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April 2006
No, you didn't miss March's newsletter, I never did one! A combination of pressure of work and an under active Thyroid (now sorted, hopefully) meant I just didn't have the energy or inclination or, indeed, the content necessary. But this is April and I have a lot to report.
The big news is that for the first time we've exceeded 160 members! What a select bunch you are, but then there is only one Feltwell in the world according to Google. And so many of you have a connection through either East Hall or The Old Rectory that I'm considering starting a sub-group! (Only joking)
On the development front we have new houses to be built behind the old school on The Beck, on the farm between The Beck and Bell Street (about 30 properties here) and a proposed small terrace on Lodge Road near the old garage. This is in addition to the Parish Council's development of starter homes on Wilton Road which proceeds slowly and the new ones going up near the British Legion Hall on Long Lane and down Barretts Lane (See the website for photographs of these roads). A busy few years for the building industry! And a proposal to convert the Greengrocers into a Fish and Chip Shop. It's been a few years since we had one of these in the village. The last one was Wendy's Place in 2000 which is now a Chinese Takeaway. http://www.feltwell.org/mellenniumfelt/village_shops.htm
For those of you who remember or even played for Feltwell Football team their website will be of interest. http://feltwellunitedfc.intheteam.com/modules/page/page.aspx?pc=home. They have just become CENTRAL & SOUTH NORFOLK LEAGUE CUP WINNERS 2006 so congratulation to all involved.
My fellow magazine editor, Susan Withers, has, unbeknownst to me been putting the Parish Council reports from the village magazine onto her section of the Feltwell family of websites! If you are interested in such details as where the potholes in the roads are and where the next dog bin should be situated this is the place for you! http://www.feltwell.co.uk/today/index.html Actually, to drop the sarcasm, this is true local democracy and decision making in action and all credit to Susan. Her section of the web family is worth a good look if you haven't already particularly as it is more current than mine.
Items from new members include these lovely recollections from John Kornegay about the Old Rectory. "Dear Sir, what a wonderful web site you maintain about Feltwell, and thanks to it my quest may have finally ended. Forgive me if this gets long but I must tell the story. I have been looking for 'The Old Rectory' for a long time. Do you have any idea how many Old Rectories there are in England? Too many to cull through on a web search. But I have just recently discovered where mine is. It is there, in Feltwell. I could not remember the name of village but came across it while reading about Lakenheath. It jumped off the page at me and I knew instantly that was the missing clue. Looking at the pictures of the Old Rectory in your History site did not quite convince me as I was quite young and it has been a long time. We returned home in 1954. I was 6 years old and small as well. That means 1953 would be the year in Feltwell. Our flat was on the top floor of what your pictures call 'The Scullery and Kitchen'. Not the main house. There was a British woman living there who would let me operate the treadle on her sewing machine while she ran the fabric through, until I got tired of it and would run off! There was a Mr. Jessop, whom I believe was the grounds keeper or in some employ of the facility. He was quite kind and actually brought us two rabbits he had bagged while hunting with his shot gun. He came into the flat shot gun and all in hand and handed them to my mother! She was not used to that sort of thing apparently because you should have seen the look on her face! As I recall the house was well off the road but I remember that across the road, and not a small distance for a youngster, was a large red brick apartment house resembling East Hall in your pictures." His brother Tom has also joined.
These next memories come from Judy Ford whose grandparents lived on Wilton Road. "They were just Nanna and Granddad to me and how I loved going to visit them and "helping" Granddad in the garden and pulling up half of Nanna's lawn to give to the chickens - that didn't go down too well! We lived in the village of Methwold for 15 years where my father Robert (Bob) Anderson had his own family butcher business. As a child, I used to ride my bicycle, usually with a friend, to Feltwell to visit my Grandparents and we would take a shortcut across the Methwold/Feltwell aerodrome - strictly forbidden of course in case there were aircraft landing. We would ride as far as the main runway then stop and listen for aircraft then go like the clappers across to the safe side of the aerodrome then go on our merry way into Feltwell."
The most unlikely and unexpected Feltwell link came in an email from Lyn Law who is not a Feltwellian but some sort of music historian. I'll let her explain... "We have just acquired what is generally known as a "fiddler's tune book" compiled by a William Clarke of Feltwell, "near Brandon, Norfolk". He has dated it 1858. The tunes are a mixture of rather anonymous marches and quick steps, well-known tunes like Drops of Brandy and Dusty Miller, tunes identified as "Spanish Waltz" etc, snatches of art music (Papa Haydn's Little Tune and An old man would be wooing from the Barber of S) and theatre tunes like Battle of Plague (sic - it should be Prague) which I think rather charming. There are a number of tunes with place names local to Feltwell which I assume to be original. If this last is the case, it indicates a thriving native tradition of music in Feltwell 150 years ago." Well, we did have The Enterprise Band (http://www.feltwell.org/feltwell2/enterprise_band.htm) and there were a couple of Clarkes in it albeit not called William, possible he was their father or some other relative.
Well, I've rambled on enough for two months worth of newsletters! I hope to do a website update later this month, mainly the RAF section.
Hope you've enjoyed this issue. If you have feel free to tell me, if you haven't... tell me anyway. It's nice to get mail!
