At the age of 75, Edward Howchen was laid to rest in the cemetery in Wymondham in the August of 1892. The 1891 census captures Edward Howchen with his wife Maria living in Middleton Street, Wymondham. The census tells us that Edward was a Primitive Methodist Minister, and that he was born around 1817 in…
Author: Heather Etteridge
‘Stranger in Blood’
Extract from 28th January 1898 Inland Revenue Account of Succession to real or leasehold property completed by R W H Venn, Solicitor, Attleborough for the Executors of William Lebbell deceased The above extract from an Inland Revenue Account dated 28th January 1898, confirms that Hannah Saunders, a beneficiary of property under the Will of the…
Ellis Houchen Admitted as Copyhold Tenant
In the nineteenth century, some of the land in Great Ellingham was freehold (or held on a long lease). However, other land was copyhold. This was another form of property ownership before its abolition in the 1920s. There were three Manors in Great Ellingham: Ellingham Rectory, Ellingham Hall and, the largest, Bury Hall. Most of…
Mr Isaac Lebbell, a Bankrupt
Auction The edition of the Norwich Mercury dated 14th May 1887, included the announcement of a forthcoming Auction of properties situate in Griston, Scoulton and Great Ellingham belonging to Mr Isaac Lebbell, a Bankrupt. The Auction, by the firm of Edward Banham & Son of Methwold and Watton, would take place at five o’clock in…
Emigration to Australia
Whether William Miller saw an advertisement in the local newspaper offering a new and better life in Australia, or he knew of a family who had taken (or was about to take) such a journey, 39 year old William Miller with his wife and children emigrated from Great Ellingham to Australia in 1852. Born in…
Making a Pair of Trousers at the top of the Spire!
The lights which adorn the church tower of St James at Christmas draw our attention to the tower and spire during the winter months, but I wonder how many of us look up at the spire at any other time? When he wrote his notes about the village in 1951, former Great Ellingham resident, William…
Penalty & Costs of Thirty Shillings
Furious Driving James Wilkins of Great Ellingham appeared before the Magistrates at the Petty Sessions held at New Buckenham in early May 1864. An account of the offence of furious driving on the road from Great Ellingham to Stow Bedon was given by Police Constable Bugg. James Wilkins was convicted and adjudged to pay 30s…
William Barnard in Financial Difficulties at Bury Hall
To be unable to meet the demands of creditors would have been bad enough for William Barnard and his family to endure, but it seems that this Barnard family suffered additional heartache. A son of James and Sarah Barnard (nee Rose), William Barnard was born in Great Ellingham (most likely at Bury Hall) around 1835….
What’s In a Name?
When researching family history, it is not unusual to find the name by which an individual is known differing between census returns and other documentation, such as registrations of birth, marriages and deaths. In other blogs, I have mentioned the Dungar Anderson family of Great Ellingham where we find members of this family using the…
Auction of the Crown with ‘Good Potential’
1845 Auction Lydia Barnard had been the licensee of the Crown Inn at Great Ellingham for many years prior to the proposed sale of the premises at Auction. The Norwich Mercury of Saturday, September 13th, 1845 included a notice “To Brewers” of the forthcoming Auction by George W Salter of the Leys, Attleburgh. The Auction…