A date for your diary…

I will be at Bishop’s Stortford Tourist Information in the Market Square on Saturday 6th December 2014, from 10am until 12pm, signing copies of my new local history book on the town.

I look forward to meeting some of my readers then.

If you can’t make the book signing, but still wish to purchase my book, then please do click the picture below to purchase (in book format or Kindle) from Amazon.

In October 2014, I had a virtual book tour around the internet talking about my book and Bishop’s Stortford.  I visited the following blogs:-

• Worldwide Genealogy Blog: The process of writing a local history book.
• Essex Voices Past: Q&A session with Amberley Publishing on “how to get a publisher interested in your history book”.
• Ross Mountney’s Notebook: Home education and teaching history to children.
• Family History Across The Sea: Correlation between local and family history.
• Anglers Rest: Using vintage postcards to add to family and local history research.
• Bishop’s Stortford Museum’s Blog: Oral history of Bishop’s Stortford.
• Essex Voices Past: Bishop’s Stortford’s postcards which got away.

About me
I have a MSt in Local and Regional History (Cantab); a BA History (Open University) and an Advanced Diploma in Local History (Oxon) – all gained as a mature student. Having been a business technologist in the City of London for the last 30 years, I am currently taking time away from my City career to write. My first history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, was published by Amberley Publishing in September 2014. I have been commissioned to write a further three history books for them:-

• Sudbury, Lavenham and Long Melford Through Time (due to be published summer 2015);
• Saffron Walden Through Time (due to be published summer 2015); and
• Postcards from the Front: Britain 1914-1919 (due to be published summer 2016).

I live in Essex, England, and regularly write about the local history of Essex and East Anglia on my blog.

This week, to celebrate the publication of my first local history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, I am very excited to be doing tour around various blogs talking about various aspects of my book: not just the subject matter, but also about writing and researching “history”.

One post a day – so 7 posts in total – spread across a wide and diverse mix of history-related blogs.

Today, day 7, I am back on my own blog to show some the postcards, photographs and pictures of Bishop’s Stortford which got away.  Postcards and images which I couldn’t include in my book for one reason or another.

Two mile start
Unfortunately, I was unable to identify this image of the “Two Mile Start”.  There is a group of women central to the image, which when zoomed in, shows that they are wearing very elegant Edwardian summer dresses with hats.  The official standing in front of the flag on the right is very formally dressed with what appears to be a watch on a chain.  The hoi polloi appear to be the crowd on the left edge of the postcard.

Whatever event this was, it looks to be have been supported throughout the entire town, from all ranks of Edwardian society.  Its location could have been on the cricket pitch by Cricketfield Lane on the outskirts of the town.

Where or whatever this was, it is a fantastic social history postcard of Bishop’s Stortford at play.

Distance views of the town

1821 etching by J Mawman showing Bishop’s Stortford in 1669. The town’s Norman castle in the foreground and the parish of St Michael’s in the distance.

Edwardian view of the town photographed from the rooftops.  The parish church’s spire in the distance.

Edwardian view of the town photographed from the top of Waytemore Castle mound.  The ever-present parish church’s spire in the distance.

The Causeway
The rural beauty of the Edwardian Causeway.  Now a busy major ring-road within the town centre.

Windhill
Victorian and Edwardian children going about their business in Windhill – compared to the modern-day influx of cars.  At least the lamp-post has remained!  The first photograph is a carte de viste photograph from 1866.

The CDV photograph of St Michael’s church is fascinating.  I wrote a blog post about it here and explained why I think it dates from 1866.

I had great problems photographing this area of Bishop’s Stortford – I must have visited it to take photographs on varying days and at varying times at least 20 times.  But always always there were cars.  Windhill was originally going to be the front cover of my book, but the cars were just too prominent in all the modern day photographs.  So we had to ditch that idea.

On one particularly eventual day, we decided to visit early on a Saturday and take the photographs of my children and their spouses.  This is the photograph which opens Chapter 2 of my book.  Getting my children all together at the same time was the first problem and a feat in its own right.  The second problem was that as we all drove up to Windhill, my husband decided to park his car in the area exactly where the photograph was to be taken.  I wasn’t impressed with this, and nor was he when he had to move the car. (Yes, there were “words”!)

