Helions Bumpstead is a small village in Essex located near Haverhill and the meeting-point of the Essex, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire borders. It is 2 miles from Steeple Bumpstead. Helions Bumpstead has "the greens"; Pale Green (grid referenceTL655421), Wiggens Green (TL663424), and Drapers Green (TL644425). There are four roads into and out of the village; they are Mill Road, Water Lane, Sages End Road and Camps Road. The centre of the village is marked by the crossroads and village green. There is also a meadow with a pond in the centre of the village.
The main defining features of the village are the village post office, the village hall, the Three Horseshoes Public House and St Andrew's Church; the village is in the Diocese of Chelmsford and shares its priest with St Mary's, Steeple Bumpstead.[2] There is also a Gospel Hall in the village. The church has a ring of 8 bells.[3]
The Three Horseshoes Public House was purchased by the community in March 2019 through a community share offer managed by the Helions Bumpstead Community Benefit Society. The pub underwent refurbishment and operated initially for the benefit of the community during the Covid 19 pandemic as a shop and then for Friday evening openings run by volunteers. In December 2021 the pub reopened fully when the Community Benefit Society appointed professional tenants.
Around 2022, the village hall was undergoing refurbishment with money raised over the years from events and grants given to the village. The hall gained a new slate-tile pitched roof, was repainted, and had an extension to the storage area; its interior stage was removed to increase the space for functions.
Every year Helions Bumpstead has its own Summer Fête, including a dog show and evening party, and Christmas Bazaar. A harvest supper is also organised annually to raise funds for the up-keep of St. Andrew's church. A farmers' market showcasing local produce was once held every third Saturday of the month in the village hall. The Helions Bumpstead Village Magazine, comprising news articles and pieces of writing by villagers, is printed quarterly. It is subsidised by the sale of advertising space, which also adds to funds for the village hall.
There is an annual Boxing Day walk, when people meet up at the Three Horseshoes car park and, each year, walk a different route around the village.
The Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was marked with the presentation of a village sign, featuring the village symbol (a red badge with a white diagonal cross), which stands in centre of the village. At the time of the Queen's Golden Jubilee, the village held a large fair in her honour. A board featuring photographs of the event was temporarily erected inside the village hall to commemorate it.
Etymologyedit
The name Bumpstead, once referring to the whole area now known as Steeple and Helions Bumpstead, is first attested in a charter of 1042—albeit only in a copy of the mid-twelfth century—as Bumsted and Bumsteda; it next appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 (in the spellings Bumesteda, Bummesteda, and Bunsteda). The first element of the name is agreed probably to have been the Old English word bune, in this context meaning 'reeds' (though it could also mean 'flax' or 'hemp')—either because the settlement was named for the presence of reeds themselves, or because it was named after a river called Bune that had itself been named for its reeds. This interpretation fits the presence of a river characterised by reeds running through Steeple Bumpstead. The second element is thought either to have originated as Old English stede, meaning 'place', or hām-stede, meaning 'homestead'. Thus the name once meant something like 'reed-place' or 'place on the River Bune'.[4][5]
In time, two distinct centres developed, with the Helions part taking on the name Bumpstead Magna (Great) and the Steeple district Bumpstead Parva (Little).[5][6] The 'Helions' part of the name Helions Bumpstead comes from the name of the landowner Tihel the Breton, also known as Tihel de Herion, who came from Helléan in the Morhiban district of Brittany:[4][5]William the Conqueror rewarded Tihel with the manor of Bumpstead for his participation in the Norman Conquest.[5][6] (The name of Steeple Bumpstead arises from the presence there of a church tower.[7][5])
Historyedit
Helion Bumpstead's manor house is on a hill facing due east; the church is on a small mound less than half a mile away. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century the lords of the manor were the Reynolds family, which produced several distinguished politicians and judges.[6]
In the Sages End area of the village, a spring called the 'Dropping Well' was the source of the best water in the village. It was noted as running at four gallons a minute in a report by Hubert Airy in 1871 when he visited the village to investigate the poor sanitary state that existed there. Even in the summer months the spring ran nearly two gallons each minute, enticing the inhabitants of Castle Camps to walk there when really hot weather dried up their watering holes. 'Dropping Well' was the source of much of Helions Bumpstead's water, as it made its way down Sages End road to join the main rivulet near the crossroads, thence to flow eastward into the River Stour and to the sea at Harwich.[6]
During the 1914 Farm Workers' strike, the village hosted many talks by leading socialists including Sylvia Pankhurst which attracted the highest turnout of over 2,000 people in July.[8]
The De Havilland Mosquito, one of the most famous aeroplanes of the Second World War, was tested on the airfield near Castle Camps. As of the early 2020s, many of the hangars in which the planes were constructed were still standing.
