Royal Hotel, Attleborough. Author’s own collection The Eastern Daily Press of Saturday 10th December, 1910, included notice of a forthcoming auction at the Royal Hotel, Attleborough. Amongst the lots being sold, were two semi-detached dwelling-houses with outbuildings and gardens in Long Street, Great Ellingham. The auction would take place on the 15th December. The Particulars…
Category: Places and Buildings
James Fox ‘gives up’ his Farm in Bow Street
1904 Auction of Farm in Bow Street Occupied by James Fox The Norfolk Chronicle of the 6th August, 1904, included notice of the sale by auction of a ‘Desirable Small Occupation Farm’ in Bow Street, Great Ellingham. The auction would take place at the Royal Hotel, Norwich at 7 o’clock in the evening of the…
Seven Acre Farm in Bow Street
At the beginning of the 19th century, there were 13 dwellings along Bow Street. These dwellings included eight houses and five cottages. Of the eight houses, six were farms with land ranging from around seven acres to 43 acres. George Cady (Caddy) of Rockland All Saints, owned one of the houses together with seven acres…
A ‘Very Desirable Small Farm’ in Great Ellingham with a Cellar
Norfolk Heritage Explorer describes Rose Farmhouse in Great Ellingham as ‘a mid-17th century timber framed farmhouse with clay infill’. The house will have seen the comings and goings of many families over the centuries and, if the walls of the building could talk, I wonder what secrets would be revealed! At the time of the…
‘Black Sheep’ in the Family
I am sure that many of us will find a few ‘black sheep’ amongst our ancestors. These ‘black sheep’ are usually individuals who are seen as troublemakers, failures or just people who do not fit in with the rest of the family. They may also bring disgrace or disrepute upon the family and, in consequence,…
Samuel & Catherine Hilling of Low Common
Jeffrey Towler owned several properties in Great Ellingham at the end of the eighteenth century. He leased two dwellings together with 22 acres of land to Samuel Hilling. These properties were at the end of the lane which we know today as Swamp Lane. Swamp Lane The above extract a plan of c.1802 clearly shows…
Sworn Statements Found in Cottages in Long Street
Two nineteenth century legal documents provide evidence of a shoemaker and his apprentice living in Great Ellingham. The documents were found in the home of Lily Lebbell, following her death in 1973. Lily was the widow of blacksmith, wheelwright and dairyman William Robert Lebbell. For many years, William Lebbell was also the parish clerk. Extract…
John Whellum inherits his Uncle’s Bow Street Farm
At the time of his death in 1870, Great Ellingham born William Wretham owned several freehold and leasehold properties in Norwich, including his home in Paragon Street, Norwich. Extract from Second Edition, 1906. Norfolk, sheet LXXXV S.W. Courtesy Ray & Maureen Beales Wretham also owned a modest farm (or smallholding) in Bow Street, which he…
How many Villagers had the first name ‘Christmas’?
With Christmas fast approaching, I thought it would be interesting to see whether, in addition to Christmas Chaplin, there were any other villagers in days gone by with the name ‘Christmas’ – either as a first name or a family name. I have not discovered any family with the surname ‘Christmas’, but if you know…
A Mother’s Plea not to send her Son to ‘the Front’
Chequers Lane, Great Ellingham. Robert Beales and his family lived in one of the houses shown in the postcard. Courtesy of Carol Ewin Shoemaker Robert Beales & his Family in Chequers Lane Just over three years before the start of the Great War in 1914, shoemaker Robert Beales, his wife Ellen and seven of their…