Wickham Skeith Newsletter August 2021
~ D A T E S F O R Y O U R D I A R Y ~ HURRAH
August 2021 Saturday 7th
Village Social on the Green 6-9pm
Thursday 26th
Mobile Library 9.45-10.20am @ two stops
Saturday 28th
Books & Jigsaw Sale & coffee 1 Broadway 10-12 noon
September 2021 Saturday 4th
Hilltop Women’s Group 50th Anniversary 2pm Village Hall
Wednesday 8th
Lunch Club 12 noon for 12.30 Advance Bookings please
Saturday 11th
Suffolk Churches Ride & Stride 9am-5pm
Sunday 12th
Walking Treasure Hunt 2.30pm onwards
Monday 13th
Parish Council 8pm All Welcome
Saturday 19th
Wickham Skeith Open Gardens 2-6pm
~VILLAGE HALL NEWS ~
Let's try again.....! We hope to hold a Village Social on the Green on Saturday 7th August from 6pm to 9pm. There will be a bar and barbecue although you may choose to bring your own picnic tea for yourself and family if you wish. We would encourage you to bring your own chairs or a blanket to sit on. We hope to make this an informal village get-together where people can mingle and chat. (Please observe any distancing as you choose-or wear masks-we really don't mind but it will be good just to see folk again). There are new members of our village community who it would be great to meet so please do also come along. We hope that there will be some games to join in with and play-maybe a fete favourite or two! Sunday September 12th is in the diary as a walking treasure hunt around the village footpaths. A well-known villager is setting the route with abundant clues and directions and activities which can be completed by children you bring along. The clue/direction sheets are available from the village hall from 2:30 onwards at a cost of £5. Maximum in the group is five please. You could of course do it on your own! The bar will be open and there will be tea/coffee and sausage rolls available after completion of the route. Well the bar will be open from 2pm and I'm sure tea/coffee could be as well! We hope that the Lunch Club will soon swing into action and that we will be able to have a Village Quiz but perhaps in November and not December. Some traditional events the committee has thought may just be considered still potentially risky so have put off decisions about those. Hopefully there will be two events for the children as well but we will keep you posted on those.
All bookings of the Village Hall and its equipment should go to: Gill Colchester Telephone 01379 788040 or Mobile 07850 641233 Email. gillyano@live.co.uk Hourly rate: £8.00 or part hour thereof. Minimum booking period 2 hrs. Day rate (24 hour period): £85.00. 25% reduction in rate for Wickham Skeith residents and Wickham Skeith village groups and organisations. Official bodies (e.g. elections): £200.00 per day. A 30 minute "warming up" period will be allowed in cold weather.
~NEWS FROM THE CLUBS & OTHER EVENTS~
49/59 Club For over 15 years Jeanne Mason has been running the 49 Club, to raise money for the Village Hall, which she instigated and started on her own initiative. She has raised thousands of pounds to off-set some of our expenses and purchase new items. These include helping with the insurance bills, paying for all the new soft chairs, the new screens and kitchen items etc. As you can appreciate there are a lot of expenses associated with a hundred year old building and we are incredibly grateful to her for this help. The last eighteen months has seen the Hall standing unused: let's hope that we will be back in there again soon. Jeanne has indicated that she is ready to stand down as the organiser. Pete Davidson has kindly volunteered to take over the running of the club. In next month’s Newsletter we will relaunch the Club and explain how it works. We would like to thank Jeanne for all that she has done.
