New materials

Contemporary material created by or for Flamstead Heritage – or that has been produced recently and is published here.

Printed Materials

Visit the Find Out (more) page to view or download PDFs of all the printed materials produced by Flamstead Heritage such as boards, panels, leaflets and booklets.

St Leonard’s Educational Resource

Visit the St Leonard’s Educational Resource page for materials supporting discovery learning in mediaeval social history, geography, and religious practice.

  • learners aged 4 to 13 for self-study; (Key Stage 3 materials also appeal for adults)
  • teachers using the provided lesson plans, editable slides, activities, and other source materials.

Reports & Surveys

Title: St Leonard’s Church Flamstead Graffiti Survey Interpretation Report
Issue: 1.0, May 2024
Author: CHAMPION, Matthew J
Published by: Flamstead Heritage
Format: searchable PDF; 65pp, 4.2 MB
Rights Status: the author, licensed to Flamstead Heritage
View/download: from here

From the Project Brief: “The survey was initiated to undertake a variety of non-invasive photographic and measured raking light surveys of the accessible areas of St Leonard’s church, Flamstead. The purpose … was to fully record the location and details of the surviving historic graffiti, and to assess their origin and the information presented by these drawings and texts, as part of a wider National Lottery Heritage Fund conservation and restoration project.”

Title: St Leonard’s Church Flamstead Fabric Survey Report
Issue: 1.0, July 2024
Author: CHAMPION, Matthew J
Published by: Flamstead Heritage
Format: searchable PDF; 60pp, 3.9 MB
Rights Status: the author, licensed to Flamstead Heritage
View/download: from here

From the Project Brief: “The purpose was to undertake a detailed evaluation and study of the visible fabric of the church, with a view to identifying construction techniques and building phases, and thereby gain a fuller understanding of the chronological development of the site and suggest a more accurate phasing of the visible construction periods.”

View/download: report

View/download: photos

or as gallery from here

Title: South Porch Graffit Survey Report
Date: January 2025
Author: DEAN. Hartley & DEAN, Pam
Published by: Flamstead Heritage
Format: PDF: 2pp, 1.3 MB; JPEGs: set of 6 photos
Rights Status: the authors, licensed to Flamstead Heritage

No doubt inspired by Matthew Champion’s survey of the graffiti inside St Leonard’s, local volunteers Pam and Hartley Dean conducted a survey of those outside the south porch. The results can be viewed or downloaded – as a short illustrated report and as a set of photographs (right-click on a photo to download).

Living Memories: oral history

Following memory-jogging events with slide shows and afternoon tea, some of the older Flamstead residents shared their memories of growing up in the village. Their audio recordings take us back to a time when Flamstead was a much more rural community, where you had to go to the village pump for water…and of course, long before the M1 Motorway was built. They can be heard here.

Title: Living Memory: Harry Birtley
Recording Date: August 2025
Authors: BIRTLEY, Harry & GIBSON, Carol
Published by: Flamstead Heritage
Format: MP3, 27MB
Rights Status: the authors, licensed to Flamstead Heritage
Listen/download: from here or press the play button on the control panel.

I remember after a cricket match you could buy beers for both teams in the Spotted Dog and get 24 pints for a pound.

Title: Living Memory: Jeni Bowman née Flitton
Recording Date: December 2025
Authors: BOWMAN, Jeni & GIBSON, Carol
Published by: Flamstead Heritage
Format: MP3, 18MB
Rights Status: the authors, licensed to Flamstead Heritage
Listen/download: from here or press the play button on the control panel.

Trowley Bottom was very isolated and they had their own shops and bakers. They used to call it Trowley Docks down here because it was always flooded?

Title: Living Memory: Aubrey Brett
Recording Date: April 2025
Authors: BRETT, Aubrey & GIBSON, Carol
Published by: Flamstead Heritage
Format: MP3, 22MB
Rights Status: the authors, licensed to Flamstead Heritage
Listen/download: from here or press the play button.

One of my earliest memories is when London was being bombed, we could see from the house (in Friendless Lane) the fires in London.

Title: Living Memory: Margaret Day (1938-2025)
Recording Date: July 2024
Authors: DAY, Margaret & GIBSON, Carol
Published by: Flamstead Heritage
Format: MP3, 25MB
Rights Status: the authors, licensed to Flamstead Heritage
Listen/download: from here or press the play button on the control panel.

I left school at 15 and started work in the sweet factory at Redbourn. They moved me up to the coffee department and I was a checker there. I met my husband there at Brooke Bond.

Title: Living Memory: Shirley Tushingham
Recording Date: August 2024
Authors: TUSHINGHAM, Shirley & GIBSON, Carol
Published by: Flamstead Heritage
Format: MP3, 29MB
Rights Status: the authors, licensed to Flamstead Heritage
Listen/download: from here or press the play button on the control panel.

When I was 11 I did the milk round with a horse and trap. We started at Hill Farm and helped with the bottling of the milk, set up the horse and cart and then delivered the milk to both Flamstead and Markyate.