Since early 2020, Forncett History Group has published regular short articles in the village magazine, the Forncett Flyer. These articles have now been collected here on our new blog - Forncett History Notes. This blog offers the opportunity for these articles, and other news from the Group, to be read more widely and also provides a forum for us to publish short articles which don't fit easily elsewhere within the structure of the website. Please share this new page with anyone who you feel might be interested. If you would like to be added to our email distribution list please Contact Us and then you will receive an alert when any new article appears.
John Brighton was born in Forncett in 1832 and as a competitive runner he found national fame but his achievements became almost forgotten until local historian, Dale Wiseman, decided to research his life and to write a book about him. Dale came to talk at Forncett Village Hall on the 11th September and told us John Brighton's fascinating story.
On 24th August, Forncett lost one of its most ardent supporters. Alan Womack was born in Forncett in 1934 and, although he left the village in 1952, he always held Forncett very close to his heart.
The game of darts is now an international sport with huge financial backing and the name of 19 year-old Luke "The Nuke" Littler has become known throughout the U.K. Despite the fact that for most of its history darts was a game played purely for pleasure in pubs across the country, that wasn't always the case. Darts was originally not...
I usually try to pick a different topic for these articles each month but I'm breaking that tradition to tell an amazing story that follows directly on from last month's "The Forncett Bikers". Those of you who read the extended article on the Forncett History blog, will know that Marjorie Thurston and Dick Sutton had many...
At the start of the twentieth century rural life changed significantly and the peace and quiet of Forncett was interrupted by the sound of the internal combustion engine. On farms the first tractors made an appearance, although horse power remained the dominant force until after the second war. On the roads and lanes, the first cars could be seen,...
This month's article is based on another photograph taken at Forncett school, 74 years later than last month's 1914 photo. It was taken at a quite remarkable reunion that was held at the school on Saturday 14th April 1988 when nearly 100 ex-pupils gathered to reminisce, to share stories and to look back at old photographs. The event...
Every parent and grandparent is familiar with the annual school photograph and I guess that many readers have a collection of their old school photos as well as some of their children or grandchildren. The tradition of the school photo dates back to the mid-19th century and consequently these photos are an important part of local history. The...
As many Forncett residents are probably aware, the large disused Methodist Chapel in Forncett End is up for sale. The chapel, which was built in 1865, closed its doors in May 2022 having served the community for more than 150 years. However, this is not the first time in its history that it has been on the market!
St. Peter's church has four beautiful stained-glass windows, each of which has a story to tell. I have written about three of the windows before (see St. Peter's church) and this is the story of the fourth – the Joseph Bell window.
It's oft-lamented that "we never see a policeman around here !" but of course there was a time when every village, including Forncett, had its own local bobby.