Cheryl Hearn grew up here in Braintree for 28 years of her life before moving to Leigh-on-Sea some seven years ago. Despite not being local anymore she has gifted the community of Braintree and beyond a fantastic resource in remembering ‘Braintree as it was’.
The Facebook group ‘Braintree as it was’ was created one evening during the first lockdown back in 2020. Cheryl and her partner were looking through pictures of his hometown ‘back in the day’ which stirred memories in Cheryl; “I used to love sitting with my grandad, looking back and chatting on how things used to be and as my grandad is no longer with us, I can no longer do this with him. So, I thought why not set up a page on ‘Braintree as it was’ and see what response I get, not expecting the response that I got. I have been completely overwhelmed by the response that the page has had”.
The response Cheryl alludes to has been staggering: the group is not yet twelve months old but can boast an article dedicated to it in your Braintree CommunityAd magazine and more impressively 7,500 members. When asked why it’s so popular Cheryl responds “I think the group has become popular as people are looking back on times that maybe they used to reminisce with their parents/grandparents and generally how the town was and how much it had changed, what shops were in town”.
The page does make for fascinating viewing and is a useful tool when using it to identify past relatives/friends and places. “I have had a few private messages from people thanking me for setting up this page as they have found long lost friends or relatives that have moved to different parts of the world or only just around the corner”. CommunityAd had the pleasure of asking Cheryl about the group she’s created which has brought so much joy to many as she shares with us “I have been sent lots of different stories of how people have found out about their family’s pasts which they never knew about. One story that I got sent which was such a lovely story to receive, was a lady’s father has dementia, and when she could go and see him she would save some of the pictures that were posted or some comments and show her dad and they would have a chat about it”.
What makes Braintree such a fascinating area?
How things have changed in my time let alone before me, I love looking back on history of the place I lived.
Braintree dates back over 4000 years, when it was just a small village, Romans and Saxons occupied the town at different times however the road names still live on. Most road names in Braintree coincide with the names of people who fought for the town.
Do you personally have a favourite period or aspect of Braintree’s history?
World War II, which again my grandad was part of, I used to look back with him at different things.
One thing that always sticks with me was that Braintree use to be a drop zone for the excess bombs that were left over from the raids on London. One bomb hit the corner of Bank Street near the White Hart pub, which managed to stay intact. On the opposite side of the road the buildings were demolished. Lloyds Bank was then built in 1958.
Finally, what made growing up/living in Braintree such a pleasant community to be a part of?
From a young age (4) I joined a band called Braintree Dimension which kept me busy a few evenings during the week and weekends, attending carnivals and competitions. I then joined Pantaloons, the local pantomime, which again I was busy rehearsing and then a week of shows. Joining these groups, I made lots of friends whom I still keep in touch with.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I would like to thank everyone who is in the group who are posting comments and pictures of Braintree as it was. It’s got me through lockdown (keeping busy) and I hope it’s got other people through lockdown, too.