At the turn of the 19th Century, Jeffery Warren owned several dwellings in Great Ellingham. Save for the cottage he lived in, the remainder were let out to tenants.
Although Warren died in the March of 1800, his properties continued to be let by his executors.
One such property was the cottage, yard and garden which was occupied by Daniel Halls and Thomas Wretham.
Extract from 1802 Map of Great Ellingham. All rights reserved Norfolk Record Office. Cat. Ref. C/Ca 1/84. With kind permission of NRO
The Halls and Wretham families’ cottage is shown on the above extract from the 1802 Great Ellingham Inclosures Map. The dwelling is at the junction of Bow Street with the road from Great Ellingham to Rocklands.
It was likely divided into two tenements, with each family occupying one tenement. Of course in those days there was no electricity, no mains water and no sewerage disposal!
Extract from 1906 Ordnance Survey Map. Second Edition. Surveyed in 1881. Author’s Collection
A much later (and larger scale) map of Great Ellingham shows the same cottage with a well near to the property. The two families shared the well in addition to an outside privy.
Who were these families?
The Halls Family
Daniel Halls and his wife Susanna née Bilham came to Great Ellingham from Little Ellingham.
St Peter’s Church, Little Ellingham
Marriage
They married in the parish church at Little Ellingham on the 23rd October, 1770. Daniel was then around the age of 28 and Susanna 20.
Both Daniel and his bride were baptised in the same church. Daniel on the 24th December, 1742 and Susanna on the 4th May, 1750.
Daniels parents were John and Mary Halls. Susanna was the daughter of Thomas and Susanna Bilham.
Children
The couple had eight known children.
I found baptisms for seven of the children in the registers for the Church of St James:
| 16th February, 1775 | Sarah |
| 5th March, 1777 | Susanna |
| 2nd February, 1780 | Mary |
| 23rd June, 1783 | Elizabeth |
| 20th August, 1786 | Anne |
| 6th December, 1789 | Thomas |
| 6th January, 1793 | John |
The couple buried a son named Daniel at Little Ellingham on the 8th September, 1790. However, I have not found a baptism entry for Daniel.
Bow Street Cottage
Given the baptisms in Great Ellingham, it is likely that the couple lived in Great Ellingham (probably in the cottage just into Bow Street) soon after they married. It follows that some (if not all) of the children were born in the cottage.
In the 18th century, Bow Street was known as ‘Engate”. Later it was referred to as Bow Lane and, subsequently, Bow Street.
The Halls Family vacate the Cottage
By around 1819, the Halls family moved out of the property and Robin (or Robert?) Lait and his family moved in. However, Daniel and Susannah continued to live in Great Ellingham.
Deaths of Susan & Daniel Halls
At the age of 70, Susan Halls died. She was buried in the churchyard of St Peter’s Little Ellingham on the 9th October, 1820.
In the April of 1823, Daniel Halls died aged 82, He too is buried in the churchyard at Little Ellingham.
The Wretham Family
Thomas & Elizabeth
Thomas Wretham may well have occupied the cottage with his first wife Elizabeth née Beales.
St James’s Church, Great Ellingham
The couple married in the Church of St James, Great Ellingham on the 12th October, 1779.
Thomas and Elizabeth had three children. They were all baptised in the Church of St James:
| 16th January, 1780 | Mary |
| 8th September, 1782 | Elizabeth |
| 31st October, 1784 | Edward |
Death of Elizabeth Wretham
Tragically within eighteen months of Edward’s baptism, Elizabeth was dead. She was buried in the churchyard of St James on the 31st January, 1786.
Thomas & Sarah
Thomas Wretham remained a widower for some 7 years.
However, on the 28th November, 1793, Thomas married spinster Sarah Meek.
Before her marriage, Sarah Meek had at least one illegitimate daughter, Hannah, who was baptised in the Church of St James on the 27th June, 1790.
The couple’s five known children were also baptised in the parish church at Great Ellingham:
| 9th March, 1794 | William |
| 13th August, 1797 | John |
| 13th August, 1797 | Amelia |
| 17th February, 1799 | Anne |
| 14th February, 1802 | Amy |
Sadly the couple buried their young son John on July 5th, 1799.
Even if Thomas Wretham did not occupy the cottage with his first wife Elizabeth, he certainly occupied it with Sarah. Just like the Halls family, some (if not all) of the children of Thomas and Sarah Wretham were born in the cottage in Bow Street.
Further, Sarah and Thomas continued to live in the cottage for the remainder of their lives.
Deaths of Sarah & Thomas Wretham
Sarah Wretham aged 62 was buried in the churchyard at St James’s Church on the 29th March, 1819.
Thomas survived his wife by some nine years. He died aged 76, and was buried in the same churchyard on the 7th December, 1828.
1865 Auction
The cottage is the very same premises described as Lot 3 in an Auction which took place at the New Inn, Attleborough on the 13th July, 1865.
Sources:
Great Ellingham Parish Registers. Norfolk Record Office. PD 609. Also available via www.familysearch.org
Little Ellingham Parish Registers. Norfolk Record Office. PD 568. Viewed via www.ancestry.co.uk
1802 Russell James Colman Plans. Great Ellingham. 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