Issue 63 Spring 2011 Price 751)

THE FARTHINGACCREDITED The District Museum Association Newsletter M L A MUSEUMS LIBRARIES ARCHIVES

Shakespeare in Maldon - P4 In this issue Margaret's, Chairman's Chat St 15 From the vice chairman 3 Car production in 16,17 Shakespeare in Maldon Letter 18 Victory celebrations 8 Did you know? 18 Membershiprenewal Elizabethan house prices 19 Murder most foul 11 Times Past 1961 20 Memories of the buckjumpers 12,13 St Cedd's Chatline 21 Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring 13 New local book 22 Anne Boleyn at 14 Old advertisements 23 CYANE&EW'S (CYAT

from volunteers, for In very recent days I have received a letter the national Museum Libraries and Thank you, Archives Council [MLA) confiming that the Museum has achieved and maintained full accreditation for our site in the Promenade Park. your hard work this winter This follows the examination of our most recent audited accounts, latest spending plan etc and speaking to conservationists that we have worked with in the past year. Due to Paddy's enforced inactivity I undertaking more. This is very pleasing as it means that we are reaching a high standard in managing our spring stew- have ben asked to bring you up to As usual we have the Museum and its collection but, as mentioned in my winter Chat, we at the Octagon on are in a date with the current activities and ards meeting period of uncertainty made worse by the fact that we must agree a new March at 2.30pm. lease with the plans for the 2011 season. Thursday, 17 district council within the Smith, has kindly coming 12 months as our last lease for 10 years was signed always, our trusty band of volun- The mayor, Ken As and give a short in May 2002. tees have been busy during the win- agreed to come The MLA has requested a copy of the new lease once it has been determined and painting, polishing and talk about his year in offce. I do ter months, as possi- accepted by us together with an updated loan agreement for the Maldon District cleaning. This is such a worthwhile hope as many stewards There will be the Council collection that should run in parallel with the lease. task as so many visitors comment on ble will attend. usual visit to the Museum after the The MLA has pointed out that the accredited Maldon District Museum is a valuable the cleanliness of our Museum. learning resource for people of all ages contributing to personal Maldon District Council have also meeting. identity and social Finally, I must convey my personal cohesion. It has an impact on the local economy by re-decorated the ceiling of the long encouraging tourism and plays thanks to all our committee, stew- a key role in caring for the UK's cultural heritage. room and have provided us with a front door, which I am sure will ards and members of the Museum It concludes by stating that the MLA is committed to the continued recognition and new and delight all the stewards! Judy Bet- for their continued support promotion of this remarkable collection so that it can be fully enjoyed by many commitment. Without this, our generations to come. teridge and Liz Willsher have been busy with setting up some new dis- much-loved Museum would not I am very proud of being chairman of the Maldon District Museum Association that plays, although time has somewhat function. is entirely run by volunteers, working to high national standards at minimal cost to their effort this year. Here's to a successful season! the community limited although, of course, we are very grateful to all the help given us by Our newest display will be entitled Christine Steel, Maldon District Council that enables us to carry out our task. 'On yer bike', an apt description fea- vice chairman Due to illness I have not been to the Museum for the so I have asked past 3 months turing our penny farthing bicycle. The Museum will open this year Christine Steel to provide a vice-chairman's chat to bring everybody up to date with also be smaller features, There will from 2 April to 30 October, with happenings at the Museum and plans for the immediate future. as the Queen's visit to Maldon such admission prices Thank you Christine and your band of helpers for all that you have done during the and a display of some of our latest days, times and winter months ! acquisitions. the same as 2010 - open Wednes- The stewards rota is well under way day, Friday and Saturday 2-5pm, Paddy Lacey and will be sent out soon. As always Sunday and Bank Holidays I Iam- there are a number of spaces to fill, 5pm, El adults, 50p children. so if anyone feels they would like to We had 2,020 adult and 336 child help, do let me know. I have tried to Penny Farthing is contribution. visitors last year, with May the dependent upon your the duties to one a month, but All articles, items, photos, comments and letters are welcome: keep busiest month with 405 adult and Please send to:Kelvin Brown, 22 Granger Avenue, Maldon CM9 6AN. that is not always possible, and I Tel: 01621 856528or e-mail: kelvinbrown @ tinyworld.co.uk know some stewards do not mind 113 child visitors. Last Date for copy for Summer Issue 5 May 2011 2 3 Neither will you find anything by least those organised by the well- Shakespeare in Maldon the poet that gave him much of respected Mac Theatre Compa- his inspiration —the Roman writ- ny, includingtheir Shakespeare Treading the Bard's boards in the Moot Hall er, Ovid (43BC-18AD). in the Park. personal Lat- By Stephen P. Nunn Shakespeare's own in copy of Ovid is now preserved And for three seasons I helped There is no doubt that Thomas in Oxford with an abbreviated sig- organise Shakespearean events Plume's legacy of 1704 constitutes an nature on the title page —what a at nearby Edwin's Hall (re-built important chapter in Maldon's long shame Plume didn't get hold of 1570), in old Woodham Ferrers. When the amazing Foyle and historic story. Beyond providing that one! William much-needed funding for the educa- Library at Beeleigh Abbey came tion of boys in the town's Grammar Although the Plume Library up for auction in 2000, it con- School (which eventually evolved into doesn't appear to be able to help tained a first folio (1623) of The Plume School in 1970), foremost us unravel Shakespeare, there Shakespeare's works, along with amongst his bequests is his unique are a number of links between second, third and forth folios and library, originally consisting of 7000 Maldon and the Bard. We have, various individual plays —'Julius books and pamphlets. for example, a Shakespeare Caesar', 'Othello' and 'Hamlet'. Drive on the Poets Estate. In ad- However, the strongest, most As special as that collection is, how- dition the Blue Boar Hotel was tangible association with Maldon ever, there are some curious omis- once associated with the de Vere is that the great man himself sions and strange anomalies. My become all modern in the library family —the Earls of Oxford of probably came here in 1603. To friend, the former librarian (from 1998 and there is an on-line catalogue, Castle Hedingham fame. understand why he did so, we to 2001) and foremost Plumeian ex- but I must admit that I prefer my must look at his beginnings and pert, the late Dr. W.J. (Bill) Petchey battered printed version, compiled The 13thEarl, John de Vere, ap- the way that his artistic life un- (1935-2001), discusses the mystery back in 1959 by one of Bill's prede- pears briefly in 'Richard Ill' and in folded. in his fascinating booklet 'The Inten- cessors, Sidney G. Deed, former part 3 of 'Henry VI', heroically de- I recently stayed in Stratford-up- tions of Thomas Plume' (1985). headmaster of the Grammar Claring that; "...while life upholds this on-Avon and it was there, looking School (1912-1939) and librarian arm, this arm upholds the Bill highlighted the inclusion of sec- around the various attractions, from 1947 house of Lancaster". The idea ond-hand copies, of to 1966. that I was reminded of the events duplicate works, that the 17thEarl was the true au- of his early life. He was but also of born gaps in relation to the kind Flicking through my copy I can un- thor of Shakespeare's works, there, in Henley Street, in April of biographical, mathematical and lit- derstand Bill's line of enquiry. You however, is now dismissed by 1564, and probably probably erary works that you would expect to won't find a single reference to the serious historians. We are also went to the local Grammar find in such an School, where he learned Ovid extensive assemblage works of the world's greatest ever still fortunate to have well-patron- of the time. Nowadays things have playwright —William Shakespeare. ised local productions in town, not Continued overleaf

