Haverhill UK Town Trail

18 ECHOES

Location: Haverhill, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom

Paul Bond

A free GPS sensitive, audio guide to some of the historical sites in Haverhill. Generally aimed at children aged 9-12 but hopefully with some interest for older and younger residents.

Produced by the Haverhill and District Local History Group. this version contains 18 points of interest and includes the High Street and beyond; from the Gasworks in Withersfield Road to Anne of Cleaves house. Camps Road and Burton End as far as the waterworks and three stops along the railway walk at either end of Tesco's and one just over the footbridge towards Sainsburys.

All feedback please to haverhillhistuk@gmail.com

Written by Paul Bond and narrated by Nicola Gambin

Version 1 - May 2020

The Importance of Water

Every new settlement requires access to water so you may think that Haverhill started out at the bottom of the valley - Unfortunately the Stour Brook is unreliable and is often dry in summer. Up here there were springs and this is where the earliest signs of habitation are found.

1 sound

Weavers Cottages

These distinctive cottages were built for weaving on hand looms at home (at one point Haverhill had over 400 home based weavers). The loom was on the first floor with an extra large window to let in natural light.

1 sound

Site of St Botolphs Church

Or actually the site of the first St Mary's, St Botolphs seems to have been a historical misunderstanding!

1 sound

The Gas Works

Many people don't realise that gas was originally made locally by heating coal. Haverhill gasworks opened in 1854 and originally supplied gas for lighting only. The gas works managers house is now incorporated in the site wall.

1 sound

The Old Plough

This former pub was built around 1830 and was then the first building in town - everything in the Cambridge direction was just open fields and would remain so for a further 15 years.

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The Old Livestock Market

The livestock market was a real focal point for the local farming community located just behind the new Corn Exchange.

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The Rose and Crown Hotel

Probably a Tudor building - seen here in the oldest photo we have without the two extensions on the right hand side

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Western End of Queen Street

The building now occupied by the Cash & Cheque Express and the RSPCA shop was once the post office and a chemists - the passage way between once led to the infirmary.

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Haverhill's second swimming pool - and sheep

An outdoor swimming pool was located where the police station now stands. The car park opposite was a field right up to the 1920's we have a photo of the Co-Op sheep grazing there.

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Haverhill Railway Station

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New St Mary's Church

This is actually the second St Mary's Church, the earlier one was at Burton End but has subsequently become mistakenly known as St Botolphs

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Gurteen's Mill

Gurteen's mill effectively saved the town when competition from new automated mills in northern England crashed the value of cloth leaving 400 families of hand weavers destitute. the picture shows Caroline the mills steam engine. To fit in the space the flywheel is the other side of the adjacent wall - unusually this engine was never compounded.

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Chauntry House

The only recognizable grand house left in the High Street. Once home to the Gurteen family it eventually became hoe to the Playhouse cinema and the garden was taken over by a large Ford garage (Cleales) before it too was demolished to make way for the shops you see today starting at Specsavers.

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Griffith Jones

The High Street is very different from the High Street of 20 years ago and dramatically different to how it was 100 years ago - apart from this one shop, the only shop continuously occupied in the same trade from over 110 years ago.

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The Arts Centre - Town Hall

One of the many bequests from the Gurteen family it still houses the town council. Its main stage supports live music, theater and cinema. It also houses the History Group and a coffee shop.

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The Goods Yard

You are standing in the goods yard of Haverhill Station. The goods shed, seen above was the last part of the station complex to disappear as it became part of a council depot.

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Anne of Cleaves House

You may struggle to recognise it in the photo above; for many decades its simple Tudor exterior was hidden by this new castellated facade and was used as the town vicarage.

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The 1919 Fatal Railway Accident

The photo shows a J15 0-6-0 locomotive running backwards with a load of trucks. In the accident the train consisted of five six wheeled coaches pulled by an identical locomotive. Note the sheet rigged between the cab and tender in this photo.

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