizes for guessing who this month was named after…) with International Days for Owl and Cat Awareness on the 4th and 8th respectively, Left Handers’ Day on (when else?) the 13th and World Photography Day on the 19th. Bank Holiday weekend (23rd-25th) – the last before Christmas – brings a welcome respite and an opportunity to wind down with the Gin Festival at the Kings Head, Pebmarsh.
Before then – and assuming it doesn’t rain on July 15th – there are hopefully a couple of months of long, warm summer days still to come: time to appreciate some further parishioner suggestions for interesting books for the garden or beach in The Reading Room (Page 16)
Our Local Myths and Legends feature this month relates the strange tale of the Lady in the Lake (Page 5) while elsewhere in this issue, as well as our usual Gardening and Nature Notes, there are also reports on the Maple Leaves visit to the Beth Chatto Gardens (Page 6); updates on the results of BDC’s Waste & Recycling Consultation (Page 7), Central Connect’s contract renewal for operating the DaRT3 Bus Service (Page 11) and the findings of a review of the eleven Parish sites that last year were put forward for future development under BDC’s Local Plan (Page 13).
As well as urging you to use the services of our advertisers (and to make sure you tell them you are doing so), we would also encourage you to contribute articles to the magazine. News from your village and/or village hall, information about forthcoming events and activities, reports of Council business, nostalgic memories and so on: all are essential to maintaining Parish News as a vital, mutually beneficial community amenity, informing and entertaining all those living and working in the four Parishes
So, if you have any favourite books to suggest, stories of local myths and legends you would like to share or any other articles of local interest that you think would benefit from wider coverage, we’d love to hear from you. Please send your contributions to the Editorial address (Page 31).
Cover Picture: Young Little Owls by Jenny Swallow
Letter from the Reverend Beverley Vincent
As we step into the heart of summer, I find myself giving thanks for the long, light-filled days that July and August brings. There’s something quietly beautiful about the way the sun lingers well into the evening, casting golden light over our villages and beautiful landscape.
In John’s Gospel, we are told: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) These words feel especially meaningful during the brightness of summer. Nature itself seems to echo this promise—the enduring truth that God's light continues to shine, often quietly and steadily, even in times when we may feel weary or unsure.
Long days can bring a slower rhythm for many of us. Schools are out, holidays are often planned, and life can feel a little less rushed. Whether we are traveling, staying home, or simply going about our usual routines, we can each reflect something of God’s presence to those around us— through kindness, patience, generosity, and hope.
May this summer be a time of warmth not just from the sun, but from God’s love made visible in our lives and our communities. May you find rest for your soul and light for your path.
Have a great summer.
Rev’d Beverley. 01787 460 273 khvicar@gmail.com
Church Services in July 2025 (August Services are on Page 34)
Saturday 26th 2.00pm Meet, Cake, Create Great Maplestead Village Hall
Sunday 27th 9.30am 11.00am 4.00pm
Holy Communion Morning Worship Compline Great Maplestead Pebmarsh Gestingthorpe
The Lady in the Lake
The mid eighteenth century was a dangerous time, particularly in Essex, for any pretty, low born young woman who had knowledge of the use of herbs and an affinity with birds and animals. The accusation of being a witch and using witchcraft for their own ends was often made against such women and so it was with Poll Miles, who lived in Castle Vere (now Castle Hedingham). She resided alone with her father, who rarely spoke to or even noticed her, so she behaved exactly as she pleased, whiling away her time drawing strange chalk circles on the floor and bending flowers and straws together to wear as a hat. Her mother, Barbara Miles, came from a village some twenty miles away and, it was said, was well versed in the use of herbs and potions for her own ends; she was believed to have used witchcraft to ensnare Poll’s father into marriage.
Sometime after Barbara’s death, which was said to have been “strange and awful”, Poll’s father returned to Castle Vere with his daughter but he was a changed man, gloomy and reserved, toiling in the fields all day and beating and bullying Poll to keep the house neat and tidy. When this failed father and daughter just lived under the same roof, in squalor.
