2009 Drive through both villages

2009 a drive through Stansted and Fairseat

Someone drove through the villages in 2009, recorded it and put it on YouTube!

Meopham in 1941 film

Meopham in 1941

Click the link above for a short British Pathe film showing Meopham Village  in 1941. It shows Oast House Folly opposite Fairseat Nursery turning.

Borough Green history blog

Click here for blog on Borough Green

Found this on the web, lots of photographs and information on our neighbouring 'big' village of Borough Green.

Fairseat Folk Dance Society (F.F.D.S.)

http://hartleymorrismen.btck.co.uk/StanstedMorrisMen

Just found a great site with some really nice history on the Fairseat Folk Dance Society (F.F.D.S.), which came into being in the Summer of 1934. Click the line above to be taken to the page.

Winter storms of 2013/14 damage - tree clearance on Malthouse Road

Quite a few large and small trees came down during the wet winter of 13/14 - the wettest on records since records began. Many were conifers. Click the link below to see a video of the clearance of several huge conifers which came down at The Malt House, Malthouse Road, completely blocking the road for quite a few days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNW2SqdjCS8

Time lapse photography looking towards Hodsall Street

The View Project - A photograph (nearly) every day for a year, looking towards Hodsall Street. If you have 8 minutes of your time to waste, watch my not very expertly done changing seasons time lapse of 2013. Warning: it's boring, not a lot happens. Highlights are tractors, and the poo pit removal man!

Stansted Church in the snow.

Google+ is a strange thing. It has done this (click link below) to one of my photos. I never intentionally gave it the photo, nor asked it to make it snow, but look what it has done - it's really rather lovely!

Stansted church in the snow.

1842 apportionment of the rent-charge in lieu of tithes in the Parish of Stansted.

Click link below to find apportionment of the rent-charge in lieu of tithes in the Parish of Stansted. Received by the Tithe Commissioners 27th September, 1842. Lots of historical names and information. This has been put up by Frank Bamping of West Kingsdown 1.4.2004.
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Maps/STS/02.htm

The Old Malt House, Malthouse Road, Stansted

I passed The Old Malt House (over on Malthouse Road, Stansted) today and the removal vans are there, so it seems a new owner is about to move in. A few weeks ago I bumped into the man who had lived there for 32 years with his wife and family (or it could have been 38). He told me a little history of the House. When they bought it, it comprised of about five or six cottages. They converted the end two into a separate house (Malthouse Cottage) and sold that. They knocked the remaining cottages into the one house which is there today. He had done a lot of research on the house and previously it was some kind of rooming house where unmarried people would drive out from London to spend a dirty weekend - I bet the walls could tell a few stories! It was also known in times gone by as Pad----- Farm (sorry but I've forgotten exactly what he said…).

These were a few of the particulars of the house on the Estate Agent's website.
The Old Malt House has numerous attractions for those seeking a rural lifestyle in a property of outstanding character. This attached property is Grade II listed and features a thatched roof and numerous exposed beams and timbers. There are 4 characterful bedrooms and two bathrooms on the first floor, whilst the ground floor provides the superb living room and kitchen breakfast room. The beautiful gardens are an outstanding feature of the property, extending to almost an acre and including a former tennis court. There is also a triple garage with play room above and further woods and fields may also be available.

Just a nice frosty picture looking towards Pettings from the footpath.

Pettings view 17.1.13

I always think this particular view is very 'park' like.

Local bee keeper removing bee swarm

Brian Woods is the local bee keeper who lives in Fairseat (his house of course has the yellow hive outside!). Here he is removing a swarm in July 2012, watch the video to see how he does it.

Click here for video (link currently broken, will try and fix it in the future)

Beautiful autumn day walk through Fairseat 6.11.12

On 6 November 2012 I walked from Cars in Crabtree Close (very good Car menders!) back home and took some documentary shots along the way. Thought it good to share on here as a record of the route at that time.

Old postcard of Vigo Road, Fairseat.

I found this old postcard on that well known internet auction site. I'm guessing that the houses where quite new when the photograph was taken. A resident tells me they were they built in the early 30's.  and the builders knew that the electricity was coming to Fairseat, so were built with all the wiring in preparation. Then, afterwards, the telegraph poles went up. So, as this doesn't have electricity poles I would say this was taken not long after they were put up.  I'm pretty certain that those trees to front have all gone now. Apparently there is an old white cottage next to them, where the local midwife once lived.

1786 map of area by John Cary

I've really enjoyed looking at this 1786 map of the area by John Cary, trying to decipher the roads and work out which are still here and which are now just footpaths and which have disappeared altogether. You may get a better look at the map if you click this link and then click 'larger map' at the top of the page.
(If the link goes down the info was found at www.motco.com) I believe this was part of John Cary's 15 miles around London series of maps.

When Stansted, Kent, was mistaken for Stanstead Airport...

Here is a link to a blog post writing about how airline maps sometimes get a little confused as to where Stanstead airport is!
Blog post

There is another story about it on the BBC website here.