4 5 From Page 5 as their centre for local govern- Amory, William Burles and Ralph by rote. He got married to Anne ment. It was to this building that Breeder (d. 1608). Hathaway in nearby Temple Grafton the King's Players came in 1603. in 1582 and, ten years later, left her Payments or "rewards" to actors and their children in Stratford to Enter the ancient court room to- were meticulously recorded in work in London —writing plays and day, and staring down at you the Borough Chamberlains' Ac- performing. from the wall is a striking portrait counts (now preserved in the Es- of a beautiful Elizabethan lady. sex Record Office). An analysis Fame and fortune followed and he Some historians believe it to be of these between the years 1560 was part of a company called the the young Queen Elizabeth by and 1639 reveals no less than 71 Lord Chamberlain's Men. In 1603, Zucchero, but this is highly un- individual payments ranging from with the death of Elizabeth I (on 24th likely. So who is she and was 3s (to Sir William Pickering's March), James I ascended to the she amongst the audience of Players in 1566) to 20s (To Lady throne and the actors were re- local dignitaries who watched the Elizabeth's Players in 1613). In 1studied named (under a Patent of 1 9thMay) players that year? Maldon al- 2003 the original docu- ready had a reputation ments for 1603 and the King's Players. In the same year for per- there was formances and was the entry I had been a terrible outbreak of plague struck (including the 'Blue Boar', the venue looking for. for many visiting the city —the severest for ten years - 'Saracen's Head' and 'New Inn') players —a tra- On page 5 of a small "roll"of 9 dition which dated pages, and so they decided to set out on a and rows of timber-framed tene- back to pre- under "Discharges —Gifts Reformation religious and tour of the provinces. They visited ments. There was even a stone dramas, Rewards", it reads "...and of performed on a three Bath, Shrewsbury, Coventry, Ips- market cross and a large wooden year cycle, xvs given to the King's Players like the one at Heybridge wich, Oxford and, according to the post where bulls were chained on this year". And who were the "Whytensundaye" 1532. King's records, the riverside town of Mal- ready to be "baited"for the bar- Players in 1603? Well, the actors included Richard Bur- don. baric amusement of the locals. Touring companies were expect- bidge, Augustine Phillipps, Wil- ed to first perform before the As the roads were notoriously bad, At its very heart was the liam Slye, John Lowin, John Mayor, Aldermen and common perhaps they even arrived by boat, corporation's Moot Hall —"a fair Hemmings, Henry Cundell, Alex- landing at council to (hopefully) establish a the "New Wharffe" oppo- house in the middle of town" ac- ander Cooke and...one William site St. Mary's church? At that grant and a licence for local pub- time, cording to John Norden writing in Shakespeare! apart from the Hythe area, the town lic playing. Perhaps Michael 1594. The building had started life centred on High Street, around the Henshawe, the town clerk, was I shared my findings with the old medieval as the private home of the D'Arcy core and busy market present that day? He would die broadcaster/historian, Michael place outside of All Saints'. There family and was constructed some- of the plague less than 12 Wood, when he was researching were three parish churches, a rela- time between 1420 and 1436. tively new months later. Next to him could mansion house called Then in 1576 it was purchased by 'The Friars' (c. 1560), various have been the Bailiffs; John Continued Page 10 inns the Corporation for E55 to serve 6 7 Maldon fun BOROUGH MALDON. day helped CELEBRATIONS, VICTORY Registered Charity 301362 oun sters THE MUSEUM IN THE PARK 47 Mill Road Maldon Essex CM9 5HX celebrate Tel: 01621 842688 Replyto: 32 Tennyson Road end DC Maldon war's Children's•j CM9 6BE 01621 853699 It started with a film show at the Em- February 2011 bassy and ended with Bertram the clown and Professor Bourne at the Parish Hall and Jubilee Hall - and in Membership between there was for every child Renewal of your along to Committee of Maldon Museum may I thank you for in Maldon who wanted to go On behalf of the Chairman and the victory celebrations on the Prom. Souvenir continued support of the Museum. date was September 1945 - The 19 form within this edition of the Penny Farthing. As last year we are enclosing a renewal seen months after the war ended - and Programme end of May 2011. Payment of Renewal Fees is due by the a great day out was promised for all. Membership El 5. The Single Life It started at 10.30 with a showing of The single Membership will be EIO and Family 'Age of Flight' at the Embassy cine- the day, which would have been wel- Membership will be E90 and Family Life Membership E120. ma; the next event was a tiny tots pa- comed by every one of them. this reminder does not apply to Life Members. rade in home-made fancy dress at And it wasn't just the children who Please note to fund our I .45, followed by childrens sports. were given a special treat to celebrate We do value all our Members and rely very heavily on these subscriptions a new Member And, according to the souvenir pro- the victory won earlier in 1945. Ac- new displays. We would also welcome any reader who wishes to become gramme, there were: "Swings, round- cording to the souvenir programme "A this year. abouts and mat slide, pony cart and tea and first-class entertainment for the you by I We look forward to receiving your renewals, however, if we do not hear from pony back rides, golf and tennis, pram elderly people will be provided at a October 2011, due to rising administration costs, we shall, regretfully, have to remove dinghies on marine lake, motor boat, later date". your name from the mailing list for the Penny Farthing Magazine. sailing boat and rowing boat trips on all cheques and forms to me at the above address. the river ALL FREE Were you one of those children who Please send Free transport was provided for chil- took part in those victory celebrations. With many thanks dren living in the 'outlying' parts of or did your children enjoy the day. the borough and every child was giv- Share your memories with us for a fu- ChristineStu! en a commemmorative badge. But far and any. Christine Steel ture issue of Penny Farthing - Membership/Stewarding Secretary more important to the children of the memories y_ouhave of VE Day elebra- town was that schools were closed for tions in Maldon.

