From: KBrow5121@aol.com [mailto:KBrow5121@aol.com]
Sent: 29 April 2008 18:59
To: witcham
Subject: Re: Witcham website - census

 

Yes please fell free to publish the data and my email address and if anyone has a direct link to our family I'll get them a password for the Corkerton website.

 

Keith

 

From: KBrow5121@aol.com [mailto:KBrow5121@aol.com]
Sent: 29 April 2008 16:16
To: witcham
Subject: Witcham website - census

 

Hi again John

 

I have attached the transcribed census for all years from 1841 to 1901. I only have it in this Excel format but i'm sure you can convert it into a format suitable for the website or distribution to your members.

 

My family's connection with Witcham started about 1789 when Richard Cockerton moved there. He was born in Soham in 1748 and his trade was a tailor. He died in 1828 and his wife in 1838. We are lucky that she lived to the era of registration and I have her death certificate.

 

The Cockerton family had a connection with the village right through the 19th century. Richard's eldest son, Joseph, was one of the village shoemakers and his son, William a tailor.

Joseph's daughter, Elizabeth married John Russell and they ran a tailors business opposite the church. In fact it is possible that Elizabeth is the well dressed old lady on your 1875 photo of Main Street. Their house was just to the right of the photo.

Joseph also had a grandchild who married Henry Saberton, and so our connection continued into the 20th century.

The Cockertons moved away to Colchester and to Ashton under Lyne, near Manchester, in the mid to late 1800's. Their name also became changed to Corkerton, a change that seems to have happened from about 1850 onwards.

 

I have attached a genealogy of the Cockerton family for interest.

 

We also have a Corkerton website. This is only open to family members - by password - but we allow anyone access who appears on the family tree somewhere.

 

I have placed a link to your Witcham website and I have used the 1875 street shot in an article about the village. I hope you dont mind. We recreated the shot with a row of Corkertons last November.

 

I have amassed a great deal more info and can take the family back to the 1500s. There are also connections with other families from Downham and Chatteris.

 

I'd be happy to share info as people wish.

 

I hope you find my work useful.

 

Regards

 

Keith Browning

---------- Forwarded message ---------- 
From:  <KBrow5121@aol.com>
Date: 2008/4/28
Subject: Witcham website
To: john wells

 

Dear John
 
My family has its roots in Witcham and I have done some research into the parish using your excellent website and from my own research.
 
I have just completed a transcription of the Witcham census records on to an Excel spread sheet. Yes all censuses from 1841 to 1901. I must be mad !!
 
I did it primarily to track the members of my family - the Cockertons, Russells and Roberts and to try to piece together a house plan for the village to try to work out who lived where. My mother and her family, including brothers and others visited Witcham last November  to celebrate her 80th birthday. The 'locals' made us very welcome.
 
I would like to donate my census transcription to the website if you would like to accept it.
 
Please let me know.
 
Regards
 
Keith Browning

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Steve Griffiths 

Sent: 26 November 2007 15:01

To: jw246

Subject: Re: Contact from Mereham Website

 

Hi John,

 

You may be aware that the developers proposing Mereham have

substantially changed their planning application for the A10 during the

course of the public inquiry. This means that previous objections are

now outdated, and the new plans are unlikely to be as well known by

local residents. We are trying to publicise them as much as possible

around the villages - including on the local village websites.

 

A public notice should have been in the local papers last week, with the

wording given at the end of this email. The changes now involve only

widening the A10 as far as Denny End, then constricting traffic flow

there (i.e. causing a long queue) and providing bus priority schemes.

This goes against what the developers have been promoting in terms of

adding capacity and improving safety - and will result in longer delays

for traffic using the A10, as well as a substantial amount of traffic

heading for the B1049 instead.

 

The documents for this are available on the Persona website - at link:

 

http://www.persona.uk.com/mereham/inquirydocuments.htm

 

The reason we see this has been done is to remove the highways Agency

objection concerning the amount of peak hour traffic entering the A14 -

which this has achieved. But at what potential cost to the rest of the

regions roads users? We wouldn't all fit on the proposed bus scheme, so

have to use the roads!

