White House Farm, Long Street, Great EllinghamCourtesy Justin Wilkins From Great Dunham to Great Ellingham It may well have been around 1839 that Thomas and Elizabeth Rix moved from Great Dunham to Great Ellingham. Thomas Rix purchased White House Farm, which included several acres of arable land. Marriage Prior to moving to the village, Thomas…
Widow Eliza Rix marries her Lodger William Kerrison
Eliza Rix was 33 years old when her husband Thomas Rix died at the age of 76 in February, 1870. The couple had been married nearly 17 years during which time Eliza had given birth to 7 known children. Sadly, Thomas and Eliza’s youngest child (and only son), Benjamin Robert, died at just one year…
George & Louisa Edwards both die from Phthisis
According to Simon Willis in his book ‘How our Ancestors Died‘, at least one in six people died of tuberculosis during the Victorian period. Tuberculosis was also known as phthisis as well as consumption. My own family (as well as those families living in Great Ellingham), were no exception in being affected by this disease….
The Tragic Life and Death of Anna Eliza Rix
There is no doubt that life can be arduous and hard. At the turn of the 20th century, every day life for some of the people in Great Ellingham was no exception. A fair few families found themselves living in squalid conditions. Others suffered the loss of loved ones – the ‘breadwinner‘, the ‘house-keeper’ or…
Legacy funds two cottages at the Baptist Burial Ground
Extract from O.S. Map c.1945Courtesy Ray & Maureen Beales The blue arrow on the above extract from a map dated c.1945, shows the position of the ‘Burying Ground Cottages’ in Great Ellingham. However, the cottages were built over a century earlier. Tithe Map The Great Ellingham Tithe Map of 1843 shows a cottage and garden…
Great Ellingham cattle dealer caught up in ‘daring robbery’ in Norwich
Illustration Christine Fuller The following article was published in the Bury & Norwich Post on Wednesday 21st November, 1832: A daring robbery was committed on Saturday evening, about seven o’clock, in St Stephen’s Street, upon a cattle dealer from Great Ellingham, who was holding his horse at the door of the Two-necked Swan, when he…
William Day, formerly of Great Ellingham
The edition of the Bury & Norwich Post of Tuesday 15th June, 1869, included the following death notice: On the 8th instant, aged one year, the infant son of the late Mr William Day of Eye, Suffolk, formerly of Great Ellingham I endeavoured to find more information about this infant and his father, William Day….
Timeline of Tanyard Farm Cottages 1800s to 1954
Tanyard Farm CottagesPhotograph courtesy of Bryan Dye At the turn of the 19th century, Tanyard Farm was owned by John Warren. The property then comprised a house, tan office, barn, stable, yard and garden. Warren also owned a nearby beam shed and barn, together with several acres of land. In addition, Warren owned other cottages….
Brief History of the former ‘Beer House’ the Queen’s Head
The former Beer House and Queen’s Head Public HousePhotograph taken 2019 Historic England describes the Grade II Listed Building ‘The Old Queen’s Head’ as a late 17th century timber framed building. With a thatched gabled roof, the building is constructed on a flint plinth with a rendered wattle and daub infill. Built during the reign…
The School House through Time
The ‘School House’ is pictured to the right of the above postcard, which is postmarked 1905. The ‘new’ Great Ellingham Boys & Girls Board Schools were built in Hingham Road in 1896. The schools replaced two existing schools – the former British School in Long Street and the former National School along the Attleborough Road….