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Halstead & District Local History Society

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Halstead & District Local History Society

Halstead & District Local History Society
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Halstead Market Hill
A thriving Christmas market in the 1970s
The town of Halstead is located on the borders of Essex and Suffolk seven miles north of Braintree, eight miles south of Sudbury straddling the river Colne.

Halstead derives its name from the Old English word 'heald' meaning a sloping hillside and 'stede' a place of shelter. Archaeological evidence indicates that Halstead has been occupied since the early Bronze Age. The sites of Iron Age and Roman settlements, including a villa, were discovered in the vicinity of Greenstead Hall, where Saxon pottery was also found.
Latest News
NEW ONLINE SHOP
Visit our new online bookshop, click title for details
Published by - 01 Apr 2025
Halstead Heritage Museum
The Halstead Heritage Museum is now open for the 2025 season.
Click the title for details.
Published by - 06 Feb 2025
The Halstead and District Local History Society was formed on Thursday December 16th 1976 at a meeting held in the Scout Hut, New Street, Halstead. The Society currently has a membership of over 100 and holds meetings on the third Thursday of each month in the Baptist Church, Hedingham Road, Halstead, Essex. Each year we run a varied programme of local history related meetings spanning the dark ages to more recent times including the influence of the industrial revolution on the area.

The society has a comprehensive collection of photographs dating back to the 1800s showing scenes from Halstead and the surrounding district. Come along to the Halstead Heritage Museum if you would like to see more.
Evacuate to Halstead!
During the Second World War many children were evacuated from East London to Halstead. Some of their experiences were captured in the
local newspapers of the time.
Read more on our 'Evacuate to Halstead!' page.  
A Glimpse Back at Halstead
Over a Century of Shopping in Halstead

by Dave Osborne, revised by Andy Harris and Adrian Corder-Birch
Since its publication in 2016 Dave Osborne’s book ‘Shopping in Halstead a Century Ago’ has proven to be one of the society’s most popular books. When our stocks were depleted, the society committee agreed that we should take the opportunity to comprehensively review and revise the content making use of the many new photos and information that has been donated to the society since 2016.

Andy Harris and Adrian Corder-Birch have built on Dave Osborne’s foundation to create an expanded view covering over a century of retail businesses in Halstead illustrated with numerous photographs of many town centre premises.

Priced at: £11.00
 
COPIES OF THIS BOOK ARE AVAILABLE FROM:
Halstead & District Local History Society, The Queens Hall, Chipping Hill, Halstead, Essex, C09 2BY
or
from our new online shop
Published by Halstead and District Local History Society

The Halstead & District Local History Society is open to all. If you’re interested in local history, why not come along to one of our meetings?
Registered Charity No. 289304
This is the website of The Halstead & District Local History Society, Essex. England.
Patron: Adrian Corder-Birch, D.L., F.S.A., President: Malcolm Root, FGRA
© 2009-2025 All Rights Reserved
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