Our final problem was… After my girls and their spouses had left, I decided to pay a quick visit to the church to take a couple of photographs.  We were only gone no more than 10 minutes. But by the time we came out there was a traffic warden fast approaching our car…  I’m glad to say we (just) beat him to our car…

I suspect the Victorian and Edwardian photographers of these images didn’t have such problems!

Workman’s revenge
Finally, this newspaper article in the Chelmsford Chronicle in June 1912 tickled me

My blog tour
I have thoroughly enjoyed doing a blog tour around the internet.  It has felt very self-indulgent being able to talk about my hobby – history – which has been a life-long passion for me.  Thank you for taking time out and reading my posts.

To recap, I have been on the following blogs this week:-

• Saturday 18 October – Worldwide Genealogy Blog: The process of writing a local history book.
• Sunday 19 October – Essex Voices Past: Q&A session with Amberley Publishing on “how to get a publisher interested in your history book”.
• Monday 20 October – Ross Mountney’s Notebook: Home education and teaching history to children.
• Tuesday 21 October – Family History Across The Sea: Correlation between local and family history.
• Wednesday 22 October – Anglers Rest: Using vintage postcards to add to family and local history research.
• Thursday 23 October – Bishop’s Stortford Museum’s Blog: Oral history of Bishop’s Stortford.
• Friday 24 October – Essex Voices Past: Bishop’s Stortford’s postcards which got away.

About me
I have a MSt in Local and Regional History (Cantab); a BA History (Open University) and an Advanced Diploma in Local History (Oxon) – all gained as a mature student. Having been a business technologist in the City of London for the last 30 years, I am currently taking time away from my City career to write. My first history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, was published by Amberley Publishing in September 2014. I have been commissioned to write a further three history books for them:-

• Sudbury, Lavenham and Long Melford Through Time (due to be published summer 2015);
• Saffron Walden Through Time (due to be published summer 2015); and
• Postcards from the Front: Britain 1914-1919 (due to be published summer 2016).

Please do click on the image below to buy my book.

© Essex Voices Past 2014.

This week, to celebrate the publication of my first local history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, I am very excited to be doing tour around various blogs talking about various aspects of my book: not just the subject matter, but also about writing and researching “history”.

One post a day – so 7 posts in total – spread across a wide and diverse mix of history-related blogs.

Today, day 6, you can read me on Bishop’s Stortford’s Museums blog talking about Local history and Bishop’s Stortford. Please click on the link or picture below to read my post.

My blog tour
You can catch me on the following dates and blogs discussing “all things history”, along with explaining about my recent book, on the following dates and sites.

• Saturday 18 October – Worldwide Genealogy Blog: The process of writing a local history book.
• Sunday 19 October – Essex Voices Past: Q&A session with Amberley Publishing on “how to get a publisher interested in your history book”.
• Monday 20 October – Ross Mountney’s Notebook: Home education and teaching history to children.
• Tuesday 21 October – Family History Across The Sea: Correlation between local and family history.
• Wednesday 22 October – Anglers Rest: Using vintage postcards to add to family and local history research.
• Thursday 23 October – Bishop’s Stortford Museum’s Blog: Oral history of Bishop’s Stortford.
• Friday 24 October – Essex Voices Past: Bishop’s Stortford’s postcards which got away.

About me
I have a MSt in Local and Regional History (Cantab); a BA History (Open University) and an Advanced Diploma in Local History (Oxon) – all gained as a mature student. Having been a business technologist in the City of London for the last 30 years, I am currently taking time away from my City career to write. My first history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, was published by Amberley Publishing in September 2014. I have been commissioned to write a further three history books for them:-

• Sudbury, Lavenham and Long Melford Through Time (due to be published summer 2015);
• Saffron Walden Through Time (due to be published summer 2015); and
• Postcards from the Front: Britain 1914-1919 (due to be published summer 2016).

Please do click on the image below to buy my book.

© Essex Voices Past 2014.

This week, to celebrate the publication of my first local history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, I am very excited to be doing tour around various blogs talking about various aspects of my book: not just the subject matter, but also about writing and researching “history”.

One post a day – so 7 posts in total – spread across a wide and diverse mix of history-related blogs.

Today, day 5, you can read me on Julie Goucher’s blog Anglers Rest talking about Using vintage postcards to add to family and local history research. Please click on the link or picture below to read my post.

