Sue goes 'home' - to Cheveley, near Newmarket

If one judges these things by ancestry - and, as an amateur family historian, I attach huge importance to ancestry - then Sue went 'home' today, to the village of Cheveley, which is near Newmarket. (Actually, a substantial area of Cheveley Parish is now in Newmarket, in the South East Cambridgeshire part of the town, but that is another story for another day and for another debate in the future).

I say that Sue went 'home' because Cheveley was the birthplace of no less than 160 of her relatives and the burial place of many of them. The following families were/are connected with my wife: Chambers, Claydon, Collin, Death, Deave, Dobito, Fish, Foreman, Goer, Halls, Hanton, Holland (Holland Park, Cheveley, may have been named after this once-famous family that kept the old Star and Garter pub), Munnings, Norman, Pavis, Peck, Ransom, Sawyer, Tetsall, Tiplady and Tweed.

I mentioned the old Star and Garter pub. Sue's gggg grandparents, James Trundle Holland (1772 - 1834), and his wife, Anna Maria Holland (née Collin, 1781 - 1861), were the successive licensees until the latter's death, which was reported in the Ipswich Journal as follows:

Newspaper Cutting, 10th of August, 1861:

'Deaths.

Holland. - 31st. ult., at Cheveley, in her 81st year, Anna Maria, relict of Mr James Trundle Holland, of the Star and Garter Inn, of that place.'

The Star and Garter is no longer, it having been burned down and demolished comparatively recently (I received confirmation of the information only this morning from the former East Cambridgeshire District Councillor for Cheveley and Ashley, my friend, Mr Peter Bridge).

Here (above right) is a picture of the old pub in about 1900.

During the period of the Hollands being at the Star and Garter, Sue's ggg grandparents in another line, John Tetsall (1769 - 1833), and his wife, Sarah (also née Collin, 1778 - 1862), were farming in the village.

We stopped off first at St. Mary's Church, hoping that it would be open. It was, but we admired the daffs before going in.                                                 

And then we photographed the elaborately-painted 15th century font and imagined the baptisms of all of those 160 rellies over the centuries. It was all pretty mind-boggling. Here (below right) is the font, complete with 21st century plastic containers behind it.

Of course, there was more to do in Cheveley than having a good look at St. Mary's Church and, whilst Sue went round Holland Park (pictured below), I set about visiting homes in the High Street. We both had excellent results and the whole of Cheveley was most encouragng. 

The Star and Garter pub, mentioned above, no longer exists, but a lovely thatched house sits in its place and the location is marked for posterity by a street sign set beside another lovely thatched home facing the High Street.

Finally, I came across a lady who owned a liver and white Dalmatian, just like ours and originally from a home that we know well. The Dalmatian had puppies nearly five weeks ago. The father is believed to have been a Collie. There are eight puppies. This is one of them. Now, altogther, aaahhh! 

We are going to go back to Cheveley.