Members of the Baptist Church have met together in Great Ellingham since at least 1699. The semi-circular tablet in the front wall of the chapel gives the year ‘1699’. However this is the year of the formation of a Baptist Church in Great Ellingham, and not when the building was built. The chapel was built…
Author: Heather Etteridge
Elizabeth Asty provides a Meeting House for the Baptist Church
‘Elizabeth Asty’s House’ in Long Street. Photograph taken November 2024 In the late 17th century and into the 18th century, Elizabeth Asty lived in a cottage in Long Street. The cottage together with a stable and bakehouse and several parcels of land, once belonged to Elizabeth’s mother before her marriage to Elizabeth’s father, George Asty….
George Asty, Yeoman of Great Ellingham
On the 4th January, 1680, George Asty signed his last will and testament. John Lincoln, John Bush and Richard Pollards witnessed Asty’s signature. George Asty died between 1680 and 1681. House of Stuart It is a time when Charles II is the reigning monarch. Some 20 years earlier in 1660, the House of Stuart was…
Was Emma King a Deserted Wife?
A chance discovery of a newspaper notice of a marriage between a Great Ellingham shopkeeper and the daughter of a ‘gentleman’ from the nearby town of Attleborough, led to me to wonder whether the bride could later be described a ‘deserted wife’. From the Norfolk Chronicle of the 23rd May, 1868: MarriageKING-SPARROW on the 12th…
Ellis Beales’ working life begins at the age of 8!
The finding of a newspaper article relating to a Golden Wedding celebration, provides an insight into the life of Great Ellingham born Ellis Beales. Ellis recounts in much detail his working life, which began when he was just 8 years old. From the Yarmouth Independent dated 1st December, 1934: GOLDEN WEDDINGMR & MRS ELLIS BEALES…
Delightful Home Cottage Farm through Time
Home Cottage FarmPhotograph taken October 2023 Great Ellingham is fortunate to have some fantastic historical buildings. One such gem is a delightful farmhouse in Penhill Road. Today, this house is known as Home Cottage Farm. Situated at the far western end of Penhill Road, Home Cottage Farm is a stone’s throw from the parish boundary…
Joseph Saunders ‘on remand’ for stealing Three Hens
Illustration Christine Fuller The following appeared in the Norwich Mercury on the 13th December, 1884: ALLEGED FELONYAt the Occasional Court House – present Rev. J Spurgin, Jos. Saunders, Great Ellingham, labourer, was charged by P.C. Fisher with stealing three hens at Great Ellingham on the 28th November, the property of Mr Warren.Prisoner was remanded to…
Timeline of the History of The Crown
Church Street including the Old Thatche Shoppe to the left, Islay House to the right and the Crown Public House with adjoining shops in the centre. Date unknownAttleborough Heritage Group For centuries, the Crown Public House has been an integral part of Great Ellingham. It is one of five known pubs in Great Ellingham and…
Isaac Fincham Refuses to Quit The Crown at Little Ellingham
The former Crown Public House Little Ellingham. In the photograph is Bert Pestell a son of a former landlord, Henry D Pestell (landlord 1899-1908)Courtesy of Pauline Laing The following report from the Watton Petty Sessions was published in the Thetford & Watton Times on the 3rd October, 1896: William Kemp of Hingham farmer and Isaac…
First Occupants of the Hingham Road ‘Council Houses’
The first known ‘council houses’ or ‘houses for the working class’ were built in Mill Lane. Around 1928, Wayland Rural District Council (Wayland RDC) commissioned a terrace of four houses in Mill Lane. The Council also built a pair of semi-detached houses near to the terrace, which were either built at the same time or within…