In this blog, I follow a paper trail to uncover a succession of owners of a small farmhouse in Town Green, Great Ellingham. I begin with the auction of the property in 1884, and take the ownership back to at least 1800, and, perhaps, even further to the 1700s. 1884 Auction The Crown Public House…
Mary Dennis Inherits Property in Town Green
Legacy of Property and Land in Great Ellingham Anthony Porter of Great Ellingham died c.1786, and left all his freehold and copyhold lands in Great Ellingham to his niece, Mary Dennis (neé Willomatt). At this time, Mary was living in the town of Watton, some 8 miles from Great Ellingham. Mary’s use and benefit of…
Medieval Manor Hall House in Church Street – Part I
The fine thatched building standing in Church Street (not far from the Crown Public House), is one of the oldest properties in Great Ellingham. The Grade II listed building was (in relatively recent times) known as “Ye Olde Thatche Shoppe“. Thought to have been a medieval Manor Hall House (comprising a public hall with living…
Medieval Manor Hall House in Church Street – Part II
Daniel & Bridget Lister’s Ownership c.1769-1799 We pick up the story of the owners and occupiers of the fine thatched building in Church Street (and an adjacent House), following the death of widow Bridget Lister in 1802. You can read Part I of the story here. Although captured over 100 years later, the postcard shows…
Daniel William Cocking
Daniel Cocking was just 14 years of age when his maternal grandfather, Daniel Lister, died in 1799. He inherited all his grandfather’s property and land in Great Ellingham which included a thatched house in Church Street, which in more recent times, was known as ‘Ye Olde Thatche Shoppe‘. Although pictured over 100 years later, on…
James & Alice Sadd of White House Farm
Bill Note dated June 18th, 1922. James Sadd of White House Farm, Great Ellingham. Author’s own collection James and Alice Sadd came to White House Farm in Long Street in 1902, probably not long after their marriage which took place earlier that year. The 1911 census captures 32 year old James Sadd with his 31…
Great Ellingham born James Buck dies in Fakenham
Aged 65, retired miller, James Buck, died at Fakenham in 1892, some 25 miles from his birthplace of Great Ellingham. Early Life A son of Benjamin Buck and his wife Frances (neé Flowers), James was born c.1817. He spent his early life in Great Ellingham. The 1841 census captures James (already working as a miller)…
Town’s Clay, Gravel & Water Pits
In the past, gravel and clay pits (together with water pits) may well have served much of the building needs in the village. A Particulars and Valuation c.1800 relating to the Inclosures of Great Ellingham, tells us where the village’s gravel, clay and water pits were at this time: Allotment on Low Common 1a 0r…
Robert Oldfield’s Cottage in Church Street
Amongst other things, the provisions of the Housing of the Working Classes Act gave enforcement powers to local authorities, in relation to sanitary conditions and overcrowding in housing. 1901 census Wreningham born William Lane came to Great Ellingham with his wife and two children before the birth of their son William c.1896. The 1901 census…
Poor’s Firing Land
In the informative booklet “A Little History of Great Ellingham“, the author, Mr William Robert Lebbell (1885-1965), mentions that (in the 1960s) the ‘Poor’s Firing Land’ was the only link from the time of the Great Ellingham Inclosures (c.1800) with modern Great Ellingham. Mr Lebbell describes the pieces of land as being untended and in…