It was during the Reverend James Cragg’s pastorate that a new house for the Baptist Minister was built in Great Ellingham.
In the Baptist Church Minute Book, James Cragg sets down what he understood to be the history of the Baptist Church. He also recorded that “A suitable residence for the pastor of the Church is absolutely needed, the present residence carrying with it the imperfections of age, and the antique absence of domestic comfort, is unhealthy, inconvenient, repulsive, and unsuitable.”
Clearly James Cragg feels that the house once belonging to Elizabeth Asty in the early 1700s, is no longer ‘fit for purpose’.
The building of the Manse was completed by 3rd December, 1852. James Cragg and his wife were the first occupiers of the property.
| Approximate Date | Occupier |
|---|---|
| 1852-1856 | Devon born the Reverend James Cragg and his wife Eliza arrived in Great Ellingham in 1847 when Cragg took up the pastorate. Cragg was instrumental in the Manse being built as the new home for the Baptist Minister. Tragically he died suddenly at the age of 40 on September 26th, 1856. A report of his untimely death and the subsequent inquest appeared in the local press. The Revered Cragg had been “perfectly well in the course of the morning visiting some of his neighbours”. However later, he died suddenly whilst taking an afternoon nap. Following her husband’s interment in the Chapel, Eliza Cragg returned to Devon. Many of James and Eliza Cragg’s household furniture, books, china and glass were offered for sale at an auction held at The Manse on the 27th October. A brown pony, cab-shaped pony gig and a set of harness were also amongst the items included in the sale. |
| 1857-1862 | Before coming to Great Ellingham, Kent born George Williams lived in Ipswich. The 1851 census captures 27 year old Town Missionary George Williams with his 26 year old wife Margaret and 4 year old son George living in Ipswich. A year later, Margaret gives birth to another son, Alfred. I do not know whether the Williams family occupied the Manse during any part of George Williams’ pastorate. At the time of the 1861 census, 37 year old Baptist Minister George Williams and his wife are visitors at the home of widow Susannah Jervis in Ipswich. Whist the census describes George and Margaret as ‘visitors’, their sons, 14 year old George and 9 year old Alfred are described as ‘boarders’. Accordingly, it is possible that the two boys attended a school in Ipswich and boarded with Susannah Jervis. The 1861 electoral registers show George Williams as occupying a freehold house and land ‘near Long Street”. Nevertheless, George Williams left Great Ellingham in 1862 to take up a pastorate in Bideford. |
| 1863-1868 | Baptist Minister Jonas James Kiddle arrived in Great Ellingham in 1863. The electoral registers from 1863-1867 show Jonas J Kiddle as occupying a freehold house and land owned by the Baptist Church. He resigned in 1868 and by 1871 he is living in Kent. |
| 1868-1870 | J.C. Wells’ pastorate in Great Ellingham was fairly brief. I am uncertain as to whether he lived in The Manse. |
| 1871-1876 | By the date of the 1871 national headcount (2 April), 43 year old Cornishman James Toll had been appointed the Baptist Minister at Great Ellingham. However the census still finds him living in Halstead, Essex with his 45 year old wife Mary and 11 year daughter Helen. Nevertheless, I assume that they moved into The Manse when they arrived in Great Ellingham. James Toll resigned the pastorate in 1876. I assume that he vacated The Manse. Nonetheless, he remained in the village. On the 21st October, 1880, James Toll purchased a house in Long Street. This property later became known as ‘Fir Cottage’. Mary Toll died in 1891. The Reverend James Toll was very much involved in village life. He was a committee member of the Universal Beneficent Society which was formed in 1876. For many years, Toll was also a member of the School Board. In addition, in 1896 he is one of the first members of the Parish Council. His only surviving daughter, Helen, married local farmer Frederick Brighton. For a time, the Brightons lived at Penhill Farm. However Frederick Brighton found himself in financial difficulties. In 1895, they ‘sold up’ and emigrated to South Africa. |
