Listening Bench

Between our two villages on Packhorse Bridge we have a ‘Talking Bench’ also referred to as a ‘Listening Bench’. Created in 2016 as part of a Heritage Lottery Funded project with Essex Record Office Sound Archives, the bench contains a number of recordings that can be played.

Three of the short recordings cover the histories of Kelvedon, Feering and Packhorse Bridge, whilst the other recordings are extracts from the Sound Archives made by local people recalling their memories of times past.

Our bench is one of a series of ‘Listening Benches’ across Essex. More details on the project and locations of the other benches cane be found at the ‘You are Hear project’ on the Essex Record Office website.

Access to Packhorse Bridge can be found on Feering Hill side of the River Blackwater, opposite The Railway Tavern. It is a lovely small island site which is maintained as a nature reserve by the Packhorse Bridge Society.