I talked in the last entry about the importance of school attendance in the functioning of a Victorian village school. Part of the annual grant was based upon attendance, and successive heads assiduously plotted weekly averages in the log book. Any cause of widespread pupil absence was therefore also noted.
Continue reading Staying off school-more reflections on school life in Haslingfield, 1875-1900
In the beautiful surroundings of well house meadow enjoy a visit to village history. The bakehouse will be open to visitors along with a display of a selection of the archives held and maintained for you by HVS. Opening days 8th May, 12th June, 10th July, 7th August, The Village Festival, 9th October. Time 10am to 12 noon.
Present – Christine Kipping, Martin Heazell, Margaret Long, Olga Murkin, John Offord, Marjorie Richardson, Angela Taylor, Wendy Timbs, John Wheelhouse.
District Councillor Liz Heazell and County Councillor Sebastian Kindersley were in attendance
There were no members of the public present
Continue reading Minutes of HPC meeting held on Monday May 10th 2010
Taking over from the redoubtable and late lamented Howard Stringer as village archivist, one of my first tasks has been to complete a transcription of the School Log Book entries for 1875 to 1900. This has been a formidable task, copying nearly 200 pages of copper-plate writing. It is, however, done. I’ve paused at 1900 for rest as much as the convenience provided by the end of the Victorian era, and if anyone would like a copy in Word please do contact me at jf.beresford@ntlworld.com. Be warned, however – it is a hefty document of 272 pages.
Mississippi Paddle Boat Cruise, Hoveton Hall Gardens and a cream tea are part of the delights of a trip to the Norfolk Broads being organised by the Haslingfield Village Society on Saturday 26th June. We will travel by coach to Horning in Norfolk to join a cruise (with commentary and bar) on the river Bure and out to Ranworth Broad and back. This will be followed by a guided tour of Hoveton Hall Gardens and cream tea in the Old Milking Parlour Tearooms…
Members and non-members are welcome to attend. During Coffee the elected committee will be glad to listen to your ideas about the society. After the short business meeting, a long standing member of our society, Michael Snelling, will speak on “his second career”, The restoration of furniture.
On 27th, 28th, 29th May, Haslingfield Little Theatre will be performing The Happiest Days of your Life at 7.45 p.m. in the Village Hall. This period farce takes place in a boys’ boarding school just after WWII, when a girls’ school is accidentally billeted with the boys – with hilarious and chaotic consequences. The original play was later turned into a very successful film starring Margaret Rutherford, Alistair Sim and Joyce Grenfell.
Tickets are available from the Village Shop at £7 per person
(£5 concessions are available Thursday and Friday only)
Our last production, The Babes in the Wood has just won Best Pantomime of 2009 by the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) East District 04S. Thanks to everyone who came to see the production – we hope you enjoyed it. www.haslingfieldlittletheatre.co.uk
The editorial team for the new Haslingfield website haslingfieldvillage.co.uk have announced a target date of June 2010 to launch the site.
I have been reading book by John Morris called the “Age of Arthur” (1973) which constructs a highly readable account of the history of the British Isles from 350-650AD. To my surprise I saw that Haslingfield is mentioned several times in the book and for interesting reasons. Reading on Wikipedia I see that the book has been strongly criticised probably because of the debatable narrative that it has strung together from the few reliable facts available.
I remember being told several times in the village that Haslingfield is a Saxon name for the field of the Haslingers or the people who follow Hasle. But who were these people and why were they here?
Present –Christine Kipping, Martin Heazell, Margaret Long, Olga Murkin, John Offord, Marjorie Richardson, David Slight, Angela Taylor, Wendy Timbs, John Wheelhouse.
District Coun. Liz Heazell and County Councillor Sebastian Kindersley were in attendance
There was one member of the public present
Continue reading Minutes of HPC meeting held on Monday April 12th 2010
