Ian Henry Publications Ltd

'First Things First': RAF Hornchurch and RFC Suttons Farm, 1915-1962

Ref: IHP-4984

The first air-ship to be destroyed over England was shot down by Leefe Robinson flying from RFC Suttons Farm, but the glory days of the station were as RAF Hornchurch, when it bore the brunt of the Battle of Britain in 1940.

Later it combated the flying bomb menace and, later still, became the training ground for aircrew personnel. Many famous names in aviation flew from Hornchurch and its sister stations of Rochford and Fairlop and their triumphs and tragedies are here recorded. Book.

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'Number, please!!': early London telephone exchanges, 1978-1912

Ref: IHP-4623

The first London telephone exchange was opened in the City in 1878 with 7 subscribers. This number quickly increased, making the provision of new exchanges in Leadenhall Street and Bridge Street vital.

The United Telephone Company, with 8 exchanges, was formed in 1880. In 1889 the United merged with the National Telephone Company and the Lancashire and Cheshire Telephonic Exchange Company, but the Government bought both in 1905. Book.

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A Ghost Hunter's guide to Essex

Ref: IHP-4613

Happenings in Essex that might be explainable - and might not! Among the strange tales are those of the death’s head visitor at Billericay, a shaggy dog at Hatfield Peverel, the inn bedroom with no door or windows in Chelmsford, the Clavering lovers, the bells of lost churches at Walton and Romford, the fire station at Grays, the bell at Wix, the South Weald monk, the Devil at Stansgate, and many more.

There are royal ghosts and spirits of murder victims; there are phantom horsemen and musical instruments played by unseen hands; there are ghosts in churches, on the marshes, in pubs and castles, in houses and on the road; there are evil manifestations and benevolent presences; there are daylight ghosts and apparitions of the night. Travel cautiously in Essex - you never know when you might meet something that isn’t there! Book.

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A History of Rainham, with Wennington and South Hornchurch (1966)

Ref: IHP-nb08

Frank Lewis.

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A Taste of Essex: Food and Recipes of Essex through the Ages

Ref: IHP-4542

Essex has a fascinating and diverse culinary history. The great variety of Essex foods is the fruit of a fertile landscape with a long sea-coast and many rivers. This recalls the original recipes of the county and celebrates regional cooking.

The book is presented both practically and historically, so that the best-loved recipes can be tried out, together with notes on lesser-known dishes enjoyed in the past. Book.

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An Essex Pastoral

Ref: IHP-5115

From 1910 to 1950 Frank Osborne travelled the county recording rural landscapes, places of interest, and village scenes in photographs that reflect a more tranquil age.

As well as portraits of Thaxted, Harlow, Maldon, and Saffron Walden (to name a few at random), there are seascapes at Paglesham, Foulness, and Wivenhoe, rural scenes at Mundon, Hatfield Forest, and Rochford, and buildings at Tollesbury, Finchingfield, and Purleigh. Book.

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An Essex Pot-Pourri: The Lore, Custom and Singular Conduct of Essex Folk

Ref: IHP-271X

There are Victorian engravings on every page of this book about every aspect of Essex life.

Here are the Devil in Tolleshunt, acting in Colchester, a strange marriage at Hatfield Broad Oak, a Chelmsford storm, lopping at Loughton, milk in Alresford, and crabs in Ilford Legend, anecdote, song, myth, rhymes, all about Essex. Book.

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Around Essex by Wheel

Ref: IHP-495X

Book. A companion volume to Exploring Essex by wheel, with ten circular itineraries by bicycle (although the car driver is not forgotten). Journeys start from Billericay,Colchester, Kelvedon, Braintree, Manningtree, Marks Tey and Alresford.

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Colchester Past: A Pictorial Excursion

Ref: IHP-4216

A heavily illustrated history of Colchester from 1870 to 1930, largely made up of postcard reproductions with extended captions.

The main interest is in the buildings, both vanished and still existing, but due attention is paid to personalities like Marmalade Emma and Teddy Grimes and to events like the Colchester Pageant and Queen Victoria\'s Jubilee. Book.

