The construction of Deopham Green Airfield included the demolition of several buildings. This included the cottages at Stalland Common.
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Left: Extract from 1906 Ordnance Survey Map. Second Edition. Surveyed in 1881. Revised 1904. Courtesy Martin Jeffery
Right: Extract from a map attached to Auction Particulars for Hawhill Farm Great Ellingham dated September 1920
Original document held at Wymondham Town Archive
The green arrow on the above map to the right shows the location of the cottages. The plan on the left shows the position of the cottages.
The cottage furthest away from the junction was built before 1843. The other was erected not long after. In 1843, Little Ellingham farmer George Goddard owned the land, including the cottage.
1911 census
The 1911 census (undertaken on the 2nd April), captures at least seven families at Stalland Common: Key, Bass, Macro, Skipper, Groom, Hurrell, Beales.
However without specific evidence, it can be difficult to establish which families lived in the cottages ‘just around the bend’.
Nevertheless, the families of Skipper, Groom, Hurrell and Beales each occupied a dwelling with four rooms, with the Key family occupying a six-roomed farmhouse. The households of Bass and Macro each occupied cottages with three rooms.
In addition, consecutive schedules to the 1911 census show the households of Skipper, Groom, Hurrell and Beales. Accordingly it may suggest that they are neighbours. However, we cannot always rely on census returns showing consecutive neighbouring properties.
Having said that, I believe it was indeed the families of Skipper, Groom, Hurrell and Beales occupying the cottages.
Skipper
In 1911, James Skipper is 44 years old. He was born in Rocklands, although the 1911 census gives his place of birth as Little Ellingham. James married Great Ellingham born Sarah Jane Wright in 1896.
Marriage & Children
Following the marriage, the couple settled in Little Ellingham. The 1901 census finds 34 year old James Skipper with his 25 year old wife Sarah at Goose Common. They have two young daughters, Beatrice aged 4 and one year old Alice. James is working with cattle as a yardman on a farm.
Elsie May was born after the 1901 census, whilst the family were still in Little Ellingham. However by the time Edith was born in 1903, the Skipper family were living in Great Ellingham.
Frederick followed in 1906, Ivy in 1908 and Herbert in 1909.
The census of 1911 finds James and Sarah Skipper occupying a four-roomed property at Stalland Common with six of their seven children. Eldest daughter Beatrice is with farmer Horace Bush and his wife Elizabeth at Lyngwhite Farm along the Hingham Road. At 14, she is a general domestic servant.
1921 census
I believe that the Skipper family were still living in one of the cottages at the time of the 1921 census. However, the census refers to the area as ‘Drapers Hill’.
James Skipper is now 54 and his wife Sarah is 45. Since the last census, James and Sarah had welcomed Dorothy in 1913 and Walter in 1920. However, not all their children are still ‘living at home’. Five of their nine children are with them. 15 year old Frederick, Ivy 13, Herbert 12, Dorothy 7 and one year old Walter.
James is working as a team-man for ‘J Hall’ at Haw Hill Farm. Frederick is working as an under gardener for Major J H Kennedy at The Lodge, Attleborough. Ivy, Herbert and Dorothy are all attending school.
Death of James Skipper
According to the Electoral Registers, James and Sarah Skipper were living at Stalland Common until at least 1931. Indeed the couple may have lived there until James Skipper died in October 1935. By 1939, widow Sarah Skipper is living with her son, Herbert, at Low Common.
Groom
Living next door to the Skipper family in 1911 is James and Mary Groom.
Rocklands born James Groom is 57 and is working as a yardman on a local farm. His wife of some 14 years, Mary Groom is 42. The couple have two sons, 14 year old Reginald and 13 year old Arthur. Reginald is a yard assistant – perhaps working with his father, and Arthur is still at school.
1921
In 1921, the Groom family are still living next door to the Skippers. At 67, James Groom is working for Arthur Harvey at Haw Hill Farm. The couple’s son, Reginald, is still living with his parents. At 25, he is working at Haw Hill Farm as a yardman for ‘J Hall’. Tragically, Arthur was a casualty of WWI. He was killed in action in 1917.
James Groom died at the end of November, 1934, aged 80. I have no doubt that the Groom family continued to live in one of the cottages at The Stalland.
1939
Nevertheless by 1939, I believe Mary Groom was a patient at St Andrew’s Hospital, Norwich. It seems that Reginald is still living at The Stalland. The 1939 Register finds Reginald with his wife Hilda and, (I assume), three children. Perhaps they were one of the families having to move out to facilitate the construction of the airfield.
Hurrell
Another family to occupy one of the cottages at the time of the 1911 census, is the Hurrell family.
The census lists the occupants as 50 year old married woman Lucy Ann Hurrell and her children Jack aged 26, George 23, Charles aged 18, Eliza 14, Blanch 11 and eight year old Louisa. The family had been in Crostwick before coming to Great Ellingham.
The ‘Hurrell boys’ were all working as farm labourers. The girls are all attending school. Given that Lucy Hurrell is described as a married woman, where is her husband on census night?
Misdemeanours
The Electoral Registers reveal that Walter Hurrell lived at Stalland Common from at least 1909 through to 1911.
As it happens, I found 49 year old farm labourer Walter Hurrell as a prisoner at HM Prison at Plumstead Road, Norwich.
