Too Fast at Dullingham Crossroads

In recent years speeding through the village has incensed many villagers and this has led to the formation of our own Speedwatch. A group of which aspires to make the village safer for everyone.

Looking through the archives of the Newmarket Journal shows that speeding is a not a recent problem.  The following transcript was taken from an article called "Too Fast at Dullingham Crossroads" in the Journal published on 2nd August, 1941.

Robert Edward Roberts, farmer, Great Wratting Hall, Haverhill, summoned for driving a motor car without due care and attention on the Newmarket-Brinkley Road, Dullingham on July 12th [1941].   Mr C. Morgan (Messrs Bendall) appeared for the defendant, who pleaded not guilty.

PC Frederick Charter (Stetchworth) gave evidence that at 10:25 pm he saw a Ford 10 hp motor car coming from the direction of Newmarket on the Newmarket-Brinkley Road at a speed which he estimated at 30 to 35 mph passed over the crossroads in Dullingham village without slackening speed.  Witness signalled to the driver to stop.  Defendant who took 20 paces to pull up, admitted that he had seen the danger sign at the crossroads and said he had driven over the crossroads hundreds of times.  He said his speed was 20 mph.  Defendant began to shout and was insolent.  There were a number of pedestrians about at the time.  The King's Head corner, which the defendant passed, was absolutely a blind corner.  The crossroads were in the centre of the Dullingham village.

Cross-examined:  The road from Newmarket to Haverhill could be regarded as the main road no one was in any danger.

Joseph Baldwin, a special constable at Dullingham, who was standing on the corner of the green with PC charter, corroborated the constable's evidence and said he estimated the speed of the car at about 35 mph.  The crossroads at Dullingham were very dangerous, and defendant came over them too fast.

Cross-examined:  If I had been alone I would have stopped the defendant.

By the Chairman:  Defendant was going so fast that he could not have pulled up if anything had been coming from Stetchworth.

Albert Edward Bailey, licensee of the King's Head, Dullingham, and a Lieutenant in the Home Guard, also corroborated, and said he was standing with PC Charter and Mr Baldwin.  He estimated the speed of the car at 35 or 36 mph.

Cross-examined:  There have been quite a number of accidents at the crossroads lately.

Defendant, giving evidence on oath, said his speed at crossroads was about 15 mph, and he sounded his hooter.  He saw no other traffic.  He was on the crossing before the constable put his hand up and applied his brakes at once.  He pulled up in 17 paces.  The Chairman said the Bench were unanimously of the opinion that defendant was going too fast at the crossroads.  He would be fined £2, with £1, costs and his license would be and endorsed.

King's Head Corner c1910 - 30 years before the reported incident

On an aside it's interesting to note the length of the article compared with our modern times where speeding in villages is considered the norm.  Also court reports of this period, and before, almost read like a script.  

Regardless, the crux of the article is still about a driver who, once behind the wheel of their chariot, has a blatant disregard for the safety of others.  A problem we still suffer 84 years later.

Life in a Village

The following article appeared in the Cambridge New published on Friday, April 30, 1965.  A scan of the original article appears at the end of this post but to aid viewing some pictures and text are published separately.  

Some extra detail has been added to the pictures which hopefully enhances your read.  Certainly it's interesting to contrast the description of the village from nearly early 60 years ago with current day.  

Dullingham is one of the clean-cut and attractive villages which surround Newmarket.  Motorists from Cambridge have found that a tour of these villages makes a peaceful Sunday afternoon trip.

Some of the characters of the village are Miss F Hurst, the sub-postmistress, Mr Kitchening, station master, and 94 year old Mr J.Misson.

Derek Breen, who is not yet two years old, is a hard taskmaster to his dog Tiny.  Young Patrick Drake is one of many friends of the road sweeper, Mr W.Piper.

As Dullingham is primarily a farming village - there is also one stud - it is unlikely that there will be any extensive development.  It is a village in which the residents take considerable pride and to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, two chestnut trees were planted on the village green  - and to commemorate the Festival of Britain wooden seats were placed at several convenient points.