 

Can you advertise these changes on your websites, and if possible with

your Parish Councils so that residents can write to object if they wish.

The objections need to be received by the 6th December 2007 - so we

don't have long.

 

Thanks,

 

Steve.

 

*Town And Country Planning Act 1990

Appeal by Stannifer Developments Ltd

Proposed highway improvements to A10 between A14 Milton Junction and

River Great Ouse, in the parishes of Milton, Landbeach and Waterbeach

*

Further drawings are to be considered as part of this appeal. These

include the introduction of bus lanes and bus priority measures on the

A10; a right turn ban from the A10 southbound to Green End, Landbeach;

and other cycleway/footway improvements.

 

Members of the public may inspect copies of the drawings at Development

Services, South Cambridgeshire District Council, Cambourne Business

Park, Cambourne, Cambridge, CB23 6EA, at the Planning Department, East

Cambrdigeshire District Council, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely,

Cambridge, CB7 4PL and the Haddenham Library, Station Road, Haddenham,

Cambridge CB6 3XD during normal library hours.

 

Anyone who wishes to make representations about the proposals should do

so in writing within 14 days of the date of this notice. Please quote

the reference APP/W0530/A/06/2014216 and send to the following address:

 

Persona Associates Ltd, West Point, Springfield Road, Horsham, West

Sussex, RH12 2PD.

 

Dated 22 November 2007

 

jw246@cam.ac.uk wrote:

> 

> Hi I’ve used links to WAGONS and your map on _www.witcham.org.uk_

> <http://www.witcham.org.uk> and _www.mepalparish.org.uk_

> <http://www.mepalparish.org.uk> I hope that’s ok.

> 

> Regards

> 

> John

> 

 

From: Mike [mailto:mikeralphs@mac.com]
Sent: 01 October 2007 18:43
To: webmaster@witcham.org.uk
Subject: Photo printer for sale

Hi

I have an Epson Stylus PHOTO R800 Printer for sale. Excellent condition.

This is an  A4  7 colour printer (photo black and Matte black) plus gloss optimizer.

It is complete with roll paper holders and CD tray for cd printing, USB & mains cable and drivers.

I have only used Epson inks in this printer and include a full set of Epson ink cartridges, unopened.

This is a great printer giving excellent quality prints on all types of photo paper.

asking price is £175.00p   (One hundred and seventy five pounds. 00p)

For more information or to arrange to view and test print please contact

 Mike Ralphs on 01353 777064 or email mikeralphs@mac.com

 

From: carolyn bryant
Sent: 22 September 2007 12:54
To: webmaster@witcham.org.uk
Subject: Say No to Mereham

Dear John,
I hope this email reaches you as I couldn't find definite email details! Perhaps you could put the email address in the Newsletter?
I have been concerned about the proposed 'New Town' but didn;t know how to register my concerns until the Weekly News arrived. It has a small article about the objections and has details of the 10 Downing Street web site  petition.
I have now registered my objection but hope others would like to do so also.
 
 http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SAYNO2MEREHAM/
 
Although the site says closing date is September 2008 the discussion begins on October 9th this year.
 
The developers say the development is needed to address the housing shortage in Cambridge - nothing to do with the money!!!
 
A development of 5,500 homes will cause havoc on the roads, getting out of Witcham in the mornings is already a challenge, the A10 and A142 will be conjested. The incidence of accidents will rise and services in all areas (schools, doctors etc) will become stretched beyond capabilities, without even considering the disruption during construction.
 
Most importantly, even if these services were extended/could cope, the quality of life would change forever in the area. People move to the villages for that reason! They wish to live in a village. building a New Town here would change our way of life forever.
 
Even our village would be affected.
 
If everyone in the surrounding areas registers their objection perhaps the committee will listen! We will all be affected!
 
