Council Reports 8 Myland Heritage Group In the last issue, we had a very interesting report from Pete Hewitt on the new heritage interpretation panel at St Michael’s Church, which explains the significance of the church as the oldest known building in Myland. A church is first mentioned on this site in 1254. Cllr Pete Hewitt said: “This interpretation panel is part of Myland Community Council’s aim to share the history of Myland (or Mile End) with our community and the wider population. The original St Michael’s Church stood here from the 13th century until the mid-19th century when it was replaced by the attractive church enjoyed today. It has been a pleasure to work closely with the Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service in the funding and design process.” The panel was funded by Myland Community Council and erected by the museum service of Colchester City Council. It was unveiled by Rev Ray Gibbs in the presence of invited guests. More on St Michael’s Church at Rectory Close and School It is interesting how delving into history can begin to open up other avenues of interest. Following the successful installation of the interpretation panel at Rectory Close, at the site of the original St Michaels Church, a discussion began on the first Myland / Mile End School, as this was clearly linked to the Church. The Victoria History of Essex tells us that in 1833 there was a Church day school with 24 children and a Sunday school with 50, both partly maintained by the rector, Philip Strong. At this time there was no system of education and there was much opposition to educating the working classes. A typical statement was: (Left to right) Rev Ray Gibbs, Cllr Pete Hewitt, Cllr Michelle Burrows and Philip Wise, Heritage Manager CCC
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