Council Reports 8 It is suggested that a Colonel Fothergill’s Fort was placed to the north of the Church at a site that is now on the east side of Mile End Road. It is also possible another site, Fort Rainsborough may have been close by too. These ‘forts’ were really cannon placements. As a result of Civil War cannon firing, the original Church was damaged and rebuilt using existing material but to a smaller scale. In 1851 the rector, the Rev’d A E Julius, started a subscription fund for a new church. The Foundation Stone of the new St Michael’s Myland was laid on March 21st 1854. Designed by E Hakewill of London in the Early English style, it was built on the current site that had been donated by Thomas Philip Weddell, Earl de Grey. It is constructed from Kentish rag stone, with Caen stone dressings for the windows and porch, and was consecrated on 18th May 1855. A village focus developed round this new church and it remains well supported today. A school (now the Church halls) was built for 137 children using materials from the old church. It opened on 30th January 1871 and 50 children were admitted on the first day. Cllr Pete Hewitt An appreciation of Cllr John Dickson MCC Councillor, John Dickson, sadly passed away in March, shortly before the end of his fouryear term as a Myland Community Councillor. His funeral took place at Colchester Cemetery in May. As a Councillor, John was a fund of knowledge about local issues relating to Myland. Always friendly and approachable, he made a point of helping newer Councillors learn the ropes and start to contribute to Council meetings. John also served as a local magistrate in the Colchester criminal court, where it was my privilege to work with him as a Bench colleague. A vital, but unseen part of the trial process, is the magistrates’ discussion of a defendant’s guilt or innocence. This takes place in the Bench retiring room after all the evidence has been heard. In these debates, John would quietly ask one critical question: “But how do we know that?” His perceptive query would send us back to our notes to check if we really had been given evidence on a particular point, or were just making assumptions.
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