Significant others in the Buxton Heath story
This section contains a list of people who've helped the Heath, the Buxton Heath Wildlife Group, or myself, since I first visited Buxton Heath in March 1991. Apologies if I've embarrassed some of you, but I feel you all deserve some recognition.
Nancy Heywood - Nancy was the Head Teacher at Hevingham Primary School, and soon after founding BHWG I contacted Nancy to see if she was interested in forming a link between her school and our Group. Luckily, my message of natural history, conservation and education struck a chord with her, and we set up a very successful partnership. On the first of our "good old-fashioned, nature-study days" we simply showed the children the Heath. Although most lived in or around the village, many had not even visited the site. Even the few that had visited, had no idea that so many species lived there. As we walked round the site, children came scurrying up to Nancy and I, clutching jars containing a host of "mini-beasts", some of which were new species to me ! After a series of heath visits, including one involving scrub-clearance under close supervision, and some classroom slide shows, Nancy moved on to become the head of a larger school, and that, sadly, was basically the end of the school nature study days.
Anthea & Gerry Coldham - proprieters of Sunbeam Coaches, Hevingham, but also long-time producers of the Hevingham News parish magazine. The couple gladly accepted my quarterly nature articles for inclusion in the magazine, and offered much useful advice along the way. They also provided free transport for the local school children who attended my Buxton Heath nature study days.
Suzanne Pert - compiled the Hevingham News parish newsletter for a time after Anthea and Gerry Coldham decided they'd like a break.
Daphne Wymer - the wife of the late Edgar Wymer, the last "broom squire" of Hevingham. Dear Daphne was only too pleased to show me the shed where her late husband used to tie the besom brooms, and also shared her knowledge of how the materials were prepared, and the brooms marketed. Before I departed, she generously gave me one of Edgar's last remaining brooms, and this has remained part of the Buxton Heath display at our open days at the Heath, and also at our illustrated talks throughout the county.
As the craft of broom-making was so important to the village, it is little wonder that 2 crossed brooms have pride of place on the village sign.
As the craft of broom-making was so important to the village, it is little wonder that 2 crossed brooms have pride of place on the village sign.
Trevor Thorley - I first met Trev around 1990 when I started to become involved with conservation work. At that time he was the Field Officer for the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) in Norwich, and as I met him more and more, we developed a good working relationship and friendship. Trev had a reputation for "calling a spade a spade" and didn"t suffer fools easily. But for all that, he was a great guy to know, and had bags of experience relating to leading work parties, health and safety matters, and simply getting the job done.
Angie Hankin & Karen Blakemore - Angie (pictured left) and Karen are great supporters of BHWG and have done much to give the Group "good press" around the village of Hevingham. Both ladies accompanied their children to the Heath when we staged the school nature study days, and we regularly received reports from them relating to their wildlife observations on the site.
Sue Jarvis & family -
Tony Medler - if my "regular pilot", John McLeod, wasn't available, Tony was always happy to fly me over the Heath, or elsewhere, for an aerial photo survey.
David Skipper - David was the first pilot from Felthorpe to fly me over BH, which he did on four occasions.
David Nobbs - David has been the warden of Wheatfen for over 13 years, and is a very likeable and enthusiastic fellow. Over the years David and I have exchanged news about what had happened at our respective nature sites, and although we didn't meet too often, we made up for it when we did ! In the summer of 1998, David drove Phyllis Ellis from Wheatfen so that she could officially open our BHWG Open Day. In addition to his daily management work, he regularly gives talks about Wheatfen, and leads themed walks around the reserve.
Evan Benton - A Hevingham man, who documented the history of his village in his superb book 'Man and Boy in a Norfolk Village'. Sadly, Evan never saw the finished volume before he died, but his sons ensured that the book not only got published, but that it was published exactly how he wrote it. Evan was adamant that "no clever Editor chap should chop it up and muck it about" before it appeared. The compact volume is a treasure trove of anecdotes about the people and history of Hevingham village, and the photographs alone are priceless. The book is usually available from the the printers, Barnwells of Aylsham, Norfolk, so buy it now !
Lee Chadwick (1909-2003, 93 years) - I tended to think of Lee Chadwick as Suffolk's answer to Norfolk's Phyllis Ellis. Along with her husband, the naturalist and artist Paxton Chadwick, she made her home on the Suffolk Sandling heaths near Leiston in the late 1930s. Lee wrote a number of books on agriculture and natural history, and worked as a freelance journalist, but her book entitled 'In Search of Heathland' was the one that captured my imagination. It is an amazing piece of work, featuring the history of the area, as well as in-depth studies of heathland flora and fauna. As Ted Ellis described it: "Lee's book brings together all the threads of interest, as in a tapestry, so that we may view the whole scene in perspective in a way never attempted before with such success". I had the pleasure of meeting Lee at the 1997 conference of the Suffolk Naturalists' Society, which was devoted to heathlands. What a lovely and knowledgeable lady she was. I'll end with a fitting quote from Lee: "There is such a thing as a hunger for heathland that I think literally does exist and it gets more and more into your bones".
'In Search of Heathland'
by
Lee Chadwick
by
Lee Chadwick
Professor Nigel Webb - Nigel Webb is recognised as a leading expert on the ecology of European heathlands, and, in 1986, produced the volume 'Heathlands', for the 'New Naturalist' series. The book tells how heathlands were formed and were exploited by man, and goes on to describe the flora and fauna of this unique habitat. Finally, Nigel tries to predict the future of heathlands, describing how many have been lost through neglect, fragmentation, and development. Nigel was one of the guest speakers at the 1997 conference of the Suffolk Naturalists' Society, and BHWG members were very pleased to meet him.
'Heathlands'
by
Nigel Webb
by
Nigel Webb
Nora Tam - Ironically, I didn't meet Nora at Buxton Heath as her year at UEA was 2006-2007, but once I saw all of her super photographs of Buxton Heath on her web site, I knew that I had to make contact with her. It was amazing as I would be sitting at my computer screen in Hungary on a Saturday evening, looking at the pictures of what she and the other BHWG members had been doing on the same day! Luckily, before she finally left England to return to her Hong Kong home, she was able to squeeze in a week with me in Hungary. It seemed odd to actually meet for the first time as we'd been corresponding for several months and we felt like we knew each other already. Some of Nora's lovely photographs illustrate the "dry heathland" and "valley mire" pages on this site.