| 1877-1882 | Although he took up the pastorate in Great Ellingham in 1877, William Robinson remained living in Norwich. He had previously served the Baptist Church in Wymondham. Each Saturday he travelled from Norwich to Great Ellingham and returned home on the Monday. This arrangement continued until his death in 1882. At the time of the 1881 census, the ‘Gospel House’ is uninhabited. |
| 1883-1892 | Baptist Minister Frederick Harvey came to Great Ellingham in 1883. Two years earlier, the 1881 census finds Ipswich born Frederick Harvey with his wife Mary Ann A and 6 year old son, Archibald, at the Chapel House in Neatishead. I have no doubt that Frederick Harvey brought his family to live at The Manse. After arriving in the village, the couple welcomed two further sons Athelstan and Clifford. The 1891 census captures 42 year old Baptist Minister Frederick Harvey with his 42 year old wife Mary Ann together with their sons 6 year old Athelstan and seven month old Clifford living in Long Street. Some 18 months later, the family were saying their goodbyes to Great Ellingham when Frederick accepted ministerial work in Canada. |
| 1893-1897 | Thomas Sparham was born in Brighton c.1824. However by 1851, he had moved to Norfolk, married Gissing born Harriet Eliza (known as Eliza) and had 4 children. The census of 1851 finds the family living in Church Street Diss, where they probably remained living for the next 20 or so years. The couple had further children, including a daughter, Sophia Pleasance, who was born in 1852. Thomas Sparham was an upholsterer and cabinet maker. However by 1861, Thomas was also involved in Ministry work. The 1871 census describes Thomas as an upholsterer and a Baptist Minister at the Shelfanger (Baptist) Chapel. It seems that Eliza had been suffering with her mental health. In the past mental illness was often poorly understood. Many sufferers were ‘put away’ in asylums and similar institutions. Sadly in June 1872, Eliza Sparham entered the Norfolk Asylum at Thorpe St Andrew. She died there on the 20th February, 1895. By 1881, Thomas Sparham had moved to Doncaster. The census of that year finds 57 year old Thomas Sparham working as an upholsterer. It appears that whilst in Doncaster, Thomas could not find a Baptist Church. Consequently he worshipped and preached with the Wesleyans. Living with Thomas in 1881 are two of his daughters – 30 year old Sophia and 15 year old Anna. The census tells us that Sophia had a deformed spine. Quite likely she had scoliosis. Nevertheless, it seems that this did not prevent Sophia helping her father. The 1891 census captures Thomas Sparham (now described again as a Baptist Minister) with 40 year old Sophia in Necton. Sophia is keeping house for her father. In 1893, Thomas Sparham takes up the pastorate in Great Ellingham, and father and daughter move into the Manse. A storm which caused damage to the Church owned properties occurred in 1895 during Thomas Sparham’s pastorate. Sadly Thomas’s daughter, Sophia Pleasance Sparham, died at the age of 45 at the Manse around one o’clock on the 28th September, 1897. She was buried in the Baptists’ Cemetery on the 2nd October. It was soon after this that the Reverend Thomas H Sparham stood down from his pastorship owing to both the bereavement and his own ‘weakness’. He died in the July of the following year, 1898. Following Thomas H. Sparham’s resignation and for the next three months, the Baptist Church was overseen by the pastor of the Baptist Church of Attleborough, Edward Burrows. Joseph Wilkins then took over for 4 months. |