At this time Joe Scott, a handsome man of Poll’s age, was the village horse keeper. Fancied by many of the young girls in the village, he only had eyes for Poll but she teased him with her wild ways and dark moods. This behaviour only served to increase Joe’s ardour, which made him determined that she should behave properly, as a young woman ought. To please Joe, Poll did so for a while but, when another young woman from the village named Celeste made it clear that she wanted Joe for herself, Poll’s good behaviour vanished – she reverted to her old ways.
As a result Joe incresingly found Celeste a much more attractive option. When Poll, on a cold Halloween night, overheard the two of them exchanging words of love as they passed her on their way to the winter ball traditionally held at the village’s castle, she flew into a rage and repeatedly hit Celeste, whereupon Celeste accused her of being a witch and sorceress. After this altercation Poll disappeared and was seen no more except by Joe, to whom she often appeared as a ghostly vision.
The coldest period of the winter that followed lasted for some eleven weeks and it was only after the thaw began that Poll’s body, said to be smiling with full colour on her lips and long flowing hair, was discovered and pulled from the castle’s previously iced-over lake.
As an alleged witch, Poll was buried in unhallowed ground at a crossroads just outside Castle Vere, at a spot that locals are still reported to avoid. However, each summer, flowers are laid there by unknown hands to mark the last resting place of poor Poll Miles.
Sources: A Castle Hedingham Story by Lady Margaret Majendie EHTV Series – Mysterious Essex: Part 6 – Witches (View at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfVlSwMnghM)
The Maple Leaves Visit to Beth Chatto Gardens
For those not familiar with Beth Chatto OBE (1923-2018) she was an award-winning plantswoman who won ten consecutive gold medals at the Chelsea Flower show in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Her aim was to develop gardens with plants that worked well with the conditions, rather than against them. Of the five different garden areas that she developed the most well-known is the dry garden, which is never irrigated yet looks fantastic. Her gardens are now a Grade II listed heritage site, located just to the east of Colchester and well worth a visit.
The Maple Leaves decided that it was time to enjoy an outing and Beth Chatto Gardens was the chosen venue. On a rather dodgy day weather-wise, sixteen intrepid ladies set off. Luckily the rain stayed away for most of the day, with just a light drizzle for a short time, allowing us to enjoy a leisurely lunch in the very good tea rooms.
As well as 7½ acres encompassing the five main garden types, there is a huge nursery with over 2000 different species being grown –many propagated from Beth’s work with her team. The visit was extremely interesting and we had a very enjoyable day.
If you are interested in joining the Maple Leaves feel free to contact Angela Davis on 01787 236 007. Her details are also in the inside front cover of this magazine. You will be made very welcome.
BDC Waste & Recycling – Future Plans
Following a public consultation, in which almost 8,000 residents took part, the Braintree District Council Cabinet meeting on 27th May agreed changes to bin collections, which will come into effect on 1st June 2026. The Government is requiring ‘simpler recycling’ through legislation, so a new system had to be introduced to meet the law. Local implementation however was left in the hands of individual Councils.
The new arrangements should help get the District to over 60% recycling, with a key aim of recycling more food waste – a study of bin waste in November 2024 found that almost 1/3 of waste in black bins was food.
As part of the plans, hard-copy Recycling Calendars are to be reinstated, which is good news because many people relied on these traditional sources of information and the new collection arrangements will be more complicated than the current ones, viz:.
Green waste as now – once a fortnight, for those subscribing
Food waste will stay the same – weekly, using the current caddies.
Black bins (residual waste) will be collected only every 3 weeks.
Recycling will no longer be in clear sacks but instead in 2 new wheelie bins with alternating fortnightly collections: paper and card in one bin and all other recycling, including glass, in the other.
BDC is spending about £4.25m on the changes, which includes £3.75m on new bins and boxes. Some 15% of properties in the District do not have space for extra wheelie bins so there will be bespoke arrangements for flats and homes with space restrictions.
All households should get letters this autumn notifying whether they will be on ‘standard' collections, so needing 2 additional wheelie bins, or ‘nonstandard’ collections, such as for flats. Details of the actual collection days will follow in spring 2026, along with the new Recycling Calendars.
