PICKOF
THEPASTServants tried to
put out house fireAT about 11 o8217clock one Monday
morning a century ago, the occupants
ofPresdales, a Bishop8217s Stortford
residence, discovered an outbreak of
fire in a chimney at the north end of
the building. The blaze was caused by
the overheating ofan old flue.
Residents and domestic servants
attempted to douse the flames, and
Ware fire brigade were called to the
scene. They managed to obtain a
supply ofwater from a nearby
ornamental lake, and the fire was
extinguished after an hour.
The efforts ofthe fire crew prevented
the house from being completely
destroyed, but the bathroom and the
morning room ofthe property were
very badly damaged.Game pair fined
for trespassing8216Ghost8217 spotted in
town churchyardTWO Hertford men were summoned
before Dunmow court after being
caught trespassing on land owned by
the chairman ofthe bench, who lived
in Stebbing Park.
Both were charged with trespassing in
search ofgame and killing game
without a licence, but only one ofthe
pair pleaded guilty.
However, both men were fined a total of
1635 and ordered to pay costs of1633 8s.
The chairman did not sit in on the
proceedings.100 years ago50 years agoKEN Mangan, ofBishop8217s Stortford,
was taking a short cut through St
Michael8217s Church graveyard from
Windhill to his home in Apton Road at
10.30pm when he noticed a mysterious
black figure trudging among the
gravestones.
Mr Mangan said: 8220I glanced at it but I
couldn8217t make out its features. It
seemed quite a lot larger than a normal
human.
8220I hadn8217t believed in ghosts before now,
and I was quite sober.8221
Boar8217s Head landlord John Clifford said
there had been several reports of
people seeing and 8220sensing8221 the town8217s
infamous 8220Grey Lady8221 apparition, and
that the previous tenants ofhis
building had ordered three exorcisms
to be carried out.25 years agoOBSERVER, March 14, 1980OBSERVER, March 14, 1958OBSERVER, March 17, 1983If you have any memories of the region or recall any of
the stories in Pick of the Past, please write and let us
know -- we would be delighted to receive your letters and
photographs. Send them to: Nostalgia, Herts & Essex
Observer, 12 North Street, Bishop8217s Stortford
,
Herts CM23
2LQ or email to observer@hertsessexnews.co.ukwww.hertsandessexobserver.co.uk
Observer March 13, 2008 19ATREASURE from the
past found tucked inside
the pages ofa book has
prompted a search for
its owner.Elizabeth Eldred, 56, ofChurch Lane,
Thorley, has called on
Observer
readers to help her trace the owner of
an old photograph found
inside the front cover of
a second-hand book she
bought from the Isabel
Hospice charity shop in
Bridge Street, Bishop8217s
Stortford.
The picture is ofa
serene-looking and well-
dressed woman,
probably taken during
the early part ofthe last
century. There is no
name or markings on
the photo to give any
clues about who the woman is or
where she lived.
The Little Black Cat Book
had been
donated to the shop and was on sale
on February 28 for 75p.
Mrs Eldred loves cats 8211 she has one
herselfcalled William Wallace 8211 and
took a liking to the book.
8220I picked it up and flicked through the
pages in the shop and thought that I
would buy it, but it wasn8217t until the
evening when I sat down that I
opened the front cover and there was
the picture,8221 she said.
8220Being an old photograph, it
intrigued me. It would be nice to find
out who it belongs to and to
reunite them with it.
8220The woman was all
dressed up for the portrait.
Because people didn8217t have
cameras around it was a
special occasion when you
had your picture taken.8221
Pondering on how the black
and white studio
photograph with a gold
cardboard frame came to be
in the book, she said:
8220Perhaps ifsomeone had
died and the photograph
was tucked in the book, then no-one
knew about it.
8220I took it back to the shop and we
thought the newspaper would be the
best place to find the people who
donated the book.8221
Mrs Eldred has lived in Thorley all
her life. She helped do some ofthe
research a few years ago for
The Book
ofThorley, a project backed by
Thorley Parish Council.By
Elizabeth Reevereevee@hertsessexnews.co.uk PAGE TURNER: The
picture of the woman
found inside the
Little Black Cat
Book,
leftNOSTALGIAWho8217s the
woman in
the book?M
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