The Guild Hall looks much the same although it had two entrances on Station Road in 1965. In the centre distance is Ainsley House, and on the right in front of Cable Farm is a Ford Zephyr Mk III hiding a Mk I Mini (such trivia is supplied free of charge)

Miss Freda Hurst was the sub-postmistress when the post office was situated in Malting Cottage, Church Lane where she was also housekeeper to Mr George Benstead.  Both had worked at Dullingham House prior to the death in 1939 of Mrs Robinson, where Freda was her assistant and George her chauffeur.   

Young Derrick Breen & Tiny

Mr John Misson - the article says he's 94, yet he appears aged 93 is an EADT newspaper article ten years later.  Time stands still in Dullingham.

Young Patrick talking to William (?) Piper.  Young Patrick can still be seen cycling through the village nowadays.

Mr G.Kitching was appointed stationmaster for both Dullingham and Six Mile Bottom in 1961.  Three months after this article was published he appeared in the Newmarket Journal lamenting the imminent closure of both stations.

Is this setting at the bend by Cross Green?  The names of the horses is also unknown. 

Below is the original article in its original layout.

Baldwin Cricket Team

This week the Dullingham Parish Council announced in its newsletter that its has signed a 20 year contract to allow Newmarket Cricket Club to use village ground as its new home ground.  So it seems fitting to have a cricket related post.

This cutting from The Newmarket Journal - dated 5 July 1990 - tells the story of the Baldwin family from Dullingham fielding a full cricket team against a team of the staff from Bottisham Village College. Several of the players, across the generations, attended the College themselves.  Alas, the village team lost to the teachers.  

Somewhat controversially only last summer in The Boot beer garden Chris Baldwin made mention that the family had allowed the staff to win.  Clearly Chris, looking at his score, was the man who was looking to get a good school report.   ;-)  

A Fine Example of an English Village

This post appeared as a newspaper article in the East Anglian Daily Times on 7 April 1975.  The scanned image of the original was difficult to read but the text has been reproduced below together with images of the photo which appeared in the article.

The concerns of the villagers make interesting reading some 50 years later.

A Fine Example of an English Village

It is ironic that Dullingham - a village steeped in rural life should have to rely on the Industrial Revolution for any claim to fame in the history books.

For the village, lying some four miles south of Newmarket, and, by some quirk of fate, situated just a few miles inside the Cambridgeshire border, made a name for itself at the peak of the railway mania in the 1840's.

A railway line built between Chesterlord and Nowarket was envisaged to be a main route from London to Norwich, and the renowned Robert Stephenson was engineer-in-chief as well. as supervising 33 other schemes at the same time. 

There were other visions of the railway too. "The Jockey Club felt that a railway to Newmarket would not only be a great convenience to parties anxious to participate in the tul Pritish sort of racingt but would enable Members of Parliament to superintend race and run back to London in time for the same night's debate," wrote one scribe.

Set in Motion

It was at Dullingham where the ceremony of "Turning the first sod" took place, as the railway cut through land forming part of the Dullingham House estate.

Master Jeaffreson the 10-year-old heir to General Jeaffreson who lived at the 11-bedroomed Dullingham House, built in about 1700, had the honour to turn the first wheels of the railway into motion by digging the first clump of earth.

At about 11 o'clock on the morning. of September 30, 1846, the directors of the. railway, and a large party of dignatories, formed a procession. led by a band of musicians from Newmarket, to witness the ceremony. The railway was finally opened on April 4, 1848.

Master Jeaffreson used an inscribed silver spade and a barrow, which, until the beginning of the 1939-45 War, remained at Dullingham House, but have since been removed.

When the economic bubble of the railway mania burst, the Chesterford-Newmarket link with scrapped - it was not used after 1852 - and the line was diverted to Cambridge which destroyed any thoughts of the railway forging a main East Anglian link with London.

Heritage

But Dullingham remained unscathed at this stage, as it was situated on the modified Cambridge Newmarket link. It was not until a few years ago when large portions of railway were lopped off under Beeching, that Dullingham's railway heritage was damaged. The station was lost, but thanks to persistent protests by villagers, trains still stop there.

Near where Master Jeaffreson probably dug that first sod, now stands a signal box run by 55-year-old Larry MacDonnell, who has lived in the village for about 30 vears. It is a schoolboy's dream of an archetypal signal box. The old LNER clock ticks merrily away on the wall, while the large brass knobs and buttons shine brightly after years of wear, and an immaculate tilly lamp hangs from the ceiling.  "I wouldn't mind a penny for every time I have opened the gates." said Larry.  "I would be a millionaire by now."

