Witches in Waldingfield

The second meeting of the Little Waldingfield History Society was very well attended and much enjoyed by all.  Thanks to Andy Shepherd for the report below.  Future meeting dates are included in Forthcoming Events.

Little Waldingfield History Society was pleased to welcome Pip Wright to the Parish Room on All Hallows Eve where he regaled us with many of the stories on Witches he has collected after many years research, which hopefully the following snippets illustrate.

§  “For as long as history itself, East Anglians have been a superstitious lot. It is 300 years since officials told us to stop persecuting witches, but old habits die hard; after all, if the bible and Shakespeare recognise witches, who are we to disagree”.

§   Surprisingly, we learned that “Witchcraft was not a crime in Tudor times, though after Henry VIII’s reformation, heresy and superstition reached the point of public paranoia”.

§  Seemingly, “It took many years for a Witchcraft Act to appear on the statute books, finally occurring in 1563, following which three women in Chelmsford were almost immediately accused and tried, albeit receiving wildly differing sentences”.

§  Rather worryingly, “Across the country, children testified against parents and grandparents, and in Pendle, Lancashire, a nine year old daughter gave evidence that lead to the deaths of her mother and sister”.

§  We heard that the notorious self-appointed Witch finder General, Matthew Hopkins, “Travelled widely in East Anglia, bringing hundreds of witches to trial and could persuade virtually any accused witch to confess by using techniques such as sleep deprivation”.

§  Lastly, we learned that the Hammer Horror film “Witch finder General” was filmed in and around Bury, with the witch burning scenes being set in Lavenham market square – altogether too close to home for comfort!

Everyone had a most entertaining evening learning some of the ways of witches, speculating who in our midst could be holding dark secrets and being grateful we live in the 21^st Century.

At our next talk on “Bombs, Beams and Boffins”, Paddy Heazell will explain the mysteries of Orford Ness, which some might consider as modern day witchcraft, and we look forward to welcoming guests new and old to the Parish Room on Nov 21st for what is sure to be another entertaining and informative evening.

Andy Sheppard         1^st November 2012

A small revolution in planning policy

 

Babergh’s Core Strategy, which sets strategic parameters for planning policy throughout the District, took a further step forward yesterday.

At yesterday’s full Council Meeting at Babergh councillors voted that the document should be submitted for external examination. This is one of the last steps before it can be adopted as part of the Local Development Framework.

The Strategy is really quite revolutionary in that it seeks to permit some proportionate growth in housing in certain villages where previous Local Plans have vetoed most development.   This is a long overdue change.  Many settlements have shrunk in size in the past, and cannot maintain local services such as pubs and shops.  Transport links have also been affected since there are simply not enough people to make bus services viable.  Small parishes are, as a result, in danger of becoming the preserve of the wealthy elderly, with younger and less well-heeled people having little choice but to move to larger places, or to suffer isolation and deprivation.

Clive Arthey, long term member and former Chairman of the Development Committee, provided councillors with some fascinating statistics in this respect.  Looking at population figures from 100 years ago he showed how many settlements have shrunk dramatically in size.  Whereas Acton and Great Waldingfield for example have grown from 558 and 662 souls to 1720 and 1420 respectively, villages such as Little Waldingfield have fallen from 412 to 360, and Kersey has dropped from 604 to 330.  Most extreme is Little Wenham which has fallen from 95 to just 10!  Lavenham has much the same population count as it had a century ago, although of course the people are rather more widely distributed; demonstrating that the fall in the number of people per household has also been an important trend.

As far as rural businesses are concerned, I recently read a report which stated that before the War Bildeston supported as many businesses as Lavenham, but now where Lavenham  still has more than 40, in the main due to its attraction as a tourist destination, Bildeston’s local businesses now number less than 10.

Will Babergh’s change in approach to development reverse the decline being seen in rural areas?  Of course times have changed and the advent of car ownership for many means that it is unlikely that there will be a massive revival in village stores for example and it will be an ongoing challenge to make public transport viable.    The situation may be prevented from further deterioration however, and  if a better balance of people can be helped to live in country settlements this must be a good thing.

Let’s hope the Inspector who will now examine the plan , agrees with us!

A visit to Worcester

Edward Elgar

Nick and I have been in the Midlands this weekend to celebrate our old boss's 80^th birthday.

His party was on Sunday, and on Saturday we went to Worcester and visited the wonderful Cathedral.  The Cathedral is a real beginners’ guide to mediaeval architecture, having parts that represent most of the main styles, from its Norman crypt to its Perpendicular cloister.  

There is a memorial window to Edward Elgar, who lived some four miles from Worcester, and whose statue also stands in the High Street.  Before the high altar stands the tomb of Bad King John of Magna Carta fame. (Unlike our Prime Minister I am sure that all readers of the blog know all about the Magna Carta).

