Short itinerary for 2013 dated Oct 2012

Our next meeting will be a slide show and talk about the Local and Surrounding Area given by Paul Taylor. He gave us a fascinating slide show in 2012. He has a fantastic fount of knowledge about the history of our area and will be sharing with us even more of his extensive collection of slides.

Thursday 21^st March 2013 at the Rayleigh WI hall, 10.00 to 12.00.

Tea/coffee/biscuits will be provided. Cost is £2.00 per person.

 

On Wednesday 10^th April 2013 we will visit the Combined Military Services Museum in Maldon from 10.30 onwards.  This is a hidden gem of a museum holding an amazingly large and diverse collection including firearms, spy equipment, Special Forces weapons including a Cockleshell Heroes canoe, English Civil War arms and armour plus more fantastic displays. They have recently opened a new display on military surgery through the ages. They have acquired a set of documents, plans and photographs used by the Germans to plan their invasion of Britain and items belonging to the Auxiliary Battalions who were to fight behind the lines after an invasion. Staff are on hand to answer questions throughout visit.

Free parking, gift shop. Introductory talk and unlimited tea/coffee. £6.00 per person.

 

We go to Beeleigh Abbey near Maldon on Wednesday 15^th May 2013. The grounds include three acres of spacious and peaceful gardens in an historic and rural setting. The backdrop has the remains of a 12^th century abbey incorporated into a mainly 17^th century private residence. The gardens lead down to the River Chelmer. Tour of the house followed by your own time to explore the gardens. Tea/coffee/cakes and biscuits included.

Wheelchair access to the ground floor only. £16.50 per person.

 

Due to the large number of new members of the Rayleigh U3A we have a lot of interest in the Local History Group. As the numbers of visitors allowed at these venues is limited, it is advisable to book early or you may miss the boat.

Book for these visits at our table at the next monthly U3A meeting on 1^st November 2012. Pay when booking or at the next U3A meeting on 03^rd January 2013.  Cheques made out to U3A Rayleigh please.

Meeting on 18 October 2012

We regret that the Local History Group meeting on 18th October has been cancelled owing to a mixup by the WEA and the WI over dates. Therefore our next meeting will be on 21st March 2013. We shall of course have a table at the monthly U3A meetings as usual to take bookings and help with your queries.

Lavenham and Sudbury 19 September 2012

We took a Kirby’s coach to the Suffolk medieval wool town of Lavenham.

It was a lovely ride through the gently rolling landscape of Suffolk, lanes and paths winding between fields, high hedgerows, scattered ancient woodlands, isolated farmsteads and historic villages.

Lavenham was the prosperous centre of the wool trade and the 14^th most wealthy town in medieval England. When the type of cloth made there went out of fashion, people could no longer afford to build or repair houses and so the town’s architecture today remains much as it was then, with a wealth of fine timbered buildings.

With no local stone for building, Lavenham’s medieval houses were built on an oak frame with gaps between beams filled with wattle (slender sticks) and daub (clay, chalk and straw). The buildings were limewashed, a practice still used today to allow moisture to evaporate and let the building ‘breathe’.

You may be surprised that the buildings are not the traditional black and white but the experts have found that they were not originally like that – it was a Victorian fad.

Wood does tend to flex much more than we are used to with brick. Some of the buildings look positively dangerous as they lean on their neighbours but they have stood the test of time.

We started our tour at the magnificent church of St Peter and St Paul, whose very high tower can be seen from the coach long before you reach the village. It was built at the accession of the Tudors and paid for mostly by the Spryng family, rich clothiers and the Earl of Oxford, John de Vere.

A steady walk down the High Street, lined with timber houses, brings you to the market place and the Guildhall of Corpus Christi. Originally built as a meeting place it has remained at the heart of village life for almost five hundred years through many different uses, a town hall, a prison, a workhouse and ARP centre in the Second World War. We had tea and cake there when we first arrived.

After the tour we dispersed to the many shops, galleries, pubs and restaurants before taking the coach to Sudbury.

Sudbury is an old market town with many old buildings of its own dating back to the wool and silk trades. It still has a lively market and many shops. It’s most famous man is Gainsborough the artist. His house is a museum and there is a statue in the market.

 

 

Mersea Island 15th August 2012

The Mersea Island Museum is an independent museum established in 1976 and occupying purpose-built premises in the centre of West Mersea, just to the east of the Parish Church. The traditional local activities of fishing, oystering, wild fowling and boat building are represented. The reconstruction within the museum of a typical weather-boarded fisherman’s cottage provides an interior display centred on a Victorian coal-fired kitchen range, with adjoining facilities for washing clothes using old-fashioned manual equipment.

They currently have an exhibition of the contents of the Roman Barrow on Mersea. It contained the remains of  a cremation in a glass urn which had been placed in a lead casket, a brick enclosure built round it and the whole thing covered in earth to make a sizeable mound which is still visible near the entry to the island.

