A walk through Henham village in Essex (part 2)
The War Memorial through the Row to the Star
The old school is on the opposite side of Crow Street from the War Memorial, and is now called OSCA. It’s used by the villagers for events including book sales and art exhibitions. The telephone box is a listed building.
The school was built in 1876 for 138 children and closed in 1975. Education was not free and there were complaints by the staff that during harvest times children didn’t attend school, the register shows absences “working in the field” or “minding the babies”. In 1891 the fees were abolished and the state took over responsibility.
Passing the village sign on the green as you walk down the side of the old school. On the right hand side there is a house dating to the mid 1600s. Walk into The Row.
The row of cottages here are small. The Brand family on the night of the Census of 1841 had 10 people in one property it shows that the 10 year old boy James’s occupation is agricultural labourer.
The gardens on the right of The Row were little agricultural plots. The Row use to be known as “Rotten Row”. The property in the foreground with the chimney full of flowers was condemned in 1938. It was only saved by villagers purchasing it and renovating it.
Keep walking down The Row until you come to the old petrol pumps.
This property Starr Cottage has had a varied life. In 1780 it was established by Messrs Hawkes, Bird and Nash with money earned from supplying malt to London breweries via the Stort Navigation Canal. The Starr and Garter pub closed in 1898. From 1898 to 1950 it was a working dairy farm. In 1950 it opened as a garage doing repairs and selling fuel. In 1995 EU rules prevented further sale of fuel and the business closed.
Now walk back to the main road and turn left.