Carolyn Bryant
Witcham

 

On 04/08/07, PAULSWEENEYMAC wrote:
>
> Hi there,
>
> have just bought an old aluminium peashooter on ebay and wondered if you can
> help me with what peas I should use to start practising.
> When peashooters were part of a child's arsenal of naughty but harmless
> weapons the peas we bought were small hard and brown and if I remember
> perfectly round.  Perhaps nostalgia is clouding my memory but where can you
> buy these or the equivalent?
>
> Great website and I might come and join you guys next year, when I am a bit
> better at it.
>
> Many thanks
> Paul

Hi Paul we use maple seed from Bearts
http://www.bearts.co.uk/contactus, we think, not sure of price etc but
probably worth trying them. We did have a few problems his year with
seeds that stuck in some of the pea shooters so we will be checking on
the seeds for next year.

Cheers
John   ( PS can I publish your e-mail on the site without your e-mail address )

-

From: ARVON WELLEN
Date: 16-Apr-2007 19:02
Subject: photos
To: John Wells

Dear John,

We had a wonderful Sunday morning working with everyone at the
breakfast and the young people were very enthusiastic about being
involved, which meant that they shot a substantial amount of
material. You mentioned creating a link to the finca films web site
on where I have placed photographs taken at the two day workshop,
taken on the two days we were working with young people from the
villages, at:

http://www.fincafilms.com/villages.html

I will add further pages as the project progresses. Perhaps you would
like to send me some text about the village which I could add in
order to compliment the images, but that is entirely up to you; I'm
happy for you to make use of these pages.

Very best wishes,
Arvon

Arvon Wellen

www.fincafilms.com

From: Emma Hursey
Date: 16-Apr-2007 12:39
Subject: Website Enquiry - Witcham Village website

Hi there,

I thought the new website we have been developing might be of interest
to you and your visitors: www.counselling-directory.org.uk.

The purpose of the site is ultimately to provide the UK with a huge
counselling support network, enabling those in distress to find a
counsellor close to them and appropriate for their needs. This is a
free, confidential service that will hopefully encourage those in
distress to seek help. The website also contains a number of sections
on emotional disorders (types of distress section) and provides some
useful statistics. Every counsellor on the site who has submitted
their profile has either sent a copy of their qualifications and
insurance cover to us, or is registered with a professional body
online with recognised codes of ethics and practice, this way we can
be assured of their professionalism.

I was wondering if you would be able to provide a link to our website,
possibly from your 'Witcham Links' section. I think our site could be
a useful resource for those looking for support or general advice
about counselling. Here is the page that links directly through to the
counsellors listed in Cambridgeshire:
http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/region_8.html

Thank you very much for your time, I hope to hear from you soon.

Kindest regards

Emma Hursey
--
Counselling Directory

From: MarkHawes
Sent: 16 November 2006 22:38
To: john
Subject: Re: History of The Haws/Hawes family from Witcham

I have noticed your site of the village of Witcham and wonder if the following would be of interest to your viewers

 

I have been studying my family history for a number of years and have traced my 4x Gt Grandfather Henry Haws (no 'e') to the Witcham area.

 

Henry had been born in Lexham, Norfolk about 1798 to John and Elizabeth Hawes and had moved with his family to Cambridge. Here he married his first wife Mary Ann Carpenter and had a number of children.

 

Most of the Haws/Hawes family were involved in brickmaking

 

Following her death Henry moved to Witcham where he married the widow Rebecca Neale (nee Dewey) on 5th April 1832 at Witcham. Many of his older children from his first marriage moved to Witcham as well with their families. Henry died in the Ely Workhouse (now Tower Court) in 1880

 

Son Henry Hawes Jnr married firstly Sarah Rose and then Mary Moule (nee Benstead). His gravestone is still to be seen in Witcham churchyard. His only surviving son Charles Henry Haws was possibly the landlord of the Crown PH for a while marrying Pleasy Vail

 

Another brother, William Haws married Isabella Walters from Sutton. They had possibly 11 children in the local area. Descendants married into the Winters and Saberton families

 

Brother James Haws, unlike the others was a tailor and after some time in Witcham moved back to Cambridge

 

Children from the 2nd marriage to Rebecca Neale/Dewey were also involved in brickmaking. My 3x Gt Grandfather John (married to Sarah Salmon) being included.

 

Towards the end of the Victorian age many later generations followed the brick industry to the newly found North London brick fields near Enfield - about 60m south down the A10 - including my line.