Retired art teacher, 67-year-old Mr. Matthew Prater is a keen railway enthusiast who lives in the village. He has built an extension at his home to house his model railway which. has taken years to build, "Railways create an atmosphere, and have so much character," he said. 

Photograph

The railway is now an accepted part of the landscape, although the thought of metal, noise, and pollution must have long been enemies in a village such as Dullingham which oozes a concept of typical rural. life from every fibre.

Mr Leslie Briggs, who lives in the old Guildhouse, converted into two cottages.

Take 70-year-old Mr Sam Briggs for instance, who has lived in the old Guildhall for the past 30 years - a superb half-timbered and thatched building which has lured many tourists to take a photograph of it. "We didn't really fancy it when we first came here, but a place like this can't help but grow on you," said Sam.

[Not sure if Sam and Leslie are different men or if the EADT made a mistake in captioning.]

The village postman and milkman are brothers Dennis, left and Alan Algar, seen with one of their customers, Mr. Harry Starvis.

Mr. Alan Algar, the village postman, hardly needs a house number to deliver the post - he knows who lives in most houses by name; his brother, Dennis, is the local milkman, who gives an equally personal sevice in his yellow milk float; and the village stores, run by Mr. and Mrs. Francis Briggs, can supply everything from an ice-cream to a toothbrush.

 Mr John Misson, the oldest inhabitant in the village aged 93

Oldest inhabitant of the village is 93-vear-old Mr. John Misson, of Brook Cottage.

"You would he surprised how many times I have looked at my birth certificate to see if my age is correct."  Mr Misson said. He has been a beekeeper, a joiner at the racecourse, and started Misson's garage by memding bicyles in a shed.

Dullingham is characteristic of a rural villagw in every respect. So much so, that like many parishes, it is wary of the pitfalls of becoming a dying village.

Some villagers argue that children who have been brought up in the village and want to settle there have no chance, because there are not enough houses.

Mr John Turner, forecourt attendant at Misson Motors, chats with "regular" Tom Wright, who has lived in Dullingham 28 years

Mr. Harold Misson, who runs Misson's Garage with the aid of his two sons, Alan and Geoff, and is vice-chairman of the Parish Council, has been campaigning this issue for the past 30 years.

"This is a pretty little village, and we don't want to spoil it by building large housing estates. but there are small plots of land which could easily be used to build new homes," he said. 

"Those people who have been brought up in Dullingham, and don't want amenities like bingo halls and lots of pubs can't settle in the village because they have nowhere to live," added Mr Misson.

The most recent houses to he built at Dullingham are at Bakehouse Hill and Elm Close. These have brought new families to the village, and, it is argued, supplied the necessary life blood to maintain Dullingham as a thriving community.

Festival

Social life has increased by leaps and bounds in the village with sport being popular - especially badminton and there are the various other social clubs usually associated with a small village.

Most years, there is a summer festival organised by Peter and Jenny Geoffres, [Jefferies?] and the Dullingham House grounds are often used for summer fetes.

Chairrman of the parish council, and also Chairman of Newmarket Magistrates' Court, is Mr. Peter Taylor, of Hill Farm.

"There is absolutely no question of Dullingham dying," he said, "It is the best village in the district, and we will do our best to keep it so."

Only a few weeks ago, however, one of the three pubs. in the village - The Royal Oak - closed down, and there. has not been a post office for some time. The primary school has less than 30 pupils - not quite enough to dispel the danger of it closing down one day.

Vicar of St Mary's Church, Dullingham, the Rev. Neville Auster

Vicar of Dullingham for the past six years, the Rev. Neville Auster, feels that a slight increase in population is necessary to maintain the village as a thriving entity. "I would say, that the village really needs a population of approaching the thousand mark," he said.

A part of Dullingham will soon be designated as a conservation area, and a planning spokesman for Cambridgeshire Count Council said that an increase in population from 530 - 650 by 1981 is envisaged in an approved village plan.

There are rumours that in the years to come, Dullingham may be integrated with Stetchworth, the adjacent village. The argument runs that Stetchworth would be used for housing development, and Dullingham would remain completely unspoilt. Some villagers see this as "inconvenient", and slightly unfair victimisation for living in such a pretty village. But the planning spokesman dismissed this idea as "highly unlikely.

