My Great Great Grandfather

[RobB]

I've recently done an article for the Bures parish website. Bures Hamlet and Bures St Mary villages are on the Essex & Suffolk border and are seperated by the River Stour.

The article is about my gt gt grandfather,George 'Quark' Baker, who spent over 40 years living in a hut outide Bures Hamlet

The article isn't particularly well written and has been pieced together from various notes.Its also been hacked about a lot as various new info has come to light.

The article is half way down the page and can be read here:

http://www.bures-online.co.uk/FAD/crofters/crofters.htm

[sound world]

Well well well.I know we're both Essex boys,but MY grandparents lived in Wakes Colne,about 5 miles? from Bures,for most of the 60s and 70s.I remember lots of trips in my Grandad's car (he was a pioneer motorist) to Sudbury via Bures,and visiting the PO? in Bures,I vaguely remember.Somewhere along the way from Bures to Wakes Colne is a humpback bridge which he always used to speed over to give us kids a thrill.We also used to try and be the first to spot the (impressive) viaduct at Wakes Colne from whichever direction we were coming from.
Also I spent a lot of my formative years messing about on the Stour.
I don't recall a hut outside Bures-maybe it was knocked down by the time my grandparents were there,-but my Mum might...

[RobB]

Somewhere along the way from Bures to Wakes Colne is a humpback bridge which he always used to speed over to give us kids a thrill.

I remember that bridge very well.I'm sure it must be between Wakes Colne and Mount Bures.......I remember on one occasion being a passenger with a colleague during my meter readings days and he deliberately accelerated across it and I'm pretty sure all four wheels of our van left the tarmac.

Dave,do you remember your grandparents address? I probably visited the property many times during the late eighties and throughout the nineties as Wakes Colne was one of my regular rounds.

We also used to try and be the first to spot the (impressive) viaduct at Wakes Colne from whichever direction we were coming from.

Yeah,thats the Chappell viaduct which my brother use to drive his train across. And my grandfather was foreman of the local builders who had the job of pointing the viaduct back in the 1930's.

I don't recall a hut outside Bures-maybe it was knocked down by the time my grandparents were there,-but my Mum might...

I'll have to re-read the article but it should say that the crofters caravan hut ( a shed on wheels apparentely) was towed away not too long after old George died in 1944.

[sound world]

Yep,it was 'Sandown',Station Road,Wakes Colne-facing the viaduct and the station side-on-there were about three more bungalows up the hill.There was a drive up to the bungalow that I used to think was incredibly steep and long (I never thought my Grandad would get his ancient Austin Somerset up it to the garage)-until I passed through again a few years back .The garden by the drive had three tiers of lawn which we used to jump down like huge steps.Now it looks really tiny .

[RobB]

I can't quite picture 'sandown' itself but I remember the bungalows as a whole.
Yeah,distances that seemed huge forty years ago never seem quite so bad now.