 

I have plenty of information on the family from the Witcham area which I would be pleased to swap with any interested parties

 

Regards,

Mark Hawes,

Cheshunt,

Hertfordshire

 

From: john.wells
Sent: 18 November 2006 14:50
To: Mark Hawes
Subject: RE: History of The Haws/Hawes family from Witcham

Hi Mark thanks, can we publish your e-mail on www.witcham.org.uk without your e-mail address, any history relating to Witcham would be of interest to our Archive Group, selected items especially images are published on http://www.commanet.org/reflect.aspx?action=searchRequest&view=thumb&lang=English&arcid=5029999900000034

Regards

John

 

From: Mark Hawes
Sent: 18 November 2006 23:56
To: john.wells
Subject: Re: History of The Haws/Hawes family from Witcham

Dear John,

Thanks for your message. I would be happy for you to place my interest on your web site. I will look through my records to see if I have some items for your archive group.

 

Thanks for your interest,

 

Mark Hawes.

 

From: David Stevens
Sent: 11 June 2006 17:58
To: john@witcham.demon.co.uk
Subject:

Hello John,

So sorry to bother you.

My name is David Stevens and I am directly related to the Saberton family who are still represented in Witcham and the surrounding area. My grandmother (on my Mums side) was a Saberton.

I've done quite a bit of research and know that William Saberton (my great great grandfather) farmed a considerable amount of land in and around Witcham, together with his brother, Thomas. William was born in 1802 and Thomas in 1810.

I'm slowly filling in the detail slowly and the history is a fascinating one. We think William sold his share of the farm at some stage and the family moved to London, where they opened a school. My great grandfather was a surgeon in Manchester (he committed suicide) and his son, Claude was a pioneer in x-rays and died of TB in the early '30's.

I've been back through all the census records and everything fits just fine.

Thomas's family, we think, stayed in the area and I'm now trying to find if he has any direct relations still in Witcham, he had seven children of which three were boys.

We are still a mixed bunch, I'm a landscape architect, www.david-stevens.co.uk , my sister is one of the best embroiderers in the world and lives in Flempton and my Mum, who is 85, lives in Lawshall, just south of Bury St Edmunds.

I don't know if you are the right person to contact or not,(apologies if not) but your name was on the excellent Witcham web site!

I do hope you find this of interest and any further light you might be able to throw on the family would be more than appreciated.

Very many thanks and all the best,

Sincerely,

David.

 

From: From Roger Sykes

Sent: 21 September 2005 09:05

To: john@witcham.demon.co.uk

Subject: Witcham/Alan Pate

I have just discovered the website for Witcham, and to my delight the recordings made of Alan Pate 40 years ago.

The reason why I was so thrilled to hear them was because in the 1940's during my school holidays I stayed with Mr & Mrs Alan Pate and Martin, my pal ( and still is ) helping at Clare Farm during harvest time and other school holidays. I have many many happy memories of those days, which of course included Alan's brothers Charlie and Harry.

The song "To Be A Farmer's Boy" Uncle Alan sang to us after supper in their home in Silver Street. A lovely ending after a tiring day in the harvest field in those far off days. My home was Ely.

If you want me to put together a recollection of those times I would be pleased to do so.

 

Roger Sykes

 

From: Patricia King 

Sent: 22 June 2005 18:07

To: John Wells

Subject: Re: Yew Tree Farm

 

Hello John,

 

Yes you may certainly publish my email; perhaps it may produce some memories and even old photographs.

 

Regards, Tricia

 

From: John Wells 

To: Patricia King 

Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2005 8:02 AM

Subject: RE: Yew Tree Farm

Hi Tricia, we don't have any other information on Yew Tree Farm as yet but the  recently formed Witcham Archive Group will be publishing some village history on the web soon, I will provide a link to this from Witcham.org.uk. Can we publish your e-mail ( without your address ) on the web site it may generate some more interest in Yew Tree Farm from others.

 

Regards

John

 

 From: Patricia King 

Sent: 21 June 2005 19:54

To:John Wells

 

Subject: Yew Tree Farm

We have been reading your Witcham site details with interest. My husband and his siblings used to spend their school holidays at the above farm for many years when it belonged to his grandmother, Bertha King. This is going back to the 1940's onwards.

