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…
Category: Clarke
The Tragic Loss of a Young Life
Just like many families in other parishes, Great Ellingham folk suffered the loss of their loved ones. Many of these losses were through tragedies. Death is probably the only certainty in life. However, the loss of a child must be an unbearable and painful experience. To lose a child as a result of a terrible…
The Marriage Settlement of Harriet Barnard and Richard Clarke
Historically it was common for aristocratic families, the gentry and those families owning land, to want to control the descent of their property. This could be done by incorporating a trust within a purchase deed or in a Will. However it was also common to do this by Marriage Settlements. Arranged Marriages For centuries, arranged…
Part I – A History of the Cottage adjoining The Crown Public House
The Crown Public House with the ‘Cottage’ adjoining on the right (then two shops)Postcard courtesy Carol Ewin Cottage Adjoining the Messuage known as The Crown Historical deeds are extremely helpful when piecing together the history of a house. However even where old deeds survive, those earlier than the 20th century can be fairly complex to…
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…
Walter Utting sells Fir Cottage to the Revd James Toll
Fir Cottage is a delightful cottage on the western side and at the southern part of Long Street. It was built between 1857 and 1861. The green arrow indicates the position of Fir Cottage at the southern end of Long Street. Extract from O.S. Map c.1945. Courtesy Ray & Maureen Beales In recent years, Fir…
The ‘Making’ of William Clarke at the Reformatory School at Buxton
I was delighted to be contacted by a descendant of one of the Clarke families who lived in Great Ellingham from at least 1800 to 1902. Angela McCleery has studied the Clarke family for a number of years. She he is able to provide more information about William Clarke following his misdemeanour in the village…
Landlady Alice Jessup, formerly Leath née Clarke
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. Attleborough Heritage Group Rose & Crown At the turn of the 19th century, Alice Jessup ran the Rose & Crown Public House together with her second husband William Jessup….
Bricks wheelbarrowed across the fields for ‘High View’
‘High View’, Long Street. Photograph taken February 2023 Legend has it that the delightful house known as ‘High View’ in Long Street was built at the same time as the Wayland Infirmary in Attleborough. It has also been said that the builders carted the bricks across the fields from the Wayland Infirmary to Long Street…
The Creation of Great Ellingham Parish Council
Parish Administration Prior to 1894 Prior to the establishment of Parish Councils, the responsibility for the day to day administration of the parish fell to the rector and some of the more affluent landowners – particularly those who could read, write and keep accounts. In Great Ellingham, the parish ‘officers’ such as the churchwardens, the…