It’s worth noting that if the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) currently being proposed for Essex, combining current Local Councils to create a larger ‘more efficient’ Unitary Council, goes ahead, BDC will not exist in 3 years’ time – with the possibility that combining the new Unitary Authority’s collection systems may mean yet more changes in future.
Local Bus Update
Central Connect, which took over responsibility for the DaRT3 bus service at the beginning of August 2024, initially for a 3-month fare-free trial period and then as a charged-for service until June 2025, have confirmed that they re-tendered for and have re-won the contract, so this on-demand bus service will now continue unchanged. Charging remains as before, the fare being £3 for any single journey.
As a reminder, DaRT3 needs to be pre-booked: it does not run to a regular, or published, operating timetable and it is not a taxi service – it will only operate if 4 or more passengers want to do similar journeys at broadly similar times.
Doubts therefore remain about its suitability for people needing to be at their destinations by a particular time: there can be no guarantee about either pick-up/drop-off times – or even the duration of journeys – from one day to the next, as the service may need to accommodate differing numbers of passengers booked in different locations, dependent on each day’s demand.
DaRT3 operates Mondays to Saturdays between 6.00am and 8.00pm. Concessionary bus passes are accepted after 9.00am Monday to Friday and all day on Saturdays.
To book call: 0115 777 3187 or e-mail: dart@central-connect.co.uk, but please note: e-mail bookings are not confirmed until you receive confirmation from the DaRT Booking Centre, as all bookings are subject to availability.
The DaRT Booking Centre is open between 8.00am and 6.00pm Monday to Saturday.
You must book by 6.00pm the day before you wish to travel.
Bookings for a Monday must be made by 6.00pm on the previous Saturday. Bookings can be made up to 14 days in advance of your desired travel date.
If you need to cancel a booking, contact the DaRT Booking Centre. Please give as much notice as possible in order to free up vehicle capacity for other passengers who may wish to use the service.
If you have any questions about the operation of the DaRT3 service, please call or e-mail the Booking Centre.
Further information on the DaRT3 service, including a map showing its areas of operation, can be found on the Travel Essex website.
Local Plan Update
At its meeting on Thursday 19th June the Local Plan Sub-Committee of Braintree District Council considered the eleven sites across Great and Little Maplestead and Pebmarsh (there were none in Gestingthorpe) that, last year, were proposed for inclusion in the Local Plan to meet the area’s longer-term housing and infrastructure needs until 2041
In preparation for the meeting the suggested sites were all assessed for their development suitability, using BDC’s calculation metric for determining the potential for housing – 25 houses per developable hectare. Developments of this density could mean an additional 35 dwellings in Great Maplestead, 21 in Little Maplestead and 32 in Pebmarsh, not only dramatically increasing the size of these villages but also, using another BDC metric – 2.3 cars per household – introducing an additional 200 cars to roads in the local area.
With no regular, reliable scheduled bus service, existing village residents are primarily reliant on cars for transport. Most residents of any new housing would have to do the same, using the local rural roads – narrow, unlit, many with national (60mph) speed limits, few with pavements and most being poorly surfaced, precluding safe cycling or walking – to access key services, medical facilities and even schools. As a result, the suggested developments would conflict with Local Planning Policy SP3’s sustainable principles: “development locations should be accessible by a choice of means of travel.”
During a previous Local Plan Review, BDC stated 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, the National Planning Policy Framework and Local Planning Policy SP1 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 three affected villages are designated ‘Tier 3’ by BDC – meaning they are “unsustainable due to a total reliance on other local towns and villages for key services and facilities”. The suggested developments would therefore also conflict with local and national planning policies.
After assessing all the sites that had been put forward, the recommendations made to the Sub-Committee were that none of the eleven should be allocated for development:
Great Maplestead was not considered a priority location for new housing growth within the district
Little Maplestead’s sites were seen as incrementally encroaching into the countryside and being an unsustainable expansion of the village
Pebmarsh was not currently considered suitable for site allocations, but could accommodate future limited infill or windfall developments.
