Great Ellingham School (Girls) possibly early 1900s. Are the boys in the adjacent classroom? Photograph courtesy of Ray Beales The 1906 annual prize distribution to scholars attending the Great Ellingham Board School took place during the middle of December. The Norfolk Chronicle & Norwich Gazette reported that the prizes were given out by Mr W…
Category: Places and Buildings
Auction of A Capital Freehold Brick Tower Windmill in 1902
Salter Simpson & Sons of Attleborough and Bury St Edmunds inserted a notice in the edition of the Eastern Daily Press of May 15th, 1902 of the sale by Auction of property in Great Ellingham. The Auction would be held at the Royal Hotel, Attleborough on Thursday, 15th May 1902. The Seller of the property…
The First Occasion on record of a Confirmation Service at the Parish Church
Interior of Church. Postcard Christine Bell 1907 The Norfolk Chronicle & Norwich Gazette of 9th March 1907, reported that the Bishop of Ipswich held a confirmation service at the parish church in Great Ellingham on the previous Tuesday. It was also reported that this was “the first occasion on record of such a service”. 34…
King’s Corner on the Attleborough to Watton Road
Jean B who was grew up in the village in the 1930s recalled that the area opposite the bus shelter on the Attleborough to Watton Road (near the junction with Church Street) was known at that time as “King’s Corner” as a Mr King ran a Blacksmith’s shop there. Andrew King outside his Smithy in…
Wheelwright & Carpenter William Kybird
Wheelwright and Carpenters Shop of William Kybird taken before 1939. Postcard Joan Barnard 23 year old wheelwright William Kybird settled in Great Ellingham with his wife Mary Ann (known as Polly) after their marriage in 1880 but before the 1881 census. The census of 1881 shows the couple at the Wheelwright’s Shop on the Attleborough…
Six Weddings and Several Funerals
Tombstone of Ann Margetson in the Churchyard at Great Ellingham An elaborate tombstone for Ann Margetson lies in Great Ellingham churchyard. The inscription on the tomb states that Ann Margetson was the widow of Abraham Downes of Attleborough. It also states that Ann was born on March 4th, 1828 and died on August 30th, 1919….
William & Sarah Chaplin marry in Great Ellingham in 1767
William Chaplin and Sarah Bailey married in Great Ellingham Church on April 30th, 1767. Their first son, William, was baptised in the Parish Church on September 18th, 1768. William and Sarah had at least a further ten children. Where Did They Live? The Statement of Claims for the Great Ellingham Inclosure of 1800, reveal that…
A Marriage Uniting Two Long-Established Families of the Village
The marriage of Francis Houchen and Matilda Dey at the Church of St James Great Ellingham on 5th January 1843, joined together two long- established families of the village of Great Ellingham. Houchen The name Houchen (also found as Howchin, Houchin) appears in the Great Ellingham parish registers from at least 1698, although no entries…
James Matthews – Gamekeeper to Farmer
Headstone for James Matthews in Great Ellingham Churchyard Memorial Inscription After 120 years, the inscription on the gravestone for James Matthews of Great Ellingham which lies in the churchyard of St James remains very clear. James Matthews was born on April 5th, 1817 and died on July 3rd, 1899. James was 82 years old when…
Auction of “Comfortable Farmhouse” in Long Street in 1883
Illustration by Christine Fuller An Auction held at the King’s Head Hotel, Wymondham on August 21st, 1883, by the Executors of the late Charles Watts, included property and land at Great Ellingham. Farmhouse Occupied by Thomas Caddy The property described as a “Comfortable Farmhouse, Outbuildings, Small Farm, containing about 35 acres” was in the occupation…