Welcome to Wickhambrook
Wickhambrook is one of the parishes of West Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council
How lovely to have such a large turn-out on a cold and foggy night! Members old and new were eager to hear a talk by one of the members, Philip Draycott on his book ‘Chadacre: 100 years of Suffolk Farming’…
Mike Wabe, a popular speaker whose talk had been postponed last year, made a welcome return to the History Society. He entered the room dressed as Charles Dickens and proceeded to give us an adaptation of his famous Christmas ghost story….
We were very pleased to welcome a popular speaker, Geoffrey Kay, to the October meeting. This time his talk was on the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the Crystal Palace and the illustrations, taken from periodicals of the time, really did the talk justice…
What a marvellous evening we had with Neil Catchpole! His talk was billed as ‘Tales and Songs of the Countryside’ but it was so much more than that…
The society held its AGM this month, 18 months late because of the pandemic…
Take a look at the Programme for a VE Day Concert in 1995…
We were very pleased to welcome back Martyn Roper, a popular speaker on many subjects. His talk this time was ‘A Voyage round East Anglian Place Names’ and with clever use of maps and photographs we did just that…
Our first meeting of the year was an opportunity for members to share their interest in history and Roger medley and John Norton gave contrasting talks of interest to all…
Mike Wabe came to our November meeting and his subject was ‘Father Christmas, Myths and Mistletoe’ and in his cheerful style, Mike explored the customs we now associate with Christmas. Here are a few dates that might surprise you! They refer to the first recorded mention of each item…
Sarah Doig’s talk to the society was about fires in Suffolk and as well as the well-known town conflagrations, we heard some quirky, lesser-known tales too…
Although there are no meetings in June, July and August, members of the History Society have had a busy time…
There is an opportunity for anyone interested in having some practical archaeological excavation experience locally in Clare between 9th and 13th September…
The Wickhambrook Local History Society has been invited to be involved in an exciting oral history project being taken forward by the India Overseas Trust…
At our last meeting of the season before the summer outings, we welcomed Ian Robertson who talked on the Elveden Estate and how it evolved from a country estate to a modern farm…
At the April meeting of the History Society, the evening started with the AGM. The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer reported on a successful year and members re-elected all committee members to serve for a further year, thus showing great faith in the team…
What a surprise to discover King Charles II in the hall for our meeting! Alas, it was not the merry monarch himself, but John Sutton of Newmarket, who entertained us with his talk on The Muse of Newmarket…
Members of the History Society enjoyed an evening with Brian Norman and his Magic Lantern collection. Long before radio, film, tv and the internet, this way of showing pictures was very popular. In the 1600s, the pictures were shown using a hand held device and the content was usually scary…
Our first meeting of the year was entitled ‘Sanitation; how we used to go’ and this amusing title was a taste of what was to come. In the able hands of Tony Redman, we were led through the history of how we kept clean and how human waste was dealt with over the centuries…
The September meeting always has a ‘back to school’ vibe after our excellent summer outings and it was a very enjoyable evening.
Miriam Stead talked on ‘Tea for the British’ and included many local references in her talk and photographs…
The September meeting always has a ‘back to school’ vibe after our excellent summer outings and it was a very enjoyable evening.
Miriam Stead talked on ‘Tea for the British’ and included many local references in her talk and photographs…
For their July outing, the History Society visited the 100thBomb Group Memorial Museum at Thorpe Abbots near Diss. The very well restored buildings and the display of artifacts such as uniforms, photographs and medals are well worth the trip to this small museum in the middle of fields of grain…
Sixteen members and friends spent a beautiful day in the Felixstowe area, visiting Landguard Fort , the Nature Reserve and the town…
Our last meeting in the hall for this year was entitled Country Life in the Time of Gainsborough, Constable and Austen. By showing some well-known paintings and linking them to events in Jane Austen’s novels, Martin Roper gave us a fascinating look at the way art and literature are linked to history…
To mark the centenary of the Armistice, we have been asked by some residents of the village to hold an exhibition of memorabilia on Sunday 11th November 2018 in the WI Hall, which of course is also now 100 years old. It will coincide with the Remembrance Service which is held every year at the War memorial in the Cemetery at 11am. We would like to have memorabilia from anyone who would like to share their family’s stories. Do you have photos? Diaries? Medals? Trench Art?…
At the AGM, the present committee was elected to serve for a further year, and we were delighted to have a volunteer to join us. Thank you, John Norton. The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer reported on a successful year with excellent speakers and outings. Mike Wabe, the Town Crier of Watton was the speaker for the evening…
Some time during 2017 we were contacted in relation to an article that was being written about Wickhambrook and as to whether it would be ok to include some of the wonderful photos from our website that have been donated by Wickhambrook Residents and their families. You may be interested to know that this article has now been published in the April 2018 edition of the Suffolk Norfolk Life…
If you visit Little Bradley church, I am sure you will be struck by the monument to John Daye, his wife Alice le Hunte and their thirteen children. But who was John Daye? Wendy Barnes has been researching the history of Little Bradley for thirty years and keeps discovering more, thanks to the internet…
February saw the return of Sarah Doig, to talk about the history of almshouses. Beginning with the monks in the Middle Ages, there has been an obligation on Christians to look after the less fortunate, whether they are old, ill or disabled…
There was an excellent turn-out for our first meeting of the year. One of our members, Antony Foreman, gave a talk entitled ‘Snapshots of Syria’ which was based on a trip he had taken there in the 1990s…
As a child, I well remember looking at cartoons in the newspaper and an annual compilation by Giles. Like most of the audience at History Society in November, I had no idea that he lived in Ipswich and that many of the people and places were familiar to the locals.