^"Tower details". dove.cccbr.org.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
^ abThe Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society, ed. by Victor Watts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), s.v. Helions BUMPSTEAD.
^ abcde'Helion Bumpstead and Steeple Bumpstead', Survey of English Place-Names.
^The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society, ed. by Victor Watts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), s.v. Steeple BUMPSTEAD.
^"Country Standard: Essex Agricultural Labourers". Country Standard. 25 April 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Helions Bumpstead.
Helions Bumpstead Parish Council Website
October 27, 2023
helions, bumpstead, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, decembe. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Helions Bumpstead news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Helions Bumpstead is a small village in Essex located near Haverhill and the meeting point of the Essex Suffolk and Cambridgeshire borders It is 2 miles from Steeple Bumpstead Helions Bumpstead has the greens Pale Green grid reference TL655421 Wiggens Green TL663424 and Drapers Green TL644425 There are four roads into and out of the village they are Mill Road Water Lane Sages End Road and Camps Road The centre of the village is marked by the crossroads and village green There is also a meadow with a pond in the centre of the village Helions BumpsteadShield of Helions BumpsteadHelions BumpsteadLocation within EssexPopulation439 2011 Census 1 OS grid referenceTL650415Civil parishHelions BumpsteadDistrictBraintreeShire countyEssexRegionEastCountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townHAVERHILLPostcode districtCB9Dialling code01440PoliceEssexFireEssexAmbulanceEast of EnglandUK ParliamentBraintreeWebsiteHelions Bumpstead Parish Council WebsiteList of places UK England Essex 52 02 54 N 0 24 19 E 52 0482 N 0 4052 E 52 0482 0 4052Helions Bumpstead in 1960 Contents 1 The Village 2 Etymology 3 History 3 1 Famous residents 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksThe Village editThe main defining features of the village are the village post office the village hall the Three Horseshoes Public House and St Andrew s Church the village is in the Diocese of Chelmsford and shares its priest with St Mary s Steeple Bumpstead 2 There is also a Gospel Hall in the village The church has a ring of 8 bells 3 The Three Horseshoes Public House was purchased by the community in March 2019 through a community share offer managed by the Helions Bumpstead Community Benefit Society The pub underwent refurbishment and operated initially for the benefit of the community during the Covid 19 pandemic as a shop and then for Friday evening openings run by volunteers In December 2021 the pub reopened fully when the Community Benefit Society appointed professional tenants Around 2022 the village hall was undergoing refurbishment with money raised over the years from events and grants given to the village The hall gained a new slate tile pitched roof was repainted and had an extension to the storage area its interior stage was removed to increase the space for functions Every year Helions Bumpstead has its own Summer Fete including a dog show and evening party and Christmas Bazaar A harvest supper is also organised annually to raise funds for the up keep of St Andrew s church A farmers market showcasing local produce was once held every third Saturday of the month in the village hall The Helions Bumpstead Village Magazine comprising news articles and pieces of writing by villagers is printed quarterly It is subsidised by the sale of advertising space which also adds to funds for the village hall There is an annual Boxing Day walk when people meet up at the Three Horseshoes car park and each year walk a different route around the village The Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was marked with the presentation of a village sign featuring the village symbol a red badge with a white diagonal cross which stands in centre of the village At the time of the Queen s Golden Jubilee the village held a large fair in her honour A board featuring photographs of the event was temporarily erected inside the village hall to commemorate it Etymology editThe name Bumpstead once referring to the whole area now known as Steeple and Helions