The Crown Public House in the centre. Courtesy of Attleborough Heritage Group Village pubs have always been a focal point of a community. Great Ellingham is no exception. During the Victorian period, Great Ellingham had five public houses, some of which were former beer-houses. Today, the village has one remaining pub. At the end of…
Category: Pubs & Beer Houses
Chequers Public House
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Chequers Public House was owned by Mary Warren. Mary also occupied the Chequers her husband, William Warren. An Abstract of Title (extracts of deeds) refer to William Warren as a victualler (a person licensed to sell alcohol) of Great Ellingham. Accordingly, I think it is reasonable to…
John Barnard
In his will dated 1st August, 1777, John Barnard of Great Ellingham describes himself as a carpenter. Four years before making his will, John married Mary Mead in the Church of St James, Great Ellingham on the 22nd October, 1773. Mary Mead was a spinster of the parish of Eye in Suffolk, and John Barnard…
Properties Owned by Mary Warren
Extract from 1802 Map of Great Ellingham. Original held at Norfolk Record Office. Russell James Colman Plans. Cat. Ref. C/Ca 1/84. With kind permission of NRO Properties in Chequers Lane and Church Street At the turn of the nineteenth century, Mary Warren owned five houses and land in Great Ellingham. These properties were in what…
Marital Disagreement results in a Court Appearance
The report of a court case appearing in the Norfolk News of the 19th November, 1910, provides not only details of the case brought by a husband against his wife, but also information about the individuals involved. The newspaper gave a lengthy account of the case heard at the East Harling Petty Sessions under the…
Fourteen Footways Discontinued by the Commissioners
Before the Great Ellingham Inclosure Act of 1799, there were several paths threading their way through the village. No doubt many of these footways were in constant use by the villagers to get from one part of the village to another, or to travel to the adjacent villages or towns. Some of these ancient paths…
Ploughing Match at the Queens Head
Illustration by Christine Fuller The Eastern Daily Press of 12th June, 1906 reported on the third annual ploughing match held at the Queens Head Inn, on the previous Wednesday. Under the stewardship of G Banham and D Woodrow, the 44 competitors ploughed a field lent by Mr W Neale, with horses and plough lent by…
‘Harvest Frolic’ at the Queen’s Head
Illustration by Christine Fuller On the last Friday of September, 1894, and in celebration of the end of the Harvest, about fifty people sat down to a ‘repast of good old English fare‘ provided by the landlord of the Queens Head Inn, Charles Allen. The guests were seated at tables which had been set out…
The Crown and Widow Caddy’s House engulfed in flames!
Fire starts at Widow Caddy’s Home The report of a ‘terrible fire’ at Great Ellingham, near Attleborough, made the edition of The Times on the 18th May, 1787. The Widow Caddy must have been in great fear and distress when fire broke out at her home between eleven and twelve o’clock on the ‘Wednesday night…
Quoits belonging to Jacob Beales
Quoits that once belonged to Jacob Beales (1874-1952), the landlord of the Chequers Public House. Photograph courtesy of Graham Beales, great grandson of Jacob Beales In setting out the game of Quoits, Pear’s Cyclopaedia of May 1928 describes the Quoits themselves as ‘flattened rings, convex on the upper side, 8¼ inches to 9½ inches in…