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Helmdon Parish Council

History of Helmdon

History Resources and Publications

Links to wide range of History Rescources, Societies and Publications - including the history of Helmdon, family research, personal reminiscences, the Helmdon Trail, parish church history and parish church projects.

  1. History Resources on www.helmdonhistory.com
  2. History Resources and Societies (on various websites)
  3. Parish Church History, Memorials and Related Projects
  4. Previous Publications
  5. Website History

This page includes links to external websites. Helmdon Parish Council cannot accept any responsibility for the information or web links provided by external websites.

See also:
Helmdon Local History Group (on this website) – Recording Helmdon’s history plus occasional open meetings
The Helmdon Trail (on www.helmdonhistory.com) – Take a walk round Helmdon, a small village set in open country in the south of Northamptonshire, England.

 

History Resources on www.helmdonhistory.com

For research into the history of Helmdon, reminiscences from past and present residents, or to take a trip around the village, please select from:

History Resources and Societies (on various websites)

 

For information about history of the church or memorials around the village, please select from:

 

Previous Publications

Snapshop Project

A photographic project, recording life in Helmdon during one week in 2011, repeating it again in 2021. More information is available here (on www.helmdonhistory.com)

 

Film: Helmdon 1999 – A Year in the Life of a Village

The film “Helmdon 1999 – A Year in the Life of a village”, produced by Helmdon WEA (Worker’s Educational Association) Local Studies Group, was completed in April 2000. Copies were given to the Record Office for posterity (with explanatory typescript) and to Helmdon Parish Council. Copies for loan are available to village organisations, please contact webmaster@helmdonhistory.com

 

Aspects of Helmdon – WEA Local Studies Group publication

In 1995 John Raybould tutored a WEA (Workers’ Educational Association) course entitled “The Changing Village”. It covered the last hundred years, and focused on Helmdon. His enthusiasm lingered after the course was over, whetting the appetite for further historical research, and several members of the original class formed themselves into a Local Studies Group. At the beginning, Val and Stewart Moir, Judy Cairns, Audrey Forgham (fomerly Harwood), Jean Spendlove and the late Will Watson were the main members. In Spring 2000 two new members, Danny and Kate Moody, joined the group, both very interested in the difficult-to-unravel early history of Helmdon.

From the outset, the group felt that what was researched should be recorded so, steered by Ross Vicars in the early years, and then by Audrey Forgham, a series of booklets entitled ‘Aspects of Helmdon’ were published between 1997 and 2008. A summary of the topics covered in each edition can be viewed here (on www.helmdonhistory.com)

All articles contained in the six editions of ‘Aspects of Helmdon’ have been copied to Helmdon Historical Articles (on www.helmdonhistory.com)

Helmdon Voice – Parish Council Newsletter

Helmdon Voice was published quarterly from 2011 to 2015.
Copies are available to view/download here (on www.helmdonhistory.com)

Helmdon Talkabout – Printed Village News Booklets

Helmdon Talkabout was published each spring and autumn up to issue 47, autumn 2010. Not published spring 2008, spring 2009 nor autumn 2009.
Publication information can be found here (on www.helmdonhistory.com)

 

Website History

Helmdon’s Original Website

The creation of a Helmdon web site was first mooted in 1999. This was www.helmdon.com, which evolved into a comprehensive village website with Danny Moody as webmaster and Audrey Forgham as website editor. It soon became a valuable resource for the whole village.  More information here (on www.helmdonhistory.com)

The website received much praise. In March 2002 it received the Amdow Web Design Community Website Award. It was reviewed by BBC’s Radio Five team as part of Simon Mayo’s regular “Top Web Sites of the Week” feature, and in April 2002 they placed it fourth. Later the website was acclaimed the UK Villages Online Web Site for 2003.

Further success came in the Calor Village of the Year 2005, when the web site was instrumental in Helmdon winning the ICT Village of the Year for Central England (see press cutting on www.helmdonhistory.com).

In 2013 the website won a prize for being the most informative website in Northamptonshire in a competition run by Northamptonshire ACRE.

The Parish Council Website

In 2018 Helmdon Parish Council took over the transmitting information about the council and village community activities using a new website, namely www.helmdonparishcouncil.gov.uk. The original website (www.helmdon.com) became www.helmdonhistory.com and continues to record the history of the village and it’s environment.

Helmdon’s Latest Parish Council Website

In 2024, the Parish Council switched to a new service provider, giving us a new web address https://helmdonparishcouncil.gov.uk.

This new parish council website is designed to be easy to use and easy to maintain. Local news, events and community information continue to be included.

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