Wickham Skeith Newsletter May 2021
~ DATES FOR YOUR DIARY ~ Wednesday, 5th May 2021
8pm on zoom Annual Parish Meeting 8.30pm on zoom Annual Parish Council
Thursday 6th May
Local elections & Police & Crime Commissioner election in the Village Hall
Thursday 6th May
Library van in village 9.45am and 10.05
Hilltop Women’s Group - 50 YEARS HILLTOPS The afternoon of Saturday July 17th is pencilled in for an outside tea and cake celebration of this established village club. Venue to be decided...weather, rules and numbers all have to be considered. It will be so good to see folk again. We are hoping for past and present members and any new ladies who are interested. All dependent on the situation at the time and how comfortable we feel about meeting up. Book the date and cross your fingers! Enquiries to Margaret Knights 01449767708 or rosecottageflowers@hotmail.co.uk Or Sue Merriam 01449766222
~HISTORY NOTES~ Village Maps – Part 1 The map on the facing page (which I hope has printed OK) is a small section of the Wickham Skeith Tithe Map of ca. 1840. Most parishes produced such a map after the Tithe Commutation Act of 1835. The original idea of tithes, where a farmer gave one tenth of his produce to the church, had changed significantly since the Reformation with many tithes being owed to lay people – sometimes in goods, sometimes in cash. The Act was intended to standardise these payments. Along with each map is an Apportionment - a list of lands, their occupiers, their owners and the tithe beneficiary. These maps & their apportionments are an invaluable resource for historians. As many of you know, Wickham Skeith tends to do things differently and our Tithe Map is no exception. Firstly, it’s huge – much larger than the normal Tithe Maps. The original is in the National Archives at Kew and measures 130cm X 160cm (4’3” X 5’3”). There are also 2 copies in the Suffolk Archives & I have some photograhs. Secondly, although approved by the Tithe Commissioners in 1840 it’s actually an earlier map which has had a few alterations. The title says: A Rough Map of the Parish of Wickham Skeith which contains 1770 acres 1 rood 25 perches surveyed in 1823 by John Hayward. (1 acre = 4840 sq yds; 4 roods in 1 acre; 40 perches in 1 rood.) Thirdly, although 99% of Tithe apportionments have the field-names, the Wickham Skeith fields only have numbers. For a long time there were some unanswered questions. Why was a parish map made for the village in 1823? Where were the field-names? The answers can be found in the Henniker Archives. Much of the land in this part of Suffolk was owned by the Henniker family who lived at Thornham Hall and there are extensive estate records held at the Suffolk Archives. Here we can find a document, written in 1829, relating to the Parish Map, with a list of fields with their names, areas, their owners and occupiers. I’m now 95% certain that the reason for the survey was to assess liability to pay the poor rate. Everyone who looks closely at a map sees something different, but I think there are several interesting points from the map of the Green: 1. There were a lot more cottages and farm buildings than now. It is difficult to believe, but in the 1851 census there were 56 households around the Green with 269 people. The area would have been a hive of activity. 2. The Green was larger than today – particularly to the north. The area at the front of the Place & where the Village Hall is now, was still common land. What is now Homeleigh at the north west corner was clearly on an encroachment that would soon extend towards Hall Farm. The shop (now the Old Post Office) was on the Green, but the school (now Hamelin) was yet to be built. 3. Building plans and the Grimmer appear inaccurately drawn. This was because the purpose of the map was to record land & its area – that aspect was done accurately. Next month I’ll have a look at the 1st large scale Ordnance Survey maps of 1885 – arguably the greatest maps ever produced. Pete Davidson pjdavidson42@gmail.com
~ W I C K HAM S K E I T H PAR I S H C O U N C I L ~ The annual meeting of the parish will be held on Wednesday, 5th May 2021 at 8.00 pm, by videoconference. The public and press are invited to attend. To join, use this link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/3840382653? pwd=UE1POTZwRngyTWwwMm9sM05XYm9kUT09 Email the Clerk at wickhamskeithpc@hotmail.com if you have queries about how to join the meeting. The meeting will be immediately followed by: Annual Parish Council Meeting: on Wednesday, 5th May 2021 at 8.30 pm, by videoconference. The public and press are hereby notified of the meeting and are invited to dial in to the meeting. Joining instructions are the same as for the Annual Parish Meeting (above). The Council, members of the public and press may record/film/photograph or broadcast this meeting, when the press and public are not lawfully excluded. At the Village Forum agenda item, the public will be invited to give their views/questions to the Parish Council on issues on the agenda, or raise issues for inclusion at future meetings. This item will be generally limited to 15 mins. Signed
Huw Roberts Proper Officer
Annual Parish Meeting: AGENDA 1.
Chair’s Welcome (to include apologies for absence)
2.
To confirm minutes of meeting held 13th May 2019
3.
Village Forum: An opportunity for the public to raise any relevant issues to the Council
4.
