The fields at Belfairs Farm in Leigh, Essex were created by clearing woodland owned by Lady Olivia Bernard SPARROW between 1804-1842 and there is evidence to suggest there had been a farm there to manage the woods since the 13th century.

UPDATED! Second edition (2025), with new information, people and pictures!

This 44 page A5 booklet contains fascinating information on each of the owners and occupiers of the farm during the 1800s, as well as that of Belfairs Lodge and Furzefield House, up to its subsequent sale and development into Belfairs Golf Course in the 1920s. It also includes contents and index pages plus several illustrations, photographs, maps and newspaper articles.

A mixture of history and genealogy, this booklet is a must for anyone with a connection to the Belfairs area in Leigh (or Eastwood onto which it abuts), or simply enjoys a putt or two!

Railway Hotel is situated at the end of Clifftown Road, in the Cliff Town conservation area of Southend-On-Sea, Essex. The building and business date from c.1868, and traded almost continually up to its current closure in Apr 2021.

The pub was originally called the Railway Tavern and addressed "Nelson Street" onto which it also abuts. Nelson Street was built in between 1859-1861 and was designed as the first shopping area for Southend before the High Street was developed. It would have been a busy area with the newly opened railway station across the road, and the perfect place to build a hotel and public house.

This A5 booklet contains 32 pages of fascinating information on each of the owners, landlords and landladies of the pub, with contents and index pages, and several illustrations, photographs, maps and newspaper articles.

A mixture of history and genealogy, this booklet is a must for anyone with a connection to the Railway Hotel and Southend, or who simply enjoys a tipple!

The Hoy & Helmet, formally Hoy Inn, is a Grade II listed building situated on the High Street as it curves down towards South Benfleet train station in Essex. It is made up of several buildings; the middle section is thought to date back to the 15th century (once a house), and the right section nearer the church was added in the 18th century.

The Hoy & Helmet retains much of its old-world charm to this day, with its higgledy-piggledy layout of rooms the setting of many a tale over the last five hundred years, two hundred of which are detailed within these pages (including smuggling, assault, death by gin and suicide).

This A5 booklet contains 44 pages of fascinating information on each of the owners, landlords and landladies of the pub, together with occupants of the now-demolished Hoy Yard Cottage which was once situated on the land behind. This booklet also includes contents and index pages plus several illustrations, photographs, maps, and newspaper articles.

A mixture of history and genealogy, this booklet is a must for anyone with a connection to South Benfleet or who simply enjoy a tipple in the Hoy!

Bramble Hall once stood in the uppermost north-east of the parish of Hadleigh, with its farmland extending just over the border to the west into Thundersely, next to Daws Heath village. Its land was surrounded to the east and south by Hadleigh Great Wood, just north stood Garrolds Farm at the very top of the parish, and the farmland to the west abutted Haresland Farm.

Rumours have abounded for many years as to the age, origin and status of Bramble Hall, with many believing it to date back to the early 15th century and part of the ancient Manor of Hadleigh with its many royal connections. How do these stories hold up under further scrutiny and who were its owners and occupants?

This A5 booklet contains 36 pages of fascinating information on each of the owners and occupiers of the farmland and house from the 17th-century onwards, plus a detailed look at the myths and rumours surrounding its origins. It also includes contents and index pages and several illustrations, photographs, maps and newspaper articles. A mixture of history and genealogy, this booklet is a must for anyone with a connection to Daws Heath and Hadleigh, or who simply enjoy a lovely walk through the woods!

During the summer of 2021, Gorgon Stone Conservation was employed to perform what they thought to be a simple paint stripping job on a Georgian building in the centre of Frome town in Somerset, only to discover three different layers of old signage underneath. The company carefully removed the paint to reveal a wonderful glimpse of some of the former lives of this unusual curved property, situated at 1 Market Place (formerly known as 25 Bath Street up until its renovation).

This 40-page A5 booklet is packed with fascinating information on each of the businesses and people who lived and worked in this corner of Market Place from the 1700s to modern day. Beginning with the well-known local COCKEY family at 24 Bath Street and extending into 1, 2 and 3 Market Place it covers nearly 300 years of history, complete with contents and index pages, illustrations, photographs, maps and newspaper articles.

This history and genealogy booklet is a must for anyone with a connection to Frome.

The origins of the row of cockle sheds situated along the creek in the old town of Leigh-On-Sea, Essex can be traced back to a time when they were little more than wooden shacks sitting in front of an ever-growing mountain of discarded shells.

No. 1 Cockle Shed Row was run by Richard HARVEY from c.1892. Richard was from a local Leigh fishing family and was amongst the first to start selling directly from the sheds.

This A5 booklet contains 24 pages of fascinating information on the Leigh cockle industry during the 19th century, the origins of no.1 Cockle Shed Row and the lives of the Harvey family who ran it for several decades. It also includes several illustrations, photographs, maps and newspaper reports.

A mixture of history and genealogy, this booklet is a must for anyone with a connection to Old Leigh or who simply enjoys nibbling cockles by the creek!