Photograph taken December 2023 Great Ellingham is fortunate to have a wealth of historical houses. Many of these may have narrowly escaped the fate of demolition, as happened to so many of the village’s old cottages. Glenfield House and Glenfield Cottage comprise the characterful thatched house standing along the Attleborough Road, near to the junction…
Category: Colman
The History of the Double Cottage built on Pennell Common – Part I
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…
The History of The Crown Public House – Part I
Extract from an 1802 Abstract of Title to an Estate called the Crown in Great EllinghamCourtesy Shirley Caston Deeds contain fascinating and interesting information. For example, details of the land, premises, owners, occupiers and even lenders. Maps or plans drawn on early Indentures are ‘few and far between’. Accordingly, these early documents describe the position…
7 year old Charles Rider sets fire to Wheat Stack
Illustration by Christine Fuller Since ‘Lucifers‘ were created in the 1820s, matches have held some fascination for children. However this fascination can lead to disastrous events. Matches were once household necessities – at a time, of course, when there was no electricity! The matter of children playing with matches, is mentioned in The Dublin Weekly…
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…
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….
Ownership of Land in the same Family for Generations
On the 5th June, 1837, Edward Wilkins purchased the former ‘Town House’ in Long Street. Since the erection of the Wayland Union Workhouse in nearby Rocklands, the ‘Town House’ was no longer needed to house the poor of Great Ellingham. Accordingly, it became surplus to requirements. I believe this property – or at least the…
‘Houses for the Poor’ Sold at Auction
1769 Dwelling House for the Poor In 1769 a house to accommodate the poor was built upon land at the lower part of the common of Town Green. The land was given to the parish by the Lady of the Manor of Ellingham Hall, Margaretta Colman, the wife of the late Fysher Colman. The common…
Sarah Thompson Reeder 1874-1951
Sampler stitched by 12 year old Sarah Thompson Reeder in 1886. Photograph courtesy of Rosemary Jones In 1886, 12 year old Sarah Thompson demonstrated her needlework skills by stitching a sampler at her school in Great Ellingham. By the time the girls at the Board School finished their education, most (if not all) of the…