In the past, many of the inhabitants of Great Ellingham kept hens. These chickens provided many a ‘cash- strapped’ villager with a plentiful supply of fresh eggs and, on occasions, ‘Sunday lunch’. Unsurprisingly, there were several instances of hen thefts. Consequently, many offenders appeared before the Magistrates. One such wrong-doer was Frederick Barker. Illustration Christine…
Category: Barker
George Jude sells land for Recreation Ground
Many of us will be familiar with the large recreation ground we are fortunate to have in our village. But I wonder whether any of us have ever thought how long the village has actually had the recreation ground. Farm Meadows Before the creation of a designated recreation ground, several owners of the larger farms…
Clement Barker buys Rookery Farm from William J Norton
Extract from 1906 Ordnance Survey Map. Second Edition. Surveyed in 1881. Revised 1904. Rookery Farm is a substantial farm approached by a short drive from the Watton Road, near to the border with Rocklands. Indeed a very small portion of the land belonging to the farm once crossed the parish boundary into Rocklands. Perhaps this…
William Arthur Bush successfully bids for Rookery Farm at Auction
William Arthur Bush may well have been in residence at Rookery Farm when he bid for the farm at auction. Auction At the auction on the 9th September, 1910, held at the Royal Hotel, Attleborough, Rookery Farm was sold in four lots. William Bush successfully bid for Lots 1 and 4, which included the majority…
Great Ellingham born Alfred Lincoln buys Rookery Farm
1790-1909 Extract from 1906 Ordnance Survey Map. Second Edition. Surveyed in 1881. Revised 1904 From 1790 until 1909 Rookery Farm on the Watton Road to Rocklands, was owned by the Norton family. At the turn of the 18th century, the farm comprised two farms – one of some 50 acres and the other 114 acres….
Henry Norton’s Messuages along the main road to Rocklands
Rookery Farm is a substantial property approached by a short drive from the Watton Road, near to the border with Rocklands. Indeed a very small portion of the land belonging to the farm once crossed the parish boundary into Rocklands. Perhaps this is still the case today. Extract from 1906 Ordnance Survey Map. Second Edition….
William J Norton brings his Great Grandfather’s Trust to an End
At the turn of the 19th century, Henry Norton was one of three significant landowners in Great Ellingham. Like the other notable proprietors, Norton did not live in the village. Henry Norton completes his Purchase from Turner On the 6th November, 1790, Henry Norton completed his purchase of two farms with a considerable amount of…
Samuel Williamson – From Town Constable to Insolvent Debtor?
Church of St James, Great Ellingham The name Samuel Williamson (or variations of the name such as Willyamson and Willyomson) appears amongst the names of the churchwardens, overseers, constables and surveyors in the Great Ellingham Town Books 1741-1775. This is a period of time when the churchwardens, overseers, constables and surveyors dealt with the administration…
Ann, Wife of Layer Vynne, buried in 1759
Memorial to Ann Vynne in Great Ellingham Parish Church This Memorial caught my eye on a visit to the Church of St James. The inscription looks to be as clear as the day the stone slab was laid into the floor presumably not long after February 1759. Around 260 years ago! Who were Layer and…