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Essex Miscellany

Ref: IHP-4690

Stan has put together anecdotes about all parts of the Essex from the Romans to the 1950s. Thoby Priory, the crooked cross of Colchester and the bells of Baddow are among the early memories, while we finish with tales of apples at Langham, the church at Coggeshall, and a sea tragedy at Burnham.

In between we are reminded of beauty contests at Southend, a lion at Braintree, an aerial tragedy at Upminster, poems at Ongar, lopping at Loughton, boxing on Canvey, hunting at Maldon, riots at Brentwood, highwaymen at Epping, buses in Chelmsford, and a kaleidoscope of the entire county. Book.

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Essex Spas and Mineral Waters

Ref: IHP-5190

In the days when people sought curing waters there were three spas established in Essex - at Witham, Hockley and Dovercourt. Those simply wanting medicinal waters could find them in Tilbury, Vange and, more recently, in Wickham Bishops.

Other wells that flourished for varying periods included Havering Well, Woodford Wells, Chigwell Row, Upminster Common, St Chad\'s Well, Wanstead, South Weald, Felsted, and Mistley.

This is a story of enterprises and their (generally disastrous) outcomes that could have made Essex a centre of healthy living. Book.

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Essex Under Arms: The Early Years to 1900

Ref: IHP-4909

The people of Essex have always felt the need to defend their territory. This is traced from prehistoric times, through the Roman invasion and Boudicca’s rebellion and its aftermath, to the Count of the Saxon Shore and the defence against Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings.

After the Norman Conquest and its castles came the Peasants’ Revolt and then the mobilisation of the peasantry. The English Civil Wars created havoc, especially in the Colchester region and this was followed by the Dutch incursions into the Thames.

Next came the Napoleonic threat and the Militias, evacuation plans and hurried defences. There is a review of blockhouses, forts and armaments in general and of the Regiments raised in or named after the county and their exploits. Book.

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Exploring Essex by Wheel

Ref: IHP-4712

Book. Fifteen circular bicycle tours. John is a reflective cyclist drawing attention to points of interest - and to pubs - along the way. Routes from Romford, Stansted, Burnham, Sawbridgeworth, Hatfield Peverel, Theydon Bois, Ingatestone, Kelvedon, Rochford, Chipping Ongar, Newport. Sidelights thrown upon Essex history make this a book also to appeal to the non-cyclist wanting to know a little more about the county.

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Forgotten Thameside (1962)

Ref: IHP-nb09

Glyn Morgan.

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Frinton Past

Ref: IHP-4941

A coastal parish that history ignored until the coming of the railway, when a fashionable watering place was established. Romans, Saxons, and Normans made their mark and colourful local incidents occurred, but the outside world hardly noticed the village until a Martello Tower was built to frighten off Napoleon.

In the 1880s development started to transform the area into today’s resort. The railway, the hotels, the shops, the estates, and the private dwellings are examined; the tennis, golf, and cricket clubs are recorded; the impact of two World Wars is assessed; and local government of the area is noted.

Over 50 photographs and maps illustrate the history of the most select seaside town in England from its earliest beginnings until 1950. Book.

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Grandfather's Romford

Ref: IHP-5247

Henry went to school at St Edward’s in the Market Place, and was later employed on the newly-built Gidea Park Estate.

Memories of teachers and school chums, cinema and buses, traders and residents and much else bring back the Romford of shopkeepers and local worthies, market days and stallholders, events and crimes, bringing the 1920s to older readers and introducing it to today’s residents.

There are over 85 photographs of yesterday’s Romford. Book.

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History of Brentwood and South Weald

Ref: IHP-3031

Book. The history of the ancient parish of South Weald, including the town of Brentwood which was within the old parish, forms part of the Chafford Hundred in the Victoria County History of Essex, which is reprinted, including a number of extra photographs.

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History of Harlow

Ref: IHP-3015

Book. The ancient parish and the New Town of Harlow are covered in the Victoria County History of Essex, here reprinted with extra photographs.

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Hornchurch during the Great War (1920)

Ref: IHP-nb06

Charles Thomas Perfect.

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Islands of Essex

Ref: IHP-4925

Essex is home to the most easterly inhabited island in England and to some of the most important natural landscapes in Europe.