Reports: 4.1. Chair’s Report 4.2. Village Groups
5.
Next Meeting: 9th May 2022
~ W I C K HAM S K E I T H PAR I S H C O U N C I L ~
Annual Parish Council Meeting (AGM) AGENDA 1 Election of Chair 2 Election of Officers 3
a). To receive members’ Declarations of Interest on Agenda items b). To consider requests for dispensations.
4 To resolve that the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 8th March 2021 are accurate. 5 Village Forum: an opportunity for the public to raise any relevant issues to the Council. 6 To receive reports from County and District Councillors, Police, Parish Clerk and Parish Councillors: 6.1 SCC: Cllr Stringer 6.2 MSDC: Cllr Warboys 6.3 Parish Clerk (including Police report) 6.4 Parish Councillors, including: i. Community Speed Watch ii. General Data Protection Regulation iii. Community Emergency Plan, including Covid-19 emergency iv. Defibrillator 7 Correspondence Received 8
Finance 8.1 RFO’s report 8.2 Internal Accounts Audit & Control Review 2020/21 8.3 Annual Governance Statement 2020/21 8.4 Final Accounts Approval 2020/21 8.5 Accounting Statements 2020/21 8.6 Statement of Account as of 30th April 2021 8.7 Invoices for Approval
9 Planning Matters: to consider planning applications and note planning decisions received. 10 Working Parties: 10.1 Village Green 10.2 Grimmer Fishing 11 Councillor vacancies 12 Matters for next agenda 13 Next Meeting: July 12th 2021
~ S T. A N D R E W ’ S C H U R C H
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Church of England, Wickham Skeith Facebook: @bactonbenefice Rector: The Revd Carl Melville, The Rectory, Bacton, IP14 4LJ 01449 781650, email: carlmelville@hotmail.com Wardens: Liz Davidson 766622 and Margaret Jones-Evans 767121 For all enquiries about baptisms and weddings, please contact the Rector. Services in May 2021 At the moment, all indoor church services are suspended in our Benefice. You are welcome to join us for our Drive In services (see below) or for our online services by searching “Bacton Benefice” on YouTube or Facebook.
News and Notices Drive In Services – services in May will be held at Bacton Middle School, Sundays at 10.30am. Thank you to those who decorated the church for Easter. We know that there were some visitors who appreciated finding the church open to visit. B.O.B Foodbank – our benefice foodbank has helped over 40 households with food parcels and small grants. If you or someone you know needs some additional help during these difficult times, please contact Revd Carl or Bridget (677422). It might be for help with school uniforms, bus fees, hospital transport, food, unexpected bills. All contact with us is confidential. B.O.B APPEAL – we are still collecting non perishable foods. Please drop off food (tins etc) in the yellow collection boxes. If you would like to make a donation to the church in these days of no collection plate at services please ask Liz for the church account details or look online for A Church Near You, find the entry for Wickham Skeith St Andrew and go to the donation page. There is also a QR code for the purpose in the notice board outside the village hall and in church. Thank you. The annual meeting for the Benefice took place at the very end of March. With no other nominations Liz Davidson & Margaret Jones-Evans were re-elected as churchwardens and the PCC remains unchanged with the exception of Alice Palmer & Ron Wright who both stood down. We thank them both for their service, particularly Ron who had been on the PCC for about 50 years. If you read a local paper you may have noticed that Archant are running a competition called Cash 4 Charities. It's a means of helping charities who haven't been able to fund raise during the past year. A requirement of entry is a charity registration number and Liz has managed to register the Friends of St Andrews. The competition element is that we have to collect as many tokens from the paper as we can and the division of the available £20,000 will be in proportion to the number of tokens collected. So if you read the East Anglian Daily Times, or any other Archant paper, please would you look out for and collect the Cash 4 Charities tokens that will appear from next Monday April 26 until Saturday July 3 and pass them on. We then have to submit our total by July 18 and should know how much we will receive before the end of July. Weekly Email and News – if you’d like to sign up to receive our weekly news email, please contact the Rector.
