• Home
  • About Us
  • Join Us
  • News
  • Magazines
  • Events
    • Forthcoming Events
    • Speakers at AGMs
  • Places of interest
    • Walks
    • Links
  • Maps
  • Privacy
  • Contact

History of the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds

Bury St Edmunds has a long and rich history of presenting plays, which can be traced back from the late 14th Century, when one of the church guilds performed during the festival of Corpus Christi, to the present day in the Theatre Royal. Indeed, one of the four surviving Mystery Play scripts is thought to be from the Bury St Edmunds Mystery Cycle. Later, John Lydgate, the leading 15th Century dramatist, lived in Bury, and there are references to the town in Shakespeare’s Richard II and Henry VI Part Two. Later still, in 1689, Thomas Shadwell, a former pupil of Bury School, saw his play, “Bury Fair”, performed at Drury
Lane. Throughout the years, plays were presented not only in the churches, but also in the 13th Century Guildhall, in the Abbey Gardens, and on Angel Hill in travelling theatre booths. A principal venue was the old Market Hall, destroyed by the fire which engulfed Bury in 1608, and replaced by an arcaded Jacobean building. The upper floor was converted into a theatre in 1734 by the Bury Corporation who later, in 1774,
commissioned Robert Adam to redesign and upgrade it, keeping the theatre on the upper floor, with the market below.

During the Georgian period, theatres across the country were grouped into circuits, Bury being part of the prestigious Norwich Circuit, which also included Norwich itself, Kings Lynn, Great Yarmouth, Cambridge, Ipswich and Colchester. The Norwich Company of Comedians travelled around the circuit, carrying their costumes, scenery and musical instruments, and spending six to eight weeks at each venue, normally coinciding with a special event in the town. In Bury’s case, their visit coincided with the Bury Fair in late October/early November. The Fisher Circuit, of lesser importance, was also operating in East Anglia and visited theatres in Sudbury, Woodbridge, Newmarket, Bungay (where the Fisher family resided) and Lowestoft, to name but a few. Then there were Fit-Up theatres, visited by assorted companies, who would convert barns and other suitable buildings for their performances. These included Dedham, Clare, Hadleigh and Stoke By Nayland. Finally, the simplest and cheapest form of drama, presented in travelling booths, could be quickly erected on village greens or in town squares.

William Wilkins

Since 1768, the Wilkins family had owned shares in the Norwich Circuit of Theatres. In 1799, William Wilkins senior took overall control of the circuit. He was a builder and designer of theatres and he also had a talented son, William (1778-1839), who had ambitions to become an architect. After leaving Cambridge University, he travelled on a scholarship to Taormina, in Sicily, where he was inspired by the ruins of their beautiful Greco-Roman open-air theatre to build a new theatre in Bury to replace the one in the Market Cross, which was proving to be too small for Bury folk, who had made it the most profitable on the circuit. It only held 350. William Wilkins saw an opportunity to increase the capacity to 780 and so boost profits. Before then, however, he designed Downing College, Cambridge. He was to become a leading neo-classical architect and later went on to design University College in London and the National Gallery.

In 1818, he bought a piece of sloping ground near Westgate Street, at the southern edge of Bury. The gradient, following classical tradition, meant that excavation costs were reduced. He chose a simple, symmetrical Doric style, with an open arcade and fluted columns. This symmetry was continued within the building, where the emphasis was on geometric principles and proportions which, in turn, produced perfect acoustics and good sightlines. The existing stage area today is of exceptional significance as almost all of this original structure: walls, roof, scene dock are retained, together with the proscenium arch. The acting took place on a forestage in front of this arch, and special effects, beloved of Georgian audiences, took place on the stage itself. Scenery would be lowered, using a complicated rope system, and flats slid in from the wings in special grooves. There were trap doors, waterfalls, drifting clouds, bobbing ships and all manner of sound effects. The auditorium was lit by oil lamps, which remained throughout the performance. This practice was continued even after gas was introduced in 1838. By 1906, however, electricity was installed, which enabled the stage to be illuminated, allowing the Auditorium to be in darkness. Interestingly, though the capacity of this new theatre was 780,
today it is only permitted to house 350. Plus ca change…

