The following report was published in the Lynn Advertiser on the 14th November, 1930:
THE LATE MR JOHN CARTER
The Rev. E W Hardy (vicar of St Mary’s) officiated on Wednesday at the funeral of Mr John Carter, who passed away on the 8th inst., being in his 68th year.
For nearly 38 years he was the licensee of the ‘Dog and Partridge’ inn [Thetford].
Eldest son of the late Mr Ellis Carter of the ‘Chequers’ inn, Great Ellingham, for a number of years Mr Carter served in the Suffolk Yeomanry.
At the funeral the family representatives were the widow, Mrs Campbell Smith, Mrs H Osborne, Mr & Mrs J Kybird, Mrs J Beales, Mr & Mrs W Kybird, Mr Harold Carter, Mr E Beales, Mr Clifford Downes, Mr and Mrs Nurse, Miss Nurse, Mr H Osborne, and Mr and Mrs Etteridge. Others present includes Messrs. A Green (secretary of the local branch of the Licensed Victuallers’ Association), W R Allison, Fred Sharpe, F W Trussler, T R Nicholls, G W Dickerson, B Dale, and Geo. Nunn.
There were many floral emblems.
Childhood in Great Ellingham
The 1871 census finds 9 year old John Carter with his parents, Ellis and Elizabeth Carter, in Chequers Lane, Great Ellingham.
Chequers Public House during the tenure of Landlord Ellis Carter. Courtesy Ray Beales
Ellis Carter was the landlord of the Chequers Inn. He had married Elizabeth Websdale in the Church of St James, Great Ellingham on the 25th April, 1863.
John’s Year of Birth
If John’s age of 9 is correct on the 1871 census, then John’s year of birth would be 1861 or 1862 i.e. before Ellis Carter’s marriage of Elizabeth Websdale.
This does not mean that John was not a child of Ellis and Elizabeth. However I have not been able to find the registration of John’s birth either in Forehoe District (if, like his sister Sarah Ann he was born in Hingham as a census suggests) or in the Wayland District – if like his other siblings, he was born in Great Ellingham!
Frank?
However I did find a baptism at Hingham Parish Church for ‘Frank’ son of Elizabeth Websdale on the 6th April, 1862. Frank’s birth date is given as 19th February, 1862. Was ‘Frank’ and ‘John’ one and the same person?
However the 1861 census throws up another puzzle.
John Carter born Australia
The 1861 census shows 28 year old agricultural labourer Ellis Carter with his 61 year old mother Rebecca. With Rebecca and Ellis is one year old John Carter. The census states that the infant John Carter is a grandson to Rebecca, and that he was born in Australia!
Going forward, I cannot find what happened to ‘John Carter born 1859-1860 Australia’. Is the information on the 1861 census correct or erroneous?
Could this John Carter be the same John Carter who on the census ten years later (in 1871) is the eldest son of Ellis Carter – and ‘Frank’ is a ‘red herring’?
Nevertheless, what we do know is that Ellis Carter acknowledged his son John Carter. Further, he was more than likely born prior to his marriage to Elizabeth Websdale. It is assumed that John’s mother was Elizabeth Websdale. However I do not have proof.
1881 census
Ellis Carter’s wife Elizabeth died at 36 in 1878. The 1881 census finds 50 year old Ellis Carter with his second wife Happy (née Bilham) and five of his children with Elizabeth.
His eldest son, John, is not with the Carter family at the Chequers Inn, Great Ellingham. I have not (as yet) found where John Carter is in 1881.
Dartford
However by 1891, 28 year old John Carter appears to be married and is living with his wife Mary in Dartford, Kent. He is working as a platelayer. By 1901, John Carter is back in Norfolk.
‘Dog & Partridge’ Thetford
The 1901 census captures John Carter – now said to be 35, with his 26 year old wife Mary at 6 Guildhall Street, Thetford. Since 1893, John Carter has been the landlord of the Dog & Partridge Tavern in Guildhall Street. 16 year old Great Ellingham born Ernest Allen is working for John and Mary Carter as their potman and ostler.
The couple are still at the Dog & Partridge in 1911. The census states that the couple have completed 25 years of marriage during which time they have had no children. However, I cannot find a registration of their marriage.
‘Brush with the Law‘
In 1912, John Carter appeared before the Thetford Borough Police Court. He was one of three local publicans summoned by the Excise & Customs for failing to comply with certain regulations under the Spirits Act of 1880.
Carter pleaded guilty. However the court was told that it was ‘a mistake’ and that there was no intention on John Carter’s part to defraud the Revenue.
He received a fine of one pound with costs of nine shillings.
Loyal Suffolk Hussars
John Carter was a trooper with the Loyal Suffolk Hussars. However I do not know whether he was involved in any field service.
Nevertheless, a letter to the editor of the Bury Free Press in 1963 with a heading ‘The Old Hussar looks back over the Years‘, refers to the ‘old Bury St Edmunds Squadron of the Loyal Suffolk Hussars’.
The writer mentions ‘Jack Carter’ the landlord of the Dog & Partridge as one of the ‘Old Hussars’ who attended the annual training camp at Lowestoft. This was during the period in which the squadron was commanded by the late Lord Moyne, then the Hon. Walter Guinness. Walter Guinness joined the Loyal Suffolk Hussars in 1899.
1921 census
John and Mary Carter are still running the Dog & Partridge at the time of the 1921 census. By all accounts, they hosted various local meetings and events at their pub.