My blog tour
You can catch me on the following dates and blogs discussing “all things history”, along with explaining about my recent book, on the following dates and sites.

• Saturday 18 October – Worldwide Genealogy Blog: The process of writing a local history book.
• Sunday 19 October – Essex Voices Past: Q&A session with Amberley Publishing on “how to get a publisher interested in your history book”.
• Monday 20 October – Ross Mountney’s Notebook: Home education and teaching history to children.
• Tuesday 21 October – Family History Across The Sea: Correlation between local and family history.
• Wednesday 22 October – Anglers Rest: Using vintage postcards to add to family and local history research.
• Thursday 23 October – Bishop’s Stortford Museum’s Blog: Oral history of Bishop’s Stortford.
• Friday 24 October – Essex Voices Past: Bishop’s Stortford’s postcards which got away.

About me
I have a MSt in Local and Regional History (Cantab); a BA History (Open University) and an Advanced Diploma in Local History (Oxon) – all gained as a mature student. Having been a business technologist in the City of London for the last 30 years, I am currently taking time away from my City career to write. My first history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, was published by Amberley Publishing in September 2014. I have been commissioned to write a further three history books for them:-

• Sudbury, Lavenham and Long Melford Through Time (due to be published summer 2015);
• Saffron Walden Through Time (due to be published summer 2015); and
• Postcards from the Front: Britain 1914-1919 (due to be published summer 2016).

Please do click on the image below to buy my book.

© Essex Voices Past 2014.

This week, to celebrate the publication of my first local history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, I am very excited to be doing tour around various blogs talking about various aspects of my book: not just the subject matter, but also about writing and researching “history”.

One post a day – so 7 posts in total – spread across a wide and diverse mix of history-related blogs.

Today, day 4, you can read me on Pauleen Cass’s blog Family history across the seas talking about Correlation between local and family history. Please click on the link or picture below to read my post.

My blog tour
You can catch me on the following dates and blogs discussing “all things history”, along with explaining about my recent book, on the following dates and sites.

• Saturday 18 October – Worldwide Genealogy Blog: The process of writing a local history book.
• Sunday 19 October – Essex Voices Past: Q&A session with Amberley Publishing on “how to get a publisher interested in your history book”.
• Monday 20 October – Ross Mountney’s Notebook: Home education and teaching history to children.
• Tuesday 21 October – Family History Across The Sea: Correlation between local and family history.
• Wednesday 22 October – Anglers Rest: Using vintage postcards to add to family and local history research.
• Thursday 23 October – Bishop’s Stortford Museum’s Blog: Oral history of Bishop’s Stortford.
• Friday 24 October – Essex Voices Past: Bishop’s Stortford’s postcards which got away.

About me
I have a MSt in Local and Regional History (Cantab); a BA History (Open University) and an Advanced Diploma in Local History (Oxon) – all gained as a mature student. Having been a business technologist in the City of London for the last 30 years, I am currently taking time away from my City career to write. My first history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, was published by Amberley Publishing in September 2014. I have been commissioned to write a further three history books for them:-

• Sudbury, Lavenham and Long Melford Through Time (due to be published summer 2015);
• Saffron Walden Through Time (due to be published summer 2015); and
• Postcards from the Front: Britain 1914-1919 (due to be published summer 2016).

Please do click on the image below to buy my book.

© Essex Voices Past 2014.

This week, to celebrate the publication of my first local history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, I am very excited to be doing tour around various blogs talking about various aspects of my book: not just the subject matter, but also about writing and researching “history”.

One post a day – so 7 posts in total – spread across a wide and diverse mix of history-related blogs.

Today, day 3, you can read me on Ross Mountney’s Notebook talking about Home educating and history. Please click on the link or picture below to read my post.

My blog tour
You can catch me on the following dates and blogs discussing “all things history”, along with explaining about my recent book, on the following dates and sites.

• Saturday 18 October – Worldwide Genealogy Blog: The process of writing a local history book.
• Sunday 19 October – Essex Voices Past: Q&A session with Amberley Publishing on “how to get a publisher interested in your history book”.
• Monday 20 October – Ross Mountney’s Notebook: Home education and teaching history to children.
• Tuesday 21 October – Family History Across The Sea: Correlation between local and family history.
• Wednesday 22 October – Anglers Rest: Using vintage postcards to add to family and local history research.
• Thursday 23 October – Bishop’s Stortford Museum’s Blog: Oral history.
• Friday 24 October – Essex Voices Past: Bishop’s Stortford’s postcards which got away.