The new theatre opened on 11th October,1819 with two plays: “A Roland for an Oliver”, a French farce; and “John Bull”, patriotic and British. The audience had a choice of Dress or Upper Circle boxes, if they were “Polite Society”; the Pit, if they were merchants, shopkeepers, playwrights and the like; or the Gallery if they were the Hoi Polloi and likely to make the most noise and launch disapproving missiles. Mind you, the posh lot talked a lot, engaged the actors in banter and generally rubbernecked the rest of their kind, sporting the latest fashions and gossiping with all the right folk. Segregation ruled supreme. William Wilkins had achieved his dream and by then had taken over the running of the circuit from his father. Above all, Bury now had a purpose built theatre. The Norwich Company of Comedians continued to travel the circuit. Their performances were popular, consisting of a main play (perhaps Shakespeare or Sheridan), after-pieces (short scenes), dancing, music and a variety of other entertainments. Occasionally, they were joined by well known actors. Such was William Charles McCready, friend of Charles Dickens, who in 1828 combined with the Norwich Company for a week in November and took the lead in five separate plays. On another occasion, in the same year, a certain Monsieur Gouffe, dressed as a monkey and, suspended only by his neck, descended from the Gallery to the Stage, waving two flags and carrying a small boy under one arm. He was a “Man of Spectacle “, who performed spectacular feats.

All of this, of course, hinted at the need to attract larger audiences. By the 1840s, the theatre was struggling. The railway had come to Bury and the richer clientele had an opportunity to travel to London. William Wilkins had died in 1839 and by 1843 the whole Circuit System had ended. It was becoming too expensive. Instead, theatres began to provide their own fare. In 1844, the celebrated Madame Vestris, a contralto who sometimes played male roles and who managed both the Lyceum and Covent Garden theatres, visited Bury. She is regarded as a prominent figure in the history of the British theatre and customs of the nineteenth century. Lily Langtry was booked to appear but went to America instead. There was a popular demonstration of the new phenomenon, the Phonograph, in 1891; and the following year “Charley’s Aunt” by Brandon Thomas had its first night in the theatre and went on to become an enduring success across the world. Then, in 1898, the theatre was visited by Colonel Crocker from America with his troupe of thirty educated horses and mules “without bridle or rein“, who could jump higher than themselves. He was a nineteenth century horse whisperer.

As the theatre entered the new millennium, change was required. A new breed of playwrights had emerged (Ibsen, Shaw, Chekhov) and were writing naturalistic drama, which did not allow for the sort of audience intrusion, practised by Georgian audiences. The forestage and stage boxes disappeared, and the acting now took place behind the proscenium arch, made possible by the new electric lights. A bar was added to the front of the building (William Wilkins must have twitched in his grave) in response to audience demand and the need to increase income. As the Edwardian period ended, society was gradually changing. Socialism and the Suffrage Movement, followed by the ravages of the Great War, had a huge impact on live theatre, which was already struggling. Bury was no exception and, in 1920, Greene King Brewery bought the theatre and attempted to breathe life into it. By 1925, the effects of cinema, particularly from America, made the chances of its survival even more remote and it was closed in 1925. Nearly all the theatres on the Norwich and other circuits had closed or been demolished by now, but the Theatre Royal was fortunate. It stood in the middle of the Greene King empire and so could be put to good use by the Brewery. Thus, it became a barrel store for 40 years. Importantly, though, the structure remained virtually intact and only the seats were removed. It was here, surrounded by barrels and in lonely contemplation, that the storekeeper claimed the only sighting of a ghostly apparition seen in the theatre: a Georgian lady in all her finery moving effortlessly across the Upper Circle. Given the circumstances, its provenance is, perhaps, a trifle suspect.

From 1903, the Bury Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society had performed at the Theatre Royal, but when it closed they found refuge in the newly built Playhouse Cinema (now Argos). Years later, during the 1950s and 1960s, with the advent of television, the Playhouse itself was forced to close, and the Operatic Society again found itself homeless, until it was remembered that there was a perfectly good theatre nestling under a pile of Greene King barrels. Fortunately, the Brewery were supportive, a fundraising committee soon raised over £40,000, and the theatre opened again in 1965. The configuration was different; there was a central aisle, for instance, but it was up and running. In 1975, Greene King leased it to the National Trust, who in turn leased it to a management company, both for peppercorn rents.