The 1921 census shows John’s age as 56 and Mary 57. I believe that the couple have 68 year old Eliza Dunnett with them.
Death of Mary Carter
Just three years later, Mary Carter died at the aged of 61 in 1924. No doubt, John (or Jack as he may have been known), continued to run the Dog & Partridge.
Remarriage
On the 15th November, 1925, 63 year old John Carter married Ethel Ada Kybird. At 32, Ethel was considerably younger than John.
The marriage took place at St Cuthbert’s Church in Thetford. The marriage entry shows John Carter to be a farmer as well as a publican. The entry also confirms his father’s name as ‘Ellis Carter deceased’.
Ethel Ada Kybird
Born in Croxton on the 14th January, 1894, Ethel was the daughter of wheelwright and carpenter James Kybird and his wife Eliza née Butler.
I have no doubt that Ethel was born in the Kybird’s family home which is shown in the photograph below.
James Kybird and his wife Eliza née Butler third and second from right (as facing the photograph).
Taken outside James’s wheelwright’s and carpenter’s shop at Croxton.
Courtesy Joan Barnard
1901 census
The 1901 census shows 7 year old Ethel with her parents James and Eliza (42 and 41 respectively) with brothers George 17, William 15, Frank 13 and seven month old sister Gertrude in Croxton Street, Croxton.
Great Ellingham Connections
Like her husband-to-be John Carter, Ethel’s family also has connections to Great Ellingham.
Her mother, Eliza, was one of the daughters of Great Ellingham miller, George Butler.
Indeed, Eliza’s sister Polly (Mary Ann) married James Kybird’s brother William. Also a wheelwright, William Kybird and his wife and Polly (née Butler) settled in Great Ellingham.
1911 census
At the time of the 1911 census, 18 year old Ethel Kybird is working as a general servant at the home of dental surgeon Richard W Gillett at 5 Cecil Road, Norwich. Her parents, James and Eliza Kybird had moved from Croxton to Magdalen Street in Thetford.
1920s Thetford
By 1921, Ethel had moved back with her parents who were still living in Thetford. However, at the time of her marriage to John Carter in 1925, Ethel’s address was 30 Castle Street, Thetford.
John & Ethel Carter
Following their marriage, Ethel moved in with John at the Dog & Partridge.
Two years after they ‘tied the knot’, John and Ethel welcomed their son, John, who was born on the 15th August, 1927.
Three years later, Ethel gave birth to a daughter, Barbara. However sadly when Barbara was barely six months old, John Carter died on the 8th November, 1930, at the age of 67. He had been landlord of the Dog & Partridge for some 37 years.
Left to Right – Sidney, William, & Cecil Downes (brothers) next Ethel Carter (née Kybird), next Ellen Penson (née Downes), Jack Penson and Policeman Meakins?, standing just behind his wife Eliza, Jim Kybird and seated Eliza Kybird and Emma Downes (née Butler).
Courtesy Joan Barnard
This is a wonderful family photograph. Given that Nellie Penson (née Downes) died in February, 1929, we can be certain that the photograph predates 1929 – and the death of John Carter the following year.
Licensee Ethel Carter
John Carter’s widow Ethel (then just 36) took over the licence and continued to run the Dog & Partridge.
1939 Register
The 1939 Register lists Ethel A Carter as the publican at the Dog & Partridge. With Ethel is her son, John, then aged 12, and her 80 year old father, James Kybird. There is another person listed in the household. However the details have been redacted as this person may have been living when the Register was released in 2015. Perhaps it was Ethel’s daughter Barbara who would then have been aged nine.
Family Run Pub
Information on the Norfolk Pubs website website for the Dog & Partridge shows that the running of the pub continued to be a ‘family affair’. By 1950, Ethel was continuing to do cellar work. However her daughter Barbara did most of the ‘bar work’. Now in his 80s, James Kybird was also known to serve in the bar.
When Ethel’s son John married in March 1958, the newspaper report of the marriage stated that John was the only son of ‘Mrs Carter and the late Mr E Carter of the Dog & Partridge, Thetford’.
Although the newspaper report is erroneous in that it mentions ‘the late Mr E Carter’ and not ‘Mr J Carter’, it does confirm that the Carters were still at the Dog & Partridge at that time.
I do not know where or when Ethel Ada Carter nèe Carter died, but Norfolk Pubs website suggest that the Dog & Partridge was run by a person named Carter in 1962.
Sources:
14 November 1930 Lynn Advertiser
21 March 1958 Bury Free Press
12 March 1904 Downham Market Gazette
26 December 1912 Stowmarket Weekly Post
15 February 1963 Bury Free Press
All viewed via the British Newspaper Archive
1861 census RG9/1237/80
1871 census RG10/1841/89
1881 census RG11/1974/96
1891 census RG12/639/37
1901 census RG13/1901/57, RG13/1902/15
1911 census RG14/11324/218, RG14/11748/50, RG14/11750/51
1921 census. Index only viewed via FindMyPast website
Thetford St Cuthbert Parish Registers. Norfolk Record Office. PD 168. Viewed via www.ancestry.co.uk
Great Ellingham Parish Registers. Norfolk Record Office PD 609. Also available via www.ancestry.co.uk and www.familysearch.org
GRO Index GRO website
also viewed via FreeBMD website
1939 Register England & Wales The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: Rg 101/6532a. Ancestry.com. 1939 England and Wales Register [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018
NorfolkPubs website
Thanks to Joan Barnard