We then moved to the church of St Peter and St Paul in the High Street. It is very ancient and it is believed that the first church was built on Roman foundations in the 7^th or 8^th century. The interior is very beautiful with some modern coloured window glass.

Our guide then took us along the promenade pointing out the various buildings of interest, the boats and the fishing sheds finishing up at the west end of the island which is a small village in its own right.

After lunch some of us visited the Roman barrow and went inside by the passage left by the excavation.

Remaining visits in 2012

Coach Visit to Lavenham and Sudbury on Wednesday 19^th September 2012

A reminder for those booked on this visit.

We leave Kirby’s depot in Bull Lane at 8.00am and arrive at Lavenham at 09.30 where those who have booked may take tea or coffee in the Guildhall . We will meet our guides at 11.00am for a tour of this beautiful old town. In the afternoon we have free time to explore Sudbury. Arrive back at Rayleigh about 06.00pm.

 

Our annual meeting at the WI Hall with the Social History Group is now scheduled for Thursday 18^th October, 10.00am to 12.00. There is no charge for this. Non-members of the group are welcome.

Come along and have a good old chat over tea/coffee/biscuits. David Carlton will tell us about the work the Social History group is doing and David Fryer-Kelsey will introduce the 2013 itinerary for the Local History group. Please come to our table to book for this event at the U3A meeting on Thursday 6^th September so that we have an idea of numbers.

Planned visits for late 2012

Wed 18^th July   Our visit to Prittlewell Priory and Southend Museum. Please note that there is a small alteration to the itinerary to make travel between the venues more convenient for those sharing a car. At 11.00am we meet at Prittlewell Priory which has been totally refurbished and has only just reopened. There we have a talk on the monastic building and immediate site and look round the exhibition. There is car parking and toilets in Priory Park. The Priory building itself has toilets and improved access. However, not all of the building is wheelchair accessible. There is a cafe in the Park.  After a lunch break those who wish can visit the Southend Museum in the old Library building near Victoria station . There is car parking next to the new library building.

£2 per person.

On Wednesday 15^th August we visit Mersea Island. At 10.00am we meet at the Museum next to the church in West Mersea. Then at 11.00 a guided walk along the front, possibly including the church if there is no wedding or funeral. There is an ancient barrow or burial mound on the island which we could visit on the way home, It is on the road to East Mersea. Free and it is possible to enter it.

£2.50 per person.

Coach Visit to Lavenham and Sudbury on Wednesday 19^th September 2012

Our coach trip is now fully booked.

Our annual meeting at the WI Hall with the Social History Group is now scheduled for Thursday 18^th October, 10.00am to 12.00, £2 per person.

Valentines Mansion, Ilford Wednesday 20^th June

We visited Valentines Mansion on 20^th June. It is situated in Valentines Park just south of Gants Hill roundabout in Ilford. There was a guided tour of the house inside and out. Then we were free to explore the gardens, lakes and grounds and to use the cafe.

Back in the late 17^th century there was a farm at this point known as Valentines farm. A lady approached the owner and offered to buy the buildings and land and he accepted. She was Mrs Tillotson, the widow of the Archbishop of Canterbury. When he died, being a churchman, he left very little money but he was renowned for his sermons. She had them printed and sold and they were so popular that they earned her £25,000, which was a great deal of money in those days. This enabled her to buy the farm, demolish the old house and build a new one for herself and her family. At that time the whole area was undeveloped, the occasional farmhouse and a row of workers cottages in Beehive Lane nearby. The new house was surrounded by its own grounds and the rest of the estate  was farmed.

Later the house passed through a succession of owners and was heavily modified. City merchant and banker Robert Surman bought the estate in the 1720s. He was heavily involved in the South Sea Bubble crisis of 1720. He owned a number of properties in Essex which he had to sell at the time of the Bubble when much of his money was confiscated by the state. (That’s an idea we could follow today). By 1724 he had recovered sufficiently to buy Valentines and created the walled gardens, dovecote and grottoes. In the 1760s owner Sir Charles Raymond, originally a ship’s captain for the East India company, spent part of his fortune renovating Valentines, giving the house its Georgian appearance. The red brick facade was replaced with yellow stock brick which was the fashion. In Regency times everything had to be symmetrical so another wing was added to the west end. There are many blocked windows but this was not because of the window tax – they were designed that way to give symmetry to the outside but were not convenient on the inside. Later a porte cochere was added to the back, obscuring the window on the staircase so it had to be fitted with coloured glass to hide the building. This meant the back of the house became the front. The front was modified, the door blocked up and the gate and drive leading to Cranbrook Road removed. A porte cochere gives cover to the people leaving their coach to enter the building.

