LANGHAM 

Langham Essex Village Sign

2009 ARCHIVE

Winter

Looking towards 'Bardles Barn' from Old Mill Road
The fields either side of Hundred Lane
Field gates at the Black Brook on Old Mill Road, either side of Old Mill Road approaching 'The Fens' from Chapel Road
High Street still with a hoar frost, as is the cow parsley
An enquiry came in over Christmas about Alderton's Farm, which was in the field directly opposite Alderton's cottages. Sue and Geoff Alderton live in Australia, and their descendants occupied the farm in the 19th Century. This and the next photo show the corner of the lane with Dedham Road, and the footpath going off to Plumb's Farm
The probable site of the farmhouse, between the green clump of trees and the hedge on the right
Looking north across the Dedham Vale
Alderton's Cottages
Looking NE towards Docura's Farm
Dedham Church
Stratford Church and Stratford Hill
Dedham Church
Snowy view along High Street
Snowy view along High Street, looking the other way
The Shepherd & Dog Pub
Blacksmith's Corner
Shepherd & Dog
View down School Road
Snowy Community Centre
Homestead School through thick snow
The Community Shop was a place of refuge!
Giant snowballs had been left in the road, it seems
During this time, the shop enjoyed the sun and some trade; the snowballs melted a little...
Community Centre Car Park
A fine morning survived as a fine afternoon for a walk just over the A12 in Dedham
In the grounds of Hill House a part-frozen pond catches afternoon sun
The view from a very muddy (the frost having gone off the top) Monk's Lane down towards Shelley Glebe Farm and the Black Brook
Upon a lake next to the brook, these fine geese were found walking on the ice
The Stour valley, looking north, from Stratford Road, Dedham towards Stratford Church and Hill
A Balfour Beatty gritter came off Langham Lane at Runkin's Corner and ended in the ditch. This site has become almost common in recent months. Grit is all over the road, so I wonder if it was at its business at the time of the mishap. The vehicle has a tracker and was doing 11mph at the time of the crash .Certainly the corner was covered in water overnight, so in a hard frost there might well have been a sheet of ice there! It shows what a good job the gritters do ... and that the corner needs sorting!
These photographs have been taken from a footway under the A12, where a concrete farm lane connects with land on the eastern side. The banks of the river just show above the floodwater, centre, and are natural levees!
Floodwaters and the main channel of the river Stour sweeping through Stratford St Mary at about nine am
The elevated walkway across the mill pond and river in Stratford St Mary; the gateway to Langham is distinctly watery today!
The watery plains of Langham, as seen from Stratford through the stile to Footpaths 1 & 2
The fishmonger calls in Langham every Thursday
The promised footway in School Road, to make the walk to school safer for those walking from their homes, or from parking in the Community Centre car park, has begun. Drainage has been the target so far, and kerbstones have also been laid.
The disruption at a very busy part of our road system is obvious, but the work is being done at an impressive rate!
Just two of the many potholes around the village this Thursday. A jarring trench outside the school and the quarry-like hole outside Langham Oak Cottage in Park Lane. The whole of Park Lane seems to be disintegrating!
It does look like a secret base for cybermen behind the industrial area in School Road, with aluminium silver boxes appearing, with ducting exiting the roof. The land has been acquired and is being used for storage. Footpath 35 continues along the line of the new steel railing fence, with a gap for access to continue the true line of this footpath towards Wick Road.
A couple of hastily taken shots of the rapidly-changing weather. First is the steep edge of a clearance - the cold front being the blue sky. Second is the fast-disappearing rainbow from a passing squall.
A bright morning on the daffodil-laced greensward at the junction of Moor Road and Park Lane
The newly-completed business park on Langham Lane at Dove House - 'Langham Barns'
What looked like a Megane convertible car caught fire in Park Lane on Sunday evening. The Fire Brigade seemed to be there very quickly indeed and, although near the Airfield Monument, it was not affected