I was wondering whether you have any further details of the history of the farm apart from the "listed buildings" section. Any information you have would be greatly appreciated.

 

Regards,

Tricia King

 

e-mail from  Simon Gregg  Witcham  23rd Feb 2005

Published with the permission of Simon.

 

Hello John,

Simon here (you know, Silver St, did a bit of training at the village hall,

and got the yellow TR3...).

I wonder if you can pass this on to the bods who do the monthly 'What's On'

paper that we get. Not good reading, but there we are....

Crime in Witcham

Unfortunately, like other areas we have some light fingered devious people about!

Whilst away over the weekend between Friday 18th February and Monday 21st

February someone gained unauthorized entry into my property, 33 Silver St.

I believe this was not the first time, as they knew what they were looking

for - the first time it was easy (the tin was in the kitchen) the second

time, this time, they had to be brave and go upstairs into our bedroom to

find the savings tin for our TR3B (you may have seen the yellow sports car

driving around the village- we keep a tin to save money to keep it running).

Well they struck lucky - it had around £80 virtually all (bar one £5 note)

in £2, £1 and 50p pieces.

They almost certainly gained access from a spare key which I lost some time

ago, or from old keys as I never changed the locks when I moved in. This is

a lesson for us all.

If the guilty persons are reading this - the locks are now changed and

'security measures' are also in place. Try again at your peril.

However, if you have noticed anyone with rather a lot of 'change' to trade

up or more pocket money than usual - please let me know on 776201 or phone

Ely police quoting crime 55- 22nd Feb.

Thanks

Simon

 

e-mail from Jane Hansen  6th Feb 2005 ejanehansen@yahoo.com

Hello John,

I have spent a wonderful couple of hours looking at your Witcham website. You have a page http://witcham.org.uk/_sgt/m1m5_1.htm where you allow people to publish their family trees. My family, the Barbers, are related to the person who has posted his tree on the site. I believe his name is Andrew Martin. The email he provides is no longer valid. I wondered if you knew anything about this page and its author or whether you were just posting something that someone had sent to you. I would like to contact Andrew.

Articles that I have read about St Martin's church indicate that the church is normally kept locked but that various people have a key. I am planning a trip to Witcham in March and wonder who I could contact if I wanted access to the Church.

Thank you for your time.

Jane Hansen

--

Charlottesville, Virginia

 

 

e-mail from Neil and Kathy Somers in Aus 24 Jan 2005

 

Hello everyone.

Missing you all...... ;)

Here's an edited version of our first few days in Australia.

You can see pictures of it all on our website!

Keep in touch and if you ever get out this way there's a cup of tea waiting!

Feel free to pass this on to whoever you like!

Neil

 

Day 1

Landed at 9pm last night and were in bed by 11.30.

What a great first day! At half past ten this morning Ben said 'This is a fantastic place!'!!

We've found a home and move in on Thursday.

We've lined up a car and sign up for that tomorrow.

We've been to the bank and got most of that sorted.

We've found out where to get washing machines and fridges from and that's tomorrow's job.

Even found time for lunch and tea and a quick visit to the beach.

New address is 4 Hampden Street, Belrose, NSW 2085, Australia.

The description is:

"FRESHLY PAINTED

Freshly painted single level (it's a bungalow!!!!) four bedroom home. Newly polished timber floorboards. Lounge, separate dining. Spacious kitchen family room area. En-suite plus full main bathroom. Paved outdoor entertaining area. Good yard for children. Double lock up garage."

Day 2

Day 2 has been a bit of a curate's egg.

Actually it's all been pretty good but we nearly came to blows in Ikea...more later!

We were up at about 6am this morning...not brilliant but not too bad.

I went off to the garage to sign the deal and all seems to be OK...confirmed tomorrow with delivery in 2-3 weeks.

But most importantly they will loan us a car until it arrives.

Then we went to see the new house again to measure up a few things like the fridge hole.

Eventually we ended up identifying the fridge, washing machine, TV (very important for Ben and Neil!) and a phone we wanted to buy, then back to work. One of the guys at work had contacts at the shop and managed to get us some good deals, whilst we ate lunch in the park

Then we went to Ikea!