About me
I have a MSt in Local and Regional History (Cantab); a BA History (Open University) and an Advanced Diploma in Local History (Oxon) – all gained as a mature student. Having been a business technologist in the City of London for the last 30 years, I am currently taking time away from my City career to write. My first history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, was published by Amberley Publishing in September 2014. I have been commissioned to write a further three history books for them:-

• Sudbury, Lavenham and Long Melford Through Time (due to be published summer 2015);
• Saffron Walden Through Time (due to be published summer 2015); and
• Postcards from the Front: Britain 1914-1919 (due to be published summer 2016).

Please do click on the image below to buy my book.

© Essex Voices Past 2014.

This week, to celebrate the publication of my first local history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, I am very excited to be doing tour around various blogs talking about various aspects of my book: not just the subject matter, but also about writing and researching “history”.

One post a day – so 7 posts in total – spread across a wide and diverse mix of history-related blogs.

Today, day 1, you can read me on the Worldwide Genealogy Blog talking about The process of writing a local history book. Please click on the link or picture below to read my post.

Sample page from my new book…

My blog tour
You can catch me on the following dates and blogs discussing “all things history”, along with explaining about my recent book, on the following dates and sites.

• Saturday 18 October – Worldwide Genealogy Blog: The process of writing a local history book.
• Sunday 19 October – Essex Voices Past: Q&A session with Amberley Publishing on “how to get a publisher interested in your history book”.
• Monday 20 October – Ross Mountney’s Notebook: Home education and teaching history to children.
• Tuesday 21 October – Family History Across The Sea: Correlation between local and family history.
• Wednesday 22 October – Anglers Rest: Using vintage postcards to add to family and local history research.
• Thursday 23 October – Bishop’s Stortford Museum’s Blog: Oral history.
• Friday 24 October – Essex Voices Past: Bishop’s Stortford’s postcards which got away.

About me
I have a MSt in Local and Regional History (Cantab); a BA History (Open University) and an Advanced Diploma in Local History (Oxon) – all gained as a mature student. Having been a business technologist in the City of London for the last 30 years, I am currently taking time away from my City career to write. My first history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time, was published by Amberley Publishing in September 2014. I have been commissioned to write a further three history books for them:-

• Sudbury, Lavenham and Long Melford Through Time (due to be published summer 2015);
• Saffron Walden Through Time (due to be published summer 2015); and
• Postcards from the Front: Britain 1914-1919 (due to be published summer 2016).

Please do click on the image below to buy my book.

© Essex Voices Past 2014.

I am very excited to be able to tell you that starting tomorrow (Saturday 18 October 2014), I will be celebrating the publication of my local history book Bishop’s Stortford Through Time by doing tour around various blogs all around the world talking about all aspects of “history”.  I’ll be talking about not just about the subject matter of my book – but also writing and researching a local history book, along with posts about what it is to be a family and local historian.

You can catch me on the following dates and blogs discussing “all things history”:-

• Saturday 18 October – Worldwide Genealogy Blog: The process of writing a local history book.

• Sunday 19 October – Essex Voices Past: Q&A session with Amberley Publishing on “how to get a publisher interested in your history book”.

• Monday 20 October – Ross Mountney’s Notebook: Home education and teaching history to children.

• Tuesday 21 October – Family History Across The Sea: Correlation between local and family history.

• Wednesday 22 October – Anglers Rest: Using vintage postcards to add to family and local history research.

• Thursday 23 October – Bishop’s Stortford Museum’s Blog: Oral history and Bishop’s Stortford.

• Friday 24 October – Essex Voices Past: Bishop’s Stortford’s postcards which got away.

Please do click on the image below to buy my book.

© Essex Voices Past 2014.

Today’s post is continuing on my posts about Edwardian postcards and Victorian photographs which didn’t make it into my new local history book, Bishop’s Stortford Through Time.  I have published this photograph before on my blog and on Twitter, but so far have had no success in identifying it.  So I’m going to try once again to see if anyone can identify these young ladies.  Someone has suggested to me that it is probably from the inter-war period – possibly the 1920s – because of the dropped waists on the girls’ dresses.

