Hedingham Heritage Centre

12/02/2026

Do you remember the Plaza Cinema? What about its successors the Akaba nightclub or the Citroen garage? Opening in 1929, Sible Hedingham's Plaza Cinema was a landmark of the Hedinghams long after it closed in 1959 and was only finally demolished fifty years later after several different uses. If you have any photographs, memories or memorabilia relating to the Plaza, Akaba or Citroen garage, we'd love to hear from you. Please do get in touch. 📽️🏛️💃🕺🚗🚗

20/12/2025

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

We have had a busy year behind the scenes and already have over 5000 images and documents in our digital archive as well as several hundred artefacts and objects relating to Sible and Castle Hedingham. Thank you to everyone that has helped contribute to the collection, it has been so fantastic to have such a great response.

If you'd like to keep in touch with us about volunteering opportunities and our news and progress, complete the following form. The link is in the comments.

(Image: Castle Hedingham Scout Post envelopes from 1985)

02/12/2025

Lots of interesting things making their way to us recently, including a fantastic array of photographs. This pair of photographs are of 4 and 12 Back Lane before they were restored in the 1920s. The photos probably date from around 1910, something we are basing on the lefthand photo which shows a young Rosie Rulton holding a dog. Rosie lived at 4 Back Lane (now called Church Lane) from her birth in 1900 until her death in the early 1970s. Have you got any photos of Castle Hedingham? We'd love to take a copy for our growing records and return the originals unless unwanted.

21/10/2025

Sorry that we have been quiet recently. We have been busy archiving and cataloguing our growing collection, as well as scanning a large number of postcards, photographs and documents. The project is moving along well and we have started to consider the topics that we hope to create exhibitions on in the future. At present, access to the area that will be our visitor centre and exhibition space is pending progress with the Hedingham Medical Centre. In the meantime, if anyone has anything of local interest relating to Sible and Castle Hedingham that they'd like to record, donate or allow us to copy and return - we'd be really interested. Please either contact us via this page or by email [email protected]

Pictured here, the men of Rippers Woodwork constructing a building at their yard in Sible Hedingham, dressed in oilskin coats. Perhaps the weather was a little like it has been recently..!

15/08/2025

Today is VJ day, the anniversary of the day that the Second World War ended in the eastern theatre, several months after the war ended in Europe. A number of local residents left the Hedinghams to serve in the east including:

Arthur John Buck (Sible Hedingham) member of Burma Star Association - 909 Wing R A F

D W Bettinson of Church Street, Sible Hedingham - 5th Suffolk - POW - Tokyo 1942.

Dennis Dowsett (Castle Hedingham) who died of a tropical ulcer while being held as POW in Burma 2 Dec 1943.

Maurice William Wiseman (Sible Hedingham) - member of Burma Star Association - 1st Bn. Essex Regt

Do you know any other residents who served in the east? If we'd like to hear from you to record their stories.

25/07/2025

Today, the 25th of July, is "the feast day of St James". For hundreds of years this day was significant in the Hedinghams as the date of the great fair held in Castle Hedingham. This celebration, originally closely tied to religious observance and pilgrimage, grew up as a significant local fair and market. Held from the 13th to 19th centuries, the fair would have originally been held on the 25th of July, no matter what day of the week that fell. The modern revival of this fair, takes into account the modern working week and is being held tomorrow - on Saturday! We will have our own stand and hope to speak to you all about the project and its progress, anything you'd like to see in the Heritage Centre when it opens, as well as any memories or photographs you have that may be of interest. Do pop by! We are also hosting the raffle, if you fancy a go!

We have organised fine weather for next Saturday ☀️😎 so we hope to see you there! If you're not in the habit of carrying cash, please be aware that some of our stalls will be unable to take card payments and there will be no cash back facilities in the village on Saturday so please come prepared!! Thank you to everyone who is supporting St James Fair this year ❤️ 😊 The Castle Hedingham Club Castle Hedingham Memorial Hall Castle Hedingham Village Shop

21/07/2025

We'll be in attendance and hoping to talk to local residents about any stories, photographs or artefacts they would like to share. We're also taking on questions and projects.. is there something you'd like to know? Or a mystery about a local property or person that we might be able to delve into. We hope to see you there!

We have organised fine weather for next Saturday ☀️😎 so we hope to see you there! If you're not in the habit of carrying cash, please be aware that some of our stalls will be unable to take card payments and there will be no cash back facilities in the village on Saturday so please come prepared!! Thank you to everyone who is supporting St James Fair this year ❤️ 😊 The Castle Hedingham Club Castle Hedingham Memorial Hall Castle Hedingham Village Shop

15/07/2025

Fantastic video from Simon on the workings and history of the church clock in Castle Hedingham.

The church clock installed since 1906 in the tower of the Church of St Nicholas, Castle Hedingham. I am its third winder in its 119-year history...my predece...

04/04/2025

Thanks to funding from both Sible Hedingham Parish Council and Castle Hedingham Parish Council, the Heritage Centre has now made important progress in cataloguing and archiving our growing collection. As part of this project we are keen to get in touch with anyone who may have any artefacts, images, documents or stories relating to the Hedinghams. In the case of documents and images we are having good success in borrowing, scanning and returning these to their owners. If you have anything you'd like to share or discuss we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch via facebook or email [email protected]

07/03/2025

We're very pleased to hear that the medical centre is moving forward. As part of our preparation for a future opening, we are beginning to think about what our first exhibitions may look like. Is there a topic you would be interested in seeing us cover? Let us know below or get in touch - [email protected]

The focus of the museum is primarily on the history of Sible and Castle Hedingham in the "modern" era (especially the last two hundred years)

24/01/2025

Did you go to school in Castle or Sible Hedingham? If so, we'd love to hear from you. We are currently building up our archive and as part of our collection on childhood we'd love to hear about yours or relatives recollections and connections to schools in the two Parishes.

As part of this we are seeking out those with connections to De Vere school when it operated from the building behind the old Police Station. Next to what is now the village park.

The family of RG Hymas (Headmaster between 1957 and 1975) are working with the Heritage Centre to collate information about the school and those with connections to it, to produce a series of scrapbooks.

Please get in touch if you lived near, worked at, went to or remember De Vere school between those dates (1957-1975) or indeed have any other connections with schools in the parishes.