Reeve Family Archive

Gift day, refreshments plus ...

Reeve Family Archive

The Reeve family moved to the Stondon Massey Rectory in 1849, and lived in the village for almost a century.  This archive is a generous donation by one of their descendants.  It represents an interesting social history of a well-to-do family of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Please handle these items with care.

1.                   The commonplace book of Captain Edward Reeve (1785-1867).  He wrote this manuscript at The White House, Ongar, in about 1860.  Edward Reeve purchased the Rectory for himself and the advowson for his clergyman son Edward James for £700 in 1849.

2.                   ‘Jottings’ by Edward Henry Lisle Reeve (1858-1936) written in 1881.  He was known as Lisle to his family.

“My father you know is always telling us the same old stories, and then he will turn to me and ask ‘if I remember that’.”

3.                   ‘Plauti Comoediae. Tom. I’.   Lisle was educated at Harrow School.  This book is dated September 1875.

4.                   Lisle was a keen athlete and cyclist during his youth.   The trophy shows success in 1880 in a one-mile and ten-mile race, with a contemporary photograph.  ‘Safety bicycles’ had just been invented, allowing the rider to touch the ground with their feet, and were first catalogued in 1885. 

5.                   Two books belonging to Edward Reeve.  ‘Watts’, a hymn book dated 1815.  Highlighted is the hymn ‘Give to our God immortal praise’.

6.                   ‘Prayer’ dated 1815.  The Book of Common Prayer, which then included prayers for the deliverance of King James I from the Gunpowder Treason (illustrated above), and a form of prayer with fasting in remembrance of the martyrdom of King Charles I.  These remained in the Prayer Book until 1859.  The service of Morning Prayer included a prayer for “our most gracious Sovereign Lord King GEORGE” (George III who had reigned since 1759 – and by 1815 was bonkers) and “our gracious Queen Charlotte, their Royal Highnesses George Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the Royal Family” (George Prince of Wales was Regent and later, from 1820 to 1830 King George IV).

7.                   ‘Church Services’.  A Book of Common Prayer inscribed “Elizabeth Jane Reeve. Aug^st. 22^nd 1884. With her father’s love”.  Jane was one of three daughters of Edward James Reeve (1821-1893), then Rector of Stondon Massey.  The book was given on her 25^th birthday. The same Morning Prayer records “our most gracious Sovereign Lady, Queen VICTORIA” followed by a prayer for “Albert Edward Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales and all the Royal Family” (Albert Edward eventually became King Edward VII in 1901.  Queen Victoria’s consort, Albert, had died in 1861).

8.                   ‘Hymns for a Week’ and ‘Concordance’.

9.                   ‘Death Certificate of Edward James Reeve’ and Hymns sung at his funeral at Stondon Massey, August 1893.

10.               ‘British Museum. Reading Room’. Rules, dated 1894, reflecting Lisle’s interest in local history.

11.               ‘Stondon Massey’.  The parish history written by Revd. E H L Reeve (Lisle).

12.               Miscellaneous Papers.

The archive is the generous donation of a descendant of Edward Henry Lisle Reeve.

'Allegri Miserere and other choral masterpieces'. St Barnabas, Great Tey. Saturday 1 October 2011

Ten powerful voices in perfect balance of sound gave a memorable recital at St Barnabas Church Great Tey near Colchester on Saturday as part of the Roman River Festival.  The Armonico Consort under the direction of Christopher Monks performed an a cappella programme entitled ‘Naked Byrd’ which explored pieces composed by composers who, according to the Director, “wore their hearts on their sleeves”, writing some of the music in difficult circumstances.  William Byrd, of course, wrote music for the catholic liturgy at a time when the celebration of mass was illegal. The programme spanned 800 years of choral music from Hildegard of Bingen through to the modern Morten Lauriden’s ‘O Magnum Mysterium’, a Christmas Matins piece beautifully sung.  

The representative piece by Byrd was the ‘Agnus Dei’ from the ‘Mass for four voices’ in a slower reading then I had heard before, but never lacking in movement and certainly not a forensic dissection of the parts employed. Other pieces of that era included Victoria’s ‘Libera Nos, Salve Nos’ from the ‘Officium Defunctorum’ and an arrangement by the director of Tallis’ psalter setting ‘Why fum’th in fight the Gentiles spite’.  It would be entirely wrong to pick a highlight from the programme because all seventeen pieces were beautifully rendered.  No single voice overpowered another.  All blended harmoniously.  Allegri’s ‘Miserere’ was emblazoned across the tickets (not ‘Naked Byrd’) and clearly was a big draw to the sold out event. John Tavener’s  ‘Funeral Ikos’ and ‘Song for Athene’ were central works in the second half of the concert.