8 9 Continued from Page 7 the newly opened Globe Theatre grisly find on the marshes his 'In Search of Shakespeare' for in 1599. A BBC. I explained that some- th But unlike the Courtyard and the What started as a simple few hours wildfowling on the marshes one October day in inside or in the rear yard of horrific discovery that sparked a major murder investigation. where Globe, we don't have to imagine 1949 ended in an our Moot Hall, William Shake- farm worker Sidney Tiffin was out shooting birds for the pot when he spotted a original surroundings here in Mal- off the seawall, wrapped in felt and tied with cord. When the tide retreat- speare performed in one of his bundle 100 yards don, we still have the ancient ar- ed he was able to recover what turned out to be an unimaginably grisly find. plays to impress the town's offi- chitecture of the Moot Hall and Home Office pathologist Prof Francis Camps, who performed thousands of post mortems cials in the hope that they would an illustrious career and who lived just a few miles away, at , deduced that you can still visit it. It is the jewel during be given leave to earn money the torso, with arms attached and in silk shirt and shorts, had been thrown out of a plane. in Maldon's historic crown and squashed torso had been in the water for two to three from further performances before He concluded that the strangely really has gained light, life and weeks, and had been put there 48 hours after the man had been stabbed to death. Injuries moving on to the next town. height after death - and so it turned out. colour over succeeding centuries. suggested the torso had been dropped from a great Fingerprints —obtained by removing the skin from a finger - identified the torso as small- We don't know what the produc- Why not call in for a tour during time crook Stanley Setty, a car dealer and generally unsavoury character from London. tion was of course, it could have opening hours and know that you Camps' conclusion about the torso being dropped from a height led police to amateur pilot been one of his "new" plays, are treading the same boards that Donald Hume, another small-time crook, who was connected to Setty through dealings in- market nylons and forged petrol coupons. 'Twelfth Night' (1600), 'Troilus And the Bard performed on all those cluding selling black Cressida' (1602) and 'As You Like Hume had hired an Auster light aircraft from Elstree; he headed out past Southend pier It', were popular at the time. For years ago. You can experiencea and, thinking he was well out over the open sea, ejected the trussed-up torso. and then merely hired him to some reason I like to think it was tangible reminder of William But Hume was adamant that two other men had killed Setty sea and drop it. Camps, however, knew that a great the latter and to enhance those Shakespeare there because the fly the parcelled-up torso out over the deal of blood must have been spilled at the place where Setty was murdered, so went to feelings I attendedan RSC per- old building certainly "earns a Hume's flat, ripped up floorboards to find blood that had dripped through cracks between formance of it at the Courtyard place i' the story" (Anthony And the boards, went back to his laboratory and through experiment determined that three pints Theatre in Stratford in August last Cleopatra. Ill.xi.43). of blood must have been spilt on the floor. year, and what a treat it was. Al- Hume was tried at the Old Bailey for murder but there was a 'hung' jury, meaning a retrial though I was a long way from Stephen P. Nunn is a Trustee of the was necessary. The judge at the second trial directed the jury to find Hume not guilty of home, I imagined I was in the Moot Hall. Further details about vis- murder but he was convicted of being an accessory in the disposal of the body, and was jailed for 12 years. He was released on remission in 1958 and, in an interview with the Moot Hall in 1603, enjoying a play iting the buildingcan be obtained that had only been entered into Sunday Pictorial admitted, in gory detail, how he had murdered Setty. from Maldon Tourist Information the Stationer's Register three Reporter Victor Sims later described how Hume lay on a hotel bed in a country hotel and calmly described to him how he had years earlier and performed Centre on (01621) 856503. killed and chopped up Setty. Sims recalled: "It was first in the most tenifyingly bloody day of my life." Hume could not be tried again for the murder, and if tried for perjury could say the Sunday Did you know? Pictorial's story was all lies, so he felt free to say what he wanted without fear of being A statute of 1542 decreed that every father had to furnish his sons and hauled back into court. However, his freedom was short-lived, because Hume was soon back to his old ways, robbing banks in Britain and servants between seven and Switzerland. 16 with a long-bow and two arrows and to He was jailed again in 1959 for killing a taxi driver in Zurich, and in 1976 teach declared insane their use. At 17 it was every man's duty to provide himself wth a and returned to Britain and confinement at Broadmoor, where he served 15 years before bow and four arrows until the age of 60. Every parish had to maintain dying a lonely, confused old man. archery butts for practice every Sunday and holy day afternoons (hence Kelvin Brown Butt Lane in Maldon).