Over the years, the format of the original Regency theatre has changed to meet the needs of the times but in 2005, under the artistic direction of Colin Blumenau, the theatre closed for two years to undergo a major restoration of its original form: a late Georgian playhouse and, moreover, the only surviving Regency theatre still in existence. Not only that, but it is the oldest working theatre in the country after Bristol and Richmond, Yorkshire and, importantly, one of only eight Grade One listed theatres in the country. Most of our early theatres have been destroyed or burnt down. The current Drury Lane theatre is the fourth on the site, for example.

 

The current theatre reopened in September 2007 with a lively production of “Black Eyed Susan” by Douglas Jerrold, a leading Georgian playwright. Its new format mirrors, as closely as possible, its original style. However, the stage is now flexible and allows use of a forestage, an apron stage and more conventional performance behind the proscenium arch. It is also possible to create a theatre in the round, with actors performing over the Pit and the audience completing the “fourth wall” on the stage. A magnificent new bar area (“The Greene Room”) was also created alongside one of the original side walls.

Today, the theatre offers a richly varied programme of professional and amateur work. There is a strong youth theatre and an established Children’s Festival in the Summer. It is very much part of the local community and does valuable work with, amongst others, the Women’s Refuge, the Drop in Centre and Focus 12. It offers lunchtime concerts, literary talks and can even be used as a wedding venue. It has good wheelchair access, a loop system and can provide captioned performances, audio description and touch tours for the blind and visually impaired, sign language and relaxed performances. Its heritage is preserved through rehearsed readings of Georgian plays, full tours of the theatre, local history talks and considerable research. It is much loved by actors and audiences alike, and wonderfully supported by its many friends. Next year it celebrates its 200th birthday. William Wilkins must be proudly at rest.

Rory O’Brien

Rory O’Brien is a retired schoolmaster and has, for a number of years, been a Duty Manager at The Theatre Royal. I am grateful to Rory for writing the above article and for having proof read the Magazine for the eleven years I have been Editor. He, like me, feels it is now time to retire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2023 - Read about the wonderful new gallery being built in Sudbury for Gainsborough's masterpieces; follow the trail of a tireless local environmental campaigner; get ready for the second EA cultural festival, the Bures music festival and Opera at Layer Marney; discover the beautiful garden of Holm House with its wildflower meadow and lake; travel through the Colne valley along the Gainsborough line; find out where you can get local financial advice; enjoy an illustrated walk in the Stour Valley; and read our Chairman's update on proposed housing developments, solar farms, and the National Grid's Bramford to Twinstead electricity grid reinforcement project. 

2022 - Read about the wonderful new gallery being built in Sudbury for Gainsborough's masterpieces; follow the trail of a tireless local environmental campaigner; get ready for the second EA cultural festival, the Bures music festival and Opera at Layer Marney; discover the beautiful garden of Holm House with its wildflower meadow and lake; travel through the Colne valley along the Gainsborough line; find out where you can get local financial advice; enjoy an illustrated walk in the Stour Valley; and read our Chairman's update on proposed housing developments, solar farms, and the National Grid's Bramford to Twinstead electricity grid reinforcement project. 

2022 Magazine
Year: 2022
Chairman’s Letter
Year: 2022
Rebel with a cause
Year: 2022
A National Centre for Thomas Gainsborough’s Masterpieces
Year: 2022
EA Festival at Hedingham Castle
Category: Culture
Year: 2022
The Gainsborough Line
Category: Adventure. Travel, Explore Colne Stour
Year: 2022
Music, Mischief and Mayhem – Opera at Layer Marney
Year: 2022
Bures Music Festival
Year: 2022
Holm House Gardens in Suffolk
Year: 2022

2020 - Welcome to our 2020 lockdown edition - only published ONLINE. Read about the wonderful Alfred Munnings Exhibition "Behind the Lines"; find out how the beavers have been getting on at the Spains Hall Estate in Finchingfield, introduced back into Essex after an absence of 400 years; explore the link between Ferriers in Bures and the Voyage of the Mayflower, the Salem Witch trials and Wampum belts; read a fascinating interview with Carl Shillingford, talented Michelin chef and keen local forager; and enjoy a celebratory update from Ken Forrester on South African wines and his support for a wonderful local school.  

