…responsible for designing many of the station buildings on the Great Eastern Railway lines. (William) Neville Ashbee 1853 - 1919 On behalf of the Trimley Station Restoration Project, I would like to introduce you to the man behind the building. The aim of the Project is to regenerate the old Booking office and other rooms … Continue reading William Neville Ashbee, Architect of Trimley Station →

Some first light photographs taken at Trimley Shore. June 21st 2025. Sunrise was 4.43 a.m. The footpath leading towards Trimley Shore. 4.09 a.m. Barely visible, two deer cross the footpath at dawn. The first river traffic... Looking towards Shotley, 4.32 a.m. The sliver of a crescent moon above the lake at Trimley Shore. 4.35 The … Continue reading All Hail The Sun. The longest day, as seen from Trimley Shore. 2025. →

  In 1924 Ernest George Pretyman, owner of the Orwell Park estate in Nacton, donated land for a Memorial Hall to be constructed in Trimley St Martin. The intention was to honour those who died and those who served in the First World War.  It was a comparatively simple wooden construction, which provided another space … Continue reading Let’s hear it for the Women of Trimley. Sixty years of the ‘Wives’ Club. →

Another early start to the day. We walked to Trimley Shore to watch the start of the Barge Race from Butterman's Bay. Warm sun and the peaceful sounds of birds and distant river craft  could be heard before the barges slipped their moorings.Only one other person could be seen on the far end of the … Continue reading Pin Mill Barge Race 29th June 2024 →

Mary Dains (1829 - 1913) “Her sympathies were broadminded to an extent rarely realised” Background details The ‘Representation of the People Act’ was introduced into Parliament on 28th February by the William Gladstone, the Liberal Prime Minister.  Better known colloquially as the “Third Reform Act’, or in local Suffolk circle terminology, the ‘Government County Franchise … Continue reading One evening in the life of Mary Dains →

Photographs taken at Trimley Shore  between 4.20 a.m. BST and 5.00 a.m. BST on the longest day.  

The Post Office and some of the people who  worked and lived there Nothing disturbs the tranquil road outside Trimley Post Office. With its high dormer window, the building sleeps languidly in the light of an early twentieth century afternoon. A  pony and trap stand directly outside in the sunshine, its owner occupied elsewhere, possibly … Continue reading Greetings from Trimley St. Martin: A brief history of the Post Office property in Trimley St. Martin from 1803 →

  Nicki behind the Bar during opening hours   Long view of the Bar of the Hand in Hand One sunshine filled morning in February, I arrived at The Hand in Hand at 11.00 o’ clock, a full hour before opening time. Nicki Jennings, the Landlady, had agreed to talk to me about her work … Continue reading Nicki Jennings – Landlady of The Hand in Hand →

The Hand in Hand, sometime in the nineteen seventies. Courtesy of the late Rosemary Gitsham There are two excellent pubs in the Trimleys. ‘The Mariners’’, located in Trimley St Mary has several historic mentions dating back to at least the end of the seventeenth century, although the building it occupies was only built circa 1780. … Continue reading The Hand in Hand, Trimley St. Martin. The first hundred years …or thereabouts. →

    Joke: How do Pirates know they're Pirates? Answer: They think, therefore they Arrrrrrrr. Steeped in tradition the British Pantomime can take on all comers when it comes to guaranteed laughs. And if you are one who laughs before the joke is told, then the latest SAINTS production will give you a happy and … Continue reading Boo! Hiss! Pirates in Trimley! →

Hydrant at the entrance to Old Kirton Road. The Digested read: A brief account of parish governance in Trimley St Martin. Extracts from the Parish Minutes from 1925 - 1948 are included. Many of the councillors names will be familiar to those with connections to Trimley. When it comes to imagining historic monuments a small … Continue reading Utilities come to Trimley St Martin. Part 1: The Parish Council 1925 – 1948. →

A few more photos in addition to the ones I posted on Facebook. First light on the longest day. Every year it's different.       4.34 The Sun is rising.         5.10  Shetland Cottage in the early morning light.