Clearly, if any amalgamation did take place between the two villages, it would take at least two generations to dissolve prejudices of the older inhabitants who have maintained a degree of friendly rivalry for years. Occupying a prominent position in the village is The King's Head public house with its pink-plastered walls, and slate roof. This is run by Ray and Gloria Jamieson, who are newcomers to the village, and come from Newmarket. Mrs Jamieson said that now she had experienced rural life, she would never want to go back to living in a town. The other oublic house in Dullingham is 'The Boot."

Woodland

Standing on one of the highest points of the village is the 15th century church, with its 13th century chancel. It typifies once again the rural character of the village, and has a Jacobean font, and a 13th century piscina.  It is believed that Dullingham originated after a Roman farmer cleared an area of woodland. Some of this woodland still remains in the form of small copses arbitarily dotted about the landscape, and it is in one such copse next to Dullingham Ley, where the focal point of local folklore lies.

A headless rider is rumoured to make a guest appearance in the village on Christmas Eve and then return to its haunt at Jack's Gallows.

Local legends abound in many villages, and this tale arguably drives the point home that Dullingham is perhaps one of the finest examples of a typical country village, firmly embedded in the heart of rural England.

Source: East Anglia Times, published 7 Apr 1975

Dullingham's Long History

This newspaper article from the Independent Press & Chronicle was published in September 1961.  Harold McMillan was Prime Minister,  Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became first human in space during a single-orbit flight, and "Barbie" met her new boyfriend "Ken".

Today Dullingham has an even longer history although not quite as peaceful due to volume of traffic.  The advert on this page was selling 12v car batteries from 139'6 which is (if I recall correctly) £6 19s 6d.  £7 in 1961 is, in 2022, is equivalent to £144.36.  With car batteries starting today at under £100 some things are cheaper these days!

Rather than strain your eyes the article has been scanned and included at the bottom of the page.  No expense spared for you dear reader.

DULLINGHAM, a large village with a comparatively small population, has little to raise it into a position of particular eminence in Cambridgeshire, and yet it is a village of considerable scenic attraction and one which is thought highly of by its inhabitants. 

One well-known writer on county villages, Mr. Arthur Mee, somewhat surprisingly makes no mention of many of the interesting features of the village which would occur to the visitor and resident alike, but instead he dwells on the merits of the very fine sycamore tree in the churchyard. True, this is of an attractive shape and stature, even though it hides most of the church from view, but one wonders that he found so little else to occupy his brief description of Dullingham. 

With such a spread out contingent of shops and houses-the postman’s round is some eight miles in length-the number of people living in the village is by no means large, and in fact is not much more than double what it was in the days of the Domesday Book. In the year 1085 the population stood at 275; at the time of the Poll Tax in 1377 it had dropped to 153, and at the time of the Hearth Tax in 1664, when 13 of the 61 house in Dullingham only had one hearth, it had risen slightly to-305. At the 1881 census the people numbered 838 and in 1951, 523, a figure which is at present just a little higher. 

To serve this population there are the three public houses, the Boot, the King's Head and the Royal Oak, a post 0ffice-cum-general store, a commercial store and another small food store. There is a garage and, of course, plenty of delivery vans to augment the basic requirements. 

Bridge Was Bombed 

As far as communications are concerned, Dullingham is adequately served by the railway, which runs through it, the bridge over which was bombed during the last war. Its bus service, however, is rather poor; on Tuesdays and Saturdays there are plenty of buses into Cambridge and Newmarket, but for the rest of the week, these are very sparse. 

Electricity and water are available to the residents and in the near future they are also to be provided with main sewerage. There is, however, no street lighting, an amenity which one feels should be installed as Dullingham is cut by two fairly busy roads. 

The school is of the primary county type and caters for children under the age of 11, after which they go to Bottisham Village College. In days gone by there was a Charity school in Dullingham, and as long ago as 1579 a school which evidently had a very irreverent school master. 

The story goes that this man, one Thomas Marriot by name, hid the bread at morning communion and in the afternoon contemptuously administered it to the parish youths. Today most of the villagers leave home to work in Cambridge or Newmarket. If they desire employment on the spot they can really only work on the land as there are no local industries, hurdle making having died out some time ago, and the premises where malt used to be made, having been taken over since 1956, for the purpose of grain storage. 

