Category: General

We have recently added a great article written by David Gedye detailing the history of Meridian Wood. This little enclave of calm at the top of Wood End, is testament to the dedication and hard work over the past three decades by David and his team of volunteers.

It tells the tale of a wood that wasn’t always there, despite how it looks today. A narrative on how the wood was first conceived, fundraising, securing the land. Moving on to its design, creation and growth and how to this day, it is beautifully maintained; a place for us all to enjoy.

David, has also shared some photos of the 10th Anniversary party held in the wood in August 2010. Some familiar faces clearly enjoying themselves on what looks like a beautiful sunny day.

Thank you David and all the folks that have helped, and continue to help with the development and maintenance of the wood, both in the past and today. Here’s to the 25th Anniversary party in 2025.

Please follow this link to take you straight to the page on the site – https://www.bhp-pc.org.uk/meridian-wood/

I don’t know when there was last skating on Bury Fen, I think that it was probably in about 2009 or 2010. The village was inundated with people from far and wide, all heading towards Bury Fen for a skate. Maybe with this current cold weather the fen will freeze and once again we may have some skating.

However, back in the late 1800’s Bluntisham was the centre for the game of Bandy and the home of the Bury Fen Bandy Club. A team lead by the Tebbutt family and who were involved in establishing the rules of the sport. A sport still played today around the world, and one that is officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

It’s quite a story and the Tebbutt family are famous across many nations for their development of the sport and how it lead to rink bandy and ultimately Ice Hockey. The story of the Tebbutt family, how they came to Bluntisham and how the sport developed can be found here – https://www.bhp-pc.org.uk/skating/

Just a reminder that Marian Land’s work on the history of the Bluntisham and Earith War memorial is still on the site and can be found here: https://www.bhp-pc.org.uk/bluntisham-cum-earith-war-memorial/

Her research includes detailed information on everyone with a link to the two villages who served in the first world war. Details on how to contact Marian are shown on the page.

Lest We forget.

Today we have added lots of new photos, all courtesy of Frances Tebbutt. This one is an aerial shot of Block Hill, taken we think in the mid to late 1960’s.

There are lots more photos in the High Street and Skating galleries.

Pictures of the Walnut Trees, both internal and external, the cottages at the bottom of the High Street and the Paddock when it was a tennis court.

The skating photos include photos of the Bury Fen Bandy Club team dating back to 1899 amongst others.

There are more to come soon, so please keep an eye out for new content and blog posts.

Well .. its true back in 1902, Sir H Rider Haggard visited Bluntisham as part of his government sponsored survey of agriculture in the UK. His successful novel, King Solomon’s Mines had been published in 1885 and he followed this up with She: A History of Adventure in 1887. As well as a career as a successful novelist, he was involved in land reform. Throughout what was then the British Empire. So it makes sense that he undertook his survey of the state of English agriculture in 1902.c. and that he found himself here in Bluntisham.

His visit was uncovered by Elaine Gebbie during one of her many trips to the archives. Her article on his visit to Bluntisham can be found here https://www.bhp-pc.org.uk/agriculture/ and it provides an interesting insight into how Bluntisham functioned over a 100 years ago. Well worth a read, especially for those with family who were in the village in 1902.

This time two more new photos taken of a familiar part of the village. These two date back to 1970 when Sayers Court was being built. They show how things have changed since then, the same but very different. What’s missing in the second photo? Many thanks to Jennifer Warren for letting us share them,

These are two new photographs that have been added to the heritage project. The first photo is a view of a well known house in the village taken from what was, at the time the village green. Do you recognise the house and the where it was taken from? The Chap in the second photo is Charles Prentice Tebbutt, and its in memory of him and his wife that the Barograph was erected back in 1911. It’s been recording the temperature and air pressure in the village ever since, maybe this week will see a new temperature record for Bluntisham.

So why not avoid the heat and have an explore of the Heritage project site instead.

Way back in August 1984, there was a street market on the High Street. Long before you needed to give 6 months notice of a street closure and seek permission from the powers that be. There were Morris dancers, a Traction engine and loads of people out enjoying what looks like very warm weather and a few beers in The White Swan.

In the Village Life section there are 10 photos of the day, all kindly provided by Jackie Saltmarsh. Well worth a look to see if you recognise anyone or if you were there yourself .. its worth it for the fashion alone. Please follow this link: https://www.bhp-pc.org.uk/memories/

Most residents of the village will be familiar with the Old School that sits on the High Street in the village. This was the village school up until the 1960’s and many of the current residents spent some of their school days at the old school. It may look quiet now, but it once it was at the heart of the community in the same way as St Helens’ school is today.

Recently some records were unearthed which inspired two contributors to the Heritage project to carry out further research in to the old day school.

Elaine Gebbie has written a fabulous article based on the Attendance Registers of the School dating back to 1899. A great read for all you current, past and future teachers out there. It takes a look at the contents of the registers and allows us to understand how there were as many rules for the staff as there were for the pupils. Entitled THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE ABSOLUTELY ABYSMAL, it’s really worth a read, interesting and amusing in equal measure.

David Gedye, has written a really interesting article on the history of education in Bluntisham entitled Revolution or Evolution – The arrival of Universal Education in Bluntisham-cum-Earith. It’s a detailed account of how education in the village developed, the stories behind the village charities and the people involved in bringing education to the village. Starting in the 1700’s all the way through to when St Helen’s school opened. A real history of education in the village and the physical building, including thought provoking details on the benefits of running water – you’ll need to read it to find out what I mean.

Both can be found by following the link at the top of the page. I hope that you enjoy reading them both as much as I did, thank you Elaine and David for your hard work.

Philippa 30.01.2022

The village sign was designed and built by Harry lee, and this photo shows its unveiling on 23rd September 1984, almost exactly 37 years ago. The sign still sits on the same spot and was renovated a couple of years ago, but this is the original unveiling. Its even before the Willow trees were planted, its that long ago.

Its a great share and we would like to thank Sylvia Smith for sharing it with us. All we need now is a list of all the people in the photo. We have some names, but a re keen to fill in the gaps. So far we have, from the left – Sylvia Smith, Majorie Ward, Geoff Mitchell, Chris Morris, xx, David Searle, Jill Nixon ( Miss Hunts Post), Veronica Waldock, Jackie Daniels, Jill Gorski, ,John Mehew, Margaret Lumb, David Godfrey, front row – Denise Daniels, Nicki Wade, Rebecca Waldock, Joanne Sugden

So just one more name needed ….

Thank you to everyone who helped with the names, here is a list of those village sleuths … Amanda Large, Dave Glover, Brian Richardson, Joanne Cleaver, Gordon McMillan, Debbie Jones, Beverley Barlow, Sarah Hartley, Sharon Read, Sophie Day, Jamie Smith, Julian Hunter, Rachel Wade and Harry Potter – thank you.