News from the authors and team behind Balsham, a village story 1617-2017, published on 2nd November 2017.
We have had so much help from our community and much further afield. The book simply wouldn't have had the depth of content if it wasn't for London Metropolitan Archives, Cambridge University Library and the Chaterhouse in London. Closer to home we have the support of many and we'd like to thank the following amazing people
The original idea for this book came from attending a talk in February 2013, by Susan Oosthuizen, University Senior Lecturer in Historic Environment, University of Cambridge. The presentation featured the oldest known map of Balsham, dated 1617. Susan suggested that it would be a good idea to work on a project to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the map in 2017. I was convinced this was feasible, but only if people were willing to share their knowledge and keen to do local research could it proceed further. Through the village magazine I appealed for anyone else who thought this a good idea; there was considerable interest, so in May 2013 the Balsham Map Project was formed.
Personally I have been privileged to handle centuries old maps and documents, and enjoyed the hospitality of the Brothers at the Charterhouse. Following the census records and newspaper reports on the families who lived in Balsham in times past has been absolutely fascinating. The biggest problem we all faced was knowing exactly when and where to stop.
Not everyone who set out on this journey could commit themselves fully, but they have remained supportive. I am grateful to the remaining group members who gave so generously of their time and expertise
Berenice Smith who shared her design and publishing knowledge, kept us on schedule, created the design of the book and website and material for the launch.
Dick Paden, who although joining the group mid-way, was keen to take on a task. As well as putting pen to paper, he co-ordinated with other organisations to ensure for a safe and sound Boundary Walk.
Gene Bridgeman kept copious notes of our enthusiastic meetings, whilst using her local connections and memories, and brought together appealing stories and shares family photos in these pages.
Jan Ellam very cheerfully shared her vast collection of photographs; plus her own memories of family and friends and for bringing them all together, resulting in remarkable accounts of village life.
Pat Faircloth, who delved into her corner of the village and way beyond, and came up with some enjoyable stories, family history and documents.
Peter Neale's farming experience proved invaluable, and was instrumental in negotiating with local landowners, enabling the Boundary Walks to be held.
Sara Himsworth was unstinting and went to great lengths in her fund-raising efforts, as well as finding out the history and past occupants of her family home.
Seppe Cassettari: without whose skills we would not have progressed very far; he worked his magic on the maps we gathered, and presented them so they could be displayed for all to see at our exhibitions.
Finally, eternal thanks to Ian Creek, my husband, for his enduring patience and for coming to my rescue to see me through some challenging times. Ian is also the treasurer of our group.
Margaret Creek
Left to right: Pat Faircloth, Seppe Cassettari, Jan Ellam, Peter Neale, Gene Bridgeman, Dick Paden, Margaret Creek, Berenice Smith and Ian Creek.
If you came to our launch then thank you so much! We had an amazing day and were truly moved by the kind compliments and praise for our book. We're thrilled you were with us on our special day.
We've seen some lovely comments on Facebook today and have put a few below. If you are reading our book then you can review it on our Facebook page here or pop us an email with your thoughts as it's lovely to hear your views.
We would also love to have any news for our website. If you are inspired to share a story or have more information on someone or something in our book, do get in touch. We have a few people asking about lost relatives, so perhaps we can connect you?
We are going through the orders that have been coming in today, sifting though the pictures and catching up! In the meantime, you may like to know that Cambridge 105FM's Leigh Chambers featured Margaret Creek in an interview about the book this morning. We'll post a 'listen again link' to the podcast when it comes up. We also have BBC Radio Cambridgeshire with us on Monday, so you may see us strolling around the village. Do come and say hello!
Finally if you were not able to make it and you're dying to get your hands on a copy, then you can order here! We'll also have copies in Balsham Post Office very soon.
We had two speakers at our book launch and here is one of the presentations.
Berenice Smith is a designer who grew up in Balsham. She's also a professional designer with over twenty years experience. A speaker and educator, Berenice has a Masters in graphic design and typography. She explained to the audience about the story behind our book. To find out more about her you can get in touch via her website here.
The hardest part of any book project is knowing when to stop the research! The book team researched the material for 3 years using resources at the London Metropolitan Archives, Charterhouse and the University Library and many others.
One of the most important decisions is knowing what direction to take. Is the book printed, or epub? Maybe both? How to plan out the pages too. All big decisions that often have to be made before the book is written.
There are many stages to the book and these are the steps that the book team went through since February this year.
We did a lot as a team to keep you in touch with us whilst we were writing and designing too.
Some of our advice on what you may consider. You can also get tips from our news posts too.
Do let us know what you think. Let us know via our contact page or look up Berenice on social media.
We take delivery of the book today in Balsham and the ebook is now also complete. Advanced copies of both are going to appear on our website very soon.
We are delighted to announce that we have three exciting visitors at the evening launch. Dr. Seppe Cassettari will be speaking about his work in mapping and his contribution to the book, our book designer Berenice Smith, MA will be answering any questions about how to create a book and the Cambridge Family History Society will be offering their advice on research and revealing more about the windmills of Balsham.
Plus there is tea and coffee, and the bar will be open for a warming drink and you can buy a copy of the print or the ebook too.
We look forward to seeing you there.
I send lots of covers off to press for print and web. I love working on covers, all the parts of a book are so exciting but covers are the faces, the part that's judged first and it's why a good designer will take time on them. Never accept second best!
'The latest one to go through is for a history title, Balsham, a village story, 1617–2017. This was a surprisingly difficult cover to do because of the volume of images to work with.
The design of our book is being completed in Indesign. It's part of Adobe Creative Cloud which has numerous different type of software for print, animation, web and design. It includes Acrobat to read PDF files, Typekit for legal font use, Photoshop and Lightroom for photographic work and Illustrator for illustrations and diagrams. All of these programmes are being used for our book just as it would be for any professional publishing house.
We'll be adding photos from the Great Balsham Boundary Walk, revealing extracts from the Balsham, a village story 1617-2017 and sharing information about the plans from our book launch. You can also ask us any questions, talk to us about the book and share your history of our village.
We are plotting the book launch. It'll be local and in time for you to pick up a copy before Christmas. You can find out more at the Great Balsham Boundary Walk on 10th September
June was a very busy month for us. We had a deadline of 16th June to hand over all the material we had written to our designer. This meant reading through the Word files and making difficult decisions over what images we could include (don't worry, any that didn't make it will appear on the website).
We're also planning the next Great Balsham Boundary Walk. It's on the Sunday 10th September 10am, starting from the Church Institute where you'll need to register and collect a map. We're also seeking marshalls and volunteers to help us, contact us if you're interested.
To download a sponsor form click here
You can also print out a poster and share on social media or in your workplace or community venue here.
By now all our work which has been gathered over the last 4 years should, in theory, be complete. The task has been an enormous learning curve. Any material we have been unable to use will be safely kept.
The bundles of papers, pictures and maps are now on a memory stick, ready for editing. Modern imagery has confirmed that the boundaries and layout of the village have changed very little since Thomas Langdon produced his map for Charterhouse in 1617.
It is the stories of the people and events which have happened that have made this into a fascinating adventure.
