Blog

The Great Fire of Colebrooke

The Great Fire of Colebrooke At the western side of the churchyard, by the road leading up to the village hall, three rows of graves cover the area once occupied by a row of thatch cottages. On the afternoon of 24th August 1893, these cottages, including the grocer’s shop, were destroyed in one of the most massive conflagrations in Colebrooke. The alarm was raised by the schoolmaster Mr John Sharland who from his house beside the school (Chenery House), smoke rose at the back of one of the cottages occupied by retired farmer Mr John Cooper. Read more...

Colebrooke Bellringers Bell Ringing Marathon

On 9th March 1991 at 5.00 pm six bellringers and two peal callers gathered at St. Andrews Church Colebrooke to ring a peal of call changes on Colebrooke’s enormous and tricky 18cwt peal of bells that consisted of 1507 call changes where different pairs of bells exchange places in a sequence of six. The occasion was to raise money for the refurbishment of Colebrooke’s bells. Much needed refreshments were laid on by volunteers at the village hall afterwards. Read more...

Gregorys of Colebrooke

The Gregorys of Colebrooke (and beyond) Brownsland/Broomsland Home of The Gregorys in 1860 Brownsland Colebrooke was formerly a farm of about 70 acres lying below what is now Sheppark Farm. The name Sheppark referred to the field Sheep Park which used to stretch from Brownsland farmhouse down to the railway line with other smaller fields, no longer in existence, surrounding the farmstead. (Early records referred to the farm as Brownsland but from the Colebrooke estate sale of 1919 it became known as Broomsland. Read more...

The Bell Inn Colebrooke

The Bell Inn Colebrooke Readers may be surprised to learn that the dwelling known as The Old Bell Inn was an inn for a relatively short period. The original public house of that name was situated in the NW corner of the churchyard. According to 17th and early 18th-century churchwardens accounts, it was then known as The Church House and appeared to be in constant need of repair. An early 19th century print of the church taken from the NE shows a path running along beside the church’s north wall and passing between the NW corner of the church and the corner of The Bell Inn. Read more...