Unveiling of New Village Sign, May 2005

On 21st May, 2005 the final chapter of the long unveiling of Little Bromley's village sign took place at the site of The Old Wheatsheaf Public House in Shop Road. Mr John Appleby, who was asked to perform the unveiling, and a small gathering of residents enjoyed a glass of bubbly in the chilly wind and an unfortunately timed shower which, however did not dampen this special occasion.

Mr Appleby gave a short speech outlining a brief history of Little Bromley and of his time as Headmaster of the Old Village School. The gathering waited with anticipation as to what the sign depicted and all seemed pleased with the end result. The sign is double sided with one side depicting the village church of St Mary and the other is of an excellent set of plough horses, so typical of this area before mechanisation when ploughing competitions were held locally.

The heraldry depicts the family shields of local families long gone. There are three - one represents the county of Essex, one is blue and gold with black diagonal stripes which historically belong to the Marlon family who owned Braham Hall with the third being blue and gold with an eagle in the centre which belonged to the Godmanston family who were the owners of Little Bromley Hall.

The Parish Council and Amenities Committee were fortunate that funding for the sign was already in place. However more was needed to complete the project whereupon they set about organising fundraising events to boost the fund. A vote of thanks must go to the Parish Clerk for his extensive groundwork enabling the project to move forward. The next issue was to find an acceptable site in which the sign could be place. A possible four were discussed but it was felt that the most appropriate was close to one of the oldest remaining buildings in Little Bromley.

Then came the most demanding time for the project - that of obtaining planning consent from the Local Authority and County Highways Departments. Endless correspondence then ensued between the two and the Parish Council over an Act dating back to the 19th century. However this delay never halted the Council and Amenities Committee from their goal. Finally, permission was granted which meant we could now move forward with the sign and to 21st May, 2005 - a day for Little Bromley to remember.

As Chairman I would like to thank the Councillors and Amenities Committee members for their efforts and support on this project as well as a big thank you going to the residents who gave support to the fund raising events with the use of premises, equipment and donations. Also thanks to the residents who supported these events. Thank you to John Appleby for his historic input and unveiling of the sign and last but not least thanks to H & K Mabutt of Danbury for their design and craftsmanship in the making of Little Bromley Village Sign. Thank you all.

Ken Hatch
Chairman, Little Bromley Parish Council

Below are some more pictures of the unveiling taken on the day.