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Elsenham Village History Society
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About Us

We were formed in February 2010
We know that there is a need to collect and record as much as we can about the village, about our predecessors who laid the foundations of the village; about the people who spent all their lives here and are no longer with us; about those who were born and bred here and can still tell us fascinating stories about their lives here; and about later generations who all have a role to play and have contributed to the way we live here today.
The Society has over 50 active and enthusiastic members and a committee of 7 who are all village residents who share the objective of not just finding out more about our history but also of pulling together in one place and recording as much as we can for the benefit of a wider audience today and for future generations whom we hope will share this interest.
We meet four times per year and aim to provide interesting speakers on a range of local history related subjects. Every so often we hold a members evening where the material is presented by members themselves, reporting on projects or work in hand.
Speakers have included: the former Managing Director of the Elsenham Jam Factory; a talk by a local author on his life as a locomotive driver; a local historian on the architecture of Thaxted; the history of the Elsenham to Thaxted branch line; notable architecture and history of Saffron Walden; the history of Easton Lodge and the five parishes; notable cases from the history of Essex Police; the Audley End to Saffron Walden Branch line; Researching Your Family Tree by a local practitioner.
In addition to our regular meetings we aim to organise visits which give our members the opportunity to visit places of interest together and enable informal discussions. Examples of our outings include a conducted tour of Thaxted; a visit to Pledgdon Hall Farm with a tour by the owner; a conducted tour of Dunmow Maltings and Town Museum; a hosted visit to the Essex Records Office.
We meet in the Memorial Hall in Elsenham always on a Wednesday evening starting at 8:00 p.m. The latest dates can be found on our home page together with the details of forthcoming speakers and their subjects. We are committed to trying to engage all age groups in the village to find out about what interests them and to encourage them to become part of a fact finding and recording enterprise and to have some fun along the way too.
Our regular meetings are free for members and visitors are always welcome for a small charge of £2 per meeting.

Talks at Society meetings

The society meets every 2/3 months. At each meeting there is a presentation by a guest speaker. This is a list of all the presentations given. To see a summary of the Speaker's remarks please click on the date.

DateSpeaker & Subject
2010-03-10David Verlander - Local Maps and Aerial Photos
2010-06-09Roger Taylor local author, reminiscences on his life as a Train Driver
2010-09-18John Hurwitz former Managing Director of the Elsenham Jam Factory
2010-11-10Frances Lambert - Archaeological Practice
2011-03-09Alf Wright - Easton Lodge and Daisy, Countess of Warwick
2011-06-08Peter Paye - Elsenham to Thaxted Light Railway
2011-09-14Bruce Munro - Thaxted History and Its Significant Buildings
2011-11-09Professor Anthony Tuck - The Black Death in Essex
2012-03-07Tim Turner - Auctioneer - Antique Fakes and Forgeries
2012-06-06Stanley Sutherland - Why Start Family History ?
2012-11-07Member's Evening - Alan Taylor and War Memorial Sub-Committee, The Production of Our Book "For The Duration"
2013-03-06Bruce Munro - A Chat on Saffron Walden History with Slides
2013-06-12Fred Feather - Arsenic and Olde Essex
2013-09-11Peter Paye - The Saffron Walden Branch Railway
2013-11-06Pat and Steve Schorah - The Dunmow Flitch
2014-03-05Derek Winter - Stansted Airport - Its History and Notable Happenings
2014-06-11Sarah Doig - There's no Such Thing as a Good Tax
2014-09-10Tony Kirby - Railways in The Essex Landscape
2014-11-12War Memorial Team - War Memorial Research Update
2015-03-04Dr. Richard Nunn - It's a Doctor's Life
2015-06-10Tony Kirby - Tides of Fortune - The Rise and Fall of The Seaside Resort
2015-09-09Local Farming in The 1950s - A Narrated Film
2015-11-11Richard Priestley - Newport Free School - A History
2016-03-09Bill Hardy - Carpenter's Marks in Wood Framed Buildings
2016-06-08Peter Turrall - The History of Marconi 1874 to 1937
2016-09-07Herbert Eiden - The Peasants Revolt in Essex
2016-11-09Moira Jackson and Avril Braidwood - Elsenham Women's Institute
2017-03-08Richard Priestley - The Last Days of Pompeii
2017-06-14Carolyn Wingfield - Curator Saffron Walden Museum - Saffron Walden Museum and Local Finds
2017-09-13Roger Clarke - Church Warden - The History of St Mary's Church Elsenham
2017-11-08Bill Hardy - The Bishop's Stortford Union Workhouse
2018-03-14Dr. Herbert Eiden - The History of Holidaying at the Seaside
2018-06-13Richard Priestley - The Story of Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire
2018-09-12Terry Ward - Station to Station - History Along The Cambridge to Bishop's Stortford Rail Line
2018-11-14Alan Taylor - Battlefield Tour Guide - The End of World War 1 - The Final Battle
2019-03-13Roger Barrett - The Fuller Maitlands at Stansted Hall
2019-06-12Lee Player - Master Thatcher - Thatching - History and Practice
2019-09-11Bill Hardy - Building King's College Chapel and Arabic Assembly Marks
2019-11-13Mark Carroll - DNA, Surnames and Genealogy
2020-03-12Ray Franklin - Elsenham Jam Factory Reprise (10th Anniversary Meeting)
2020-06-10Anthea Hawdon from Raking Light - Church Graffiti Postponed due to COVID
2020-11-11Ken McDonald - 100 Parishes Society -Postponed due to COVID
2021-03-10Nina Gaubert - The Great War Escape Plan POSTPONED
2021-06-09Anthea Hawden from Raking Light - Church Graffiti - POSTPONED
2021-09-08Nina Gaubert - Worlds War 1 Essex Evacuation Plan
2021-11-10Ray Franklin - Photographs of Bishops Stortford (Change of Speaker)
2022-03-09Anthea Hawden - Raking Light - Church Graffiti
2022-06-08Prof. Anthony Tuck - Newport A Great and Poor Town
2022-09-14Ken Macdonald -100 Parishes Society
2022-11-09Richard Till - The Cutlers of Thaxted
2023-03-08Chris Bush - History of Park Road Elsenham
2023-06-14Tony Wellings- History of Stansted Mountfitchet Windmill