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