Do you have any idea who these young ladies of Bishop’s Stortford were? The photographers were H & A Gurton who were active in the town from the First World War and on into the 1920s.

My book

If you want to learn more about this historic East Hertfordshire town, please do click on the image below to buy my book.

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This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in

– Bishop’s Stortford: The ones that got away
– Bishop’s Stortford Through Time – A progress update
– Bishop’s Stortford 1569-1571: The Vermin Man
– Happy Second Blogiversary to Me – The Future

© Essex Voices Past 2014.

I am very pleased to say that my new book on the local history of the town of Bishop’s Stortford is now available in all good local bookshops.  If you are not local to the town (and I think a great number of my blog’s readership has an ocean or two between you and Bishop’s Stortford’s local shops!), you’ll be pleased to know that Amazon now has their copies in stock.

I had immense fun researching and writing my book. “Having” to consult archives, consult Tudor churchwardens’ accounts (my favourite bed-time reading!), read Victorian newspaper articles and write my text was absolute bliss.  Not to mention the countless nights I had to stay up late, so I could bid at the last minute on that well known internet auction site, thus securing that precious and highly important postcard of the town’s past.  (Unfortunately for my pocket, there were many many postcards which I just “had to have” at any cost!) After years spent commuting and working in the City of London as a business technologist, being able to do my passion – researching and writing about history – was absolute bliss.  Now, when people ask me what my profession is, I hover in deciding to tell them which of my two careers is my profession.  That I am a freelance business technologist working for some of the world’s largest international law firms in the City of London.  Or, a published local historian and author working from home.  (I am immensely proud of both my careers.)

There were several postcards that “got away”.  Postcards and images in my collection which I would have loved to have included in my book – but for one reason or another, I couldn’t.  Some images were excluded because I simply didn’t know what the image was about – apart from it was “somewhere” in Bishop’s Stortford; and others where I had so many images of the same building/view/area that I had to choose one postcard over the many other images.  With other views of Bishop’s Stortford, I had written their story but then had to cull that story and images from my book because there simply wasn’t room.

So, every week, starting this week, I’ve decided to blog some of the photos and stories that I couldn’t include in my book.  These are the ones that got away!

St Michael’s Church, Windhill, Bishop’s Stortford

The image below is an intriguing one.  It is a small Victorian carte de visite (or CDV) photograph of St Michael’s Church, in Windhill.  The CDV has perfectly square corners, and a plain back but, unfortunately, there’s no photographer’s information.  It is probably one of the earliest photographs of Bishop’s Stortford: according to my research, square cornered CDVs are normally pre 1870.  I thought that the gas lamp might give me a clue as to the date of the photograph – but according to good ole wikipedia, many towns were lit by gas lamps as early as 1823. I think that this view might roughly date from before 1870.

St Michael’s Parish Church, Windhill, Bishop’s Stortford,
sometime between 1850s and 1870s

The intriguing part of this photograph is the wooden structure at the front of the church.  At first glance it looks like a small ticket booth.  However, look closely… It is actually a very large structure.  It is big enough to have what looks like 2 oval church windows at the front.  Look again:  there’s two tiny children climbing up a ladder – a ladder of about 7 steps.  A very strange “ticket booth” if you have to climb up a ladder to get into it!  The structure has a wooden board at the top with printed words on it (if only the Victorian photographer had got just a little bit nearer – and then we could have read it on our modern-day computers!).

There were building works which took place in St Michael’s church and were completed in November 1866.  At this time, the east windows in the north and south aisles were replaced with new ones in the same style as the existing windows.  Maybe the structure was the master craftsmen’s workshop to help them build new windows.  Maybe the little girls have shimmed up the ladder to take a peak in the work rooms.  Inquisitive Victorian children captured forever.

What’s going on! Can you help me and tell me what this structure was?
Was it the craftsmen’s workrooms for the work which took place in 1866??

My book

If you want to learn more about this historic East Hertfordshire town, please do click on the image below to buy my book.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in
– The trials and tribulations of writing a book
– Bishop’s Stortford Through Time – A progress update
– Bishop’s Stortford 1569-1571: The Vermin Man
– Happy Second Blogiversary to Me – The Future

© Essex Voices Past 2014.