Hargrave Heritage Project

The origins of the Hargrave Heritage Project go back to 2014 when it became apparent that the East chancel wall of St Edmund's Church was subsiding and cracks were appearing where the wall was slowly parting company with the rest of the building. A watch and wait policy was adopted and over the next six years some of the cracks had reached more than four inches wide. The Parochial Church Council obtained estimates for the work and looked for ways to fund this urgent project. Luckily the Lottery Heritage Fund agreed to finance most of this work and in addition, would fund a community project that would be of benefit to the community as a whole. Hence the Hargrave Heritage Project was born in 2020 by a group of seven residents.

Hargrave Heritage Project was a community project to gather and publish the history of this ancient settlement for current and past residents, students and those fascinated by the story of West Suffolk’s significant contribution to the nation’s past. It was initiated through a partnership of the Parish Council and the Parochial Church Council of St Edmund's Church and was funded by the Lottery Heritage Fund.   The village’s history and that of its residents was unwritten when in 2020 the Project Group of seven residents got together to gather what information they could find during the setting-up phase of 12 months, with a view to publishing for free access through a website and public exhibition. Grant funding for this establishment phase was provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Due to COVID-19, this setup phase was extended a number of times with the project finally being closed down on 30th June 2022.   The initial objective of carrying out the Repairs to St Edmund's Church was completed by December 2020 - to find out more about this:   Read more...   The Hargrave Heritage Project Group worked alongside this and had two objectives.   To setup a website to make the heritage information available with free access for everyone and to install an exhibition of the history and heritage of Hargrave in the North aisle of St Edmund's Church .   The establishment phase only laid the foundation for what is intended to be an ongoing, evolutionary and dynamic project, continuing to gather today’s events for tomorrow’s history and to add to, and amend, the foundation archive. The chosen media of the website and exhibition will accommodate with ease this evolutionary process. Continuing community engagement is key to the ultimate success of this significant investment in the settlement of Hargrave, whether through active membership of the Hargrave Heritage Society or through individual contributions of information, anecdotes, documents or old photos.   The first record of a settlement at Hargrave comes from the reign of Edward the Confessor in the 1040s, nearly 1000 years ago. But archeological finds suggest a much earlier community. A flint axe head found at Southwood Park has been dated to the Neolithic Age, 10,000 - 4500 BC, a period when the first fixed human settlements were being established and agriculture invented. Finds of a Roman coin at Stonehall Farm and Roman pottery at Southwood Park suggest an existing settlement 1700/1800 years ago.   Unlike adjoining villages such as Chevington or Lidgate, Hargrave’s history has not been collected and published in a book. The project group gathered what could be found - not helped by the Covid-19 pandemic restricting access to many sources - and there will be further information to add in the future. Ancient factual history is more difficult to discover and is often the subject of conflicting historians' opinions or speculation.   The website went live on 30th October 2020 and remains an ongoing 'work-in-progress' as more articles are produced and added to the site. By publishing these articles, we have had responses from people all over the world with connections with Hargrave who have sent us things to add or corrections to make. Responses have come from as far away as Australia, New Zealand and the U.S.A. to name but a few.   The Exhibition in St Edmunds Church was completed in May 2022 and was formally opened on 21st May 2022 by Simon Hill, retiring vicar of Suffolk Heights Benefice. This is a permanent exhibition which will be available for anyone to visit anytime.     The project group hope you enjoyed learning about our small village and those who have lived here for over 1000 years.   The members of the Hargrave Heritage Project Group responsible for setting up the exhibition and website are:   Jill de Laat Simon de Laat Peter Reddick Paul Rogers Dave Taylor Jill Upton Chris Hartnell

The work started by the Hargrave Heritage Project Group will be continued by the Hargrave Heritage Society.