An aerial view of Steeple Bumpstead. I discovered by chance that my Woodham (and Suckling) ancestors originated from this village in north Essex. I was checking the 1881 census in my local library and discovered that my great-great grandfather on my mother’s side had been born there. I then went along to the Chelmsford Record Office and, in one afternoon, was able to trace my ancestors back a further 100 years. This is one of the joys of being able to trace an ancestor to a small village. However, on my father’s side they are all London born and I have yet to discover any solid proof of my paternal grandmother’s date of birth!