The service wing to the west was possibly built as an orangery and later converted into a dairy and kitchen. The dairy is remarkably cold, which is great for keeping dairy products fresh but very uncomfortable to work in. The kitchen contains two large ranges. The pots are cast iron and very heavy. Even a small kettle is difficult to lift even when empty.

Sarah Ingleby, the last private resident of Valentines, died in 1906 and the council acquired the house in 1912. They also bought more land and created Valentine park. Since then, the mansion has been a home to wartime refugees, a hospital, a public health centre, and a council housing department. Finally with the help of lottery money it was renovated and used for community use, as a museum and for social occasions, weddings etc. 

Considering that much of what we see today was paid for from money earned from the East India company it is interesting to see how many local residents of Indian extraction make use of it’s facilities today.

Valentines Park is Grade 11 listed. The area around the house is known as the Historic Core and is an extraordinary survival to find in 21^st century Ilford.

The best remaining outhouse is the 18^th century dovecote. Behind it are the cafe and the walled gardens, the kitchen garden, the old English garden and the rose garden.

A dry garden has just been opened by the Queen as part of the Jubilee celebrations.

Beyond the gardens are the water features, the Horse pond which feeds the Long Water through a grotto and the Fish pond, fed by another grotto. There is lots of bird life there.

The vine at Hampton Court was grown from a Black Hamburgh cutting taken from the gardens at Valentines. The original vine no longer survives in the park but in late 2008 a cutting was brought back from Hampton Court and planted in the kitchen garden at Valentines. Thus the circle is now complete.

Valentines Mansion, Ilford Wednesday 20^th June

 We go to Valentines House and Gardens at Ilford. Discover a beautiful country house and gardens in the heart of Ilford. Visit the recreated Victorian kitchen and Georgian rooms, with gorgeous views over surrounding parkland.

Motorised wheelchairs are not allowed in the house. Two manual wheelchairs available.

Guided tour of house. £3 per person.

Valentines Mansion, Emerson Road, Ilford, IG1 4XA

Take the A127 to Gants Hill, left into Cranbrook Road, left into Emerson Road, left into Valentines carpark.

Sutton Hoo and Woodbridge May 2012

We combined a visit to the famous museum of the ship burials at Sutton Hoo with a stop at the old riverside town of Woodbridge.

We went first to Woodbridge, a beautiful market town and one of the jewels of the East Suffolk coastal area. The town sits on the picturesque River Deben estuary.

It has many historic buildings along with a wide range of shops, restaurants and other businesses.

The information centre is near the railway station  and provided a map and brochure. The small harbour is separated from the town by the railway. It holds a variety of boats and gives a stunning view of the river.

Woodbridge Tide Mill has recently been restored to full working order, grinding corn again – only the second such mill in the country to do so.

The town rises up from the river towards the market place which holds the Suffolk Punch horse museum in the Shire Hall. The Woodbridge museum is housed in one of the houses on Market Hill.

St Mary’s church is situated behind the houses in the market place and has a beautiful and peaceful setting. It is one of the great English churches with one of the best 15^th century fonts. The tower is one of Suffolk’s biggest, bold and dramatic, particularly when seen from the quayside. The church is recorded in the Domesday book. The present building dates from the beginning of the fifteenth century.

There was plenty of time to explore the town and take tea and cake in one of the charming tearooms before we rejoined our coach for Sutton Hoo which is just on the other side of the river.

After lunch in the cafe a visit to the exhibition hall showed the story of Sutton Hoo through a mixture of original and high quality replica objects. There is a full size reconstructed burial chamber with all the king’s treasures laid out around him. Visitors can dress up as an Anglo-Saxon and wear a replica of the famous helmet.

A guided walk to the burial ground shows the burial mounds where it is thought Raedwald, King of East Anglia was buried in his ship.

Tranmer House is open to the public and is furnished as it was pre-war when Mrs Pretty lived there and organised the excavation.

So many things to see and never enough time.

Chelmsford Museum 18th April 2012

Our visit to the Essex Regimental Museum on 18^th April was a revelation. There was something for everyone with the history of Chelmsford from pre-historic times, the story of the famous industrial giants who used to be there, like Marconi and Hoffmans, and the Regimental museum. Even the little girl who came with us was interested. And a small tea and coffee room upstairs was well patronised.

Sister Belle slide show March 2012

For our first
meeting of the new year we were entertained by a slide show given by Paul
Taylor in the WI hall in Rayleigh. Paul has a fabulous collection of old
photographs and has arranged many of them into lectures. This one was about an
old horse drawn charabanc called the Sister Belle which used to give visitors
to the district tours of the local villages and beauty spots around the turn of
the 20th century.
These old photos are
of remarkable quality, sharp and clear despite their age. Paul has collected
them for many years along with postcards, some coloured.
This lecture
followed the Sister Belle on an imaginary tour starting in Southend and touring
round all the local villages. It was noticeable that all the photos of Sister
Belle were taken outside pubs!
It was great fun
trying to recognise familiar places before they were built up. Many of us have
memories of places no longer in existence or in completely changed localities.
Paul has suffered
from bad health lately but he put on a good show and we are very grateful to
him. He doesn’t take payment but asked us to make a donation to the Christian Aid charity which does good
works all around the world.

