Glemsford Local History Society

The new season opened in September on a most successful note when members were shown around the Silk Factory by the manager, Iain MacKirdy, learning something of the long history associated with silk worldwide, as well as recognising how the local firms have been involved throughout the years. We saw examples of a variety of spun silks, whilst the modern methods of dying in a range of beautifully vibrant hues were explained to us. A barbecue at 'Chequers', the home of our president, George Grover, followed the tour of the factory. Superb food and wine, a large raffle and excellent autumn weather all combined to make this a really enjoyable evening.

October: Fred Pawsey from Cavendish gave us his entertaining and very humorous talk about the Suffolk Dialect. In amongst anecdotes rendered in the native dialect, he treated us to a surfeit of decidedly odd and antiquated words for everyday things that the Suffolk inhabitant of old would have used. Quite an eye-opener for many of us!

November: Our A.G.M. was attended by a record number of 44 members. For the second year running, some complimentary wine was available to help the proceedings go with a swing! Four members gave poignant and humorous talks on the subject of their personal memories of World War II, recalling the fighting and their own childhood escapades which all made fascinating listening.

December: This was a meeting with the real Christmas spirit! Clive Paine transported us back in time to the Victorian era when Christmas was invariably white. It was also spent in the heart of large country houses with plentiful quantities of delectable, traditional Christmas fare eaten in halls festooned with bundles of holly, mistletoe and evergreens - or at least this is what we are led to believe. However, Clive showed us the other side of Victorian life where poverty was too often rampant and Christmases did not represent such a rosy picture. A raffle, followed by seasonal fare and mulled wine, concluded the evening.

January: Genealogy has apparently become a national obsession, aided and abetted by the ease of the online websites. This may explain the very large audience who turned out to hear Tom Shaw, from Clare, a local 'family detective', vividly describe the pleasures, excitements, discoveries and inevitable pitfalls to be encountered when the amateur sleuth starts to look into his/her past. In 'Researching Your Family Tree' Tom showed us an amazing collection of documents, maps and photographs which he had compiled from all over the country during his own researches. These have enabled him to really put 'flesh on the bones' to the extent that he could keep us well entertained with interesting stories about his ancestors and their social standing in the community.

February: Another very large turnout for David Lee from Kedington who shared with us his vast fund of knowledge about the facts and figures involved in the rapid growth of British Wartime Airfields after war was declared in 1939. His talk was illustrated with a large collection of slides of well-known local airfields, their layouts and buildings such as the hangars and control towers. Whilst many of these fell into disuse following the ending of hostilities, some have survived in the shape of museums, storage units and even private houses!

March: Peter Minter, the well-known owner of the Bulmer Brickworks, was a popular speaker when he told us about the history of the Bulmer site; how the clay is extracted to make the handmade, often very specialised bricks, which are then duly fired in a purpose-built kiln and how these bricks, often accompanied by decorative terracotta mouldings, are sent all over the country and worldwide. Bulmer bricks are to be found in local churches, country mansions, ornate fountains and famous palaces such as Hampton Court.

April: Clive Paine, our speaker, kept everyone thoroughly absorbed with his account of the Peasants’ Revolt in Suffolk.
In his own inimitable style he brought to life the troubled days of the 14th century – a time when an already poverty-stricken population found their numbers drastically reduced by the appalling horrors of the Black Death circa 1349. Those who survived the plague however, were still expected to cover the same amount of work with half the remaining workforce and, by royal decree, no increase in wages. This, coupled with the iniquitous tax imposed upon them by the hated Lord Chancellor-cum-Archbishop of Canterbury, one Simon of Sudbury (a name familiar to most), fomented discontent and brought insurrection to a head in 1381. Whilst the Kentish mob led the revolt in London, it was clearly evident from the local chronicles of Cavendish, Liston and Long Melford that Suffolk men instigated and sustained a good deal of the action.
The fact that the great Abbey of St. Edmund was so near to them, in the midst of the Suffolk heartland, meant that they could converge upon it, venting their anger against the wealth and position of its inhabitants.
This certainly goes some way to explain why they deemed it necessary to take such an active part in proceedings. Rioting, fighting, looting and destruction followed, along with summary executions of those in power, in the peasants’ efforts to improve their lot. Unfortunately for them, all to no avail, and retribution when it came was, as ever, swift and final, leaving the average peasant no better off than before.