The village of Great Wymondley made no specific contribution to the millennium year 2000 and it seemed a shame that no lasting memory of that year by its residents would pass down to future generations.
Ironically, on a couple of occasions when the annual fete has been held, old photos of the village have been displayed in the hall and created a lot of interest. One summers day in 2000 I decided to photograph the village and then to publish them in book form, with a CD deposited with the Record Office for future generations to be able to see the village as it was at the start of the 21st century.
The project has now been on my “to do” list for nearly 10 years. Earlier this week in October 2009, whilst at Hertfordshire Archives, I was introduced to this web site and it immediately struck me that this was the medium for publishing the photos. It only became evident once I had taken the photos that I had chosen a Monday, dustbin day, with the black wheelie bins prominent in a number of the photos.
It now occurs to me that in 100 years people might view the bins with amusement. By then, with recycling now becoming a major issue and technological advances to dispose of household waste coming to the fore, dustbins might well become a thing of the past. The picture of a dustbin outside a house will look as ancient as we look on horses and carts in the village scene 100 years ago.
John H Laflin – Great Wymondley, October 2009
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I have just read George Sandel’s comment about being evacuated to Great Wymondley during the war. He may remember my uncle John and auntie Josie (Waldock) who were also evacuated to their Aunt’s in Wymondley during the war. Or my mum, who was born in 1939 and her cousins John, Joe, Ann and Dorothy Waldock or Bill Targett, the eldest who was in the merchant navy.
These photos have brought back so many memories of my days as an evacuee from1939 to 1942 when ,together with my younger brother and sister we were so much a part of the village. We were made so welcome and became part of the Waldock, Cherry and Croft families and were able to keep in touch with them until their passing. We used the Old school building as our school for a short while when the younger children went to Little Wymondley School and I to Hitchin (on my bike ) I worked on Haileys Farm during the holidays and week-ends, where Mr Huberts brother Brian was farm manager. It was there that I learned so much, being allowed first to ride the binders at harvest time and then driving first the Fordson Tractors and the on the the Alyce- Chalmers, ring rolling, harrowing and many other jobs.including stacking and thrashing. Memories of such characters as old George Brazier,the thatcher, Mrs Prior the post mistress, Will Croft the Verger and so many more that made made my time in Great Wymondley so precious and rewarding. I have much to thank the village for.
George Sandell
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At the end of WW1 the villages decided to have a lych-gate instead of a conventional war memorial to remember those who gave their names. Their names are engraved on one of the roof timbers
Land for the village school was donated by William Wilshere in 1846 and opened in 1847. In 1882 21 year old Elizabeth Gray was appointed schoolmistress and retired 42 years later. The school closed in 1934
The photo was taken the day after the village fete with a number of items remaining to be cleared
At one time Box Tree Cottage was the vllage Post Office and the row of houses became known as being in Post Office Row. Some computer databases still list this address but with no street name, the houses are now seen as being in Arch Road
The first house is Box Tree Cottage, once a smallholding known as Box Tree Farm. Elizabethan in origin, it was substantially altered in the 1980’s. Between the 2 dustbins is a lane through to the church anciently known as Peryhouse Close. This impresive drive led up to the Old Garden, which was possibly the site of the original Gt Wymondley Manor House (See Noel Farris book, The Wymondleys). The next door house is also Elizabethan in origin and was originally two cottages. The final house was again originally two cottages with the extention at the far end added about 1980. The deeds for this property back to 1775, suggesting it built about 1750, are deposited in the Herts Archives.
The junction as shown in this picture, was created in about 1990 as a traffic calming measure. Prior to that the priority was from Willian Road straight through to Arch Road and the Wymondley Road was almost alongside the fence at Manor House Farm
The building in the photo was erected in the mid 1930’s, replacing a thatched building which stood where the current pub sign is situated
The Village Hall stands on land between The Croft and the Green Man and was donated to the village along with the building thereon, under a deed of gift dated 10th June 1912 by Alfred Harry Browning , owner of The Croft. This deed still governs its management. The Hall was originally a church in Hastings with a small spire on the roof at the front. It was purchased 2nd hand in 1909 for £130 erected. The rear kitchen and store room were an added extention
These buildingds are owned by the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation. I included the photos as in the past few years there have been proposals to convert them into accommodation and it seemed important to ‘capture’ them in their original state
I am told by villages who have lived here most of their life that the building was originall a pig stye , gradually converted into a cattery with a living accommodation added at various times
The playing field is on the opposite side of the Gravely Road to the first row of council cottages and next to Long Close. It has not been used as a football pitch for a number of years largely as a result of the pavillion failing to meet modern standards. The pavillion, just visible on the left hand side of the picture, was demolished as a hazard around 2005