Articles
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“In Service” At Falcutt House In The Thirties
Phyllis Ballinger: Memories of going into service at Falcutt House as a young girl in 1936: the household, the work and the other staff.
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100 Years Of Helmdon Branch WI
Audrey Forgham: A history of the Helmdon Women's Institute from its founding in 1921 to its centenary, and its closure soon after.
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30th November – A Memorable Date in 1943
Derek Ratledge: The crash of an American B-17 bomber at Astwell Castle Farm on 30 November 1943, pieced together from official records and eyewitness accounts.
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A Craftsman’s Notebook
Diana Burfield: A village craftsman's notebook from the 1890s, full of designs and measurements for carts and everyday objects, and what it tells us about him.
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A Helmdon Ghost Story – The Open Gate
Kay Bristow nee Pettifer: A ghost story told by Bill Pettifer about a young man on a motorbike and an open gate on a dark night in the 1940s.
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A Helmdon Song
The words of a song about Helmdon written by Mary Turnham and Tom Pomeroy for the village Christmas party in 1995.
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Advent Windows Project 2016
The 2016 Advent Windows: a map of the village showing where each decorated window could be found.
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Advent Windows Project 2017
The 2017 Advent Windows: a map of the village showing where each decorated window could be found.
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Agricultural Matters In Helmdon In The 17th
& 18th Centuries: Notes on farming in Helmdon in the 1600s and 1700s, made by a WEA local history group from contemporary records.
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American Memorial Stone (older trail page)
The memorial stone to ten US airmen killed in a crash near Helmdon in the Second World War, unveiled in 2010.
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American Memorial Tablet in the Church (older trail page)
The memorial tablet in St Mary Magdalene church to ten US airmen killed in a wartime crash, installed in 2010.
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An Explanation For The Name Luke’s Close
Mike Barnes: How Lukes Close got its name, prompted by a new street sign on the development.
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An Inventory Of Historical Monuments In The County Of Northamptonshire – Helmdon Entry
The Royal Commission's survey of Helmdon's archaeological sites: earthworks, the deserted village of Astwell, fishponds, a windmill mound and more.
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Another Day To Remember (The American
aircraft crash at Astwell Castle farm) Derek Ratledge: The service held in November 2009 to remember the 1943 American bomber crash at Astwell Castle Farm, and the people who came.
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Another Helmdon Cart – This Time Belonging To
The Gulliver Family: A second Helmdon-made cart, now at the Chiltern Open Air Museum, and its link to the Gulliver family and the craftsman's notebook.
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Another Helmdon Ghost Story – The Shape
Kay Bristow nee Pettifer: A second Pettifer family ghost story, 'The Shape', from the 1940s, told by Kay Bristow's mother.
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Aristocratic Financial Troubles And The Operation Of The Land Market: The Sale Of Astwell And Falcutt In 1774-8.
J. V Beckett: How the 4th Earl Ferrers's debts led to the sale of the Astwell and Falcutt estates in 1774–8.
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Astwell Castle
John Coatsworth: The history of Astwell Castle, the manor house of the lost village of Astwell, from the Norman Conquest to the present day.
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Beginningmantlepiecestory
How the old carved oak mantelpiece from the rectory was rescued in the 1990s and turned out to be historically important.
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Bridge Players
The Bridge Players, the village drama group formed in 1988 to stage a pantomime.
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Closure of WEA Helmdon branch
The announcement in 2019 that Helmdon's WEA adult education branch was closing after more than 70 years.
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Derivations of Local Place Names
Where the names Helmdon, Astwell, Falcutt and other local places come from.
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Details of project Helmdon In 1939 and 2019
Ross Vicars: Ross Vicars's book comparing the village's people and houses in the 1939 National Register with Helmdon in 2019.
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Domesday Book – abstract
Helmdon's entry in the Domesday Book of 1086: households, tax and land.
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Early History
An outline of Helmdon's early history, from the Saxon name 'Elmedene' through Domesday and the medieval manors.
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Enclosure
How the open fields of Helmdon were enclosed by Act of Parliament in 1758, and what it changed.
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Erasmus Saunders – Rector of Helmdon 1706-1721
Edward Parry: Erasmus Saunders, rector of Helmdon from 1706 to 1721, and his book about the state of the church in Wales.
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Famed from Oxford to Wirtemberg. The Helmdon Mantle-Tree.
The long debate over the date carved on the Helmdon mantle-tree, and what it says about the arrival of Arabic numerals in Britain.
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Footpaths
The 45 public footpaths and five bridleways of Helmdon parish, and some of their history.
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From Ghoulies And Ghosties…
Alan Ryalls: Villagers' stories of ghostly happenings around Helmdon.
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Glebe Farm Barn
Dating Glebe Farm Barn from its stonework and carved features, and what it says about the village in the 1700s.
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Grange Farm Barn
A photograph of Grange Farm Barn before it was converted.
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Grant of land from John Shortlond to John Baylif
A copy of a medieval deed of 1362 granting land in Helmdon from John Shortlond to John Baylif.
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he coronavirus pandemic 2020 Helmdon
Audrey Forgham's diary of the first eight weeks of lockdown in Helmdon during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
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Health In Helmdon (newspaper article)
Brian Little: A newspaper article tracing health and medicine in Helmdon from the epidemics and remedies of 1700 to the present day.
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Helmdon And The World Beyond
Edward Parry: How villagers between 1653 and 1718 knew far more about the world beyond Helmdon than is often assumed.
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Helmdon Buildings – Continuity And Change
A talk on the village's older buildings, many from the 1500s and 1600s, and how they have changed over the centuries.
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Helmdon Case Study
A study of the earthworks of Helmdon's medieval manor house and settlement.
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Helmdon Enclosure
Val Moir: How the enclosure of Helmdon's common fields in 1758 reshaped the countryside and village life.
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Helmdon Historical Articles
A history of Helmdon's Parents & Tots group, run by the Mothers' Union since 2007.