The locations of the Cygnet Room and Maeldune Centre are shown below:
© Maldon Society 2020
The Society seeks to preserve all that is best in local architecture and ensure that any future development is in keeping with the town's ambience and overall design.The Society aims to promote and preserve the historical heritage of this town and its surrounding area by:
- encouraging civic pride in the area and promoting co-operation with other organisations
- encouraging high standards of planning and architecture by liaising with Councils on planning applications
- arranging well-advertised monthly talks of local interest, open to the public
- managing an informative website (maldonsoc.org) and producing a twice yearly Newsletter
- managing an Archive of photographs and drawings illustrating the history of the town, housed in the Maeldune Centre
- developing an oral history Archive by recording memories and stories from local residents
- being involved with Heritage weekends and the installation of Blue Plaques
Details of our activities can be found the appropriate page of this site. Those who share our aims can join the Society by paying a fee of £10 per person or £16 per couple. The membership fee covers the period from 1st April to 31st March. A reduced fee is payable for those joining after 1st April.
Contact Martin Pike on 0774 379 3066, email maldonsociety1957@gmail.com, or download our membership form or newsletter for further information:
Researcher Lynne Raymond achieve her ambition of correcting the famous story of Edward Bright, the Fat Man of Maldon, thanks to the help of the Maldon Society. Ms Raymond began the project in 2013 by working with evidence found a few years ago. The biggest challenge was to correct the famous figure’s address. Based on historical evidence from the 1890s, the original blue plaque had him living at Church House in Brights Path.
However, new evidence revealed it was his son, who shares his name, and his daughter-in-law who lived there instead. The Fat Man lived at the building which is between 57 and 59 High Street with his family. The Maldon Society organised a replacement plaque for Edward Bright and his son who was a notable person in the town. Among those attending the unveiling were direct descendent Richard Bright, chairman of the Maldon Society Judy Lea, district chairman Henry Bass and conservation officer Tim Howson.
Pictured below left to right: Simon Fothergill from Brights and Sons, Richard Bright, Cllr Henry Bass, Mark Salisbury of Church House and Lynne Raymond with the Edward Bright replacement plaques.
THE MALDON SOCIETY
THE ORAL HISTORY LISTENING STATION
The content on the Listening Station in the Maeldune Centre has been updated. There are 15 short excerpts from a wide range of the current library of recordings, including some on the embroidery the listening station sits next to, so next time you are out shopping on the High Street do please call in and give it a go.m The Listening Station is pictured below:
PLAQUES TO CELEBRATE EDWARD BRIGHT
Our chairman Judy Lea together with member Bobbie Marchant were pleased to take part in the St Mary's flower festival over the weekend of 2 - 4 August Using contributions from several other members' gardens they just wanted to take part for the first time, whilst admiring the wealth of exceptional talent exhibited in other parts of the church! This year's theme was 'all around Maldon' which inspired the design. Our display shown above was accompanied by the following description
"The Maldon Society's arrangement seeks to illustrate how separate individuals, groups and public bodies come together to both discover and celebrate Maldon's heritage, becoming bound together by it (represented by rosemary for remembrance and ivy for long affection). Its simple flora comes from both Beeleigh Abbey and members' cottage gardens. The latest blue plaque went public in July 2019. Orange echoes the poster colour for our monthly public talks to which all are invited."
THE ST. MARY'S CHURCH FLOWER FESTIVAL
THOMAS PLUME LIBRARY "SPONSOR-A-SHELF" 2020
The Thomas Plume Library is running a scheme to "Sponsor-A-Shelf" to raise funds for needed repairs to the roof. Their website https://www.thomasplumeslibrary.co.uk/ gives more details. The Society has made a donation and our receipt is shown below left
MALDON SOCIETY RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY
It is with real sadness that we must comply with government advice and cancel the meetings for April, May and June in order to keep members and our very welcome public visitors safe. At the moment we hope the July meeting will go ahead but we will review the position early in June once we see how things are. We hope the various interesting speakers will agree to return next year. Our website will of course continue to function, as will our work on planning and other town issues. These currently include the application to harm the Georgian Friary East building and its grounds, and various consultations on the new nuclear power station, the redevelopment of the extensive riverside area behind the Causeway, and proposals to improve the air quality on Market Hill and the centre of town.
Enquiries for membership can still be directed to maldonsociety1957@gmail.com or telephone 0774 379 3066. This will ensure you are kept updated - fees are currently suspended until we restart our talks.
These are of course desperate times for the businesses on the High Street and we hope you will continue to support them, albeit in new ways. Some family restaurants like Brazil are offering a take away service for example. Some like Ansells butchers are operating a safe distance policy. The Maldon Bookshop is offering a delivery service with a 10% discount for bulk buys - just right for staying at home with little to do! A listing of businesses that are still trading is shown here
We thank you for looking at our website and hope you will pursue your interest in us once things return to normal.
Judy Lea
Chairman