| Saturday 30th October
2004 saw the first public opening of the High House
Community Farm Project. Unfortunately the house itself
was not open as although it has been re-roofed there is
still some work to be done on the interior before the
public can be allowed access. However, the collection of
farm buildings that make High House so special were open.
The barn housed childrens story telling. The outbuildings
were used for a variety of crafts including making
walking sticks and childrens toys as well as an area
where the children could do painting. The Dovecote was
opened and members of Thurrock Local History Society
showed people round and explained how it worked. The R.S.P.B.
also had a stall/display as did Thurrock Heritage Forum.
The highlight was probably Uncle Festa pushing his pram
round with his baby and imbibing gripe water from an
enormous baby’s bottle. The
opening from 10.00a.m. to 3.00p.m. during which some 250
people attended was the culmination of a lot of hard work
over 2 years by the Steering Group and their volunteers
ably led by Paul and Georgette Polley.
There were a number of visitors who
had previously lived in High House one even brought some
photographs of his family taken inside the house, which
were very informative.
If there is anyone who has any
information about the history of High House or lived
there or even wants to be involved with the project you
can e-mail us and we will pass the information on to the
Steering Group.
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