Canvey made national headlines during the 1953 flood disaster; Foulness and island nearby are secret lands where MoD interests restrict access; the continental ferry service from Parkeston is built on a former island; Mersea is a popular resort; the islands in the Walton backwaters had a thriving commercial life - but these are just the most obvious.

Elsewhere, Essex islands have been animal breeding and temperance experiments, a great battle against the invading Danes and the naming of a racehorse after an island; a number of museums, nature reserves, oyster pits, to name but a few.

From Upper and Lower Horse and Pitsea Hall Island, via Canvey, Two Tree, Havengore, Wallasea, Bridgemarsh, Osea, Northey, and Cindery Islands to the Walton Backwaters and Ray Island and including every other speck on the map surrounded by water. Book.

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Lost Castles of Essex

Ref: IHP-5204

Although ruins of some of the Essex castles - Hadleigh, Walden - are visible and a few are in use - Colchester, Hedingham, Stansted - none is in its original use and so are classed, together with others of which obvious sites can still be seen - Clavering, Ongar, Rayleigh, Pleshey - and yet others that are mainly only memories, in this book as Lost Castles.

The story of each castle is dramatically retold with the historical background against which they were built. The many photographs show the current state of buildings that have both a romantic and a bloody heritage. Book.

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Lost Gardens of Essex

Ref: IHP-5255

In the 18th century Essex could boast some of the grandest gardens, some of which had been established over two hundred years previously, in the country.

Many of the houses have gone and, while some of the gardens may still exist, their design and beauty have diminished. This record of the gardens, their proprietors, their creators, and their plants carries many estate maps, prints and photographs of a vanished glory.

Over sixty gardens are surveyed, including Audley End, Boreham, Copped Hall, Danbury, Gidea Hall, Ingatestone, Marks Hall, St Osyth, Spains Hall, Thorndon Park, Wanstead, Warley Place, and Weald Hall. Book.

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Memories of old Romford (1880)

Ref: IHP-nb02

George Terry.

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Milton, Chalkwell and the Crowstone

Ref: IHP-5107

Milton Hamlet has vanished, but there are still traces of the ‘Middle Town’ between Southchurch and Leigh to be found. Milton’s foundation was in Saxon times and it came to notice in the 13th century when it had strong links with Canterbury. It continued a rural existence until the late 1800s when the established manor house began to be developed as housing estates and parks.

It lost its identity and is now swallowed in Westcliff, but its story can be traced through its decline and re-emergence as a fashionable residential district. The story continues into recent times and there are stories of eminent residents, of shops and pubs, of churches and schools, or holidaymakers and enemy attack.

Chalkwell is a thriving residential area with its roots in the large estates of past centuries before evolving as a seaside resort. The Crowstone has been a landmark in the Thames for over 800 years. Here are recorded the inscriptions on all Crowstones, the stories behind them, and an account of ceremonies that have taken place over the years. Book.

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Operation Quicksilver

Ref: IHP-4151

The Normandy landings took place on 6th June 1944, but the Germans even then thought that the ‘real’ Allied invasion of Europe would take place in the Pas de Calais or the Low Countries.

This belief was fostered by a number of deceptions, not least Operation Quicksilver. Quicksilver involved building dummy landing craft and mooring them in various rivers and harbours on the east and south-east coast.

Here is recounted the story of the bigbobs on the River Deben in Suffolk by its Commanding Officer. Book.

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Ordeal in Romford

Ref: IHP-9234

Book. This record of the Borough of Romford's war experiences from 1939 to 1945 was originally published in 1945 and includes pictures of bomb, land-mine, rocket and incendiary bomb damage and well as listing all the 'incidents' and casualties experienced by a stoical population. This new edition includes an index.

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Our village [Hornchurch] (1912)

Ref: IHP-nb05

Charles Thomas Perfect.

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Rainham Born and Bred

Ref: IHP-5273

Book. A Thames riverside village that can trace its roots back over a thousand years is still a vibrant, living community. Here are memories of people who have been born or have lived in the Essex town during the past hundred years. If you want to know about how the Rainham of yesterday still affects today, here it is in words and pictures.