| 1898-1906 | In 1898 Robert Hewitt was appointed Pastor of the Baptist Church at Great Ellingham. At the time of the 1891 census, 20 year old Robert Hewitt is boarding with the family of Joseph and Frances Short in Kings Norton, Worcestershire. He is working as a wood machinist. Nevertheless by the latter part of 1894, Robert Hewitt is in Lincolnshire when he marries Anne Maria Brydges. Four years later, the couple are in Great Ellingham. The 1901 census finds 30 year old Baptist Minister Robert Hewitt with his 30 year old wife Anne in Long Street. Anne’s nephew, 6 year old George Brydges is with the couple. I have no doubt that they were living at the Manse. Tragically in the May of the following year, Robert’s 33 year old brother Carlton Hewitt died suddenly during a visit to Robert and Anne. His death at the Manse was reported in the Bromsgrove & Droitwich Messenger published on Saturday 24th May 1902. Carlton Hewitt had been in poor health for some time and had been a frequent visitor at his brother’s home in Great Ellingham. His funeral took place in the Baptist burial ground. Robert Hewitt left Great Ellingham in 1906. |
| 1906-1912 | In 1906, the Reverend William Higgins and his wife Emmeline came to live at the Manse with some of their children. Born in Poole, William Higgins married Emmeline Elizabeth Harrison in the London Borough of Croydon in 1874. The 1881 captures the Higgins household of 33 year old Baptist Minister William Higgins, his 32 year old wife Emmeline, and two young children, William aged 2 and one year old Maryann, living in Melbourn. Also with the Higgins household is Emmeline’s 71 year old widowed mother Maryann Harris, and two servants. They are still in Melbourn in 1891. However by 1901, William and Emmeline Higgins are in Town Green, Wymondham with children Mary 21, Stanley 18, Harold 16, Alfred 14 and Lavinia 11. Around 5 years later, William and Emmeline along with some of their children, are in Great Ellingham. Barely two years after moving to Great Ellingham, in 1908 Emmeline Higgins died at the age of 59. In 1910, Pastor William Higgins’ daughter, Mary Ann, married local shopkeeper widower Joe (Joseph) Neave. In 1912, Joe and Mary Neave welcomed a son, Raymond Fuller Neave. Later, Ray Neave would become a Pastor at the Baptist Church. The 1911 census captures the Reverend Higgins at The Manse along with his two daughters, 27 year old Alice Miriam and 21 year old Lavinia Kate. His daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Joe Neave, are living at the Supply Stores in Church Street. Given that the census gives Alice Higgins’ occupation as draper’s assistant, I have no doubt that Alice was working at her brother-in-law’s shop in Church Street. In 1912, William Higgins left the pastorate at Great Ellingham and moved out of Norfolk. The Notice of a forthcoming Auction of Household Furniture & Effects for ‘Reception and Bedrooms’ at the Manse, Great Ellingham, appeared in the Eastern Daily Press of 4th November, 1912. The sale was due to the imminent departure of the Reverend Higgins ‘who is leaving the county’. The items included 800 volumes of books, and a pair of fine Old Coloured Engravings in circular frames, which had been ‘in possession of the present owner’s family over 100 years’. |
| 1912-1918 | I am unclear as to who actually occupied the Manse following the departure of William Higgins. David Bugden writes that the subsequent pastorates were joint ones and rather short. It may be that from time to time, the Manse was unoccupied. Nonetheless I believe H.J. Martin was pastorate between 1914-1918. |
| 1918-1920 | The Electoral Register of 1920 shows Oxford born John Read and his wife Mary Howard Read living at the Manse. Given that his pastorate began in 1918, I can only assume that the couple moved into the Manse around this time. The couple had two children – Kenneth and Muriel. By 1921, John and Mary Read (now in the early fifties) are now in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire. 15 year old Muriel is still living with her parents. However, Kenneth is working as a bank clerk for Barclays Bank in Harleston, Norfolk. He is visiting his parents’ home on census night. The Manse in Great Ellingham appears to be unoccupied. |
| 1921-1922 | For a short period, John Oliver takes up the pastorate at Great Ellingham. However I do not know whether he occupied the Manse. |
