Homelea Farm in the distance centre of the photograph. June 2026 Homelea Farm is tucked away along a ‘driftway’ off Penhill Road. The road has also been known as Penhill Lane and Pen Hill. In Part I, we established that the farmhouse was probably built between 1843 and 1861. The property has also been known…
Category: Nichols
Harry Rix’s Early Boyhood Recollections of Great Ellingham – Long Street
Many written accounts of ‘everyday histories’ focus on prominent figures and major events. However, it is the documenting of the working class which preserves the lived experiences of ordinary people. We are indebted to Great Ellingham man Harry Rix. In 2001, 80 year old Harry decided to record some of his boyhood memories of the…
A ‘very desirable small farm’ – The Cemetery Farm
Appearing in the edition of the Eastern Daily Press of the 7th September, 1948, was the notice of a forthcoming Auction of a ‘very desirable small farm’ in Great Ellingham. ‘The Cemetery Farm’ was said to comprise of a comfortable farmhouse which had two sitting rooms and five bedrooms. It also had a substantial range…
Postcards – a great way of keeping in touch …
In their day, postcards were a very popular way of keeping in touch with family and friends, and also with traders. Picture postcards included portraits of the famous, images of events and scenes of towns and villages. There were also comic postcards and greeting cards. In a time where there were several postal collections and…
Private Eddie George Nichols, Norfolk Regiment
The Norfolk Record Office holds the originals of the burial registers for the Parish Church of St James, Great Ellingham, going back to 1630. The mortal remains of countless inhabitants of Great Ellingham (and, sometimes, people from further afield), have been laid to rest in the churchyard during the last four hundred years or more….
Strongly Worded Letter received at The Hall
The above letter was written by John Nichols, a farmer, living in Northrepps on the 18th July 1858. It was addressed to Benjamin Barnard of The Hall at Great Ellingham. The content of the letter referred to the payment of an annuity due to Mrs Barnard from the ‘Stanfield Estate’. It seems that there had…