I WAS interested in the reports Tiptree wants to break away from Colchester and possibly join either Maldon or Braintree in the belief it would get a better deal.

Have you ever wondered why Tiptree is in the borough of Colchester?

That happened in 1974 following local government re-organisation which in our part of Essex saw the historic borough (town) of Colchester merge with the neighbouring rural district council area of Lexden and Winstree (which did not include Lexden) and the two small urban district councils of Wivenhoe and West Mersea.

Astonishingly, for local government boundaries for the last quarter of the 20th century, the Government of the day used geographic boundaries which pre-dated the Norman Invasion, Saxon boundaries from the 10th century or even further back in history.

Thus the nonsense of Ardleigh parish, which includes the top end of Ipswich Road before the Ardleigh Crown interchange being in Tendring district – whereas the distant Tiptree is in the borough.

The story does not even start there.

Some 80 years ago, Tiptree did not exist as a single entity in terms of local government.

A community had developed there over the years and there were two primary schools – Tiptree Heath and Tiptree Church of England. along with the parish church of St Luke’s, plus Congregational and Salvation Army Churches and a railway station bearing the name Tiptree.

But Tiptree was partly in the parish of Messing (Lexden and Winstree Rural District Council) and partly in the parish of Tolleshunt Knights (Maldon Rural District Council.

At some point in the Thirties the good people of Tiptree decided they wanted to be united in a single local government area, and it was agreed this should happen. Thus a united Tiptree was created.

But to which Rural District Council should Tiptree join?

A referendum was held and the majority chose Lexden and Winstree, which about 40 years later, in 1974, saw Tiptree end up in the borough of Colchester.

There is some logic to Tiptree joining Maldon District Council rather than remaining in the Borough of Colchester.

Historically, for half the village its territory would be returning to where it had been historically prior to the mid-Thirties.

Sir Bob Russell Catchpool Road, Colchester

  • Zepfest will mark important mission

This weekend sees the centenary celebration of the downing of Zeppelin L33 at Little Wigborough, on Saturday.

As a result of this and other Zeppelin mission failures, together with naval failure at Jutland earlier the same year, the Germans turned their attention to submarine warfare aimed at British mercantile shipping bringing essential food supplies from overseas.

That they were defeated in their aim to starve Britain into submission was largely due to convoy surveillance by nearly 160 British airships deployed by the Royal Naval Air Service from coastal stations around the country.

This First World War version of the later Second World War Battle of Britain remains largely unrecognised.

However the Zepfest organisers have taken this on board and have kindly agreed to include a display of air service First World War airship material based on my late father’s records as an airship pilot 1916 to 1918 who later became a prominent Essex apple grower and who is buried at Layer Marney quite close to where L33 came to grief.

Martin Knowles Olivers Lane, Colchester

  • Castle is ‘Norman but quite Roman’

I THANK John Banks for pointing out my “schoolboy howler” but in this instance it was a misquote as opposed to a historical error.

The online version was amended but once printed sadly a newspaper cannot be.

I should add I do not criticise the Gazette for this, I am well aware how hard the reporters work to fill a daily paper.

Happy as I am to “go to the bottom of the class” for errors I make, on this occasion, the criticism is misdirected.

In passing though I would suggest our Norman castle is probably more Roman than anything else looking at the materials used by the Normans to construct it!

Will Quince Colchester MP

  • Please save Friday Wood from homes

IF my husband Bill was still alive he would be horrified to think the lovely Friday Wood he painted so often was to be destroyed.

Thank goodness there are quite a few of his paintings around and I have one that was in the top ten prints in the late Sixties.

Please don’t let Friday Wood be destroyed for a few houses.

Pearl Burton All Saints Avenue, Colchester

  • Grammatical sign of the times

Gazette:

We all know the damage to education caused by Ofsted in the past few years, but it is coming to an especially low point when road signs made by public authorities bear such horrible punctuation errors as the sign in Manor Street, Braintree. 

How could such a basic error have passed by the attention of the person in charge, or did they also not know how to use the apostrophe? “HGV’S” is just not acceptable. 

Please can you try to do better in future?

Prebendary Neil Richardson Notley Road, Braintree