Extract from 1802 Map of Great Ellingham. Russell James Colman Plans. Norfolk Record Office Cat. Ref. C/Ca 1/84.
All rights reserved Norfolk Record Office. With kind permission of NRO
At the turn of the 19th century, Stephen Houchen’s home was along the eastern side of the road to Hingham. The cottage (with a garden) stood opposite the junction with Bow Street.
The Great Ellingham Inclosure documentation, which includes the Inclosure Map of 1802, also tell us that Alice Jessup owned the cottage.
However, I know from my research of other properties in Great Ellingham, that Alice Jessup held the property for her three daughters Hannah, Frances and Elizabeth. Again, in my investigations of other properties, I have also been able to piece together some of the history of this cottage.
I have no doubt that the walls of the cottage were constructed of either clay lump or wattle and daub. Almost certainly the roof was thatched. Nevertheless by the 1880s, the cottage had disappeared.
The cottage may have looked similar to this property, which was a little further along the road to Hingham.
Thatched Cottage along the Hingham Road, which was once the home of Joseph & Susanna Dye.
Photograph taken before 1942. Courtesy of Bryan Dye
[NB. The name Houchen is recorded with various spellings. However for ease of reference, I will use the spelling ‘Houchen’ whether or not this is the variation found in documentation.]
Sale by Edmund Houchen
On the 30th October, 1783, thatcher Edmund Houchen of Great Ellingham sold the cottage to Little Ellingham farmer, Richard Leath. The purchase price was £43 1s 0d (forty three pounds and one shilling).
Later deeds of 1809, describe the property as:
All that one piece or parcel of land with the House thereupon built situate lying and being in Great Ellingham aforesaid in a Street called Ingates containing by estimation half a rood (more or less) and now in the occupation of Stephen Houchen his under tenants or assigns being a parcel of a Messuage called Derbies lying between the inclosed land formerly of Jeremiah Beckerton and now of Reuben Heasel on the part of the east and the King’s Highway on the part of the West and abutting upon the lands formerly of Francis Dix and now of Isaac Eke on the part of the south with the appurtenances
Even though the description of 1809 gives the name of the current occupier, it is likely that most of the remainder of the wording is recited from earlier documentation. Having said that, it may be that Stephen Houchen already occupied the cottage in 1783.
New Owner Richard Leath
I do not believe that Richard Leath ever lived in the cottage. In fact, he died on the 30th September, 1784, barely a year after completing the purchase.
Richard Leath left a will. However, the will was made prior to his purchase of the cottage. Accordingly, the will of 12th August, 1781, did not include any reference to the property along the Hingham Road.
Heir at Law
Nevertheless Richard Leath’s ‘heir at law’ was his nephew, Richard Leath ‘the younger’.
At the time of his uncle’s death, Richard Leath ‘the younger’ was a married man with two young daughters. He was also a carpenter and lived in Great Ellingham.
Marriage & Children
Richard Leath married Forncett St Peter born Alice Clarke in 1781. Their three daughters were born in Great Ellingham. Hannah on the 12th June, 1782, Frances on the 25th August, 1783, and Elizabeth, on the 24th November 1784.
Richard Leath, the Younger, Dies
Tragically within six months of his uncle’s death and just four months after the birth of Elizabeth, Richard Leath ‘the Younger’ died on the 19th March, 1785.
His death was likely unexpected as he died without leaving a will, and before his late uncle’s affairs were completed.
All the property once owned by Richard Leath (farmer of Little Ellingham) came into the ownership of the three daughters of his nephew, Richard Leath, carpenter of Great Ellingham. This included the cottage along the Hingham Road, as well as the Rose & Crown Public House (also known as The Crown).
Trust for Hannah, Frances & Elizabeth
However, all three girls were minors at the time of their father’s death. Hannah was two years old, Frances one year and Elizabeth barely four months. Accordingly, Alice Leath held the properties (including the cottage) for her three daughters.
Alice Leath Remarries
Widow Alice Leath, married shoemaker and leather cutter William Jessup in 1786.
It may have been around this time that William Jessup became the licensee of the Rose & Crown Public House in Church Street, also held by his wife in trust for her daughters.
Inclosure Documentation
The Great Ellingham Inclosure documentation of around 1800 shows Alice Jessup as the owner of:
- the Rose & Crown Public House, which she also occupied
- two cottages with yards (near to the Rose & Crown) occupied by Robert Tooke and Edward Steel
- the cottage along the Hingham Road occupied by Stephen Houchen
- a pightle and an allotment on Low Common occupied by Balls, Kerrison & Dennis
However, we know that Alice held the properties for the benefit of her three daughters. By 1800, Hannah was 20, Frances 19 and Elizabeth 18.
Marriages of the Leath Girls
On the 8th December, 1803, Frances Leath married Benjamin Dennis. Hannah Leath married Henry Balls on the 17th June, 1806. Finally, Elizabeth Leath married Edmund Kerrison on the 26th September, 1808. All three weddings took place in St James’s Church, Great Ellingham.
Leath Family Assets
By 1805, all three Leath sisters had reached the age of 21.