10 11 Buckjumpers - more memories from the days of steam pipe causing a In my last piece I wrote By Charles difficult- to-explain blister. Brunel's famous about the Jl 5s that were Middleton one of the mainstay steam Later that year I was Thames Rotherhithe locomotives of the Maldon should not be under-rated. shunting in Temple tunnel to New Cross. Branch. Originally they were used Mills. A shunter asked if With limited height, Another locomotive that to work passenger trains we could clear some space and smoke it was a regular at Maldon on Chingford and Enfield bales of straw from the could be a hairy journey was the J 67/68/69 affec- lines before they were yard, to whch we agreed. as only a buckjumper tionately known as the replaced by the so-called However, the engine was allowed on this 'buckjumper". Gobblers. wheels slipped whilst route. So there These are also featured in Buckjumper could also be shunting and provided we have it. The than capable of this task. the late Dennis Swindale's seen on most of the the area with its biggest- Another memory of this humble Maldon buckju- remarkable The most difficult jour- per was part of a fleet of book 'Branch Lines to Mal- branch lines in our region ever pre-Oympics fire- engine was on one shift when working a ney with a buckjumper engines that were the don'. Their origins date working goods trains and works dsplay. As a driver train of 50 wagons from was from Liverpool backbone of the Great back to the 1890s and on shunting duties. They I had to take the 12 Spitalfield to Goodmayes Street with a goods or- Eastern Railway whose about 160 were built up till would often be used on coaches for the Continen- in the early evening rush summer excursion. As only handicap was its 1901 mainly for passenger tal boat train to Liverpool passenger train duties. hour. This to be you left the terminus small water and coal work. Street. Unfortunately, had Apart from these duties achieved a a high speed so there was an opening on carrying capacity. From 1902to 1921 several there was a coal shortage they were the shunting we did not get in the way the right hand side If only they could have rebuilds at the time and reerves took place to allow locomotives used in all of of any passenger trains. which took you on to talked, what tales were being scooped up they them to be used for varying the major shunting yards The buckjumper was more underground line via would tell. tasks such as passenger, including the vast Temple from piles on the ground. freight and shunting duties. Mills which will form It was just my luck to This explains the different part of the 2012 Olympic find myself with a coal Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring! class allocation. The last of site. bunker full of black dirt "Panic, undoubtedly, this class survived in serv- To give an insight into that was putting the fire will be one of the many dangers with which a warden will have deal during ice until 1961. their uses here are some out. to an air raid, particularly during bombing with high ex- plosive and the more harrassing They were classified as 0- persoal anecdotes. They I only managed to get to of the warfare gases," according to the Air Raid Warden's Reference 6-0 which means three cou- all involve buckjumpers. my destination by steal- Book published in 1940. It told wardens: "Although panic, pled wheels each side. My first tour of duty was ing a lineside pile of when allowed to go uncontrolled, can as- sume proportions that will endanger air raid With the exception of a few as a fireman at Stratford wood that was ready for life, an additional and specific danger is present in that a panic-stricken crowd will rush into the open air, specialised engines, they Market in February 1947. a job. However, I still thus laying itself open or a were the smallest locomo- In between shunting ended up on the carpet to attack from the air, either by machine-gun du- gross spray of persistent tives in general use on the ties we had some respite for making the Continen- gas. "Study of panic and its behaviour aim of every warden, for if Great Eastern lines and and I fell asleep and my tal train late which in should be the mass hysteria is understood, steps combat it." their pan in railway history nose went on to a hot turn made the boat late. can be taken to