Spring

It has clearly been a very long while since I had been to Lodge Lane, as the enlarged complex at Lodge Park was completely new to me!
The 'Manorial waste' at Park Lane was enhanced by spring sunshine and daffodils
Undignified as lying flat out is, the position does give another perspective!
Tackle in the new enclosure behind Wick Road. 'Horseyculture' is the fastest-expanding activity in Langham and now occupies significant areas of land
The restored Fox House dominates the junction of Moor Road and Chapel Road
The Schofield van celebrates the 90 years of the business
Some photographs of the church, before foliage starts to obscure the view from the driveway...
Joining the already-established paddock, new enclosures for horses are going in along the rear of Wick Road
The removal of some of the perimeter taxi-ways from the airfield
The first track to be ripped up was along the line of Langham Lane, passing close to the business park and Dove House
The excavation left a trench about 2 feet deep, and underlain by sands and fragments of concrete
Next on the list is the perimeter track to the north of Park Lane, which has already been scraped clean of 60 years mud and rubbish
The war memorial in the sunshine, with a fine display of flowers in the planters
A last look at this part of the airfield, much used by walkers in the village for its all-weather qualities, before it is ripped up
The track was lifted by a large digger, without the need for a jackhammer to break it up. the quality of the concrete was not of the highest ... but lasted well!
Progress was rapid!
The last leg; working in tandem the digger and its dumper truck consort quickly disposed of the last section of track, working back to the gate in Park Lane
Looking over towards the industrial area from Park Lane
A fine day led me to look for 'pretties' and the lodge at the church certainly qualifies! The church is still visible, just, between the greening branches that, right, give this avenue its spring majesty
The outstanding view over the Dedham Vale through the garden of Church Farm
The lovely garden of Church Farm also provides the foreground for views of the church...
Cosgrove Lodge nestles in the woods along the Essex Way between the church and the old A12 on Gun Hill
Also nestling against a background of woodland is ...
SONY DSC

Summer

Good work in Langham Lane. Here they are reinforcing the ditch at the side of the road with very white sandbags. As you can see the workmen weren't too shy!
Open cropland in the middle of the square including (next photo) the new topsoil to fill in the depression left by the removal of the old airfield trackway
Onions growing in the fields around footpath 33
After strimming Footpath 49 .. and its exit onto Birchwood Road
The view from outside Church Farm northwards over the Dedham Vale and towards Stratford Hills
St. Mary's Church
A little concerning, with several recent stories of attacks on walkers by cows, as this fine herd occupied a field along the Essex Way. No problems, however, and it is good to see some animals in our overwhelmingly arable landscape these days
The valley floor of the River Stour in high summer, a distinctive landscape and with very fertile soils ...
Walking through freshly-cut grain fields
SONY DSC
New hedge planting near Dedham Road
The site of Alderton's Farm and its view over the Vale
There has been considerable hedge-planting in the village this spring, including along the fields fronting high Street and Greyhound Hill
Wenlock Cottage in Chapel Road
The new footpath constructed off School Road. This is a Rolls-Royce of a footpath, wide and level and gravel-topped; the ditch has been piped and this permissive route is safe
There have a been a small number of private Fly-Ins at the airfield, and this one had a rally good day for it. The Boxted airfield people had a tent and there was a raffle ... with me winning a 1:48 Mosquito kit!
Although there was a fair crosswind, the pilots coped well ...
Luscombe
Micro-light
Perhaps we couldn't believe what was happening, as Langham Lane's week-long closure produced a complete resurfacing ... and very nice it is too!
David Isted baling the grass he cut the previous day, behind Moor Road
Colchester Cricket Week at Castle Park ... glorious weather, but Essex lost off the last ball in this 40/40 match with Worcestershire on the Sunday
The Community Wood getting a trim!
Horsey-culture behind School Road
Views of the Community Wood...
Walking along footpath 26....
On Dedham Road
Some photographs from the Dedham Vale part of Langham. We have a huge area of valley floor in the village, with considerable landscape and agricultural value...
Lifting potatoes, with the machinery abandoned for a mid-morning break!
View down Greyhound Hill
The Shepherd and Dog looking very good in the sunshine!
Lifting onions .. as if anyone in the vicinity didn't know!
Walkers celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Rural Community Council of Essex were given hospitality in the Hurlock Room at Langham Church on Sunday 3 October. They tackled the 81 mile Essex Way, and ended their day's walking, from Coggeshall, as night drew in. On the right Parish Chairman Liz Schofield talks with RCCE President David Boyle and Executive Director Nick Shuttleworth...