Details of visits in April and September

Wed 18th April sees us at the Chelmsford Museum in Oaklands Park. This contains the Bright Sparks exhibition about Chelmsford industry, also the story of Chelmsford from the Ice Age showing how people lived. Then there is the Essex Regiment Museum showing its history from its origins in 1741. All housed in a beautiful Victorian house in 12 acres of park. Option to adjourn to Hylands Hall afterwards for tea/coffee.
£1 per head. 10.30am onwards.


Coach Visit to Lavenham and Sudbury on Wednesday 19th September 2012

U3A members who are not in our group are welcome.
The coach will deliver us to Lavenham where tea/coffee is available at a cost of £2.25 in the Guildhall. Our guides will take us round the town and to the church.
The coach will then take us to Sudbury where you may explore, shop and eat to your heart’s content.
The cost is £15.00 per person which covers the coach fare, a gratuity for the coach driver, donation to the Church and the guides fee. If you want tea/coffee at Lavenham there is an additional charge of £2.25.
If you are interested please collect a reservation form from our table at the next meeting on 05th April.

Book visits with Heather Flemmings, monthly U3A meetings, email heatherfl@lineone.net or phone 01702 204943
Pay David Fryer-Kelsey, monthly U3A meetings or post 113 Greensward Lane, Hockley, Essex, SS5 5HS. Cheques made out to U3A Rayleigh please.

Full itinerary for 2012

Thurs 29th March Meeting /Slide Show about Southern Belle in WI Hall by Paul Taylor
10.00am to 12.00 Talk starts at 10.30am
£4 per head to include tea/coffee/biscuits

Wed.18th April Essex Regimental Museum, Chelmsford
10.30 onwards
Optional Hylands Hall for tea/coffee
£1 pp entrance

Wed 16th May Coach Trip to Sutton Hoo and Woodbridge
Leave Kirby’s depot at 8.00am
Arrive 09.30 approx Woodbridge for leisure
Arrive 01.30pm Sutton Hoo. Has cafe or take your own sandwiches
£19.50 pp or £13 for National Trust members

Wed.20th June Valentine House and Gardens, Ilford
10.30 – 12.00 Guided tour of house
£3 pp

Wed 18th July Prittlewell Priory and Southend Museum
Museum 10.00am then talk at Priory 11.00 to 12.30
Coffee and toilets available at Library
£2 pp

Wed 15th August Mersea Museum and Guided Walk
10.00am Museum, 11.00 to 12.30 church and guided walk
£2.50 per person

Wed 19th Sept. Lavenham/Sudbury Coach Trip
Leave Kirby’s depot at 8.00am
10.00am tea/coffee in Lavenham £2.25 optional
11.00 guided tour of Lavenham
Arrive 02.45pm Sudbury to enjoy leisure afternoon
£15.00 pp plus £2.25 for tea

Wed 17th Oct Meeting WI Hall 10.00am to 12.00 with Social History
£2 pp

Tudor Christmas at Southchurch Hall

In December 2011 we went to Southchurch Hall for a talk about Christmas in Tudor times.
We were welcomed by Lady Anne and Lord Richard in costume and sat in the Great Hall, which is now presented in its 14th century form. In medieval times this would have been the most important room in the house and where everyone dined. The servants of the manor would have even slept in this room. In the middle of the floor was a large open fire. The smoke would have left through the thatched roof or a vent. Fortunately it was not alight while we were there. At the end of the room the floor was raised and there stood a large table at which the more important people would have sat and dined.
Lord Richard explained about the Christmas decorations at that time, mostly of greenery, and told us of the customs which were rather unfamiliar as we are more used to the German fashions brought in by Prince Albert in Victorian times.
Behind the Great Hall lies the Kitchen. Lady Anne demonstrated the different dishes prepared at that time, surprisingly varied and complicated. It must have taken a lot of time and patience.
Then Lord Richard took us to the other end of the Hall to show us the Solar rooms, solar meaning sole or alone. This was a later development which gave greater privacy to the owners.
There are two rooms downstairs and two upstairs. The two downstairs are set out as a dining room and a parlour. They have proper brick fireplaces of the inglenook type. The main bedroom upstairs is fitted out as it was in Victorian times.
Southchurch Hall is a hidden gem, a medieval house surrounded by modern housing, with a very pleasant park with several lakes formed from the moat and much wildlife.