Memorial Hall 

Social activities include meetings of the Women's Institute and of a flourishing sports club. There is also a youth club and an occasional dance held in the Sidney Augustus Taylor Memorial Hall which was erected in 1945 by his six sons and four daughters. Football is played on a special field near the station, ‘leaving village green for a somewhat ) inadequate recreation ground. 

Building development in Dullingham is not particularly marked, although there are two Council estates, and a few new private dwellings. Bungalows at present in the course people of construction for elderly are, in the opinion Of the Vicar - (the Rev. H. Lloyd Jukes) too far away from the Post Office, where the inhabitants will have to draw their pensions. The distance they will have walk must be nearly a mile. 

As Dullingham is primarily a farming village—there is also one stud—it is unlikely that there will ever be any extensive development. It is a village in which residents take considerable pride and to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth Il, two chestnut trees were planted on the village green. Similar, to commemorate the Festival of Britain, wooden seats were placed at several convenient points. 

In 1957, Dullingham was the venue for the Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Agricultural Show, this being held on land farmed by the late Mr. F. B. Taylor, of Dullingham House. 

17th Century House 

Mr. Taylor's widow still lives in the house, an attractive 17th century building which was altered by Humphrey Repton, who also designed the garden in 1800. Since then, Georgian parts of the house have been removed, although it still has 11 bedrooms. Mr, and Mrs. Fred Taylor bought it several years after the war from a Mrs. Harvey Leader, who was the niece of a previous owner, Mrs. C.W. Robinson. During the war troops were accommodated on the estate and it was prior to this that Mrs.Robinson, the lady of the manor lived in it. She was a descendant by marriage of the Jeaffreson family, had held Dullingham estate since the 17th century. 

Today Dullingham Estate Farms, Ltd., comprises some 1,000 acres. 

Mrs. Taylor's brother-in-law, Mr.W. J. Taylor, also lives in the village and is, known as the “father" of the Cambridgeshire County Council. 

For religious worship there are two chapels in 4 Dullingham and the fine early English church of St.Mary. The oldest part of this edifice is its chancel with its priests' door and early English piscina. Some of it is in the Perpendicular style of architecture and on the south side of the south aisle is a chapel (now used as a vestry) with the remains of a reredos on its east wall. 

Ancient Church 

While this church dates back to the 13th century it is probable that an even older one, stood on the same site. In any case Dullingham Church once belonged to the Abbey of St.Wendrill's in Normandy, It was restored in 1884-90 at a cost of £680 and 1899 its oak roof was repaired for a further £800. In the present day, the Vicar hopes to raise £1,000 for further repairs that are needed 

within the next five years. He is aiming at collecting £300 a year and is so far succeeding. The War Memorial in the churchyard is a copy of St.Martin's Cross, Iona. 

Going right back into the history of Dullingham, there is evidence of its existence as "Dullingham" in the days of Domesday, when it meant "the place of the people of Dulla”. It was almost certainly inhabited long before this in Roman and Saxon days. 

It was in the hundred of Radfield and was held by the Abbot of Wandregisilius, having at that time wood for 100 hogs and pasture for cattle. With monetary figures provided in the records it appears that the price of land decreased slightly with the arrival of William the Conqueror on these shores, two of his own knights into Dullingham, while another landowner in the village, Countess Judith is reputed to have been a relative of his. 

The Manor was held by the Abbott of Wendrill in Normandy and in the reign of Henry Ill, two of Dullingham's large halls, those of Poins—which was at one time inhabited by John Duke of Bedford— and Beechams, were described as "moieties of the manor of Dullingham in the Abbey of St. Wendrill.” 

Later history saw John Earl of Oxford having his Dullingham Manor taken away from him when he was attainted for high treason in the reign of Edward IV. Some years later, however, it was restored to him. 

Peasants' Revolt 

The Peasant's Revolt of 1381 seems to have had some effect on Dullingham, the three days of terror being recorded as June 15th, 16th and 17th. Information handed down, points out that on the "Sunday after Corpus Christi, Jomp Kempe, of Dullingham insurrected, and as a captain with others unknown, rode armed with banners displayed to Burwell, where they destroyed the house of  Dullingham 's Long History Thomas de Swaffham- there, and seized 40s, worth of goods.