2020 Magazine
Year: 2020
Chairman’s Letter
Year: 2020
Behind the Lines: Alfred Munnings, War Artist
Category: Art, Culture
Year: 2020
The Foragers Retreat – Michelin chef in Pebmarsh.
Category: Food, Nature
Year: 2020
Dam Good Job – Beavers back in Essex after 400 years.
Category: Explore Colne Stour, Nature
Year: 2020
Ferriers – a Bures house and its connection to the Mayflower.
Category: Adventure. Travel, Architectural Interest, Culture, History
Year: 2020
Three special milestones for Ken Forrester Wines  
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2020

2019 - Read about Tudor living on a grand scale at Alston Court, how Samuel Courtauld & Co. shaped our towns and villages, hear inspiring stories of local vineyards Tuffon Hall and West Street, get an update on the Dedham Vale AONB extension, and take a tour round Polstead Mill, one of East Anglia's beautiful secret gardens. 

Chairman’s Letter
Year: 2019
Dedham Vale AONB extension
Year: 2019
The Tuffon Hall Transformation
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2019
A Hong Kong racehorse in an Essex field
Category: Nature
Year: 2019
Andy Gentle – A chainsaw love affair
Category: Business
Year: 2019
A vivid insight into Tudor living on the grand scale.
Category: Architectural Interest, History
Year: 2019
Underground Moats & Zinc Cathedrals
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2019
Secret Gardens of East Anglia – Polstead Mill
Category: Gardens
Year: 2019
Repairing the damage of a supermarket delivery van
Year: 2019
How Samuel Courtauld and Co. shaped our towns and villages
Category: Architectural Interest, Culture, History
Year: 2019
Ken Forrester
Year: 2019
CSCA Photography Competition
Year: 2019
Garden Visits
Category: Gardens
Year: 2019
Treasurer’s Report
Year: 2019

2018 - Read about Hedingham Castle, a new National Centre for Gainsborough in Sudbury, award-winning new Gins from Adnams, aspects of our Industrial Heritage, the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds, the Dedham Vale AONB and Stour Valley Project, and take a look at the proposed new Constitution for CSCA.. 

Chairmans Letter April 2018
Category: Annual, News, Planning Issues
Year: 2018
History of the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds
Category: Architectural Interest, Art, Culture, History
Year: 2018
Another Suffolk Success Story – Time for a G & T?
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2018
Some more aspects of our Industrial Heritage
Category: Agricultural, Brewing, distilling and wine, History
Year: 2018
An Earl’s Tower
Category: Architectural Interest, History
Year: 2018
A Castle Reborn
Category: Architectural Interest, History
Year: 2018
Dedham Vale AONB and Stour Valley Project
Category: Explore Colne Stour, Nature, Planning Issues
Year: 2018
A National Centre for Gainsborough set within the town where he was born and the landscape that inspired him
Category: Architectural Interest, Art, History
Year: 2018
Garden Visits
Category: Gardens, History
Year: 2018
Treasurer’s Report
Category: Treasurer’s Report
Year: 2018
New Constitution
Year: 2018
Editor’s Notes
Category: Editors notes
Year: 2018

2017 - Read about our local industrial heritage, Paycocke's House history, why heritage matters, the art of Alfred Munnings, a haunted house in Lamarsh, celebrating Gainsborough, the beauty of recreating Cedric Morris's Iris collection and a small wine snippet from Ken Forrester. 

Chairmans Letter April 2017
Category: Annual, News, Planning Issues
Year: 2017
Heritage Matters
Category: Architectural Interest, History
Year: 2017
Some aspects of our Industrial Heritage
Category: History
Year: 2017
Paycocke’s House: a witness to history
Category: Explore Colne Stour, History
Year: 2017
The House of his Dreams: Reimagining The Munnings Art Museum
Category: Art, Explore Colne Stour, History
Year: 2017
‘The Haunted House’ of Lamarsh – Some Early Reflections
Category: History
Year: 2017
Gainsborough’s House: Celebrating the Past and Looking to the Future
Category: Art, Explore Colne Stour, History
Year: 2017
Another, highly unusual, Suffolk Success Story
Category: Gardens, Nature
Year: 2017
Garden Visits 2017
Category: Gardens, Nature
Year: 2017
Dirty Little Secret
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2017
Website
Category: News
Year: 2017
Editor’s Notes
Category: Editors notes
Year: 2017
Treasurer’s Report
Category: Treasurer’s Report
Year: 2017

2016 - Interesting articles on medieval graffiti, farming in the Stour Valley, exploring our AONB, early settlers from the Stour Valley to America, the archaeology of a local farm, a wonderful catalogue of British birds, celebrating a Suffolk joinery business, the weather from a South African winery. 

