Illustration Christine Fuller
Newspaper Article
The following article appeared in the Cambridge Chronicle & Journal on Friday, 13th April, 1832
Three females accidentally met at the Curriers Arms, at Great Ellingham on Thursday whose united ages amounted to 240.
The old ladies were in good health and spirits and took a glass of Sir John [gin] together, and the senior one aged 84, at the request of her ancient sisters, sang a love ditty in the good rustic style.
‘Old Ladies’?
Unfortunately, the article does not identify any of the ‘old ladies’. Further, we are none the wiser as to whether any of them were local to the village. Given that the elder of the three was 84, it follows that at least one of the other two ladies was still in her seventies.
Obviously someone thought the chance meeting of three ‘ancient ladies’ worth reporting in a newspaper. Further, was it that uncommon to have three ladies of such an age together? Perhaps it was.
Looking at the entries in Great Ellingham St James Burial Register for 1832, the deceased’s average age was 51. Four people were in their seventies. These persons were all female. The oldest man was 64. Nonetheless, a different month (and, perhaps, a different parish) may well draw a different conclusion.
Curriers Arms
The Curriers Arms was one of two known beer-houses in the village. The other being along the Attleborough Road, which was later known as the Queen’s Head. The newspaper article tells us that in 1832, the Curriers Arms was more than a beer-house as it was selling gin.
It will however remain a mystery as to how the three ladies ‘accidentally’ met at the Curriers Arms. Were any of the three ladies just passing through the village – and, if so, where were they going?
Sources:
Great Ellingham Parish Registers. Norfolk Record Office. PD 609. Also available FamilySearch website
13 April 1832, Cambridge Chronicle & Journal. Viewed via The British Newspaper Archive