12 13 Maldon's Ilistoric Churches Did Anne Boleyn walk on the riverside cliffs at Creeksea? Forget the white cliffs of Dover, because Essex has its own cliffs, albeit brown rather than white: Creeksea Cliffs have been formed by erosion on a bend in the , leaving cliffs of London Clay which occasionally give up fascinating finds. Sharks' teeth have been found on the shingle beach, together with gypsum (selenite) crys- tals; they are also occasionally found on the other side of the Dengie peninsular, on the beach at Maylandsem Like Nonh Fambridge, Creeksea had a ferry for hundreds of years, linking the nonh and south banks of the Crouch. A statement of accounts rendered by Henry Crouchend, bail- iff to Sir Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, Essex and Northampton, and Constable of in 1266, says: "Six oak planks were bought to repair 'Le Farebot', nearly worn out. " Legend has it that Anne Boleyn once lived at Creeksea Place, and that her daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, spent time here. However, Anne was executed 33 years before the original mansionwas completed in 1569by Sir Arthur Herrys (or Harrys), so it is obvi- ously not possible, unless there was a previous house somewhere on the site. However, Herrys is known to have owned land or property at Rochford, where the Bo- Margaret's, Woodham Mortimer St mostly leyn family lived (Anne's brother was Lord Rochford), so it is possible Anne visited church, but St Margaret's was Creeksea - once said to have been the home of a witch called Fanny Bird - before the traces still of a 12th century south There are remaining part is the Norman house was built. in the 19th century; the oldest rebuilt arch. Queen Elizabeth is said to have used a subterranean tunnel from Rochford Hall to meet wall of the nave, which has an and there are soldiers at Creeksea, but although large Tudor drains have been unearthed over the sitting on a medieval stem, her The round font is 13th century, from around the years, no tunnel has ever been found. and organ case, dating 17th century carvings on the pulpit Sir Arthur Herrys was High Sheriff of Essex in 1589 and was one of the commissioners table. same time as the altar a 17th century arch, appointed in 1577 to enquire into piratical practices along the Essex coast. restored 15th century window and been Elsewhere there is a 19th century stained Creeksea Place eventually passed into the ownership of Lord Mildmay, who had entirely 19th century, with late knighted by James I in 1617 and held a number of offices at Court, including Master of but the church is almost in the the Jewel House. inside St Margaret's is the brass Creeksea most interesting features of Place is said to have been the place where Mildmay was arrested in 1660 and One of the gown. Dorothy, the daughter accused of being complicit in the 1649 execution of Charles I. He was sent to trial on a of an Elizabethan girl in pleated little imp chancel remembered in the inscription 'A charge of regicide —being a person who kills or takes part in the killing of a king —for Giles Alleine, died in 1584, and is which he was stripped of his knighthood and estates and sentenced to life imprisonment. is, her soul to Christ is fled' church here buried who lived next door to the Mildmay, who had been MP for Maldon in 1625-28, and elected again during both the remembered is Peter Chamberlen, is Long Also century gabled house, and and Short Parliaments of 1640, probably counted himself more fortunate than the Woodham MortimerHall, a 17th ten men found guilty of regicide who in imposing were ordered to be hung, drawn and quartered at Huguenot either Charing Cross or Tyburn. However, in 1664 he was ordered William Chamberlen, a to be transported to family descended from obstetri- Tangier, but died before the order could be carried out. The Chamberlen 1576. Peter invented the who fled from Paris to London in over a Today Creeksea Place is a conference centre and venue for weddings. surgeon family kept them a secret for forceps used in childbirth,but the cal not be copied by others. Kelvin Brown centuy - apparently so they would 15 was slow at first, the press referred to The last CORTINA Essex plant's output could Dagenham as a 1962-1982 "magnificent gesture world ten times of faith in Britain's circle commercial future... Ford of Britain cele- with the first vehicle, lems, with 22,000 a lighthouse of hope brates its centenary a ModelAA truck, concrete piles need- in a storm-tossed this year, and for rolling off the produc- ed to be driven 80 sea of industry." much of that time the tion line in October feet into the ground Before the war Da- company has had 1931. to support the build- genham built the strong Essex roots, Vehicle assembly ing. unimaginatively with a plant at Dagen- ended in 2002, but Construction took named 8hp, 10hp, The last Cortina - the Dagenhamplant built more than three million in 20 years ham, engineering cen- the site continued two years and over 22hp and 30hp tre at Dunton and with an expanded a single weekend in ranges. It also built 200 German bombs had built over three head office at Warley. engine facility mak- September 1931 the Model Y landed on the Dagen- million. Work on the Dagen- ing it a global centre special trains car- (Popular), the first ham estate. By this time, Dagen- ham plant started in of excellence for die- ried 2,000 employ- and only full size car In the post war years ham was already May, 1929, when sel engineering. ees, their families to be offered at just Dagenham turned its producing the Fies- Henry Ford's son Ed- Building on re- and possessions, El 00. interests to the revo- ta, introduced in sel cut the first sod on claimed marshland from the Ford plant From 1939 war pro- lutionary Consul and 1976. In 1982 it was reclaimed marshland. previously used for at Trafford Park, duction took over Zephyr range of cars. joined by the Sierra. Construction of the London's waste, pre- Manchester, where with 360,000 light Major expansion in By the time vehicle site took two years sented its own prob- vehicle assembly vans, army trucks, the 1950s increased assembly at Dagen- had begun in 1911, balloon winches, floor space by 50% ham ended after 71 to their new life in mobile canteens and and doubled produc- years in February Dagenham. Ford V8-powered tion. By 1953 the site 2002, the plant had A hospital, foundry, Bren Gun carriers employed 40,000. built 10,980,368 jetty and power sta- rolling off the lines. As the swinging 60s cars, trucks and tion completed the Dagenham was also took hold, Dagenham tractors which, if site. responsible for moved on to a car placed end to end, Built at a cost of E5 34,000 Merlin aero destined to become would circle the million, the Dagen- engines and 95% of one of the country's world 10 times. ham factory opened Britain's vitally im- favourites: the Corti- Dagenham now in the depths of the portant tractor pro- na. By the time the builds up to a million depression and, al- duction. And all this last Cortina left the diesel engines a Car production was labour-intensive in the 1930s though business took place as over line in 1982, the plant year.