The recommendations not to allocate these sites were accepted and will be carried through to the next consultation phase this autumn. Before then there will be an opportunity for further sites to be put forward for consideration. A webcast of the Sub-Committee meeting can be viewed until December, using this link: http://braintree.publici.tv/core/portal/home
The Reading Room
With the holiday season in full swing, here are some recommendations from people around the four parishes for books, this time linked by their historical themes, to enjoy while relaxing in the garden or on the beach:
THE GREATEST KNIGHT: Elizabeth Chadwick
The story of William Marshall, who rose from penniless obscurity to become England’s foremost knight in the reign of Henry ll. This is the most accessible and addictive story about him I have read.
A SINGLE THREAD: Tracy Chevalier
An author that never fails to impress – remember Girl with a Pearl Earring, based on Vermeer’s famous painting or Remarkable Creatures, about Mary Anning the fossil hunter, filmed with Kate Winslett in the lead role? This book draws the reader into the 1930s world of a single woman protagonist caught between mundane family responsibilities and a desire to be free. She satisfies both, discovering new passions through the unlikely worlds of church embroidery and bellringing. Oh yes, and she also falls in love…..!
BLOOD AND BEAUTY: Sarah Dunant
A book that takes the reader into the world of 15thC Italy, centred on the lives of the Borgias, particularly Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI. Its fascinating insights are reminiscent of Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell trilogy and anyone who loves and has travelled in Italy will appreciate the evocation of history and landscape which is uncovered. It will whet the appetite of anyone new to this world.
THE SIX TUDOR QUEENS: Alison Weir
A series of six books detailing the story of each of Henry VIII’s Queens, written in a very engrossing style. The author has a way of drawing you into the queens’ actual lives and you find how they really lived. The first book – the Katherine of Aragon story –revealed her enormous strength of character and shatters many myths about Henry’s first wife. The rest of the books are equally fascinating and if you like historical novels this series is perfect!
MORNINGS IN JENIN: Susan Abulhawa
This book starts in a refugee camp in Jenin in Palestine in 1948 and follows a story of a family through four generations. Although fictional, it is based on real life events told through the eyes of a Palestinian girl and provides a sometimes harrowing insight into the problems of one of the most intractable conflicts of our times. A very powerful book, especially in the light of the recent events…
Next time we will be recommending some interesting and amusing books for autumn reading. If you have any suitable suggestions for September’s Reading Room, please send them to the Editorial address on Page 31
A
Show and Some Useful Services
Gardening Corner
How time flies – and now we have come to the summer double issue of Parish News. Details of, and an entry form for, the Maplestead Autumn Show are enclosed, where applicable.
This month I shall mention three summer garden favourites of mine. First of all, Sweet Peas: they come in such a variety of colours not to mention the perfume. Remember to dead-head regularly and water heavily once a week in dry weather and you will have blooms for an extended period.
There are far more insects in my garden this year, bees in particular. One of their favourite plants is Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ and Salvia ‘Royal Bumble’ – on a warm evening these half-hardy type shrubs are alive with bumble and honeybees. Salvia varieties over-winter in a sheltered garden – give them a trim with shears and treat them to a mulch in the spring and they will provide weeks of colour.
Another hardy herbaceous plant are Geums: they are at their best in May, June and early July. Again, they come in a variety of reds, pinks and oranges –a bonus is that, as they have hairy leaves, they are not attractive to rabbits and slugs, which tend to leave them alone.
Lastly, a gap filling plant, the hardy Geranium: most garden centres will normally have four or five varieties for sale. They are an easy plant to look after – cut back the foliage after flowering and you will probably get a second flush of flowers. To propagate, divide established clumps with a spade and you will have a plant to fill in a bare area. Mix in a little compost with the soil, ensure the top of the plant is level with the soil and water well.
In the vegetable garden potatoes can be lifted. Once the tops start to die off, shallots can be harvested. I would not recommend pulling rhubarb after July as it needs to recover, especially after the dry spring we have experienced.
A word of warning: watch out for wasps’ nests, especially if you are strimming or cutting a hedge (check for birds’ nests before undertaking the latter). Even weeding a flower border, you can come across wasps’ nests at ground level.
Take care out there
The Arborist
Nature Notes
A surprise call recently led to me being introduced to a lovely lady who invited me into her garden to see –wait for it – a breeding pair of Little Owls! They were in a dead tree stump with a largish hole, not much above head height and, amazingly, right next to goal posts where her grandchildren play (see this month’s cover for a close-up). One of the young emerged from the hole and the adult flew in with a beetle and fed it. My hostess told me there were three young and sometimes they are all out, flapping their wings and close to flying free. This in a garden in the middle of Great Maplestead!
