Lorna Delanoy scrapbook

Lorna Delanoy Library

Publications by Lorna Delanoy

Lorna Delanoy Scrap Book

 

Farmland Museum – Haddenham Farmland Series No.1

 

Farmland Museum 1969 – 1992

 

How it was – Memories of Life in the Fen Country

Isle of Ely Scrap Book – Reminders of the Lost Isle

 

Haddenham Past and Present

Bog Oak Country – more stories to tell from villages around Ely. Interviews with Ewart Drake, Charlie Ashton, Len Burton, Mabel Demaine, Eric Drake, Dibber of Prickwillow, George Green, Esther Howe, Pat Norman, Josh Scott, Frank Steel, George Amory and Fred Woolstenholmes.

Village Voices compiled by Lorna Delanoy and Valerie Bloye – more stories from around the Fens, Book Three. Interviews with George Amory, Charlie Ashton, Len Burton, Mabel Demaine, Eric Drake, George Green, Joe Haddock, Pat Norman, Jean Richards, Frank Steel,  and Fred Woolstenholmes.

When I was a child by Lorna Delanoy and Barbara Slade

Reflections of a Country Woman: Mabel Demaine ed Lorna Delanoy. Life in a Cambridgeshire Fen Village over 60 years [c1929] ago

Words Two compiled by Maureen Scott and Laura Delanoy. People, places and pictures of the Fen Country around Ely.

Ten Miles from Ely compiled by Lorna Delanoy MBE and Paul Melton. So Many Stories To Tell.

Words, Words and More Words compiled by Maureen Scott and Lorna Delanoy

Drake Diaries of Sutton in the Isle by Lorna Delanoy MBE B.Ed

One, Two, Three … A collection of memories from the area around Ely compiled by Lorna and Maureen

Hadnam Housen, a description of buildings and builders in the village of Haddenham

Farmland Museum, The Haddenham Farmland Series No. 1

 

Women’s Work is Never Done compiled by Lorna Delanoy MBE

 

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Rural Views by Lorna Delanoy:

 

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Photos of Haddenham by Lorna Delanoy:

 

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Farmland Museum photos by Lorna Delanoy:

 

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These poems reflect a lifetime of memories, friendships and experiences rooted in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Written with warmth, humour and affection, they celebrate the people, landscapes and events that shaped the author’s life, from wartime childhood and village traditions to nature, family and everyday moments. Together they offer a charming and deeply personal record of a changing rural world, reminding us that the ordinary experiences of life often provide the richest stories.

Lorna Delanoy’s collection of Mike Delanoy’s poems:

 

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Manuscript of Farmland Museum History

This handwritten memoir records the remarkable story of the creation and early development of the Farmland Museum, written by one of its founders. Beginning with a young boy’s fascination for collecting pottery fragments and other rural artefacts in the family garden in 1969, it traces how a small childhood collection grew into a community museum through the generosity of local people, extensive publicity and an enthusiasm for preserving the disappearing heritage of the Cambridgeshire Fens.

The author describes the museum’s rapid expansion, its growing reputation through newspaper and television coverage, and the invaluable support of local farmers, craftsmen and villagers who donated historic objects and shared their memories. Particularly engaging are the anecdotes surrounding individual exhibits—from carts, horse-drawn implements and wheelwrights’ tools to household objects and farming equipment—which reveal the rich stories behind the collection.

A recurring theme is the educational value of the museum. School visits, talks to local organisations and encounters with children demonstrate how the collection brought Fenland’s agricultural past to life and inspired new generations to value their local heritage. The memoir also highlights the challenges of running a voluntary museum, balancing public enthusiasm with limited resources while maintaining an ever-growing collection.

More than simply a history of a museum, the manuscript is an affectionate portrait of a rural community and its traditions. It captures a period when many aspects of traditional farming and village life were rapidly disappearing, and records the determination of local people to preserve not only the objects themselves but also the memories, skills and stories associated with them. As such, it provides an important firsthand account of one of Cambridgeshire’s most significant local heritage projects.