Nigel Merriam
Recent Winning Numbers - 23, 01, 01, 59
Lunch Club Due to the delay in lifting the Covid restrictions we have agreed to delay the opening of Lunch Club. This was to happen in August but we are thinking positively and have a tentative plan to reopen on 8th September 2021. We would like to invite all those who live in the village and who have reached the age 60 or over to join us. Of course those who have recently moved into the village are especially warmly welcomed too. Please contact me for any further information if you are interested in joining us. It is planned that this September meeting will now be the lunch to celebrate the Golden wedding anniversary of Peter and Liz Davidson. So this should be a great way to start our Lunch Club again after such a long and difficult time away! Please arrive at 12 midday for a 12.30 start. In order for us to cater for the correct numbers can I please ask that anyone wishing to attend on the 8th September, either already members or new members, should book a place by the 3rd September by phone or email, contact details below. Jenny Elphick contact - Tel 01449 766885 or
email jenny.elphick@sim.org
~NEWS FROM THE CLUBS & OTHER EVENTS~ Hilltop Women’s Group Hilltops 50th Anniversary Event on Saturday 4th September 2pm Village Hall. Final announcement next month with details. Fingers crossed Margaret Knights 01449767708 Sue Merriam 01449766222
Suffolk Churches Ride & Stride – Sat 11 September Suffolk Historic Churches Ride & Stride event will be going ahead on Sat 11 th Sept 9am – 5pm. Many churches will be open & you can get sponsored to visit as many or as few as you feel able, by cycle or on foot. Of the money raised, 50% goes to the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust & 50% to your nominated church. I have done the ride for most years since 1987 & it’s a good way to see churches in Suffolk & Norfolk. It’s also a great way to raise money for the building fabric of the church. If you would like to take part, I have sponsorship forms & further information. Alternatively, if you would like to sponsor me, please let me know. If there is anyone willing to sit in church for an hour on 11 th to welcome and sign in any cyclists/walkers and offer them refreshment please contact Liz Davidson. Pete Davidson – tel. 01449 766622 or email pjdavidson42@gmail.com
~NEWS FROM THE CLUBS & OTHER EVENTS~
Book and Jigsaw sale On Saturday 28th August we shall have the first sale for more than a year. We have loads of books and jigsaws, coffee, tea, cheese scones and cake too. As before it will be at Margaret's - 1, Broadway, WIckham Skeith Please wear a mask when you enter but come in and enjoy yourself. IF the weather is good there will be lots of space in the garden. If you have a query do phone Margaret on 01449 767121
Open Gardens 19th September 2pm to 6pm for FOSA Once again some beautiful gardens in Wickham Skeith will be open for you to wander around. Lots of ideas for your own gardens and a lovely, peaceful afternoon. We shall have maps, jam and other items for sale and refreshments at the village hall, the church will be open and we hope you will benefit from a gentle stroll through the lovely gardens in this village. We have several gardens available but do please come forward with your garden – we need variety and not all perfect please. Something the rest of us can hope to attain will give us hope. We know that several of you are waiting to see how your garden looks but the rest of us need to see real gardens. Don’t be afraid – show us what you’ve got! Phone Margaret on 01449 767121 please
~HISTORY NOTES~ Wickham Skeith and the Hennikers of Thornham Magna – Part 1 Changes in farming have transformed the countryside in the last 100 years. Some of these changes are obvious. The move from manual labour to mechanisation means that we now have a village where very few work on the land. Farms in this area have moved from mixed arable and livestock to nearly 100% arable. Hedges were removed to make larger fields in the post-WWII drive for cheap and plentiful food. There have, however, been some less obvious changes. Who, outside of the farming community, has noticed the extraordinary reduction in ploughing each year in the move to minimum till or zero till cultivation? Annual ploughing, a practice carried out for over 4000 years, has seemingly disappeared overnight. Another major change has been the move, which started after WWI, for farmers to own their own land rather than farm as tenants. Up to this time most land was rented out by landlords and one of the most important landowners for Wickham Skeith was the Henniker family of Thornham Magna. If we