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Remember Chelmsford between the Wars?

Ref: IHP-514X

Book. In the 1920 and 1930s Chelmsford was a town where a boy could grow up observing the local characters, shops, tradesmen, markets, schools, churches, newspapers, buses and trains... Luckily, Ted Adams has retained the kaleidoscope of yesterday's Chelmsford and recalls it for the benefit of today's young and old Chelmsfordians.

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Romford and its surroundings (1908)

Ref: IHP-nb04

H.G. Daniels.

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Savoy Hill

Ref: IHP-4682

2LO began broadcasting from Magnet House in the Kingsway, but quickly found that these premises were not satisfactory.

In 1923 the British Broadcasting Company moved into part of the Institution of Electrical Engineers building in Savoy Hill and a full range of radio activities were undertaken.

This book traces these early years, until the British Broadcasting Corporation moved to Langham Place. Over sixty photographs, room layouts and maps complement a piece of historical research into the birth of a British institution. Book.

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Sketches of Upminster

Ref: IHP-nb01

Thomas Lewis Wilson. (originally published 1856).

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Tales of the East Coast: from the Thames to the Wash

Ref: IHP-464X

History and legend of the seaways and byways of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. Stories of the Kings of East Anglia (and their daughters); memories of heroism and disaster; details of events of the 1940s and the 1340s; and accounts of towns, villages and hamlets from Tilbury to King\'s Lynn.

Meet the Kings of East Anglia and their three crowns; the Foulness parson who was a major influence on English literature; towns and villages lost to the sea. There are stories of battles on land and at sea; the 1940 invasion of Shingle Street; legends of saints, sinners and seafarers; the romance of Margaret Catchpole; castle, churches, and leper hospitals; smuggling yarns; the rise and fall of local enterprises; a few ghosts strut these pages in fact all you need to know about the eastern byways and seaways. Book.

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That Time O'Day: Memories of Burnham on Crouch

Ref: IHP-4046

Book. A collection of extracts from tape-recorded conversations with people who were born between 1886 and 1909 and have spent most of their lives in the area. They talked to the Burnham and District Local History and Amenity Society about their homes, their schooldays, their jobs, their pastimes, in fact, about life at 'that time o'day'.

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The Bank of England: Its Origins and Development

Ref: IHP-9099

Book. A reprint of a lecture given in 1920, tracing the Bank and its branches in various parts of the country from 1694.

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The Shoebury Story

Ref: IHP-5123

Shoebury led a largely peaceful life until the mid 19th century. There had been raids by Saxons and Vikings, invasions by the Romans and Normans, insurrections by local peasants, minor crime and ecclesiastical disputes, but life changed forever when the Army established Shoeburyness Barracks.

The village expanded as tradesmen found customers from the garrison; then the railway was extended from Southend, following upon which the trippers came to the beaches and entertainments sprung up.

Meanwhile the Army built quarters for the troops, raised their own church, erected messes for officers and NCOs, opened a theatre, and ranges for testing artillery. The military presence had its darker side, with horrific accidents to servicemen and civilians, the grounding of a battleship, and defences during the World Wars.

The Army has now largely moved away, but present-day Shoebury is a community that can still trace its background by surviving farmhouses, road names, and memories. Book.

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The Story of Stock and Buttsbury

Ref: IHP-5271

The history of two villages from the earliest times to the present. Much of the story is of a rural society getting on with its ordinary business, interrupted by the wider world in times of stress, such as the Black Death, Civil Wars, and World Wars.

Here can be found country affairs, such as cricket matches, transport, religious conflicts, local dignitaries, and humble folk, supplements by pictures of Stock Harvard as it is now and as it was early in the 20th century. Book.

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Treasures of Havering

Ref: IHP-4879

Over 250 listed and historic buildings in the London Borough of Havering - covering Romford, Hornchurch, Upminster, Cranham, Rainham, Wennington, Gidea Park, Harold Wood, Harold Hill, Noak Hill, Collier Row and Great Warley.

Types of buldings listed include churches, houses, schools, public houses, railway stations, barns - illustrated in words and pictures. Book.