Chairmans Letter
Category: Annual
Year: 2016
Medieval Graffiti: the hidden histories…
Category: History
Year: 2016
Stour Valley Farming
Category: Business
Year: 2016
The Godly Kingdom of the Stour Valley
Category: History
Year: 2016
Keeping It Special in the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Stour Valley Project
Category: Nature
Year: 2016
Lodge Farm, Rectory Road, Wyverstone Street, Suffolk
Category: Architectural Interest, History
Year: 2016
A Miscellany of Information about British Birds
Category: Nature
Year: 2016
Another Suffolk Success Story
Category: Business
Year: 2016
Garden Visits
Category: Gardens
Year: 2016
Harvest, Fires and Fynbos
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2016
LOOKING FORWARDS, BEFORE I GET LEFT BEHIND….
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2016
EDITOR’S NOTES
Category: Editors notes
Year: 2016
Annual General Meeting and Summer Party
Category: A.G.M.
Year: 2016
TREASURER’S REPORT
Category: Treasurer’s Report
Year: 2016

2015 - The life and times of a flint knapper. A continuation about the history of the ancient farm at Henny and a visit to the inside of Alston Court, Nayland as well as an insight into The Antiques Roadshow.  

Chairman’s Letter – February 2015
Category: Annual
Year: 2015
Caught Knapping
Category: History
Year: 2015
ALSTON COURT
Category: Architectural Interest, History
Year: 2015
ORGANIC MUTTERINGS
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2015
THE STORY OF SPARROW’S FARM, GREAT HENNY – PART 2
Category: History
Year: 2015
ON AND OFF THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW
Category: Business
Year: 2015
UNLOCKING THE ARTIST WITHIN: FINE ART LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
Category: Art, Explore Colne Stour
Year: 2015
BADGERS – LOVE’EM, OR HATE’EM?
Category: Nature
Year: 2015
GARDEN VISITS
Category: Gardens
Year: 2015
FORRESTER VINEYARDS, SOUTH AFRICA
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2015
EDITOR’S NOTES
Category: Editors notes
Year: 2015
TREASURER’S REPORT
Category: Treasurer’s Report
Year: 2015

2014 - A hair-raising flight from UK to South Africa and an insight into the Wineries of Stellenbosch. An exceptional old mill just outside Bures and a most unusual chapel on the hill behind, as well as a time warp farm at Henny. 

Chairman’s Letter – February 2014
Category: Annual
Year: 2014
ST. STEPHEN’S CHAPEL, BURES
Category: History
Year: 2014
THE STELLENBOSCH WINE ROUTE – THE PEOPLE AND THE DOGS!
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2014
THE UPS AND DOWNS OF A FLIGHT TO STELLENBOSCH AND BACK
Category: Adventure. Travel
Year: 2014
A SUFFOLK SUCCESS STORY – JIM LAWRENCE LTD
Category: Business
Year: 2014
HOLD FARM, BURES ST MARY; A RARE TUDOR WATERMILL
Category: Architectural Interest
Year: 2014
THE STORY OF SPARROW’S FARM, GREAT HENNY
Category: History
Year: 2014
YOUR COUNTRYSIDE – FIGHT FOR IT NOW! your Britain fight for it now
Category: Planning Issues
Year: 2014
TUNBRIDGEWARE
Category: History
Year: 2014
EXTENDING THE DEDHAM VALE AREA OF OUTSTANDING NATURAL BEAUTY (AONB) – UPDATE
Category: News, Planning Issues
Year: 2014
GARDEN VISITS
Category: Annual, Gardens
Year: 2014
EDITOR’S NOTES
Category: Editors notes
Year: 2014
TREASURER’S REPORT
Category: Treasurer’s Report
Year: 2014

2013 - Watermills on the Stour. How Constable and Gainsborough would have seen many of the buildings in our area. Let’s protect the Stour Valley by extending the AONB from where we take over from The Dedham Vale at Wormingford towards Sudbury. 