Bumpstead is first attested in a charter of 1042 albeit only in a copy of the mid twelfth century as Bumsted and Bumsteda it next appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 in the spellings Bumesteda Bummesteda and Bunsteda The first element of the name is agreed probably to have been the Old English word bune in this context meaning reeds though it could also mean flax or hemp either because the settlement was named for the presence of reeds themselves or because it was named after a river called Bune that had itself been named for its reeds This interpretation fits the presence of a river characterised by reeds running through Steeple Bumpstead The second element is thought either to have originated as Old English stede meaning place or ham stede meaning homestead Thus the name once meant something like reed place or place on the River Bune 4 5 In time two distinct centres developed with the Helions part taking on the name Bumpstead Magna Great and the Steeple district Bumpstead Parva Little 5 6 The Helions part of the name Helions Bumpstead comes from the name of the landowner Tihel the Breton also known as Tihel de Herion who came from Hellean in the Morhiban district of Brittany 4 5 William the Conqueror rewarded Tihel with the manor of Bumpstead for his participation in the Norman Conquest 5 6 The name of Steeple Bumpstead arises from the presence there of a church tower 7 5 History editHelion Bumpstead s manor house is on a hill facing due east the church is on a small mound less than half a mile away In the seventeenth and eighteenth century the lords of the manor were the Reynolds family which produced several distinguished politicians and judges 6 In the Sages End area of the village a spring called the Dropping Well was the source of the best water in the village It was noted as running at four gallons a minute in a report by Hubert Airy in 1871 when he visited the village to investigate the poor sanitary state that existed there Even in the summer months the spring ran nearly two gallons each minute enticing the inhabitants of Castle Camps to walk there when really hot weather dried up their watering holes Dropping Well was the source of much of Helions Bumpstead s water as it made its way down Sages End road to join the main rivulet near the crossroads thence to flow eastward into the River Stour and to the sea at Harwich 6 During the 1914 Farm Workers strike the village hosted many talks by leading socialists including Sylvia Pankhurst which attracted the highest turnout of over 2 000 people in July 8 The De Havilland Mosquito one of the most famous aeroplanes of the Second World War was tested on the airfield near Castle Camps As of the early 2020s many of the hangars in which the planes were constructed were still standing Famous residents edit The actor Norman Pierce known for his role as Jim Sturry in the 1942 Ealing Studios film Went the Day Well as well as many other roles in films including Saloon Bar The Four Feathers and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp was a resident of Helion Bumpstead and died there in 1968 aged 67 See also editThe Hundred ParishesReferences edit Civil Parish population 2011 Neighbourhood Statistics Office for National Statistics Retrieved 4 September 2016 Village Information Church Helions Bumpstead Parish Council Retrieved 2011 03 06 Tower details dove cccbr org uk Retrieved 26 September 2022 a b The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place Names Based on the Collections of the English Place Name Society ed by Victor Watts Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2004 s v Helions BUMPSTEAD a b c d e Helion Bumpstead and Steeple Bumpstead Survey of English Place Names a b c d Roy Brazier Portrait of Helions Bumpstead The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place Names Based on the Collections of the English Place Name Society ed by Victor Watts Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2004 s v Steeple BUMPSTEAD Country Standard Essex Agricultural Labourers Country Standard 25 April 2007 Retrieved 23 December 2018 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Helions Bumpstead Essex County Council Website Helions Bumpstead Parish Council Website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Helions Bumpstead amp oldid 1146249790, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
