North Stifford Village

Aspects of History through the eyes of a small English village


The little settlement of Stifford has existed here in the county of Essex for at least 1,000 years.

What is left of the heart of the old English village of North Stifford still survives today, against all the odds, on the edge of an urban landscape.

READ ABOUT centuries of village history entwined with the history of old England - PLUS over 200 pictures.


Book - The Idyll in the Middyl £15 each plus £3 postage/delivery to UK (total £18)

If you would like your book signed (inside the back cover) by the authors please select in the drop down box.

Free book signing please select
Book Signing
FREE delivery to North Stifford ONLY
Book - The Idyll in the Middyl - £15 each

If you would like your book signed (inside the back cover) by the authors please select in the drop down box.

Free book signing please select
Book Signing


Also available at Thurrock Thameside Complex Reception and Swan Books, Upminster


More about The Idyll in the Middyl
This lovely souvenir book of North Stifford Village comprises 112 large pages printed in full colour with over 200 pictures. It tells the story of this little English village through the ages and how some of the notable historical events of old England would have affected day-to-day life in the village.

If you love old buildings and thatched cottages and tales of the past, you will love 'The Idyll in the Middyl.'

This is a story book, a picture book, a history book and a local history book - and we even throw in a few poems by The Local Yokel.

Read about thatched cottages, old buildings and manor houses, past and present, St. Mary's church, and the surrounding countryside of Davy Down, the Mardyke River Valley and The Field of Peace.

Read about witches, the village ghost, stagecoaches, pilgrims, the stocks, war time, Ardale Approved School, and the village's connection to The Reformation and The Domesday Book.

Then there is wife selling, climbing boys, dong farmers, The Broderers, the chalk pits, early local enterprise, and much, much more about life in a bygone age.

This historical treasury tells the story of the heart of an old English village as it has survived against all the odds in the middle of Thurrock's ever expanding urban landscape, and also gives a fascinating snapshot of this little village into the 21st century.

Also featured: Stifford Lodge (now The Park Inn), Coppid Hall, The Stepney Children's Home, Ford Place, The Dog and Partridge pub (formerly 'Lovelands' and then 'The Clockhouse'), Belhus Cricket Club, The Whitmores, and how wig powder was taxed to buy gunpowder.

Cliff and Jan Cowin, the authors, designers and publishers of 'The Idyll in the Middyl' have lived in the little village of North Stifford since 1984. They have spent three years researching and writing this book in their spare time. They hope that this 21st century book about North Stifford will help to secure the future of the village and protect it from further development by explaining how important it is to preserve the few precious remaining treasures of the past that still remain, hanging on by their teeth, in the middle of this industrialised and highly populated area of southeast England.

My pen pal (since 1959) Vicki Covill who lives in Davy Downs Cottage sent me a copy of your book. It was so nice to read the history and see all the pictures. I visited in 2008 and it was fun to see familiar places again.
I am from Bloomington, Indiana in the United States. I have shown your book to my family and friends. It's a hit "across the pond"!
Thank you for such a wonderful book!
Kay Beck

Sorry I couldn't open your "Guestbook" link but felt it would be good to give feedback on The Idyll in the Middyl. We purchased your book for our daughter who recently moved to North Stifford and as anticipated they were delighted to learn so much about their new area - the history, detail and photographs were all excellent - in fact we all enjoyed reading it on Boxing Day! Your production must have taken many hours of work and we hope everyone who buys the book enjoys it as much as we all have. Barbara

My compliments to you on this wonderful book - it's lovely and so interesting!
Alison


Thank you so much for all this. We ordered a copy of The Idyll in the Middle and funnily enough it's just arrived! You're right, the photos inside the church are lovely. AP



The spelling of our book name can be a bit confusing so here are some alternative spellings so that the search engines can find us:
The Idyll in the Middle, The Iddyl in the Midyl, The Idyl in the Mydyll, The Ideal in the Middle, The Idel in the Middle. or North Stifford Book