James Sadd Buys White House Farm James Sadd was already farming and living at White House Farm in Long Street, Great Ellingham, when he completed the purchase of the farm. On the 29th September, 1920, he bought the freehold farm for the sum of £750 from spinster Mary Fortune, of Poplar Grove, Scremerston, Berwick-on-Tweed. The…
Category: Wilkins
Medieval Manor Hall House in Church Street – Part I
The fine thatched building standing in Church Street (not far from the Crown Public House), is one of the oldest properties in Great Ellingham. The Grade II listed building was (in relatively recent times) known as “Ye Olde Thatche Shoppe“. Thought to have been a medieval Manor Hall House (comprising a public hall with living…
A Link with the Past: The Poor’s Firing Land
In the informative booklet “A Little History of Great Ellingham“, the author, Mr William Robert Lebbell (1885-1965), mentions that (in the 1960s) the ‘Poor’s Firing Land’ was the only link from the time of the Great Ellingham Inclosures (c.1800) with modern Great Ellingham. Mr Lebbell describes the pieces of land as being untended and in…
John Wilkins’ Home in Church Street
Whilst we can usually find the names of our ancestors in parish registers and, sometimes, reference to the place where they lived, the registers rarely tell us whereabouts in a town or village our ancestors actually lived. If our ancestors were sufficiently wealthy to own property, we may be fortunate to find surviving deeds and/or…
Two Houses, Baking Office, Yard & Garden
Widow Mary Barnard’s Claim Amongst widow Mary Barnard’s claim to the Commissioners for the Inclosures of Great Ellingham in 1799, was: One cottage occupied by James Webster and William Barnard and One Messuage occupied by John Wilkins and Sarah Coe I believe that the messuage (i.e. a dwellinghouse, outbuildings and land), was at that time…
Property Owner Mary Warren dies in 1808
Extract from 1802 Map of Great Ellingham. Original held at Norfolk Record Office. Russell James Colman Plans. Cat. Ref. C/Ca 1/84. With kind permission of NRO Properties in Chequers Lane and Church Street At the turn of the nineteenth century, Mary Warren owned five houses and land in Great Ellingham. These properties were in what…
Well-Situated Butcher’s Shop, Cycle Shop & Dwelling-House
Crown Inn with adjoining shops. Postcard Carol Ewin The Eastern Daily Press of the 8th August, 1913, reported that at an Auction held at the Royal Hotel in Attleborough the previous day, a lot comprising the freehold business premises in Great Ellingham, was withdrawn at £130. Perhaps there was insufficient bidding at the auction. What…
The Burial of the Remains of Mrs Toll
The Eastern Daily Press of 26th November, 1891 reported on the burial of ‘the remains of Mrs Toll‘, in the Baptist ground in Great Ellingham on the 16th November. Mrs Toll was said to be the wife of the Reverend J Toll. However, her first name was not included in the report. We would find…
Scholarships for Great Ellingham Pupils
School Examinations Norfolk Junior Scholarship Examinations took place on Saturday the 2nd November, 1907. 240 candidates were examined, of which 117 were boys and 123 girls. Pupils from Great Ellingham School were amongst the 16 candidates from the rural districts. Six weeks later, confirmation of those pupils gaining scholarships was published in the Norfolk Chronicle…
Penalty & Costs of Thirty Shillings
Furious Driving James Wilkins of Great Ellingham appeared before the Magistrates at the Petty Sessions held at New Buckenham in early May 1864. An account of the offence of furious driving on the road from Great Ellingham to Stow Bedon was given by Police Constable Bugg. James Wilkins was convicted and adjudged to pay 30s…