look at the apportionment associated with the 1840 Tithe Map (see History Notes in the May 2021 newsletter) we find that of the 1770 acres in the parish of Wickham Skeith only about 30 acres were owner occupied. All other properties were rented out. Around 300 acres were owned by “The Right Honorable Lord John Henniker”. His holdings consisted of Place Farm (leased to Edmund Craske); Green Farm (leased to Robert Rose); Puppins Farm (at the junction of Daisy Green Lane with Grange Road – leased to George Mullenger) and a number of cottages round the green. He also owned Eastlands and Star House farms which had some lands within the parish. Thornham Hall and estate had been purchased by Sir John Major in 1765. On his death in 1781 it passed to his two daughters. Ann, the older one, was married to Sir John Henniker who became the 1st Lord Henniker in 1800. The Henniker & Major families had close links throughout the 18 th century trading with Russia & Scandinavia. In particular with the supply of masts to the Navy. The Thornham estate remains with the Henniker family to this day. Many in the village will remember the 8th Lord Henniker who died in 2004. He & his wife Julia were involved in charitable work with vulnerable people in London. They also used the buildings & open spaces for workshops, a field centre & they opened up the estate lands to the public. The Thornham Walks are a lasting legacy. During the 19th century successive Hennikers added lands, eventually owning many thousands of acres across north Suffolk. We can perhaps see a high point in the fortunes of the estate in November 1863 when Lord Henniker hosted festivities at Thornham Hall lasting a week to celebrate the 21st birthday of his son & heir. There was a sumptious dinner for the tenant farmers; a feast & sports for up to 400 cottage tenants; and three balls on successive evenings. In the 1880s increasing financial pressures saw the sale of some outlying farms but this was dwarfed by a large sale after WWI of 21,000 acres. Then in 1948 most of the remaining landholdings, totalling 4,500 acres and including all of the properties in Wickham Skeith, were sold. It is this sale that I will discuss next month. Pete Davidson pjdavidson42@gmail.com
Figure 1: Thornham Hall in the 19th century. Much of the house was demolished before WWII & the remaining part was destroyed by fire in 1954
~ 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 August 2021 1st August 8th August 15th August 22nd August 29th August 5th Sept
9.30am 11am 9.30am 11am 9.30am 10.00am
Wickham Skeith Church Cotton Church Wickham Skeith Church Cotton Church Wickham Skeith Church Old Newton Village Hall
For other benefice services, please view our Facebook page.
News and Notices Following the relaxation of COVID rules our Benefice will use this guidance: -We will encourage and practice social distancing whilst moving around the building in order to protect those who need to keep a safe distance for whatever reason. We must respect their wishes. -Refreshments may be served but people should sit on chairs/in pews or go outside to chat -There will be NO sharing of the peace – we will continue with waving or nodding. -Communicants may receive the wine (from the single chalice), or they may choose to continue to receive in one kind (bread only). -We should continue to use hand sanitiser and sign in where possible. -Masks should be worn when moving around the building and can be removed when in seats/pews. -Singing can go ahead, without masks. From September we hope that St Andrew’s will have a service every Sunday at 9.30am. Vision Day – on 5th September the whole benefice will join together for a special service, lunch and activities to think about ‘What Kind of Church’ we want to be going forward. All are welcome. 10am start at Old Newton Village Hall. Holiday Club – we are pleased to announce that we will be running a children’s holiday club on 25th, 26th, 27th Aug, from 10am-1pm at Old Newton Village Hall. It will include games, crafts, singing, stories and loads more. It will be free (donations welcomed) and will include a small lunch. Children 5 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Book your child’s place on Eventbrite or email carlmelville@hotmail.com. Diddy Disciples – a short service for parents and tots, 10.30am at Bacton Church, followed by refreshments. Aug 4th and 18th, Sept 1st and 15th, Oct 6th and 20th, Nov 3rd and 17th. All welcome. Evensong – once a month, Gipping Chapel hosts an afternoon service of Evening Prayer (Evensong). It is a peaceful, relaxing service which uses the Book of Common Prayer. We welcome all ages to join us – why not give it a go?