The ‘Armonico Consort’ have been formed for just a decade and are a highly sought after choir, which is small wonder judging by the wonderful sacred sound on Saturday.  If the two CDs entitled ‘Naked Byrd’ are as good as the live performance, and I have no reason to doubt otherwise, then these will act as a marvellous memento of a warm October evening in the Essex countryside.

The Roman River Festival is an annual event now in its eleventh season. For more information visit www.romanrivermusic.org.uk

Photo: St Barnabas Church Great Tey (pictured in 1985) inset on cover of this year’s Festival programme.http://www.romanrivermusic.org.uk

Reeve Family Archive to go on display

Books, manuscripts and documents relating to a Victorian Rector and his family will go on display for the first time at Stondon Massey on Saturday 15 October.

The archive highlights the life and times of a well-to-do family from the Essex / Suffolk border.  

Edward Reeve (1785-1867) served in the West Suffolk Militia before purchasing Stondon Massey Rectory in 1849 for his clergyman son and moving himself and his family into comfortable retirement.  Among the items on display at St Peter & St Paul Church will be his commonplace book written in the last years of his life and another manuscript of 'Jottings' written in 1881 by his grandson, Lisle.  Edward Henry Lisle Reeve, the subject of a recent biography, was born in the village and was the Rector of Stondon Massey, succeeding his father, from 1893 to 1935.  He died 75 years ago this year. 'Jottings' is a combination of family history and stories, told presumably after dinner. It is a fascinating social history about the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.  Reeve's cycling trophy (dated 1880) and photograph can also be seen. A Book of Common Prayer, dated 1817, will be on display which contains prayers associated with the Gunpowder Plot and the Martyrdom of King Charles I.

Canon Reeve is credited by many for bringing William Byrd to local public attention during his incumbency in the early twentieth century.

The archive is a generous donation by descendants of the family. 

Visitors will be able to purchase for the first time three booklets transcribing extracts from the commonplace books.  Also available will be the recently published biography and 'William Byrd Some Notes'. Booklets are £2 each and support the upkeep of the church and churchyard.

St Peter & St Paul Church will be open on Saturday 15 October 2011 from 10.00am to 3.00pm.  Refreshments will also be available on what will be the church's annual Gift Day.

Byrd in America

The 14th William Byrd Festival begins in Portland, Oregon today (technically tomorrow if you are in England).  For more information visit www.byrdfestival.org . We would love to hear from anyone who is attending the three-weekend event.

Was Byrd buried at Stondon Massey?

Stondon Massey churchyard will have a newly constructed Garden of Remembrance this year. The money has been raised from an anonymous donation and the receipts from a highly successful William Byrd Festival held in May. It will be a three-sided commemorative wall on which plaques will be placed to the memory of those who have cremated burials in the churchyard.

William Byrd, the great composer, is thought to have been buried in Stondon Massey churchyard. However there is no conclusive evidence that the wishes expressed in his Last Will and Testament were carried out. The absence of the Parish Burial Register before 1708 means that Byrd’s burial place may never be truly known but, to date, there is no evidence to the contrary. There are some who believe that the lack of evidence to the contrary is not proof of confirming evidence.

It is interesting to look back over the recognition of William Byrd’s death over the past one hundred years or so. In 1906 William Barclay Squire expressed an interest to the then Rector of Stondon Massey that, “if by chance you ever succeed in proving that Byrd is really buried at Stondon … I will collect enough to put up a memorial to him in the church or churchyard”. The Rector was Revd. Edward Henry Lisle Reeve (1858 – 1936), a minister of religion and amateur historian.

At the time of the Tercentenary of Byrd’s death in 1923 Reeve wrote to ‘The Times’ suggesting, “Is it not time (in these broader-minded days) that some local monument were erected to his memory?” The London concerts realised a sufficient surplus which was employed towards the memorial inside St Peter & St Paul Church being erected. But the words on the Memorial carefully ignore any suggestion that Byrd was buried at Stondon: He “lived … for the last thirty years of his life. He died 4 July 1623 aged eighty”. This was historically accurate at the time.