The Norfolk News of the 11th June, 1910, briefly reported on the case of Walter Hurrell. A court found him guilty of an unspecified offence, with the newspaper recording only scant details. However, Hurrell received a sentence of 18 months’ hard labour. Accordingly, at the time of the 1911 census he is still serving his sentence.
Further Trouble for the Hurrells
It seems that Walter Hurrell and his sons were no strangers to the courts.
In August 1907, Walter and his sons, John (Jack) and George, stood charged with the malicious wounding of John Bayfield Abbs in Great Ellingham. The case came to the Norfolk Assizes in October. In the event, and with the court satisfied that the men’s actions were carried out in self defence, all three were acquitted.
However in February 1908, Charles Hurrell received a conviction for trespassing in search of game.
In May 1909, brothers George and John Hurrell together with George Anderson, were convicted of stealing fowl at Hingham. Anderson (a habitual offender) received a prison sentence with hard labour, John Hurrell was fined £2 and George Hurrell was bound over for 12 months.
In June 1909, John Hurrell was convicted of assaulting Police Constable Askew at Great Ellingham. He received a sentence of one month’s hard labour with costs of 24s (24 shillings).
The Hurrells leave Great Ellingham
By 1921, the Hurrell family had left Great Ellingham and were living in Hethersett.
Beales
This family saw the comings and goings of many families whilst living for over 30 years in one of the cottages at The Stalland.
The 1911 census captures Henry Beales with his 62 year old wife Maria occupying a four-roomed cottage at Stalland Common. Although aged 70, Henry is still working as a farm labourer. I do not know whether Henry was also receiving the ‘Old Age Pension’. Introduced in the UK in 1909, the qualifying age was then 70 and was also subject to a means test.
Great Ellingham Born & Bred
Henry was born in 1840 to George and Mary Beales (also found as Bales). He was probably born in the family’s Bow Street home, where he lived until his marriage.
He married Maria Long in St James’s Church, Great Ellingham on the 16th September, 1871.
Born in 1848, Maria was the daughter of Benjamin and Hannah Long (nèe Balls). The 1851 census captures the Long family in ‘Strolling Common’ (Stalland). I believe Benjamin Long occupied one of the cottages, the subject of this article. Accordingly, it is more than possible that Maria was born in the cottage.
At the time of the 1861 census, 13 year old Maria Long is a ‘visitor’ at the household of Sarah Johnson in Bow Street. Her later ‘husband-to-be’ is living with his parents nearby.
The Beales and Long families were living reasonably near to each other at the time of the 1871 census. Although I cannot be certain, I believe they were living in Bow Street.
At this time, 30 year old Henry Beales is the head of his household. His father having died. With Henry is his widowed mother Mary aged 67 and his 21 year old brother William. Maria Long is 24 and living with her parents. The couple married within a few months of the census taking place.
1881 census
Nearly 9 years after their marriage, the 1881 census finds Henry and Maria Beales in ‘Strolling Common’ (Stalland). Aged 40, Henry is working as an agricultural labourer. With the couple is their 9 year old son George and two year old daughter Harriet.
Ten years later, Henry (now 51), Maria (48) and children George 19 and Harriet 12 are still living at Stalland Common. I have no doubt that they are still occupying one of the cottages.
Not long after, their son George enlisted with the Norfolk Regiment. In 1894 and aged 21, George Beales then enlisted with the Coldstream Guards. He had already relocated to Battersea, London. At some point, he served in South Africa.
Henry & Maria continue to live at Stalland Common
By 1901, with their son George with the Coldstream Guards and their daughter Harriet now married to Herbert William Bidewell, Henry and Maria continued to live at Stalland Common. They are still there at the time of the 1911 census.
The Electoral Registers list Henry Beales at Stalland Common until at least 1915. Maria’s name is not shown. However it is not until 1928 that women achieved the same voting rights as men. As it happened, Maria died before she became eligible to vote. She died in 1918 aged 70.
The cottage once occupied by Henry and Maria Beales may well have been occupied again before it was demolished.
Sources:
Great Ellingham Parish Registers. PD 609. Norfolk Record Office. Also available via www.findmypast.co.uk & www.familysearch.org
1841 census HO107/781/8
1851 census HO107/1823/117
1861 census RG9/1237/83
1871 census RG10/1841/81
1891 census RG12/1549/82
1901 census RG13/1833/47, RG13/1867/86, RG13/1867/81
1911 census RG14/11288/34-37, RG14/11473/12-14
1921 census RG15, Registration District 231. Great Ellingham Schedules 56, 57, 65, 67. Viewed via www.findmypast.co.uk. Also viewed index to the 1921 census via www.findmypast.co.uk
1939 England & Wales Register. The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: RG 101/6590H. Reference: RG 101/6538J. Ancestry.com. 1939 England and Wales Register [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
England & Wales Electoral Registers 1910-1932, Parish of Great Ellingham. Viewed via www.findmypast.co.uk
England, Norfolk Register of Electors, 1832-1915. Viewed via www.familysearch.org
11 June 1910 Norfolk News
24 August 1907 Downham Market Gazette
1 November 1907 Diss Express
1 February 1908 Downham Market Gazette
16 June 1909 East Anglian Daily Times
All newspapers viewed via the British Newspaper Archive website
UK, British Army World War I Pension Records 1914-1920. George Beales. The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; War Office: Soldiers’ Documents from Pension Claims, First World War (Microfilm Copies and Medical Cards); Reference: WO364; Piece: 190. Ancestry.com. UK, British Army World War I Pension Records 1914-1920 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.