16 Will global warming For sale, €30 - that was the price of see the return of the an Elizabethan house in Maldon Essex is very fortunatein having some wonderfulexamples of late-16th feared ague to Essex? and early-17th century mansions, farmhouses and cottages. In Maldon, in Elizabetan times, there was an average of just 24 house transactions per decade Many thanks for the excellent magazine just received. and a study by the late Dr Bill Petchey showed the following house values in the town: 1561-70 E26.76; 1571-80 I was interested in the article on "ague" as, since moving to Wivenhoe 18 26.19; 1581-90 E34.90; 1591-1600€41.90. months ago, I have transferred from the Blackwater to the North East Es- Building costs were obviously very low. Fitting out what seems to have sex Decorative & Fine Art Society and have been involved been a new room was described in 1588 by Langford cording in church re- yeoman Anthony at the parish church of St Leonard & St Mary in Bret, who said it was "A true note of the charges which he did lay out in Beaumont-cum-Moze. trimming of a chamber, in anno domini 1584." He detailed the costs as: Beaumont is a small Paid to the joiner of Maldon for the half pace and making village not far from Tendring on the way to of the hearth and Moze was a Clacton, in the same chamber, 5s 4d separate village down on the marshes of Walton back- waters. However, in To John Steven for three score ells of a canvas which doth hang the the late 17thcentury the villagers of Moze gave the fight against the up said chamber, 37s 2d mosquitoes and the ague and abandoned the village completely. In 1678 the To the goodman Laye the painter for painting the cloths 51s 8d Moze church was pulled down and some of the stones used to repair Beaumont Church. Paid to his wfe for sewing the cloths To the joiner for making the little door and for hinges which hang the Since 1959 the site of the old St Mary's Church, Moze, has been door 2s 6d with a stone marked cross and Beaumont Church added the name of St (Pace was either a step or part of floor raised by it). its dedication. Mary to When houses were passed on in wills, there was often a stipulation that With global warming I various fixtures such as widow glass "shall quite often wonder whether in due course we might remain" in the house - show- see the return of the ague to Essex. ing that it was not classed as an integral part of the structure as it is to- Ian Valentine day. Did you In fact, when Maldon shoemaker John Marriage died in 1581 he left "to know? my wife Elizabeth my tenement in the parish of All Saints called by the H Vlll's second sign of the Spread Eagle during her life. Provided she shall wife Anne Bole n was about to be beheaded at the not remove Tower of London any of the wainscot (ie panelling) nor the glass". in 1536 when she said: "I hear the executioner is ve ood and I have a little neck." She then ut her hands around her throat and burst out laughing Members' discount at Templar's Fayre The Templar's Fayre is returning Five ears later however Mar to Cressing temple Barns on 7 and 8 May, aret Pole the 8th Countess of Salisbu and the organisers say that if you was less ha to meet the show your Museum membership card there axe-wieldin executioner who chased her will be a El reduction on the €5 adult admission charge. around the wooden block re ared for her at the Tower. The 67- ear-old The event promises to bring together craftspeople from all over Europe who countess is said to have been dra ed to the block where her head was specialise in creating anything from a suit of armour to a bone needle, plus forced down and a number of blows re uired to com lete the execution. musicians and entertainers.