Reeve suggests that since Stondon is the only place named in the Will “we can claim Byrd for our own”. He adds elsewhere in his notes, “I little thought, twenty years ago, that I should have witnessed such a Service [referring to the Memorial’s dedication] … or found Stondon so generally accepted as Byrd’s home and burial place”.

Stondon Singers: 1611 and all that

Although not entitled '1611 and all that', the William Byrd Anniversary Concert at St Peter and St Paul Church explored within the wide-ranging tribute three associations with the year 1611.  Tomas Luis de Victoria, who died in 1611, was represented in the first half by the 'Missa Vidi Speciosam'.  In the second, the 400th anniversary of the Authorised Version of the Bible was celebrated in Michael Aves' 'A Vision of the Word' which drew from the book of Revelation centered on the text in Chapter 1: "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of prophesy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand". Byrd's own music was represented by the songs 'This Sweet and Merry Month' and 'Though Amaryllis dance in green', the former re-published in a collection of 1611; 'Sing Joyfully', the anthem which started the concert; and, three versions of 'Ave Maria'  as representative of his sacred Latin output. At the back of the church the sound was most wonderful and our church representative at the end bid them thanks for the concert and their support of the recent William Byrd Festival, adding "same place, same time, next year".  Hear, hear! 

Stondon Singers: William Byrd Anniversary Concert

Tuesday 5 July. 8pm.  St Peter & St Paul Church, Stondon Massey, Essex. CM15 0LD.
Tickets will be available on the door.

Byrd is now on Twitter

In addition to this site we have opened a Twitter account.
User name: Stondon Massey.
Account: @WilliamByrd1623.  

LMMC Sing Byrd at Stondon

London Motet & Madrigal Club visit to St Peter & St Paul Church Stondon Massey

The Choir run through an extract from the 'Four Part Mass', which has a
strong association with  Ingatestone Hall

Over thirty members of the London Motet and Madrigal Club visited St Peter & St Paul Church Stondon Massey today to sing music by Byrd and his contemporaries.  It was part of their annual visit to places associated with the great composers of the golden era.  Their informal programme included 'Ave Verum Corpus' by Byrd as well as 'Laetentur Coeli' and extracts from the 'Mass for Four Voices' - (Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei).   They also sang two pieces by Tallis: 'O Nata Lux' and 'If Ye Love Me'.  Before they sang, the church's local historian gave a short talk on William Byrd and his association with Stondon Massey and Ingatestone Hall, considering how Byrd's Catholic faith was known but quietly ignored because of this friends in high places. Pictured here is the Club in full voice. 

A coach outing to sing at Stondon where Byrd lived

London Motet and Madrigal Club sing Byrd at Stondon

The London Motet and Madrigal Club's annual summer visit is held today exploring the music and places associated with William Byrd in Essex. Leaving Shenfield railway station by coach, the party will come along the lanes to St Peter & St Paul Church here in Stondon Massey, the village where the great composer lived in semi-retirement until his death in 1623. After morning refreshments the group will be entertained with a short talk about William Byrd and his association with the parish. This is the first time our local historian has given a talk on the subject. He is the author of ‘William Byrd: Some Notes’ a booklet on sale in aid of church funds. Following the talk the focus will be on singing. After lunch the LMMC move on to Ingatestone Hall, still the home of the Petre family where Byrd was their musician.

The Club was formed in 1942 for “the cultivation of the art of singing motets, madrigals and other similar music”. They sing for pleasure. Annual visits have taken place since the early 1960s to churches and stately homes associated, where possible, with the great madrigalists. Their last visit to Stondon Massey was in 1988, so they make a very welcome return thanks to a connection with the Rector and an LMMC member, a former organist in the parish where she came from. Members of the congregation are delighted to act as hosts in return for a donation to church funds.

On their very first outing to this part of Essex in 1965 the Club sang music by Byrd and his pupils Morley and Tomkins, in the Long Gallery of Ingatestone Hall. They then sang the ‘Agnus Dei’ from Byrd’s Four Part Mass and music by Tallis “in the fine acoustic of Stondon Church”.

This year the LMMC will sing an all Byrd selection: anthems in the morning at Stondon, and madrigals in the afternoon at Ingatestone.

For more about the London Motet and Madrigal Club visit http://www.londonmotetandmadrigalclub.org.uk/Home_Page.html