Tanyard Farm. Photograph Lucinda Bell-Tye Tanyard Farm is one of Great Ellingham’s wonderful historic buildings. Norfolk Heritage Explorer mentions that the origins of this Grade II listed property may well date back to the 14th or 15th century. It was built as an open hall house. It has a timber-frame with a rendered wattle and…
Category: Tan Yard Farm
Edward Gaskin and his link to Tanyard Farm
Tanyard Farm. Photograph Lucinda Bell-Tye There is no doubt that a last will and testament can provide family historians with valuable information. However, it can throw up more questions than answers! Here we look at the content of the will of Edward Gaskin dated the 15th October, 1763. A time when George III occupies the…
Joseph Warren is the next custodian of Cemetery Farm
Extract from 1906 Ordnance Survey Map. Second Edition. Surveyed in 1881. Revised 1904 In 1862, 31 year old Joseph Warren inherited two farms in Great Ellingham. The farms had belonged to John Whittred, his late maternal grandfather. The larger of the two farms, later known as Cemetery Farm (today Home Farm), was purchased by John…
Hannah Carter and her Illegitimate Children
Many family histories will include children born ‘out of wedlock’. However, do we consider the attitudes of others towards the mothers, and whether the illegitimate births impacted on their future as well as the future of their children? Robert & Sarah Carter Church of St James, Great Ellingham On the 24th September, 1826, Stow Bedon…
The History of Swamp Lane Cottages – Part II
At the turn of the 19th century, there were very few dwellings along the lane which we know today as Swamp Lane. Those that did exist were at the northern end of the lane. Part I In Part I, we discovered that at the time of the Great Ellingham Inclosures, the Commissioners awarded Alice Jessup…
The History of Glenfield House & Cottage – Part II
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…
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…
Jack Penson takes in Evacuees at Tanyard Farm
Early 1930s Jack Penson with son Sidney John at Tanyard Farm Great EllinghamCourtesy Lucinda Bell-Tye Just before the outbreak of World War II, the government initiated Operation Pied Piper. The result being an evacuation of some 800,000 children from urban areas to the countryside. As a consequence, Great Ellingham welcomed a number of evacuees. Although…
Mary Ann Scent, daughter of James Matthews
A resident of Chequers Lane, Mary Ann Scent died in Attleborough on the 29th March 1929 at the age of 79. She was buried a few days later on April 3rd in the churchyard at the Parish Church of Great Ellingham. John Penson, Executor In her Will of July 7th, 1927, Mary appointed her nephew…
A ‘Counting Room’ at Tanyard Farm
Tanyard Farm. Date unknown. Photograph Lucinda Bell-Tye. Auction I came across a notice in the Norfolk News of the 14th May 1864 announcing the forthcoming auction on the 16th June of a ‘Desirable Small Farm’ in Great Ellingham. The farm (including a dwellinghouse, agricultural buildings and cottages), were being sold by the Executors of the…