The first thing we tried to buy was the sofa, but since we hadn't measured and neither of us could remember the exact layout of the lounge and Neil wanted to put the telly where Kathy wanted to put the sofa....a stony silence ensued....but no blows were struck!!!

We eventually got all the little kitchen bits so we could feed ourselves and

2 chairs to sit on but no beds or sofa...so that's tomorrows job.

It's 9.30 and we're zonked though the beer and wine help a little.

 

Day 3

We've had another fantastic but long day today.

We all packed our bags and left them in the hotel room, since the car was full of Ikea things.

Drove to the local shopping centre and sorted out a few more bank things and then signed the lease on the house, whilst Kathy did a quick shop for basic essentials like loo roll, spider killer, dish cloths, more spider killer, washing up liquid and even more spider killer!

Eventually got to the house and 11am and all whooped with joy.

We emptied the car then Ben and I went back to the hotel to get the bags.

By the time we returned bacon sandwiches were ready and we ate our first meal.....standing up since we have no table or chairs.

Then we all piled into the car to look for some beds or temporary bedding of some sort. By 4.30 me and Ben were back at the house taking delivery of a King mattress and 2 king singles!

Then we dashed back to the BIG shopping mall to collect Kathy, Laura and Mary who were looking for bed linen and a kettle.

We also satisfied Mary's deepest longing for "some of mummies home cooking"

and got the bits for a spag bol. And boy did it taste great....the first "real" food since last Saturday.

By 8.00 we were all fast asleep in our lovely new beds.

 

Day 4

Another day in paradise....or not!!

The day again started early.....6am for most of us.

Alex will be pleased to hear I've started a morning fitness routine of a few stretches and a jog/stroll around the block....let's see if it continues!

Whilst the rest of them relaxed, me and Laura went to town, took a driving test and bought some kitchen roll. I now have a New South Wales (NSW) driving licence and the right to own a car.

Then we discovered cockroaches.....big ones!

I guess we always knew we would find them but seeing a 5cm long one in the cupboard and scuttling up the kitchen wall is still a shock. The OUTDOOR spray is pretty effective, even comical. They scuttle around like nothing has happened for 20-30 secs then flip over on their backs then 5 secs later they just cease!

So we fled the house in despair and drove to Manly wharf and caught the ferry into Sydney. It's about 30 mins and gives a fantastic view into Sydney harbour.

We went to the Immigration department to get our visas stamped. All apart from Mary will be staying....has anyone got room for a refugee! The eagle eyed operative spotted that Mary's birth certificate says the 18th Feb, but her passport says the 19th (there is some dispute about why, but basically her dad doesn't know when her birthday is....whoops).

So Mary can't have the visa put in this passport....we have to get a new one....more paperwork.

We all felt a bit low at this point so we stopped for a big ice-cream before heading home on the ferry.

Everyday we move a step forward though so basically happy....apart from the 'roaches!

Day 5

I think we're adjusting to the time slowly.

The biggest problem is the dawn chorus!

There's a bird that at 5.30 does its best impression of a howler monkey!

Big steps forward today.

Fridge, TV and washing machine all arrived and all work fine!

This brings almost normality to the proceedings.

We still continue to eat standing up around the kitchen units.

We did our first real tourist/relaxation today and went to the koala sanctuary for the afternoon.

The landlady has been pottering in the garden and I thing took pity on us.

She's brought round a few more bits of crockery and some chocolates.

Day 6

Sunday started as usual at approx 6am.

The kids and I watched a bit of TV whilst Kathy snoozed.

Went to church and were given 3 chairs to take home!

We came home and luxuriated on our new furniture enjoying a coffee before lunch.

Then we decided to go to Ikea....again!

So another good day I think. No sunshine except that which is in our hearts!

Neil and Kathy Somers

4 Hampden Street

Belrose

NSW2085

Australia

Phone: +61 2 9453 9138

Kathy's Mobile: +61 437 782 127

Neil's Mobile: +61 407 833 099

neil.somers@tesco.net

kathy.somers@tesco.net