The name of George Wilkins is inscribed on the Great War memorial tablet on the west wall of the Church of St James, Great Ellingham. George was a Private in the 1st Battalion The Buffs (East Kent Regiment). Aged just 28 (or 29), he was killed in action in France, on the 15th September, 1916….
Category: Town Green
William Robert Lebbell – Blacksmith, Wheelwright & Dairyman Farmer
What follows is a short biography of William Robert Lebbell (1884-1965), written by William’s granddaughter, Susan Fay, from her memories of her grandfather: William Robert Lebbell aged about 17 years. Photograph courtesy of Susan Fay, granddaughter of W R Lebbell Born & Bred in Great Ellingham “William was born in the village of Great Ellingham…
Susannah Storey buys Cottage with Garden
Mill, Mill Cottage and Post Office.Courtesy Angela Campbell-Roberts 1928 Purchase On the 4th April, 1928, widow Sarah Ann Elizabeth Carter sold a cottage with a garden, together with the end of a wash-house, to Susannah Goss Storey. The conveyance deed also included a right for Susannah Storey to use a well and a roadway. This…
Lance Corporal John Lincoln
John Lincoln (1876-1917) taken whilst serving as a British Soldier during the Boer War. Photograph courtesy of Bryan Dye ‘John Lincoln’ is amongst sixteen names inscribed on the memorial tablet set into the wall near to the west door of St James’s Church. The tablet remembers the Great Ellingham men who gave their lives for…
Ellis Carter buys a Homestead at Town Green
In this blog, I follow a paper trail to uncover a succession of owners of a small farmhouse in Town Green, Great Ellingham. I begin with the auction of the property in 1884, and take the ownership back to at least 1800, and, perhaps, even further to the 1700s. 1884 Auction The Crown Public House…
Mary Dennis Inherits Property in Town Green
Legacy of Property and Land in Great Ellingham Anthony Porter of Great Ellingham died c.1786, and left all his freehold and copyhold lands in Great Ellingham to his niece, Mary Dennis (née Willomatt). At this time, Mary was living in the town of Watton, some 8 miles from Great Ellingham. Mary’s use and benefit of…
Daniel William Cocking, a Beneficiary at 14 years of age
Daniel Cocking was just 14 years of age when his maternal grandfather, Daniel Lister, died in 1799. He inherited all his grandfather’s property and land in Great Ellingham which included a thatched house in Church Street, which in more recent times, was known as ‘Ye Olde Thatche Shoppe‘. Although pictured over 100 years later, on…
The Clay, Gravel & Water Pits serving the Community
In the past, gravel and clay pits (together with water pits) may well have served much of the building needs in the village. A Particulars and Valuation c.1800 relating to the Inclosures of Great Ellingham, tells us where the village’s allotmnets for the gravel, clay and water pits were at this time: Where were the…
The Rosher Family of ‘Near the Hall Gates’
The Rosher Family’s Home in Great Ellingham The 1911 census captures Alfred Rosher with his wife and children living in a three-roomed property in Town Green, Great Ellingham, which was said to be ‘Near the Hall Gates‘. Assuming that the position of the gates leading to Great Ellingham Hall has remained unchanged since at least…
Robert Barnard of Great Ellingham Hall
Around the time of the Act of Parliament for the dividing, allotting and inclosing the commons and waste grounds in Great Ellingham c.1800, Robert Barnard is recorded as owning several properties as well as some 35 acres of land in the village. However save for 30 acres of land, the properties owned by Robert Barnard…