~ S T. A N D R E W ’ S C H U R C H ~ A Letter from St. Andrew’s – a message from Elaine Miller, one of our Lay Readers as Revd Carl was on holiday following Easter As I write this, the nation and many parts of the world are mourning the death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. He was 99 years old and he probably packed more into his long life than all of us put together. He met millions of people, travelled the globe, helped bring the monarchy into the 20 th century and of course, began the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. We are grateful for his long life and dedication to this country, the Commonwealth and in particular to the Queen. Prince Philip was a man of faith and had many discussions about his faith with those in the church. His life was one of duty and service and that was a reflection of his faith. Jesus said, “Love God and love one another as I have loved you.” He was certainly one of God’s servants and his legacy will live on for many years. The DOE award was and still is highly valued and for millions of young people it has not only enabled them to face physical challenges but encouraged them to do service for others, something that many young people have now experienced and enjoyed, hopefully laying down the foundations for service in later life. During this pandemic there have been so many examples of service to others: charitable works, fundraising and voluntary work. Kindness to others and from others has been what has got many of us through these awful times and with that kindness has brought hope, hope for a better future and hope for humanity. Who can forget Captain Tom or the young lad who slept in his tent in his garden for over a year to raise money for the local hospice! We are now well into the Easter season and with the resurrection of Jesus Christ we too have hope. Hope that we can live our lives as Jesus taught us and hope in the resurrection. There are so many people who are bereaved and are mourning loved ones so let the hope of the resurrection and our prayers be with them in their suffering and especially with our Queen as she mourns her beloved husband of almost 74 years. God Bless
Fundraising for Church Open Gardens/Wickham Skeith in Bloom If all goes well with the Covid 19 opening up let’s celebrate with Wickham Skeith Open Gardens on Sunday 19th September. If you usually feel that your garden is not at its best in May then how about late summer this year? There will be the beginning of autumn colour and dahlias, Rudbeckia, other daisies and berries to see. Some experts will have wonderful hanging baskets and pots still in bloom too, so there will be lots to admire. On that note – there will be a competition for a front garden planted container so even if your whole garden is not open we’d like you to join in. We’ll give walkers through the village a real floral treat. Please let Liz or me know if you would be kind enough to open your garden and/or create a front garden flowering container. More details next month. Margaret Jones-Evans 767121
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THE BIG TURN OUT - Free or for a small cost Like almost everyone, I am taking the opportunity to do a big turn out and to stop being a 'storage' for things that might come in useful...... A variety of things including: Assortment of stemmed glasses (outside the gate) (free) Assortment of used Jiffy bags which are still very reusable and costly to buy (free) box in the porch to protect Two old lawnmowers, Hayter and Mountfield (may be useful for parts or an enthusiast to get going again) £15 each Bosch electric lawnmower (working) vgc £25 Glasses/drinks cupboard, top with glass shelves and light. Bottom part solid doors with bottle shelves. Good storage £25ono Various vacuum cleaners, all working, good if you need a spare £10 - £40 Sheraton dresser, separate glass door top (one small pane of glass out), bottom cupboard available £20 ono Bone China Tea sets with teapots, etc. various If you are interested in any of the above please give me a ring or e-mail. Thanks Margaret 766398 margaret.horne1234@btinternet.com
Free: Dark green leather armchair with flip up leg support in good condition and fire compliant. Contact Gill on 01449 766220 .
~ ADVERTISEMENTS ~
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~ ADVERTISEMENTS ~
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THE FOLLOWING ARE READILY AVAILABLE ALL YEAR ROUND Belly pork Slices £8kg Pork Mince £8.60 kg, Tenderloin £9.60kg, Ribs £5kg Sausages plain £8.60 kg - packs of 8, Gluten free Cumberland £9.40 kg, Sausage Meat £8.60kg Gourmet sausages in packs of 8 £9.40kg Toulouse, Red onion marmalade & Mature Cheddar, Port & Stilton BACK BACON UNSMOKED in 8 rasher packs £16.50kg, BLACK BACK BACON £19.87kg SMOKED STREAKY BACON £14.50 kg ORGANIC GRASS FED FREE RANGE HALF LAMB BOXES 4-5kg Fresh Frozen Vacuum packed and labelled £15kg HOGGITT & MUTTON LEG, SHOULDER, CHOPS & TENDERLOIN £15kg MINCE £8kg CONTACTLESS FREE DOORSTEP DELIVERY AVAILABLE #STAY-SAFE Sam at TAS Animal Care & Poultry at Knoll Farm, Wickham Skeith Mobile: 077424 50908 Landline: 01449 768620 www.tasanimalandpoultry.co.uk � � � �
LAND NEEDED 2 - 3 acres of rough grazing land needed (preferably to buy) for native ponies. Finningham, Wickham Skeith, Thornham, Bacton, Old Newton area. Anything considered. Immediate payment. Please contact C. Irving, Finningham catherine.helen@outlook.com
This newsletter is produced by Wickham Skeith Village Hall Committee
Suffolk Libraries The Mobile Library is next due to visit on 6th May. As a reminder it stops at the Chalet Bungalows from 09.45–10.00 am and outside Haymead House, The Street from 10.05–10.20 am.
Business Adverts Adverts are £5.00 per month, £25 for 6 months and £50 for one year. Cash or cheque (payable to “Wickham Skeith Village Hall”) to Melinda Appleby at Haymead House, The Street, in advance of the advert being placed please.
And finally... Please send all your village news and adverts for next month’s newsletter to Melinda: mappleby@tiscali.co.uk or call 01449 766879 By 26th June 2021
Newsletter printed by CopyDiss, 42a Mere Street, Diss IP22 4AG Tel: 01379 644567 www.copydiss.co.uk