18 19 TIMEC PAST 1961was a year of fast-moving political, social and cultural change, with the first man in space, the ST. CEDD's CHATLINE youngest president in American history and sim- By Liz Willsher mering tension between east and west bringing New Year's Greetings for 2011 ! new conflict and confrontation Since my last "chatline" in November 2010 we have endured sub-zero temperatures and persistent icy roads and pavements, followed by milder and wetter conditions, even culmi- nating in minor flooding. Hopefully that is behind us and can look ahead with optimism! 1961 As is usual at this time of the year, the St Cedd's team and acting chairman Christine Steel are heavily involved in sprucing up the Museum and setting up new displays. Dwight D. Eisenhower left the White House, making way for new US At this point may I put out an appeal for vintage cycle related items e.g; bells, lamps etc. president John F. Kennedy. to help with our new display 'On yer Bike!' Please contact Judy Betteridge or myself if you can help. The contraceptive pill for women became By way of a change this season we are devoting a small space opposite the entrance door available in Britain. to newly-donated items that have not been incorporated into a display. present we are Around 1,500 As usual the behind-the-scenes work continues in the St Cedd's office. At CIA-trained exiled Cuban rebels attempted to invade bringing to a conclusion a project which resulted from the award of a grant for conservation ba at the Bay of Cu- Pigs; 1,173 were taken prisoner and were offered later storage for costume and textiles. Conditions of the grant included a visit from a member of in the year by staff from the Colchester & Ipswich museums service to check standards, and a full report of Fidel Castro as an exchange for 500 bulldozers, but talks broke down. Castro then declared our storage procedures and documentation which has to be completed very soon. This has Cuba a one-party communist state. meant many extra hours of work for accessions officer Judy. Recently we have received some good news from the "Museums in Essex" organisation that Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth in Vostokl to become the some FREE conservation materials for art-work and documents may be available. A quick first man into space. US astronaut Alan Shepard became the second man — response from Judy with an e-mail of our wish-list has been dispatched, but at this point we and first American - but he was only up for 15 minutes do not know what goodies may come our way. It has been a quiet period for donations but we were pleased to receive a school photograph of Maldon Grammar East German security School staff and pupils of 1928. It is of very good quality and has been forces sealed the border between east and west framed for display in the childhood room at the museum. The donor is the son of a fresh- Berlin with barbed wire as Soviet forces began building the Berlin Wall faced boy in the front row. to stop east Germans fleeing to the west. We have missed the visits from chairman Paddy Lacey since his stay in hospital and subse- quent convalescence at home. He made sure that we would The first mini cabs and have plenty to do, however, especially Betty who hand-writes pelican crossings were seen in London. our register and record cards, by donating a large collection of documents including leaflets, guide books and brochures. These items cover, record or publicise a wide range of local Spurs won both the FA cup and league title. places and events from recent years. This task has kept Betty busy for several weeks but, as usual, the team ensured that an ample supply of coffee and biscuits was available to fortify Foreign Office employee John brain and muscles. Vassall was convicted of spying for the We all hope Paddy will be USSR, diplomat George back to join us soon, but hopefully without a large cardboard box Blake was sentenced to 42 years for passing secrets under his arm! Thanks also to Mags Simmonds for and the trial of regularly joining us and assisting with Canadian Gordon Lonsdale, also for passing secrets, began. whatever task arises on the day. In no time at all it will be April and the doors of the museum will be open to visitors once The UK more. formally applied for membership of the We hope to see you there! Community. European Economic