Autumn

The 5th Anniversary of the shop is celebrated with a new banner...the wworkmen can even be seen leaving
Stone detail on St. Mary's Church
Autumnal berries
Yew berries in the churchyard
Bonfire night 7th November....the torchlight procession arrives at the Recreation Ground and prepares to light the bonfire, after the Guy has been installed on top of the wooden pile
The fire is lit, left, grows to its maximum and slowly dies back...
The fireworks were most entertaining and drew appreciative remarks
The stalls did well, especially the food tent!
Quite a fug built up with the production of bangers and burgers
Simon Gallup lays the wreath at the War Memorial outside the Primary School
Denise Hobday conducting the ceremony at the airfield Memorial.
The ceremony at both the War Memorial and at the Airfield Memorial was conducted by Denise Hobday. The wreath here was laid by George Bell, a member of the RAF in World War II and a local resident since that time
George Bell with Laura Smerdon, our oldest resident
George Bell and Laura Smerdon after the ceremony
Walking back along Park Lane appeared a selection of the village sights and all the more poignant in the light of the business of the morning...
Ploughing the new and very big field behind Park Lane
Langham House in Langham Lane
David Isted's farmyard
Village road sign after morning rain
Langham Barns Business Centre has a pair of stylish new signs
Almost there! The new opening for the latest Business Centre in the village to come on stream - in Park Lane
The huge field has been ploughed east-west, with each run taking a few minutes .. not there yet! The important footpath crossing this field enters from Park Lane across a footbridge and through a gap, exiting on the northern side. It will not be the same as the hard-standing available before, but will, of course, be reinstated after ploughing...
Footpath shots on the south side of the Recreation Ground...
Ramsden Hall School have settled in, following a good deal of building work over the summer, and have been teaching for a couple of months this academic year
The new banner for the Community Shop looked better for some early sunshine, as did 'The Pod'...
The play area looking good, and scrubbed clean by overnight rainfall...
The Primary School in the November morning light, with the War Memorial suitably dressed after the Remembrance ceremony...
Junction of Chapel Road with Old Mill Road and High Street
The giant puddle belongs to School Road and was twice this size the following morning after another downpour!
Fox house guarding the junction of Moor Road and Chapel Road
'Horseyculture' has taken hold behind Wick Road !
Park Corner rendered into art!
The field adjoining the A12 between Park Lane and Birchwood Road that has been proposed as an industrial park. All traffic entering the village from the south and leaving towards the north would pass through a new junction in the middle of the A12 frontage of the field
Views of 'Gridleys' on a fine morning; this must be the most attractive entrance to the village imaginable
The footpath from the edge of the Community Centre field runs past the industrial area, and then past the field, now used for horses, but proposed as the home of 114 houses!
Across the proposed development land to the school

December Snow

The arrival of the snow
Moor Road outside 'Munsons' and 'The Granary'. It was soon apparent that the snow had not simply drifted down, but had been driven in from the north with some force. It was also 'sticky', as the aerial shows
The wintry feel was even more evident towards Park Lane, where the road was untreated and more white than black, even with traffic
A curious comparison between old and new thatch
The sterling efforts of the dustbin men
The gap in the hedge for Footpath 46 and the rather large ploughed field behind, left, with Park Farm ... and the new business barn development nearing completion opposite...
Across the fields
Views of Park Lane...
Stile for footpath 33
Langham Oak Cottage is almost invisible behind a curtain of snow-laden boughs
Business Park in Lodge Lane
The village sign looks suitably seasonal, as does the village road marker...
A sight that was to last at least to midday as traffic was stopped by the icy condition of the road at Stratford Hill. normally traffic would flood off onto the minor roads .. but nobody was being that brave in these conditions!
A pair of photographs taken by Vanessa Rawlings from the Birchwood Bridge early on the 18th. the lack of traffic southward is explained by the problems on the A12 between Copdock Mill and East Bergholt...
Horses behind Wick Road covered up against the snow
Wick Road, towards Park Lane
Photographs taken by Vanessa Rawlings of wick Road. The 3rd photo looks positively Siberian!
Wick Road, towards St Margaret's Cross
The northern end of Wick Road
Postbox and signs at St. Margaret's Cross
School Road; the horses tuck in
The school looking seasonal
The shop was open, of course!
The play areas draped in generous layers of snow...
Bakers
Blacksmith's Corner and the pub
Moor Road...
...with snow-spattered houses
Foliage in Moor Road
The day brightened up and a second outing was called for. Here Moor Road...
...and Fox House
Chapel Lane
the Old Chapel
Chapel Road looking towards Moor Road
Briarwood
Chapel Road
Heavily laden pines towards Black Brook
Wenlock Cottage is always picturesque, and this time with the added interest of what happens to solar heating when it snows!
At the junction of Chapel Road, Old Mill Road and High Street...
Coming down High Street from the junction...
At 'Serenity' in High Street
Across the fields from High Street towards Greyhound Hill
Blacksmith's Cross and the pub...
More of the same in the afternoon light...
A snowplough appeared, turned around and proceeded back up Moor Road!
The postman never failed over this snowy period
Shepherd and Dog at Blacksmith's Corner
We walked back along Footpath 31 past the smallholding and its animals...
Link to Langham Community Shop website, North EssexLink to Langham Community Centre website, North EssexLangham's monthly Community Coffee Morning in the Community Centre, North EssexLangham Film Nights - Community Cinema in North EssexLangham's annual 10k Race and 2k Fun Run, North Essex
Langham is a village and civil parish in the north east of Essex, England approximately 5 miles north of Colchester - close to junction 28 on the A12.