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Details of our District and County councillors can be found at the bottom of the page, along with links to the latest reports from both Councils
Excellent news - Stanstead Church (St James') will usually now be unlocked on Tuesdays and Fridays (10-5 in the summer and 10-3 in winter) The side door of the church will be unlocked (not the main doors) - you are welcome to visit, to pray and to just "be" in this special place. |
Election of Police & Crime Comissioner Documents relating to this are available to download: |
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CAN YOU HELP?
I have had communication from a Dr. Roger Smith, this is what he said after looking at the website:
“My own family history has a very strong connection to your village and whist, over the last few years, I have explored a vast amount of material in the records offices both in Suffolk and Essex, a few tantalising gaps still remain in the detail of the lives of my ancestors in Stanstead. I wondered if you would be interested and prepared to share some of my story with your community, in the hope that someone out there might just have a further piece of information, document, picture or story from their great grandparents to help fill in the picture of the lives of my own Stanstead family.
Briefly, my great-great-grandfather was William Smith born 1821 in Sudbury and after working as a miller at Brundon Mill and then Sherborne Mill in Essex, in approximately 1858 he moved into Stanstead with his first wife Sarah and their five children, to take on the job of ‘miller’ at the Stanstead Mill which at that time was owned by the Alston family. William stayed as the ‘miller’, living in the same house, (today known as ‘Flint Cottage’ which was just below the site of the windmill) for almost the next 50 years until his death in 1905. It was only in the last few years of his life and probably after the mill was sold to the Hanchett family after the death of Thomas Alston in 1892, that William ceased milling and spent his time ‘mending canvas sacks’. His first wife Sarah died after childbirth in 1862, he married Susanna Turner from Long Melford in 1864 and she died in 1922 – all three were buried at Stanstead Church.
Records from Daniel Alston’s will identify William’s presence and residence as “Messuage or tenement formerly in occupation of William Turpin situate in Stanstead Lower Street adjoining tenement of Simon Kilbourne and which said tenement was then divided in two cottages in the occupation of Abraham Jarmin and William Smith together with the bakehouse, gardens and other premises” and therefore confirm that he was initially employed by William Alston as his miller at the windmill. The property occupied by William and formerly by Nathaniel Pettit, a thatcher, is the northern half of what is now Flint Cottage.
One of William’s children, Alfred, married Kate Griggs whose father had been the landlord of the White Hart; at the age of 14, Alfred began his own milling career first working for his father at Stanstead Mill and then moving on around East Anglia before taking on the role of night miller at the first steam mill in Chelsea, London.
You might think that having spent fifty years living in the same village, in the same house and working in such a key role, that he might have left a footprint in the community ….however, I can find nothing! Unfortunately, my research has failed to discover any records about the windmill during this period 1858-1905 (except a few transactions in the farm records of Blooms Hall, where my great-great-grandfather was paid for milling their corn), I have failed to find any farm management records for the Alston family which might have thrown more light on employees, their tenancies and employment and I have failed to find any church or other community records which might have thrown some further light on his life. Naturally therefore, I am keen to discover whether any of your readers might have any further information which could fill in some of the gaps and add to the picture of life in Stanstead between 1858-1922.”
What a lot of work Dr. Smith has done already, but if anybody has any further information, no matter how insignificant you may think it is, please email it to me on gross7702@gmail,com, or pop it through my door at 19 Alston Crescent, and I will pass it onto him. He will be very grateful for anything.
Geraldine
And on the subject of history .....
WE ARE STILL WITHOUT A VILLAGE RECORDER IN STANSTEAD .... The Suffolk Local History Council runs a Recorders Scheme throughout Suffolk. We administer a network of volunteers to ensure that the ‘present’ is adequately recorded at local level for the ‘future’. A Recorder will note significant happenings in their parish and collect their local parish magazines, leaflets, election pamphlets and newspaper cuttings. At the end of each year, they are asked to submit a short report summarising the activities of their parish. The reports are deposited at the Suffolk Record Office and available to future researchers together with the collected items. If you are interested, please look at the Recorders Pack by visiting www.slhc.org.uk to acquaint yourself with the guidelines of the scheme. You do not need to be a historian; you do not need any qualifications other than an interest in your parish. In return you will receive a copy of the SLHC Newsletter and be invited to the annual conference specifically for Local Recorders. To volunteer to help in this important work, please contact recorders@slhc.org.uk |
A load of new photos have been added to the site - including the one below. Many are from Keith Slater, of the Glemsford Local History Society - thank you! Also pictures of a copy of a sale catalogue for Stanstead House - now Bretteston Hall.
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Stephen Plumb is one of our Babergh District Councillors. He can be contacted on Stephen.Plumb@babergh.gov.uk. |
Michael Holt is also our Babergh District Councillor. He can be contacted on Michael.Holt@babergh.gov.uk. |
The latest update from Babergh is available to download here, and the Annual Report here. |
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The latest report from Suffolk is available to download here. The Annual Report is available here. |
James Cartlidge is our Member of Parliament. He can be contacted in various ways: email: James.Cartlidge.mp@parliament.uk Phone: 020 7219 4875 Post: House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
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