Little Owls were native to Britain before the last ice age but became extinct, although they survived in their wider range throughout Europe and Asia plus parts of Northern Africa. The were deliberately reintroduced in the 19thC and have since become widespread. In the early 1900s it was decided that they were pests, as young chickens and game birds were seen to be taken, so attempts to eradicate them began. Numbers did decline but they held on until eventually they were given protection under the law.
Today, they are known to have a wide range of prey and by no means specialise in young birds. Small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, crickets, beetles, earwigs and earthworms all contribute to their diet. They are predominantly nocturnal hunters, although the demands of keeping up with hungry young, as I witnessed firsthand, can extend their parenting into the daylight hours. It was a joy to see them and I want to thank the lady for letting me into her garden. I have seen other Little Owls around the patch, so they are not uncommon, but never at a nest or with young.
I have monitored the Mandarin ducks reported in last month’s issue, but while the adults have remained on and around the pond there has been no sightings of ducklings. This, I hasten to add, does not mean they haven’t bred. They are secretive and my visits were infrequent.
Butterflies are often in the news as under threat and declining. Last year I don’t remember seeing a Small Tortoiseshell at all, normally a common sight in the garden. Species do have good and bad years, and I have been delighted to see them this year on several occasions. Unusually, I have also seen a Painted Lady – an immigrant that doesn’t normally appear in Britain until July. My mid-June sighting is very early, but as the climate warms it perhaps not surprising to see patterns changing. The more butterflies, the better!
Patch Patroller
Gestingthorpe Goings-on
Gestingthorpe Village Hall Management Committee Notice
Following the Village Hall AGM held on Wednesday 11th June, the members of the Management Committee are as follows: Elected members: Dawn Green, Nic Smith, Roger Goldsmith, Myra Quick, Geoff Quick and Steve Bagby
Representative members: Penny Bagby (Parish Council), Peter Nice (Parochial Church Council) and Andy Craig (History Group).
At the Management Committee meeting following the AGM, Dawn Green was re-elected as Chairman and Roger Goldsmith elected as ViceChairman. Nic Smith & Penny Bagby were re-appointed as Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
Thank you to the members of the public who attended the AGM.
The date of the next AGM is 3rd June 2026.
Gestingthorpe Village Hall Coffee Morning & Book Exchange
Fortnightly on Fridays from 10.00am to 12 noon
Please join your friends and neighbours in the Village Hall for tea, coffee, cake and a chat. Tea or coffee and cake £3.00 (cash only). Bring a book to swap with one from our library or buy a book for £1. Our bookcase is located next to the big window in the small hall. There are a large range of books and genres to choose from.
The next Coffee Mornings and Book Exchange will be on 4th & 18th July and 1st, 15th & 29th August
All funds raised go towards the running & maintenance of the Village Hall.
Friends of Pebmarsh Church Report
The Friends of Pebmarsh Church (FOPC) committee met on the 3rd June to review recent results and plan further for 2025. The Pebmarsh Church Council (PCC) was represented at the meeting by Rev’d Beverley Vincent. Through the generous donations from members of FOPC, visitors to the church, the general public and the fund raising by the FOPC, a number of the repairs and renewals identified in the church’s current quinquennial report have now been completed and financed in whole or part with the assistance of the FOPC. Further works to be carried out in 2025 include repairs to the steps, tree surgery in the church grounds, covering fees for the church alarms and the additional policy costs and repairs to the flint wall in the church grounds that were not possible under the insurance claim.
This year the FOPC have been monitoring, through monthly inspections, for any signs of movement of the church porch, after it was noted that there was some movement last year. So far this year there has been no further movement so it has settled for now. The porch monitoring will continue and monitoring of some of the church windows will now commence.