Neither did Dullingham escape the iconoclast Dowsing, in the. 17th century. He visited the church, broke a number of "superstitious pictures," and had the steps of the altar levelled. 

In the early days of Dullingham, an interesting fact is that the Lords of the Manor claimed the right to a very large jurisdiction over local crime, extending even to capital cases. One, Robertus de Bello Campo,  claimed by inheritance, the right to "a gallows, pillory and ducking-stool, also infang-thief and the goods of felons and fugitives." (By right of infang-thief the local authorities could deal summarily with any robbers caught in their bounds.) 

Between 1595 and 1656, Dullingham was mostly in the hands of the Wingfields of Newmarket who, like the Beechams, originated from Somerset Col. John Jeaffreson bought the estate in 1666 and subsequently added to it. 

In 1808 Earl Grosenor took land in Hare Park but his house there is no longer in existence. Enclosure came two years earlier. 

Oaks for Shipbuilding 

A moated site in a clump of elms half way between the Church and Stetchworth has attracted some interest but no one knows a lot about it. The woods at Dullingham were once noted for their oak trees, which were cut down and used in shipbuilding.

Of the buildings in Dullingham only the Church, Dullingham House, and the Guildhouse are really of any significance. The latter, now two cottages, stands at the crossroads by the village green, and is almost in the same condition as it was in the reign of Henry VIII.

The Guild of St John was revived by the Vicar, Master Bretton, in 1517 and in many ways: was a forerunner of the modern friendly societies. Membership was 6d. a head and meals were provided for the poor, thus indicating a sense of welfare for the community even in those days. These Guilds undoubtedly did much good. 

The modern Dullingham, in some of its villagers' estimations, is losing its old character: Inevitably cottages are being demolished and road names such as "crescent" and "close," have appeared. But in spite of this there is something about the village which will always retain its associations with the -years gone by whatever happens in the future. It is a village of peace and calm and yet it is also a village of individualism and progression. 

Sources

- Kevin McDonnell Collection

- Independent Press & Chronicle 

Attacked with a Rabbit in The Boot

There are some interesting, entertaining and sometimes amusing newspaper reports featuring the village.  This one falls in the category of downright funny.  It's from the Newmarket Journal, dated 8th April 1899 and had the headline Fight On The Road At Dullingham.

Charles Mingay (34) labourer of Dullingham was charged by George Oak, plate-layer, Dullingham, with having assaulted him on March 23nd. Defendant pleaded not guilty. Plaintiff deposed that he was a railway plate-layer. On March 23rd, he was in the Boot Inn, Dullingham, in the evening. Defendant had four live rabbits and two dead rabbits in a bag, and began arguing with John Jolly. Defendant took out one of the rabbits and rubbed it across Jolly's face, and then struck Jolly. The landlord turned them both out. Witness went out at 10 o'clock, ten minutes later, and found Mingay holding Jolly down on the road, and threatening his life. Witness pulled him off, defendant tearing a piece out of Jolly's coat with his teeth as he did so. Defendant struck plaintiff on the face, butting him with his head, and got him down on the road. He kept punching and threatening the witness, tried to gnaw his nose, and bit his thumb. Two men pulled defendant off the witness. The defendant drew a knife.

John Jolly and Frederick Wilson, labourer living at Dullingham, gave corroborative evidence. Defendant said at the Boot Inn, he playfully drew a dead rabbit across Jolly's face, and Oak incited Jolly to fight him. Afterwards Oak set upon him outside, struck and kicked him, and swelled his eyes, and hurt him so badly he was in bed for three days afterwards.

Defendants mother, Ann Mingay, deposed that on the night of March 23rd, she went half way up the village and met her son, who was covered with blood and could not see. He was in bed three days afterwards, and witness had to apply rags soaked in vinegar to his eyes. Defendant who had been previously been convicted for poaching, and for being drunk and disorderly, was fined 10s, and 16s.6d costs. He paid the money.

Granted that if this appeared in The Journal today we'd all be aghast, but the use of a rabbit as an attack weapon back 123 years ago does seem comical.

Sources:

- The Newmarket Journal

- Kevin McDonnell's Collection