Chairman’s Letter – February 2013
Category: Annual
Year: 2013
THE WATERMILLS OF THE RIVER STOUR
Category: Architectural Interest, History
Year: 2013
MANAGING A MASTERPIECE: THE STOUR VALLEY LANDSCAPE PARTNERSHIP
Category: Art, History
Year: 2013
EXTENDING THE DEDHAM VALE AREA OF OUTSTANDING NATURAL BEAUTY (AONB)
Category: Planning Issues
Year: 2013
BUILDINGS IN THE EAST ANGLIAN LANDSCAPE – AS SEEN BY JOHN CONSTABLE
Category: Art, History
Year: 2013
THE ROUND CHURCH AT MAPLESTEAD
Category: Architectural Interest, History
Year: 2013
THE FINE WINES OF ENGLAND
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2013
PROGRESS AGAINST PYLONS: A ROUNDUP OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PYLONS SAGA
Category: Planning Issues
Year: 2013
TEA AND THE TEA CADDY A BRIEF STUDY OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF TEA AND ITS CONTAINERS
Category: History
Year: 2013
GARDEN VISITS
Category: Annual, Gardens
Year: 2013
EDITOR’S NOTES
Category: Editors notes
Year: 2013
TREASURER’S REPORT
Category: Treasurer’s Report
Year: 2013

2012 - A walk through many of the churches along the River Stour and how the Romans once lived right here in our midst, and how your pint is brewed. Also the ongoing fight to rid the Stour of the blight of Pylons. 

CHAIRMAN’S LETTER – FEBRUARY 2012
Category: Annual
Year: 2012
TREES R US – AN AMATEUR ARBORETUM
Category: Nature
Year: 2012
GLIMPSES INTO SOME STOUR VALLEY CHURCHES
Category: Explore Colne Stour, History
Year: 2012
THE ART OF BREWING
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2012
PLANNING REFORM
Category: Planning Issues
Year: 2012
‘ELF ‘N SAFETY . . . AND ALL THAT
Category: Explore Colne Stour
Year: 2012
BRINGING OUR PAST TO LIFE: GESTINGTHORPE ROMAN VILLA
Category: History
Year: 2012
MINIATURE OR APPRENTICE PIECE?
Category: History
Year: 2012
GAINSBOROUGH’S VIEW
Category: Art, Explore Colne Stour
Year: 2012
NEW STOUR VALLEY ENVIRONMENT FUND
Category: News
Year: 2012
TREASURER’S REPORT
Category: Treasurer’s Report
Year: 2012
EDITOR’S NOTES
Category: Editors notes
Year: 2012
THE COLNE STOUR COUNTRYSIDE ASSOCIATION. MINUTES OF THE 46TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD AT FERRIERS BARN, BURES ON THURSDAY 12TH MAY 2011
Category: A.G.M.
Year: 2012

2011 - The brewers of East Anglia. The gardens of Marks Hall as well as the paintings of Alfred Munnings on display in Sudbury. How a small church became the Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds and all you need to know about antique birdcages. 

CHAIRMAN’S LETTER – APRIL 2011
Category: Annual
Year: 2011
Pylons
Category: Planning Issues
Year: 2011
THE PAINTED CHURCH BECOMES BURY’S CATHEDRAL
Category: History
Year: 2011
MARKS HALL AND THE PHILLIPS PRICE TRUST
Category: History
Year: 2011
BREWING IN EAST ANGLIA
Category: Brewing, distilling and wine
Year: 2011
BURES MILL OVER NINE CENTURIES
Category: Architectural Interest, History
Year: 2011
LANDSCAPES BY MUNNINGS EXHIBITION AT GAINSBOROUGH’S HOUSE
Category: Art
Year: 2011
BIRD-CAGES – A FASCINATION
Category: History
Year: 2011
DAWS HALL EVENTS 2011
Category: Annual
Year: 2011
EDITOR’S NOTES
Category: Editors notes
Year: 2011
GARDEN VISITS
Category: Annual, Gardens
Year: 2011
TREASURERS REPORT
Category: Treasurer’s Report
Year: 2011
THE COLNE STOUR COUNTRYSIDE ASSOCIATION. MINUTES OF THE 45TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD AT FERRIERS BARN, BURES ON THURSDAY 6TH MAY 2010
Category: A.G.M.
Year: 2011
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2010
Category: A.G.M.
Year: 2011

