A look at how three buildings have changed

left:
The Fire Engine House. The horse-drawn fire-engine's big moment came in 1905 when the Green Man Inn burnt down, although, aided by an engine from Wethersfield, the adjacent Guildhall was saved - see the historic days page.

left:
The sign on the large door in the photo above.

right:
By the 1990s, the fire engine house is half the size and the building to the right has gone completely.

Fire engines were once owned by insurance companies. The insurers issued metal badges to policy holders and fire-fighters would only attend incidents at buildings which showed the company's own 'fire-mark'. Finchingfield had its own Insurance Society which was taken over by The Sun Insurance Company in 1902. Fire engines became the responsibility of local councils in the same year.

left: Dating from the sixteenth century, perhaps earlier, this building may be the oldest in the village. It was rented by the Parish in 1767 for use as a workhouse. More recently it housed the butcher's shop. Meat would be sold through the large window to the left of the door.

right:
The window has been replaced, a small porch roof added to the door, a tv aerial has appeared, otherwise little of the outside seems to have changed.

left:
These pretty cottages are just outside the village. Painted white when the 1990s picture was taken, they were clearly a darker colour in 1931, with lighter paint around the doors and windows.

right:
The cottages have acquired porches in the intervening sixty years. They seem to change the building's character and make it appear smaller.

Copyright Roger Beckwith 2000. All rights reserved.
This page last modified 7th August 2002.