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Tudor and Stuart Colchester

Ref: IHP-3023

Book. A reprint of the Victoria County History of Essex dealing with our oldest town from 1500-1700, which includes the Civil War Siege and all its social implications.

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Violet Dix's Trunk: Childhood in Saffron Walden, 1910-1920

Ref: IHP-4739

When Violet died, aged nine, in 1919, her parents packed her clothes, toys, school reports, diaries and photographs away in a trunk, which was not opened again until 1991 - when it became a time capsule of what it was like to be a child during the Great War years.

The trunk’s contents were featured in Saffron Walden Museum and that material is here expanded by collecting reminiscences from people who were Violet’s contemporaries in Saffron Walden and surrounding villages.

Here, then, is a complete picture of early 20th century childhood in an Essex town - family life, schooling, town and country pursuits, holidays, the impact of the War, and clothing. Book.

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When Basildon was Farms and Fields

Ref: IHP-416X

The villages of Vange, Pitsea, Basildon, Laindon, Langdon Hils, Westley, Dunton and North Benfleet came together to form Basildon New Town and the modern buildings hide a tradition and fascinating history.

Here are glimpses of Basildon\'s past from Roman times to the 20th century, including tales of old manor houses, education, transport, entertainment, crime, smuggling, eminent people and, even, a breach of promise.

Illustrated with a picture on nearly every page, here is an introduction to a Basildon that is scarcely recognisable now - except to those who care to look just below the present-day surface. Book.

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Wish You Were Here in... Frinton, Walton and Kirby

Ref: IHP-4461

A heavily-illustrated history of the development of Walton-on-the-Naze and Frinton-on-Sea as seaside resorts and of Kirby-le-Soken as a residential area.

There are pictures and text about transport (by road, rail and sea), entertainment, recreation, churches, rescue services and education.

A dip into the past, looking at streets, buildings and personalities, and how they have been shaped by coastal erosion and human development. Book.

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Witch-Hunt; The Great Essex Witch Scare of 1582

Ref: IHP-5182

Wednesday, 19th February 1582. St Clere’s Hall, St Osyth. The presiding magistrate: Brian Darcy, Justice of the Peace. The great medieval hall falls silent at the entry of the magistrate.

The onlookers - petty officials, witnesses, sensation seekers - who are crammed into every corner of the double-aisled hall, watch as the accused woman, flanked by two village constables, rises to face him. Her name is Ursula Kemp. The charge is murder - murder by witchcraft.

The woman, fearful for her life, implicated many others in the area before her own trial ended and the accusations of the villagers, the priests, and the local officials with counter-accusations and confessions make a terrible tale.

A development, some 350 years later, brings a further note of tragedy, mixed with farce to finish the story. Book.

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Without Warning: The Great Storm of 1953

Ref: IHP-5360

A gale in the Irish Sea on 31st January 1953 caused deaths by drowning, but that was nothing compared to the catastrophe that hit the eastern counties of England as the wind caused a build up of water that overwhelmed the sea defences of most of the coastal communities of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Kent, before sweeping on to wreak more destruction in the Low Countries of Europe.

This is a minute by minute account of how the ships, towns, villages, and islands faced disaster. Stories of personal heroism are mixed with the tragedies of ordinary folk caught up in a cataclysm of wind and water. After the Storm re-building of sea walls and communities took place and fifty years on, memorials were erected. The Princess Victoria, Sea Palling, Great Yarmouth, Aldeburgh, Jaywick, Wallasea, Foulness, Canvey Island a touching record of human endeavour in adversity. Book.

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Ye Olde Village of Hornchurch

Ref: IHP-5409

Originally published in 1917 this history of a village renowned for its leather industry in the Middle Ages ranges from the earliest times to the Great War when Grey Towers was a hospital for the New Zealand forces.

At the time of the establishment of the Liberty of Havering St Andrews was the mother church for the area and so the story extends far beyond the present parish boundaries.

Some of the photographs of contemporary Hornchurch are showing their age, but this is a vibrant record of a thriving town. Book.

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Yearly records of Pyrgo Park 956-1888

Ref: IHP-nb03

Montagu Browne (privately printed 1888).

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