THURROCK Nub News is delighted to bring you the first in a regular series of articles produced by leading local historian Susan Yates, chair of Thurrock's Historical Society.

Susan wrote a number of articles for the Thurrock Independent (which can be read via the red button below) and she will now become a regular contributor to this site. Welcome Susan!

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MANY people know about Col. Whitmore and Col. Sherwood and their contribution to North Stifford but I often get asked questions about North Stifford's Field of Peace.

This field is on the south bank of the Mardyke River between the river and North Stifford village. The field was given to the people of North Stifford by Lady Mary Milward Clarke.

She was the widow of Sir Fielding Clarke and on 19th June 1933 she donated the land as a place where people could go and sit in peace, hence the name.

This area now forms part of the Mardyke Valley way between Ship Lane, Aveley and Fen Lane, Bulphan. This path is just over 4 miles in length and passes Low Well Wood, Brannetts Wood, Davy Down, Stifford Field of Peace, through Orsett to Bulphan Fen.

Lady Mary Milward Clarke was the wife of Sir Fielding Clarke of Coppid Hall. He was born on 23rd February 1851 the son of Henry Booth Fielding and his wife Isabelle in London. His father was a solicitor and Fielding like his father followed the profession of law.

He was educated in Switzerland and on returning to England went to King's College London and London University to study law. On 12th November 1872 he was admitted to the Middle Temple and in 1876 was called to the bar of the Middle Temple.

He practiced law on the North East circuit until 1881 when he changed career paths becoming a civil servant being appointed as Attorney General of Fiji until 1885. He was Chief Justice of Fiji and Chief Judicial Commissioner Western Pacific from 1882 to 1884. In 1885 he became Chief Justice of Fiji and Chief Judicial Commissioner Western Pacific until 1889.

In the same year he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong. It was in 1888 when he married Mary Milward Pierce daughter of Justice Timbrell Pierce. They had no children of their own but adopted a daughter. Fielding was knighted in 1894 and appointed Chief Justice of Jamaica in 1896 until 1911 when he retired.

Initially Sir Fielding and his wife moved to Southchurch, Southend and eventually to Coppid Hall, North Stifford where he died on 30th July 1928. In his will he left £37,042 9s. 4d. to his wife.

Coppid Hall stands at the end of the High Road and is described by Historic England as a late 18th century house in stock brick with a red tiled roof with parapetted verges. It has two stories plus attics with six windows with double hung vertical sliding sash windows with segmented heads and a blank window in the centre.

There is a plaque high up on the front of the house above the blank window which states "This House hath been anciently called Coppid Hall". The original Coppid Hall was built by 1538 and was a farm house with a farm of 100 acres.

It was rebuilt in 1753 and altered and extended by James Wyatt the architect in the 19th century. Mary and their adopted daughter, Margaret, left the house about a year after Sir Fielding died. Margaret missed the house with its croquet lawn, tennis court, fountain and lovely grounds.

During the Second World War Coppid Hall became a warden's post where they had a large container which held 2 gallons of water for emergency use for the villagers.

Sadly after this the house fell in to disuse and as a result a very bad state of repair. In 1968 the house was sold at auction but for some reason it was again left as a result he condition deteriorated even further until the roof fell in. Eventually the council stepped in forcing the owners to maintain the building and thus preserve this Grade II listed building.