| 1922-1927 | The Electoral Register for 1925 lists James Ernest Jones at the Manse. Save that his pastorate was from 1922-1927, and it seems he was known as ‘J. Ernest Jones’, I know very little about him. |
| 1927-1938 | The Electoral Registers are again helpful in confirming the occupants of the Manse. The Registers for 1928 and 1929 lists Arthur Ernest Clifford and Lucy Margaret Clifford at the Manse. They are still listed in the Registers in 1931 along with Lucy Alden Clifford. Around 6 years before the Clifford family came to Great Ellingham, the 1921 census captures them as visitors at the household of grocer and shopkeeper Robert Underhill in Stacey Road, Norwich. 48 year old Oxfordshire born Arthur Clifford is 48 and is described as the Pastor of the Noel Street Presbyterian Church in Nottingham. With him is his 49 year old wife Lucy Margaret and daughters 16 year old Margaret Elsie (born in Manchester) and 11 year old Lucy Alden (born in Southfields, London). In 1938, Arthur and Lucy Clifford left Great Ellingham for Kent. The couple were accompanied by one of their daughters. An article in the Herne Bay Press of 23rd July, 1938, provides us with some background information about Arthur Clifford: “Forty-nine years ago he came to Herne Bay as a young man starting out in life after finishing his apprenticeship to the outfitting trade, and was employed at a shop in William Street. The changes which have taken place in the intervening years have made it impossible, so far, to identify the shop, but the charm and freshness which he found in Herne Bay in those distant days remains the same today, and Mr Clifford begins his work at Beltinge with happy recollections and confident of a successful ministry. Mr Clifford was engaged in evangelistic work from 1895 to 1910, and in 1910 he took over the charge of a church at Nottingham, where he stayed 15 years. For the past eleven years he has been minister of two Baptist Churches – at Attleborough and Great Ellingham Norfolk – and he was also for ten years the Free Church chaplain of the Attleborough Infirmary. He is very greatly interested in the Christian Endeavour movement, and, due to his initiative, its membership and influence have been considerably extended in the East Norfolk area. Arthur Clifford was also well known for his ‘magic lantern’ lectures. |
| 1939-1943 | The 1939 Register (providing a snapshot of the civilian population of England & Wales just after the outbreak of WW2), lists 62 year old James E Davies with his wife Maria and daughters Gwendoline 29 and Ruby 26 at the Manse, Great Ellingham. The Register also reveals that James E Davies was Chaplain at an R.A.F. Station. At the time of the 1921 census, James Evan Davies was the Minister of the Stapleford Baptist Church in Nottinghamshire. The couple had at least 3 daughters. Nevertheless by September 1939, James Davies had brought his family to Great Ellingham. The Great Ellingham Invasion Committee Records of 1942 lists the Reverend Davies, Mrs Davies and their two daughters. However, there are also two children with the family. I wonder whether these two children were evacuees. Many families in the village welcomed evacuee children during WW2. Further, members of the Baptist Church provided the men of the 452nd Bombardment Group of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force based at nearby Deopham Green with ‘home comforts’. |
| 1944-1949 | Following the departure of the Reverend Davies in 1944, George Yaxley took over the pastorate at Great Ellingham. Yaxley was also the pastor at Wymondham. In addition, he was also the Free Church Chaplain at Deopham Green U.S. Army Air Force base. Accordingly, I do not know whether he occupied the Manse. However, George Yaxley had an assistant here in Great Ellingham – Raymond F Neave, the grandson of the earlier Pastor William Higgins. It is said that Raymond Neave was the first minister’s assistant in the country. During the latter part of the 1920s, the Neave family had ‘come away’ from the Baptist Church due to some acrimony with the then Baptist Minister. In 1938, Raymond Neave had married local girl Evelyn Martha Mary Dove at the Methodist Church in Great Ellingham. However not long after the marriage, the couple ‘moved back’ to the Baptist Church. Raymond Neave may well have taken on the pastorate between 1949-1950. |
