The Harveys

A Farming Family in Thundersley, Hadleigh & Faraway Places

A Farming Family
Jonathan Stamp
The Castle Inn, first known as The Blue Boar
Hart Cottages, Church Road, (now Hart Road)

Less than a century and a half ago, before the ascendency of the internal combustion engine and just a little after the coming of the railway, much of Essex was still rural and depended on agriculture.  Into such a world the Harveys were born and flourished.

Gentleman Farmer Stephen Harvey and his family tenant-farmed much of the land around the ancient ribbon village of Thundersley.  Vivienne Salmon – the great great granddaughter of our patriarch Stephen – has made her family’s history an abiding passion for the past three decades. In this book, Vivienne tells the Harvey’s story with luminous authority and an engaging enthusiasm.

Her 95-page book includes a useful index of place-names and is a thrilling expedition of discovery amongst her ancestors,  depicting with numerous photographs the fascinating tapestry of life in Victorian and Edwardian Essex and farther afield. 

Anyone with a keen interest in South-East Essex or similar communities will find information and links developed between families, friends and institutions, inspiring the reader to empathise with a famously vibrant landscape and community. 

In addition to the Harveys,  many other families are mentioned, including:  Everard, Gillman, Griggs, Patmore, Pratt, Thorington,  Wiggins and Yeaxlee. There is also a surprising connection with Victoria, Vancouver Island.

Published in September 2021 by Hadleigh & Thundersley Community Archive.

Here’s the Essex 100 site where you can order a copy.

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  • I really enjoyed this book because, although my family did not arrive in Hadleigh until 1875, I was brought up in Thundersley and can even remember the pond in front of Hart Cottages and also the forge, although I am not sure what it was used for at the time. It was interesting to read about the village before it was built up.
    Also, on page 47, there is a reference to my great uncle, Frederick Victor Hawks who married Isabel Harvey.

    By Susan Fogg nėe Hawks (09/02/2022)
  • Having recently purchased this and read through it with delight, I found it utterly enchanting – fabulous photographs and intricate details into the lives of our forbears of Essex. I would thoroughly recommend this booklet on The Harveys to anyone.

    By Carol Anne Davey (25/01/2022)

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