Deeds are a very useful resource when trying to find the history of a house. Not least that, sometimes, deeds can provide a clue as to when a particular house was built. When Robert Utting mortgaged his Long Street land in 1861, the description of the property recited in the Mortgage Deed specifically says “……together…
Category: Long Street
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…
Helen Brighton sells her late Father’s Cottage in Long Street
On the 7th April, 1914, Elizabeth Harbour, the wife of John Thomas Harbour, completed her purchase of ‘Fir Cottage’ . The house was sold by the Personal Representative of the late Reverend James Toll who had purchased the property in 1880. ‘Fir Cottage’ was built between 1857 and 1861 on land at the southern end…
Norwich born Sydney Claxton inherits Fir Cottage
On the 5th May, 1933, Sydney Thurston Claxton became the legal owner of Fir Cottage, Long Street, Great Ellingham. Claxton inherited the property from John Thomas Harbour who died in 1931. Two years earlier, John Harbour had inherited the property from his wife, Elizabeth Harbour, who died in 1929. John and Elizabeth Harbour did not…
Bertie & Florence Southgate move into Fir Cottage
Extract from O.S. Map c.1945. Courtesy Ray & Maureen Beales On the 22nd July, 1946, brother and sister, Bertie and Florence Southgate, completed their purchase of Fir Cottage in Long Street, Great Ellingham. The cottage lies at the southern end of Long Street – indicated by the green arrow on the above map. The seller,…
Harry Partridge, Poultry Farmer & Home Guard
Kelly’s Directory of 1937 shows Harry Partridge as a poultry farmer at the ‘Firs’ in Great Ellingham. The Firs is a property to the southern end of Long Street which was also known as Fir Cottage. Harry Partridge was one of seven poultry dealers or poultry farmers in the village at that time. Great Ellingham…
Francis Parke’s 59 acre Farm in Long Street
Discovering House Histories Deeds Title Deeds are one of the best resources when researching the history of a property. Historical deeds will usually include conveyances, mortgages, agreements etc. They may also recite extracts from wills and earlier deeds. Accordingly, title deeds may provide an unbroken chain of ownership through many decades – or even centuries!…
Jeremiah Grice Buys a Long Street Farm from Henry Beevor
In this blog we continue the story of the history of a farm which lies at the southern end of Long Street in Great Ellingham. Long Street is identified by the purple arrows on the below map of 1802. Extract from 1802 Map of Great Ellingham. All rights reserved Norfolk Record Office. Cat. Ref. C/Ca…
Two Closely Connected Farms in Long Street
At the beginning of the 19th century, Francis Parke owned a farm (which included a farmhouse, barn, yard, garden, outbuildings and some 59 acres) in Long Street, Great Ellingham. Parke also owned an additional nearby barn. Extract from 1802 Map of Great Ellingham. All rights reserved Norfolk Record Office. Cat. Ref. C/Ca 1/84. With kind…
‘Sparrows Nest’ at the southern end of Long Street
Save for some of the larger farms and houses, very few of the dwellings in Great Ellingham were named (or even numbered) until at least the 21st century. Added to this, the various census schedules for each household in the village from 1841 to 1911, do not always follow the order as they appear along…