  There are many upsides to being a Village Recorder, not least when an offer comes to view a Trimley SAINTS production in advance of the main event. A short while ago I was fortunate enough to be invited to a rehearsal of the SAINTS forthcoming production of Graham Linehan’s, “The Ladykillers”. I didn't see the entire … Continue reading Trimley SAINTS and ‘The Ladykillers’ … →

  The five day run of Trimley SAINTS New Pantomime production of Aladdin has now finished. To see it you would definitely have to look behind you but many of us were delighted by the return of the popular SAINTS' Pantomime production. This year it was: Aladdin, a Panto by TLC Creative. It’s been a long … Continue reading Aladdin – The return of the Trimley SAINTS Pantomime. (Oh yes, it was!) →

  Winter at Trimley Shore.  (2018) List of persons who have received coals, by a subscription raised in the parish…" A seemingly drab  but name-rich document entitled: ‘List of persons who have received coals, by a subscription raised in the parish in addition to rent received of Abraham Cook, with list of subscribers[1]’ may be … Continue reading Winter, 1838 →

      Nassau Drive in Trimley St. Martin After  approximately fifteen months of sustained building work, Nassau Drive on the Poppyfield Green development in Trimley St. Martin is now open. Its completion is excellent news for the residents now occupying the freshly built  houses and it is to be hoped they are enjoying every … Continue reading Nassau Drive, Trimley St. Martin →

1953 obverse side of a Coronation Crown. Face value 5/- The edge of the Coronation Crown. “Faith and truth I will bear unto you” Devotions upon Emergent Occasions John Donne No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away … Continue reading They polished their boots. Trimley reacts to the death of Queen Elizabeth II →

 Roselea shining through the cold winter days of January 2022 Earlier in the year, when warm July days seemed like a remote dream, I went to visit the Roselea Farm Shop and talked to two of the owners about the origins of the business and  how it operates.  Throughout the Covid Lockdowns it kept its … Continue reading Roselea: An object lesson in market gardening. →

21st June 2022 I took my camera for a walk to Trimley Shore this morning just before the sun came up at 4.34. This is what we saw.                               ...and home again down Grimston Lane.   If you have any comments … Continue reading The longest day: sunrise at Trimley Shore. →

Trimley St. Mary Parish Council and the Community Jubilee Family Fun Day 5th June 2022 As part of the Jubilee celebrations, Trimley St. Mary Parish Council exuberantly flourished the  festive flags.  The Family Fun Day location was moved to the Welcome Hall and Trimley St. Martin's Church to avoid the threat of bad weather. As … Continue reading One enormous smile →

Trimley 1952 – 2022 “Walking home along the High Road’ Held in the Memorial Hall 2nd and 3rd June 'Walking down the High Road'. As part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Trimley St. Martin Parish Council organised a Photographic Exhibition in The Memorial Hall with over 450 images of the two Trimleys. The period … Continue reading Photographic Exhibition, June 2022 →

Sunrise over Loompit Lake, Summer Solstice, 2021. Overview After the 2020 Christmas that never really happened, the nation as a whole and our community moved into the New Year with minimal expectations ‘things’ would improve. A third Lockdown seemed inevitable and indeed so it proved to be. On 4th January 2022 it was announced it … Continue reading Trimley St Martin Village Recorder’s Annual Report 2021 →

“One of our most fundamental rights is to protest. It is the essence of our democracy”[1] Ian Cowan, aged about 2 Anyone driving through Trimley St. Martin in the last year cannot have failed to notice the new housing springing up along the High Road. People appear surprised and ask, “What is going on?” in … Continue reading Ian Cowan: threads and tangents. Reader, traveller, protester. →

  The 201 outside The Hand in Hand on Sunday 15th May 1966 (Courtesy of Bryan Frost) Sometime in January 2021, during the early days of our third National Lockdown, I found myself consulting one of Ray Howlett’s[1] books. I was struck by the date of the publication; 1984. Not because of any Orwellian reference … Continue reading The 201. Mid-century transport experiences. →

Blackie December 2021 Earlier this month I strolled down Thorpe Lane to interview one of its illustrious inhabitants.  Renowned for his benign character and forbearing stance, he is known not only to villagers but the wider world beyond our boundaries. During the last eighteen months many people have passed him on their way to Trimley … Continue reading A Horse named Blackie →

The Men’s Shed Barn in Trimley St. Mary. Tony Allen About a month ago, a kind and alert friend contacted me to let me know a Felixstowe Men’s Shed had arrived in Trimley St. Mary. This news was followed up some days later when a post appeared on Facebook with a link to a video … Continue reading Felixstowe Men’s Shed in Trimley →

  Rosemary Gitsham 1935 - 2021 Rosemary in 1948; on top of the world and looking out at the many enticing horizons ahead of her. It is with a mixture of sadness and gratitude, I write this brief article. My subject is Rosemary; personal friend to many; kind friend to myself and an all-encompassing friend … Continue reading Remembrance for Rosemary →