The above image may well have been captured at the turn of the 20th century. The name ‘H J NEAVE’ can just be seen above the door of the shop. Perhaps the proprietor, Herbert Joseph Neave and his wife Mary, are amongst the four individuals standing outside the shop. Some 100 years earlier, the Rose…
Alan & Joyce Hutson live most of their married life in Great Ellingham
Alan & Joyce Hutson on their wedding day 2 June 1945 St Mary’s Church Attleborough. Courtesy Alan Gardiner Alan Hutson married Joyce Gardiner at St Mary’s Church, Attleborough on the 2nd June, 1945. Given that the couple had met before WWII, and Alan had been a prisoner of war during the conflict, I wonder whether…
Town Green at the beginning of the 18th Century
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 NRONorth is to the top of the map The ‘triangle’ of Town Green will be familiar to those living in the village today as it was to…
A ‘Choice Farm’ occupied by Mr J Downes for sale by Auction
In the summer of 1892, Auctioneers Salter Simpson & Sons, received instructions to sell a ‘choice farm’ in Great Ellingham. The sellers were referred to as the “Devisees in Trust for Sale under the Will of the late Mr Robert Land.” The Farm The printed Auction Particulars also tell us that the ‘choice farm’ comprised…
House built on Robert Utting’s Land in Long Street
Deeds are a very useful resource when trying to find the history of a house. Not least that, sometimes, deeds can provide a clue as to when a particular house was built. When Robert Utting mortgaged his Long Street land in 1861, the description of the property recited in the Mortgage Deed specifically says “……together…
Walter Utting sells Fir Cottage to the Revd James Toll
Fir Cottage is a delightful cottage on the western side and at the southern part of Long Street. It was built between 1857 and 1861. The green arrow indicates the position of Fir Cottage at the southern end of Long Street. Extract from O.S. Map c.1945. Courtesy Ray & Maureen Beales In recent years, Fir…
Helen Brighton sells her late Father’s Cottage in Long Street
On the 7th April, 1914, Elizabeth Harbour, the wife of John Thomas Harbour, completed her purchase of ‘Fir Cottage’ . The house was sold by the Personal Representative of the late Reverend James Toll who had purchased the property in 1880. ‘Fir Cottage’ was built between 1857 and 1861 on land at the southern end…
Norwich born Sydney Claxton inherits Fir Cottage
On the 5th May, 1933, Sydney Thurston Claxton became the legal owner of Fir Cottage, Long Street, Great Ellingham. Claxton inherited the property from John Thomas Harbour who died in 1931. Two years earlier, John Harbour had inherited the property from his wife, Elizabeth Harbour, who died in 1929. John and Elizabeth Harbour did not…
Bertie & Florence Southgate move into Fir Cottage
Extract from O.S. Map c.1945. Courtesy Ray & Maureen Beales On the 22nd July, 1946, brother and sister, Bertie and Florence Southgate, completed their purchase of Fir Cottage in Long Street, Great Ellingham. The cottage lies at the southern end of Long Street – indicated by the green arrow on the above map. The seller,…
Harry Partridge, Poultry Farmer & Home Guard
Kelly’s Directory of 1937 shows Harry Partridge as a poultry farmer at the ‘Firs’ in Great Ellingham. The Firs is a property to the southern end of Long Street which was also known as Fir Cottage. Harry Partridge was one of seven poultry dealers or poultry farmers in the village at that time. Great Ellingham…