Particularly impressive is the flamboyant Chantry Chapel built for Arthur, the older brother of Henry Vlll, who died at nearby Ludlow Castle five months after his betrothal to Catherine of Aragon.  I always wonder when I see his tomb what England would have been like if he had not died, there had been no break with Rome and no Dissolution of the Monasteries.  

Worcester Cathedral from the east.

 I was very moved by the 14^th century tomb of John Beauchamp, an ill fated retainer of Richard II.  Both he and his wife rest their feet on a couple of fine long dogs, not unlike those that give us so much pleasure and affection today.

 Having admired the astonishing Norman Crypt, we went on the marvel at the beautiful porcelain in the Royal Worcester Porcelain Museum.  All in all it was a great day out in a lovely and interesting City.  

Norman arches in the crypt.

Caught napping.....

I should not have made the mistake of saying on this site that I was 'out and about delivering leaflets unrelated to the Police and Crime Commissioner elections on 15th November'.

I now find myself the proud owner of about 1000 flyers promoting the undeniable charms of the Conservative Candidate, Tim Passmore.

I will be scattering these about liberally over the next few weeks, but if anyone wants to be sure to receive one please let me know!

Last call for Lorry Watchers

Quite a few people have volunteered to join the Valley Road Lorry Watch Scheme.

I need to tell Suffolk County Council Trading Standards very shortly how many training packs to bring next Monday when we are holding a one hour training session in Great Waldingfield Village Hall at 6.30.

Please contact me (see contact tab above) if you wish to join in.

These schemes work!

For more details click here

Calendar Girls

We spent a brilliant evening at the Quay Theatre yesterday evening where we saw Sudbury Dramatic Society’s production of Tim Firth’s Calendar Girls.  This play is based on the 2003 film that starred Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, and tells the true story of how members of a Women’s Institute in Yorkshire produced a calendar of nude images in order to raise funds for leukaemia research.

The play is more than simply a ‘northern romp’ featuring a collection of clichéd comic characters.  It is a complex work, and skill and sensitivity is required to convey how the characters of the women change and evolve during the course of the action. The SDS cast carried this off exceptionally well and, as a result, what could have been somewhat mawkish and sentimental was genuinely touching and affecting.  The comic scenes demanded a good level of pace and co-ordination in order to avoid the pitfalls of risking nudity on the live stage and the slickness of these scenes in particular were a credit to the direction of Sue Clark.

It seems unfair to pick out individuals from a collection of what were all good performances.  However special mention is due to Sue Bailey, who took the demanding role of Annie and made it convincing throughout, and also to Lucy Foster who made the most of the comic role of Ruth.  Cathy Press who played the important part of Chris, was making a return to the stage for the first time in 20 years, but her professional stage background certainly shone through, and Paul Press gave a convincingly pathetic performance as the dying John.  I was rather sorry that he died so early on in proceedings!

Wonderful as the play was, what is even more exciting is that, appropriately, the production and its stars, are being used as an excuse for local fundraising.  A SDS Calendar for 2013 has been produced featuring tastefully posed photographs of members of the cast in a number of picturesque settings around the Sudbury area.  These are being sold to raise money for the St. Nicholas Hospice and are available in Tesco’s and Waitrose for £9.99.  

Cathy and Paul Press plus calendar after the show.

What Police Commissioner?

Tim Passmore

I have to say that the amount of interest shown in the media and elsewhere about the election of a Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk (and of course elsewhere in the UK) has been very disappointing.

I have been out and about in Lavenham in recent days delivering some leaflets unrelated to the PCC and only one person that I have met has asked me about the forthcoming election on November 15.

Many don't know the names of the candidates, let alone what parties they stand for!

For their benefit, the three candidates for the role are Tim Passmore (pictured above) for the Conservatives link here, and Jane Basham for Labour info here . There is also an Independent called David Cocks click here and I understand that UKIP have also thrown their hat into the ring (at the eleventh hour as usual).

Does the role matter?  Well I certainly think so because the person elected will control police funding. Depending on his or her priorities, it will be their decision how much resource is allocated to the different strands of policing.  Among other things he or she will determine how much money (if any) goes to the three Suffolk Community Safety Partnerships.  I am Vice Chairman of the West Suffolk Parnership, and we really do not want to have to cut back our very cost effective initiatives in areas such as combatting anti-social behaviour, town pastor programmes and projects aimed at reducing domestic violence.

Whoever is elected on November 15,  the Chairman of the West Suffolk CSP and I have already requested an early meeting to make sure that he or she understands the merits of our case.  The things we do are not as high profile or exciting as seeking out terrorists or solving murders, but they certainly do affect the day to day lives of people in the community.

The media are finally waking up to the elections.  Radio  Suffolk is holding a live debate in Ipswich on Thursday 25th October, and I assume that this will be broadcast on the radio.  If you want to attend in person you should telephone 01299 829299 as soon as possible.