was sold to Courtaulds for a cash payment of £1,500. Stephen and his father joined Courtaulds as employees. Amenities Halstead has a library in a large open-plan building, built in 1864–1866 as the corn exchange. It has also housed a technical school. Nearby Moyns Park, a Grade I listed Elizabethan country house, is where Ian Fleming put the finishing touches to his novel From Russia, with Love, according to the cover text of some recent editions. The town history society holds regular monthly meetings. There is a town museum attached to the town council offices featuring historical artefacts and objects of local interest. The Empire Theatre in Butler Road hosts occasional bingo nights. Halstead is home to Hume's Bakery, which opened in 1960 in the shop where it trades today. The Jubilee Drinking Fountain was designed by the architect and architectural designer, Leonard Shuffrey. The stone drinking fountain was presented to the town by George Courtauld, and commemorates the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Notable people In birth order: Robert Bourchier, 1st Baron Bourchier (died 1349), Lord Chancellor of England, had an estate here. John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Bourchier (died 1400), soldier and diplomat, inherited the estate here. Bartholomew Bourchier, 3rd Baron Bourchier (died 1409), politician, died at his estate here. Bernard Barton (1784–1849), Quaker poet, was apprenticed to a shopkeeper and married here. Dummy, the Witch of Sible Hedingham (c. 1788 – September 4, 1863), a deaf-mute charged with witchcraft, was beaten by a mob and died in Halstead workhouse. Samuel Courtauld (1793–1881), opened a textile mill here in 1818. George Courtauld (1802–1861), textile magnate, was married here in 1829. Isaac Baker Brown (1811–1873), notable gynaecologist and obstetrician, went to school here. Augustine Stow (1833–1903), Australian politician, was born here. Decimus Alfred Ball (1836–1890), notable slum landlord in London, was born here. Sir John Mark Davies (1840–1919), Australian politician, was born here. Samuel Courtauld (1876–1947), art collector and industrialist, became a director of the silk mill here in 1901. Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies (1891–1992), London-born actress, died here. Alan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury (1902–1998), grandson of the founder of the Sainsbury's supermarket chain, was a resident and died here. Steve Lamacq (born 1964), BBC Radio 6 Music DJ, grew up here, attended Ramsey School, and is a resident. Matt Cardle (born 1983), 2010 winner of The X Factor, is a resident. Schools Halstead's three primary schools are Holy Trinity, St Andrew's and