Double Cottage at Penhill Road. Photograph courtesy of McDouall family For nearly two centuries, the above double cottage is one of just a few houses in Penhill Road. It was built around 1810 on a piece of land formerly part of of ‘Pennell Common’. Like many other historical houses in the village, the cottage has…
Category: Bilham
Private 18217 Sidney Hoy 9th Battalion Norfolk Regiment
Fellow local historian, Cynthia Budd, has meticulously researched the men listed on the Great War Memorials throughout the Shellrock Benefice (Great Ellingham, Little Ellingham, Rockland All Saints, Rockland St Peter and Shropham with Snetterton). She has kindly allowed me to reproduce her tributes to the Great Ellingham men, on the Great Ellingham One-Place Study website….
Town Green at the beginning of the 18th Century
Extract from 1802 Map of Great Ellingham. Russell James Colman Plans. Norfolk Record Office Cat. Ref. C/Ca 1/84. All rights reserved Norfolk Record Office. With kind permission of NRONorth is to the top of the map The ‘triangle’ of Town Green will be familiar to those living in the village today as it was to…
Falcon & Monsie Bilham of Long Street
Falcon & Monsie Bilham. Courtesy Sue Gent Born in Long Street Falcon Harry Bilham was the only son of John William Bilham and his wife Kathleen (Kate). He was born in Great Ellingham (almost certainly in Long Street), on the 19th September, 1913. Falcon had an elder sister Alma and a younger sister Joy (Joyce)….
Warren’s Cottage with Yard & Garden occupied by Wretham & Halls
At the turn of the 19th Century, Jeffery Warren owned several dwellings in Great Ellingham. Save for the cottage he lived in, the remainder were let out to tenants. Although Warren died in the March of 1800, his properties continued to be let by his executors. One such property was the cottage, yard and garden…
Double Cottage in Long Street Built by Local Builder
‘Roselands’ Long Street Great Ellingham. Photograph taken September 2022 The delightful house with the name of ‘Roselands’ sits on the western side at the southern end of Long Street, Great Ellingham. It was built by a local builder during the mid-Victorian era. Over the last 160 years or so, the house will have seen the…
‘Black Sheep’ in the Family
I am sure that many of us will find a few ‘black sheep’ amongst our ancestors. These ‘black sheep’ are usually individuals who are seen as troublemakers, failures or just people who do not fit in with the rest of the family. They may also bring disgrace or disrepute upon the family and, in consequence,…
Chelsea Pensioner’s Wife convicted of a Violent Assault
In the August of 1852, Rhoda Carter of Great Ellingham appeared before a special sitting of the Petty Sessions at Attleborough. She was charged with violently assaulting Elizabeth Fame of Hingham. However, the report in the Norfolk News of the 28th August, 1852, did not provide specific details of the offence. Was this just a…
William Bird Proves his Case
Chequers Lane. Date unknown. Postcard courtesy of Carol Ewin In 1891, William Bird had a grocer’s shop in Chequers Lane, Great Ellingham. He was also a coal dealer. William’s wife Anna minded the shop whilst her husband delivered coal to his customers by horse and cart. County Court Case One such customer was John Hawes….
The Hall Brothers’ Misdemeanors
1845 Court Hearing In October, 1845, brothers William and Daniel Hall appeared at the County Quarter Sessions in Norwich. They were charged with breaking and entering, and taking items from the home of John Sayer, a miller, of Great Ellingham, on the 20th July. William and Daniel were alleged to have taken seven keys, one…