THE name West Bergholt might conjure up images of sleepy countryside and picturesque views.

But rewind hundreds of years and you will find problematic village vicars sorted out by Elizabeth I herself, a Lord of the Manor who harboured murderers and heretics burned at the stake.

West Bergholt was originally named Bergholta, and pottery has been found in the village by archaeologists, which dates back to 1500BC.

But despite its size, the village is anything but insignificant and has been touched by many of the events of the last 1,000 years.

Normans came to West Bergholt after their 1066 conquest at the Battle of Hastings, reaching the village of 27 people the following year.

Its name was changed in 1119 to Bergholt Sackville after Robert Sackville became Lord of the Manor of Bergholt Hall.

The village has not always managed to stay on the right side of the crown.

Sir Thomas Sackville, who was Lord of the Manor from 1393, was sent to prison for helping and harbouring murderers.

In the 1500s, the vicar of West Bergholt, Reverend Edmund Tarrell, was given a stern telling off by Elizabeth I after he spent most of his time in the pubs rather than his church.

The final straw came when he failed to deliver the last rites to a dying woman because he was drinking in a Colchester pub.

And during Bloody Mary’s reign, two women from West Bergholt were burned at the stake for their protestant beliefs.

They just so happened to be the first and second wives of the same man.

West Bergholt, which was finally given its name in 1910, still shows signs of its history today.

Old St Mary’s Church, which dates to 1,000AD in parts, was the focus of much of the village’s goings on and is still standing.

It was declared redundant in 1975.

And the White Hart pub, which first opened in 1725, is still going strong, welcoming in neighbours and residents for a tipple and chin wag.