| 1950-1954 | Nevertheless, Raymond Neave was an assistant to the next Baptist Minister, Jabez A Smallbone. I can only assume that 60 year old Berkshire born Jabez Smallbone and his wife Edith lived in the Manse. Nevertheless his pastorate ended after 4 years and he left in 1954. |
| 1954-1962 | It was at this time that Great Ellingham born Raymond F Neave (again) took up the pastorate. Given that Ray Neave also had his shop ‘The Supply Stores’ in Church Street, I do not know whether Ray Neave ever occupied the Manse. In 1961 Raymond Neave was offered the pastorate at New Mill Baptist Church in Tring, Hertfordshire. However, he had to find a buyer for his business. After some 18 months of searching, a buyer was found. This allowed Raymond to take up the pastorate in Tring on the 7th October, 1962. Raymond and Evelyn Neave were back in |
| 1962-1966 | Following Raymond Neave’s departure, the Baptist Church had no pastor for the next four years. It is possible that the Manse remained unoccupied. |
| 1966-1973 1974- | Nevertheless the Manse may well have been occupied once again when Baptist Minister, T. Leslie Taylor took up the pastorate in 1966 and, Alan C. Clifford, in 1974. |
Sources:
Great Ellingham Baptist Church Book 1781, Register of Births etc (Baptist Chapel) Great Ellingham No.2 Book, Baptist Church, Great Ellingham Minute Book September 29th 1849. Baptist Church Book inc. Minutes 1868-1903. Misc. Correspondence & documents. Thanks to Great Ellingham Baptist Church & Hugh Collier
The Story of 300 years of the Baptist Church at Great Ellingham – David Bugden
‘In Touch’ The Magazine of Great Ellingham Reformed Baptist Church. October 1979. 280th Anniversary Issue. Alan C Clifford
Great Ellingham Parish Registers. Norfolk Record Office PD 609. Also available via FamilySearch website
1851 census HO107/1823/127, HO107/1799/449, HO107/1821/411,
1861 census RG9/1491/118, RG9/1162/81, RG9/1232/96
1871 census RG10/1697/159
1881 census RG11/1974/90, RG11/1974/89, RG11/1919/61, RG11/4691/4, RG11/1414/55
1891 census RG12/1549/78, RG12/1575/73, RG12/2352/125, RG12/1104/25
1901 census RG13/1867/78, RG13/1851/11,
1911 census RG14/11473/86
1921 census RG15/7844, ED 2, Sch 150, Book 07844, RG15/16220, ED26, Sch 181, Book 16220
1939 England & Wales Register. The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: RG 101/6590H. Ancestry.com. 1939 England and Wales Register [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
GRO Index FreeBMD website
Herne Bay Press July 23rd 1938
Eastern Daily Press November 4th 1912
Bromsgrove & Droitwich Messenger Saturday May 24th, 1902
Norfolk Chronicle and Norwich Gazette Saturday October 4th, 1856
Norwich Mercury 25th October, 1856. All newspapers viewed via British Newspaper Archive
England & Wales, Norfolk Register of Electors 1932-1915. “England, Norfolk, Register of Electors, 1832-1915”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2HTY-ZHP : Wed Feb 28 05:21:40 UTC 2024), Entry for George Williams, 1861.
“England, Norfolk, Register of Electors, 1832-1915”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2HYR-JK9 : Wed Feb 28 04:37:15 UTC 2024), Entry for Jonas Kiddle, 1863-1867
Eliza Sparham UK Lunacy Patients Admission Registers 1846-1921. The National Archives of the Uk; Kew, Surrey, England; Commissioners in Lunacy, 1845–1913. Lunacy Patients Admission Registers, Series MH 94; Piece: 22. Ancestry.com. UK, Lunacy Patients Admission Registers, 1846-1921 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Original data: Commissioners in Lunacy, 1845–1921. Lunacy Patients Admission Registers, Series MH 94. The National Archives, Kew, England.
1920-1929 Electoral Registers. Polling District of Great Ellingham. Parish of Great Ellingham.
1942 Great Ellingham Invasion Committee Records. Sue Fay