Chrishall Village History

The life and times of a North Essex Village
And the village was burned

And the village was burned

Mar 31, 2021 | Church Road, Holy Trinity Church, Written Records

Is this the source of an intriguing and persistent folklore tale? Since I was very small, I have been brought up with the story that the old village of Chrishall was in the fields in front of the church going down towards the main Saffron Walden to Royston Road (known...
VE Day 75th Commemoration

VE Day 75th Commemoration

May 4, 2020 | Written Records

Friday 8th May 2020 is the 75th anniversary of VE Day, Victory in Europe, where the country celebrated the end of part, at least, of the Second World War. (VJ day was to come later in the year.) Chrishall never seems backwards at coming forwards when a party is in the...
Parish Magazine December 1898

Parish Magazine December 1898

Dec 26, 2018 | Holy Trinity Church, Written Records

This is the start of our Christmas Articles published for 2018 and I thought it might be appropriate to start with a little light reading. So below is the Parish magazine for December 1898. This magazine covered the Chesterfords, Great Chishill, Chrishall, Debden,...
Chapman and Andre 1777

Chapman and Andre 1777

Dec 20, 2017 | Advent 2017, Written Records

Time for a game – spot the difference.  Above you can see an extract from the Chapman and Andre map of 1777 (reproduced with permission from Essex Record Office).  The Chapman and Andre maps of this date are reputed to be the most accurate maps of the time, but...
Chrishall Hearth Tax

Chrishall Hearth Tax

Oct 13, 2017 | Written Records

(Picture above: the old brewhouse at Gents Farm, now Broad Green Farm). Forasmuch as nothing conduceth more to the peace and prosperity of a nation, and the protection of every single person therein, than that the public revenue thereof may be in some measure...

Jack Green – childhood in Chrishall

Dec 31, 2016 | Village Folk, Written Records

Jack was born at Chalky Lane in 1909 to Fred and Matilda Green.  Both his mother and father were born in the village, his father at the old cottages that used to be to the left of the chapel. Jack started school at 5 but “didn’t do any good at all”....
The time of my life – Chrishall, 1939-42

The time of my life – Chrishall, 1939-42

Dec 30, 2016 | Village Folk, Written Records

Evacuee Norman Sherry tells us about his time in Chrishall during the Second World War (taken from an article sent to Mrs Cranwell in 2002).  Norman arrived with a group of 14 children who were evacuees in the village.  His memories are still very clear of the...
Spenny Loveday and Chrishall Cricket

Spenny Loveday and Chrishall Cricket

Dec 29, 2016 | Sport, Village Folk, Written Records

(Spenny Loveday interviewed by Stephen Foote) We recently caught up in the Red Cow and discussed the fortunes of the village cricket team over the years. Spenny joined the cricket team whilst still at Saffron Walden Technical and Modern school, having taken to the...

Memories from Spenny Loveday

Dec 28, 2016 | Village Folk, Written Records

Chrishall Born and Bred Life-long resident Spencer (Spenny) Loveday shares some reminiscences about his life in the village in the years during and after the war, interviewed by Stephen Foote and first published in The Village Web. Born in Royston in 1942, Spenny grew...

Kelly’s Directory 1933

Nov 18, 2016 | Written Records

This extract from Kellys directory of 1933 for Chrishall shows the first appearance of telephone numbers (T N) in the directory.  (It is also interesting that Mr Crocker felt he could advertise “any make of car supplied”!) We know quite a bit about the...