Hannah was now married to Benjamin Dennis. Given that in 1805, married women had little or no rights regarding property ownership, Benjamin Dennis had control of his wife’s share of the Leath family assets. He may also have had some influence with regard to his sisters-in-law’s share of the property.
Be that as it may, it appears that a decision was reached in relation to the Leath family assets. In 1806, Hannah and Elizabeth conveyed their respective third shares in the Crown Public House to Benjamin and Hannah Dennis. Hannah, of course, already held a one third share.
The sisters would sell the cottage occupied by Stephen Houchen and the allotment (which was at Low Common).
Auction
On the 11th June, 1806, the Bury & Norwich Post published the following notice:
To be SOLD by AUCTION
By THOMAS DRIVER
On Thursday, 19th June, 1806, at the CROWN in GREAT ELLINGHAM in Norfolk; between the Hours of Three and Four in the Afternoon, subject to the Conditions of Sale as will be then and there produced
LOT 1. A Cottage, with Outhouses Yards, and gardens, in the occupation of Stephen Houchin, in Great Ellingham aforesaid
Lot II. An allotment of fine rich arable land, late parcel of the common pasture of Great Ellingham, containing by survey 6A 1R 15P now in the occupation of Benjamin Dennis and others
The whole is freehold, and very moderately assessed to the land tax.
For particulars apply to Mr Charles Bringloe, attorney, Hingham
However and for whatever reason, the cottage and the allotment did not sell at auction. Of course, the property may have been withdrawn before the auction.
As it happens, the sisters agreed to divide the property and land between themselves and their respective husbands.
The allotment to be split into three pieces.
By then, all three sisters were married and I am sure that their respective husbands would have played a major part in any negotiations.
Division of the remaining Leath Family Assets
Extract from 28 September 1809 Feoffment of an Estate in Great Ellingham, Henry Balls & Others to John Harvey. Courtesy Shirley Caston
Nevertheless, and along with their respective husbands, Henry Balls, Benjamin Dennis and Edmund Kerrison, the sisters joined in an Indenture dated 28th September, 1809, to confirm the agreement reached:
- the house along Hingham Road to Henry and Hannah Balls
- a piece of the allotment at Low Common to Edmund and Elizabeth Kerrison
- a further piece of the allotment at Low Common to Henry and Hannah Balls
- the remaining piece of the allotment at Low Common to Benjamin and Frances Dennis
As part of the agreement, certain payments were also exchanged between the parties.
John Harvey, a gentleman of Watton, is also a party to this deed. He is likely a trustee nominated by Henry Balls.
Henry & Hannah Balls
As a result of the 1809 Indenture, the cottage occupied (or lately occupied) by Stephen Houchen came into the ownership of Henry and Hannah Balls.
However by 1817-1819, Henry and Hannah had sold the property. The cottage also had new tenants.
1817-1830s
A survey of Great Ellingham dated 1817-1819 shows John Mann to be the owner of the cottage and garden. The cottage was then divided into two tenements. William Margetson occupied one side and John Garrard occupied the other.
I believe John Mann was at the nearby large farm (Manor Farm). He was a tenant farmer of the owner, Robert Mendham.
A later ‘Estates & Occupations’ survey from around the 1830s, show that William Margetson and John Garrard still occupied the cottage. By then John Mann had died. However the property is still occupied by the Mann family.
1843
The Great Ellingham Tithe map and associated documentation show that on the 16th December, 1843, the ‘Cottages & Gardens’ are occupied by ‘Robert Rose & others’. The owner is Thomas Mann.
Future Owners & Occupiers
Without further specific documentation, it is difficult to establish the ownership and occupation of the cottage after 1843. On the whole, census returns will only provide the name of a street where an individual or family is living – and, sometimes, this is not provided.
Accordingly, I do not know who lived in the property after Robert Rose. He had moved out by 1851 and then lived in Bow Street.
The cottage had disappeared before the survey for Norfolk’s First Edition of the Ordnance Survey Map between 1879 and 1886.
Sources:
Private Deeds Collection. Shirley Caston
1851 census HO107/1823/116
1802 Russell James Colman Plans. Great Ellingham. Norfolk Record Office. Catalogue Ref. C/Ca 1/84.
1799-1842 F W Horner, Records of the Surveyors to Commissioners for Inclosure in Parishes in Norfolk and Suffolk. Great Ellingham (Act 1799). Norfolk Record Office. Catalogue Ref: NRO, BR 90/2
1800 Inclosure Commissioner’s Particulars and Valuation, Great Ellingham. Norfolk Record Office. Catalogue Ref: NRO, MC 2213/119
1799 Statement of Claims. Great Ellingham Inclosure. Norfolk Record Office. Catalogue Ref: MC 2213/118
Great Ellingham Tithe Map 1843. Tithe Apportionments, 1836-1929 [database online]. TheGenealogist.co.uk 2023. Original data: “IR29 Tithe Commission and successors: Tithe Apportionments” The National Archives
Bury and Norwich Post, 11 June 1806, p. [1]+. British Library Newspapers, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/R3209546570/BNCN?u=nl_earl&sid=BNCN&xid=387942f2. Accessed 16 July 2020.