2010 - An artist who enjoyed his port and a canoe adventure along the Stour. Sudbury’s history and Coggeshall Abbey and a fight to get rid of Pylons from the Stour Valley. 

Chairmans Letter
Category: Annual
Year: 2010
A Pint of Port to Paint a Picture
Category: Art, History
Year: 2010
A Walk Round Coggeshall Abbey
Category: Explore Colne Stour
Year: 2010
By Canoe to Cattawade
Category: Adventure. Travel, Explore Colne Stour
Year: 2010
Nocturnal Visitors
Category: Nature
Year: 2010
Sudbury New Town – c.1330
Category: History
Year: 2010
A Stay in a Nomad’s Tent
Category: Business
Year: 2010
Freeing our countryside of the blight of pylons
Category: Planning Issues
Year: 2010
Hobbies on the Stour
Category: Nature
Year: 2010
Editor’s Notes
Category: Editors notes
Year: 2010
Website
Category: News
Year: 2010
Annual General Meeting 2009
Category: Annual
Year: 2010

2009 - Norwich School art and the Maplesteads. Ancient wallpapers, and is Long Melford the epitome of a Suffolk village? and don’t throw away a rug before checking what it is. 

Chairmans Letter
Category: Annual
Year: 2009
By Hook or by Crook
Category: Art, History
Year: 2009
Unwanted Wildlife – Some Handy Hints
Category: Gardens
Year: 2009
East Ruston Old Vicarage
Category: Gardens
Year: 2009
Squash a Squirrel – Save a Tree
Category: Nature
Year: 2009
Historic Wallpapers and Cole & Son
Category: Business
Year: 2009
Long Melford – ‘Suffolk in a day’
Category: Architectural Interest, Explore Colne Stour, History
Year: 2009
Don’t throw away a fortune!
Category: Business
Year: 2009
Garden Visits. Away Days
Category: Gardens
Year: 2009
Website
Category: Annual
Year: 2009
Editors Notes
Category: Editors notes
Year: 2009
Annual General Meeting 2008
Category: Annual
Year: 2009

2008 - The bell founders of Sudbury and all about a rogue from our area, Sir John Hawkwood, and a Sudbury secret – Gainsborough’s House. 

Member’s Letter
Category: Annual
Year: 2008
Cycling in Suffolk – An Environmental Holiday
Category: Explore Colne Stour
Year: 2008
The Sudbury Bell Founders
Category: History
Year: 2008
The CSCA Website
Category: News
Year: 2008
From Sible Hedingham to Florence. The Remarkable Life of Sir John Hawkwood
Category: History
Year: 2008
‘One of Suffolk’s Best Kept Secrets’- Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury
Category: Art, Explore Colne Stour
Year: 2008
Discovering Historic Wallpaper in East Anglian Houses
Category: History
Year: 2008
The not so humble Mole (Talpa Europaea) and how to catch him
Category: Nature
Year: 2008
Annual Report 2007.
Category: Annual
Year: 2008

2007 - Why a bell had to be chipped to get into the belfry at Lamarsh. Watermills on the Colne and Dragonflies. 

Water Mills on the Upper Colne
Category: Architectural Interest, History
Year: 2007
Dragonflies on the Stour
Category: Nature
Year: 2007
Lamarsh Bell Restoration
Category: Architectural Interest
Year: 2007
The CSCA Website
Category: News
Year: 2007
What is wrong with our Horse Chestnuts?
Category: Nature
Year: 2007

 

 

Join Colne-Stour now

WEBSITE EDITOR

Emma Stewart-Smith

MAGAZINE EDITOR

Christy Simson

CHAIRMAN

Alexander Robson

HON TREASURER

Michael Goodbody

© Colnestour 2023