20 21 ÅüHlCWCRADEö$,i. ONLY. POSTFREE' Local rail history in pictures RALEIGH CATALOCUES Museum steward Len Wilkinson has pub- lished 'The Maldon to WithamRailway, a Lady,SPECIALITIES. gr@Gentlémcin. pictorial history' - the result of 20 years of CYCLES collecting photographs and a huge amount of HOLBOkN VIADUCT. spare time building an incredibly detailed $ London Depot : 41 r 18- Head NOTTINGHAM. foot long model of the long-closed Wickham worköå Bishops station. PURE DIAMONDS% • The line opened as the Mal- USE. GENUINE And hall-mackedso gold with one of don, and Braintree Railway in 1848, cost, Len Wilkinson " HAIR DYE .'At4UFACTUßEß'S FIRST the buildings from his model with two intermediate stations - Wickham wöRi;Ehv. 'illLi5trnted prig. _ii%. THE BEST INF,THE will tind pep case• of station Bishops and Langford & . It closed to Price- 2s, Å PERFECT REVELATION.c passengers in 1964 and DRIJqQISTS BINGLE 'STONE FROM*'LL, ROPIES 12saea,s DIAMOND RING to freight in 1966. on afl • approved*-cf' and All profits from Len's *Instantaneous-and : senu byet•ctitri" e: ED;•ANDERSON. excellent book, which L ONE :Pfl€PARAtlON Qarden..S includes scale drawings London,Hatton Z.C. and a brief history of the line, and costs just E4.95, are being donated to the SOUTHALL'S Museum. éBOOTSl SULPHOLINE .1dve9tiO@of the Cedtury." It will be available from aådf•Ä3iiLLousSuÉeL•S fieriiéyes Splendidly. Erupåonö„ the Museum and is al- Guarttntééd. Wonderfull Pimples; SKIN Slrit ah, Disfigurements, * onus. sale at Maldon A, Ockets;• Sendc•• ready on . Sample.P ale, Eczema, and Witham informatin 1216 Developt,jp•: centres, Top Signs at COO A Fair 'SOUTHALC & Spotless Sklh. Wickham Bishops and LEEDB. LOTION Wilkin's team rooms at ' cycl THE' ,LATEST•« Tiptree. THEMNTAM., PEACH'S Fa'éhlonabl-e? Eronie. Above: Wickham LACE CAPE, Bishops station with SILK Of of BLaeK Silk Vhg (Lot NO.• 8•8)• Cot" used' NecK fiiny:erinte an approaching steam •Se..son.: Ribbon, - CRYPTO.. .CQ.. med •eleeunt ano appearance. diesel deep.:,Very yalue each. train and later i best qurli.t>',*l/' eadh•, rail bus. i8 ins. dee 'Tobacconistsümmoncillgl Right: Maldon East and varietiesof Cop Euston , station in April 1957 - liliiflki For &c,. Vinatores, Rinek1S one of the local rail pictures in the Muse- um collection Advertisements from 1898 23

22 Maldon District Museum Association

Registered Charity 301362

President - Mrs Julia Peel Vice Presidents - Mr L.F. Barrell Mrs B Chittenden

Committee - to A. G. M. 2011

Chairman Paddy Lacey , Vice-Chairman . Christine Steel...... Hon. Secretary . Jenny Sjollema .. Hon. Treasurer...... „.. Tina Millen Membership Sec.. Christine Steel ...... Committee Judy Betteridge Committee ...... Molly Middleton . Committee Liz Willsher ...... Committee.... Jane Bodiey......

Curatorial Adviser Nick WickendenEsq

Museum Reception Telephone No. (01621) 842688 (Answerphone when museum unattended) www.maldonmuseum.org.uk e-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.maldonmuseum.org.uk.

Please note that the opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual contributors,and not necessarily agreed by the Association.

Correspondence to: Maldon District Museum Association "The Museum in the Park" 47 Mill Road, Maldon, Essex. CM9 5HX