FOPC will once again have a stall at the village’s ‘Bit of a Do’ village fete on 19th/20th July, which this year will be shared with the PCC. We look forward to seeing everyone there and invite you to stop by, catch up and chat about our wonderful church and how to assist with the protection and preservation of the fabric of the buildings for generations to come. The FOPC continue to express their sincere thanks to all that supported and assisted us and with a new quinquennial report due in 2026 we look forward to assisting the PCC.
Perry, Jonathan, Ron, Catherine - FOPC
Forthcoming Local Events
Hedingham Heritage Society
Our summer months’ programme continues with tales of Essex conflicts over the last 2,000 years, an exploration of our local church’s history and a talk on fungi.
Thursday 3rd July
Saturday 16th August
‘Battlefield Essex’. Andrew Summers – Local Historian, Author and Public Speaker – will be exploring conflicts in Essex over a 2,000-year time frame – Viking raiders, Civil War sieges, the Battle of the Flags, World War II bombings, nuclear shelters and much more.
7.30pm – Castle Hedingham Memorial Hall
‘St Nicholas Church, Castle Hedingham’. Charles Bird – Village Recorder, Author and Local Historian – will be taking us on a detailed historical exploration of this Norman church, described by Nikolas Pevsner as ‘the finest church in Essex’.
2.00pm – at the Church. Please book at our July meeting or by contacting Rob, Trudi or Mark (details below)
Thursday 4th September
‘Mushrooms and Fungi’. Chris Gibson – Naturalist, Conservationist and Author – will be talking about some of the nearly 15,000 types of wild fungi that can be discovered in the UK.
7.30pm – Castle Hedingham Memorial Hall
Annual Membership of our local and natural history society is just £15.
Members come free to 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
Events at St Giles’
St Giles’ Church is holding a special events week in August.
The Hymns and Pimm’s evening on Sunday 10th will be celebrating, with the eponymous drink, a selection of people’s favourite hymns.
Along with interesting background information about the composers of the hymns, this event will also include a Flower Festival featuring hand-crafted arrangements designed and themed to each hymn.
These flower arrangements will then be on display all week – please feel free to visit and admire them whenever you can.
This special week concludes with Café Church’s Charity Afternoon Tea on Saturday the 16th, raising money to improve the lives of people affected by Breast Cancer. Any help with refreshments and the provision of cakes would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Philippa Mills (01787 460 578) for further information.
Parish News Information
Advertising/Announcements/Articles
The 2025 Parish News Business Advertising Rates for the year (10 issues, pro-rated as applicable) and for monthly single issue advertisements and fundraising event announcements are shown below, along with the Copy/Artwork Deadline dates for the next four issues of Parish News:
Contacts: Advertising
Articles
Please submit these by e-mail, preferably as a Word document attachment with separate images:
½ page: 150-160 words + images
Full page: 400-420 words + images
The Parish Representatives, to whom articles and event announcement submissions should be sent, are listed on the Inside Front Cover.
Alderford Water Mill
Alderford Mill is a Grade II-listed timber building in a style typical of many rural water mills and is one of the best preserved in Essex. It stands where Alderford Road crosses the River Colne on the east side of Sible Hedingham and is regularly open to the public on the second Sunday of each month from April to October, between 2.00pm-5.00pm.
The earliest known reference to a water mill on this site dates from 1597. The current mill building is 19thC, with the earlier undershot waterwheel probably being 17thC
The original 18thC mill had two sets of water-driven millstones but in around 1850 the mill was altered to incorporate a steam mill, allowing production to be increased and to offset against times when the water level was too low to drive the waterwheel. During these alterations the mill was equipped with three sets of steam-driven millstones in addition to the two sets of waterdriven millstones. One of the latter has now been restored to working order and runs on Open Days, when water levels are high enough.
Eventually the steam engine was replaced with an oil engine and, in the 1940s, the mill was electrified at which time belt-driven free-standing crushers replaced the engine-driven millstones. These and the water-driven millstones continued grinding corn and, following WWII, pulses for animal feed until the mill stopped commercial production in 1956.
Essex County Council bought the building in 1994 and has overseen its restoration process, funded by donations, by the Friends of Alderford Mill.
Alderford Water Mill, Alderford Street Sible Hedingham, Halstead, Essex CO9 3HZ
Contact via Messenger on Facebook: search for Friends of Alderford Mill
