Illustration by Christine Fuller No doubt weeks (if not months) of planning would have preceded the well-supported Great Ellingham Fete, held in the grounds of a farm in Hingham Road, on Saturday the 25th July, 1925. The Eastern Daily Press reported on the event in the edition published on the following Monday. Attended by inhabitants…
Category: Schools, Societies, Charities
National School built upon Pound Close
Formerly the National School built in 1865. Later used as a Reading Room and Village Hall. During the nineteenth century, National Schools were set up by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education, for the furtherance of Christian Education and church schools. The Society was a body of the Church of England. Poster announcing the…
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…
Scholarships for Great Ellingham Pupils
School Examinations Norfolk Junior Scholarship Examinations took place on Saturday the 2nd November, 1907. 240 candidates were examined, of which 117 were boys and 123 girls. Pupils from Great Ellingham School were amongst the 16 candidates from the rural districts. Six weeks later, confirmation of those pupils gaining scholarships was published in the Norfolk Chronicle…
Alms House Built on Lower Part of Town Green Common
Payment towards the Building of an Alms House The ‘Town Books’ for Great Ellingham between 1740 and 1760 reveal that the Overseers of the Poor of the Parish of Great Ellingham were making annual payments for ‘Town Rents for the Poor’. These annual payments ranged from £10 7s. 6d in the year 1742, to £3…
Auction of Charles Rivett’s Farmhouse
Trustee and Overseer An application to the Charity Comissioners of 1873 by the Trustees of the Great Ellingham Fuel Allotment Charity refers to Charles Rivett as being one of the Trustees of the Charity. Charles Rivett was also one of two Overseers of the Poor for the Parish. James Beatson being the other. Local Man…
The Approval of the Fuel Charity Scheme
Fuel Allotments White’s Directory of 1845 mentions that the Fuel Allotments comprising 54 acres 1 rood and 34 perches were awarded at the time of the inclosures of Great Ellingham in c.1799. The land produced an annual income from lettings of £90. The Particulars and Valuation for Great Ellingham undertaken by the Commissioners at the…
Inmates of the Wayland Union entertained by the Rocklands String Band
The inmates of the Wayland Union Workhouse at Rocklands were included in the local celebrations for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. The Norwich Mercury of the 2nd July, 1887 reported on the participation of the inmates in the Golden Jubilee festivities which took place the previous week. Church Service On June 21st, the workhouse residents attended…
The Erection of the British School in 1855
Before the nineteenth century, there was no national system for education. Opportunities for formal education were generally only available to those who could afford to pay. The schools that did exist relied on the generosity of local benefactors or people trying to make a living. Very few children received any schooling. The former British School…
Many Brought by Horses for a Special Service at the Church
Church of St James, Great Ellingham The Mid-Norfolk Federation of the Church of England Men’s Society held a special service at the Church of St James, Great Ellingham on a Tuesday evening in December 1908. It was reported that the Lord Bishop of Ipswich gave an interesting and constructive address to a large congregation. Many…