~ S T. A N D R E W ’ S C H U R C H ~
We will continue opening St Andrew’s church from 10am – 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays this month then re-assess the routine in the autumn. Do sign the visitors’ book if you pop in to give us an idea of how much it is used. Weekly Email and News – if you’d like to sign up to receive our weekly email, please contact the Rector. Benefice Dates 7th August, ‘Made in Wyverstone’ produce at the Village Hall, 10.00am 25-27th August Holiday Club at ON Village Hall 5th Sept, Benefice Day Together, ON Village Hall 11th Sept, Ride and Stride 18th Sept Organ Recital, Bacton Church, 7.30pm 19th Sept, Wickham Skeith Open Gardens 24th Sept, Puzzle Evening, Wyverstone VH, 6.30pm
Rector’s Ramblings By the time you read this, you’re probably enjoying freedoms from some of the restrictions we’ve been living with throughout the Covid Pandemic. The message is still to be cautious and sensible, with a stress on protecting others, particularly the most vulnerable. This sense of protecting others is always heightened in a pandemic. However, for Christians, it is nothing new. One of the foundations of the Christian faith is about serving others. Jesus said ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’, and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ He said these rules were closely linked and that everything we do depends on these laws. There are no other commandments greater than these. Loving our neighbours, friends and families shouldn’t be a heightened activity during a pandemic, although that can often make us face up to the realities of what it means to serve our neighbours. Jesus says serving others should be part of our day to day lives.I wonder what that looks like for you? Is there anyone around you that needs help, love or assistance? How can serving others be part of your day to day life? When you love and serve others, you are sharing with them the love of God. That love is powerful and it transforms the world around us. Let’s continue to serve others in the way we’ve learnt to during the pandemic. Revd Carl.
~ C O M M U N I TY PAG E ~
Geoff Homan After a long and eventful life, including 48 years at Street Farm, Geoff Homan died peacefully on Sunday, 25th July, aged 93. The funeral service will be held at St Andrew’s Church, Wickham Skeith on Wednesday 11th August at 2.30pm, and afterwards at the Village Hall.
St Andrew’s Church Flower & Cleaning Rota Aug 1st & 8th Mr & Mrs P Paine Aug 15th & 22nd Mrs A Munns & Mrs A Palmer Aug 29th & Sept 5th Mrs J Bryant & Mrs L Reinders
Cash for Charities Thank you to everyone who saved the tokens from the local paper for us. We had a total of 1058 tokens but have yet to hear what this will equate to in monetary terms.
Suffolk Libraries The Mobile Library is next due to visit on 29 July and 26 August. 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.
~ W I C K HAM S K E I T H PAR I S H C O U N C I L ~
A meeting of the Parish Council was held in the Village Hall on 12 th July 2021. Minutes of the meeting will be available soon on the Parish Noticeboard and the village website: http://wickhamskeith.suffolk.cloud/parish-council/minutes-of-meetings/ The next meeting will be 8pm on Monday 13th September 2021.
An area of the Village Green has been left uncut this year. The following species have been seen there in July: Red Admiral Common Blue Damselfly Blue-tailed Damselfly Common Blue Butterfly Common Carder Bee Buff Tailed Bumblebee Red-tailed Bumblebee Marmalade Hoverfly Plus eighteen species of flower and grass and thirty-five species along the Grimmer roadside verge. How many can you find?
~ ADVERTISEMENTS ~
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FOR SALE: TWO PAIRS OF WOMEN'S WALKING BOOTS Two sturdy pairs of women's walking boots for sale size 40. Hardly worn at all and certainly not over the past year or two. Excellent condition. £15 a pair ono. Please contact Margaret on 766398 or 077 20105015.
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.
~ ADVERTISEMENTS ~
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~ ADVERTISEMENTS ~
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This newsletter is produced by Wickham Skeith Village Hall Committee
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 25th August 2021
Newsletter printed by CopyDiss, 42a Mere Street, Diss IP22 4AG Tel: 01379 644567 www.copydiss.co.uk