1 20 7 https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/062d4e310a348d6f02a9a830ca2a81fa.pdf aa2fc11e7ea1e0a8f37fcbd05b481610 PDF Text Text ������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Publications Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Publications Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Reepham Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 to 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed documents Box *** Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976 to 2014 Reepham Description An account of the resource Reepham Society Publications Text - printed Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Harry Hawes' Walk Description An account of the resource Written to accompany the Reepham Society 2003 History Exhibition this publication uses quotes from Harry Hawes' memories of the town in the late 1800s to illustrate a history of the main buildings and their occupiers and their trades in the centre of Reepham. First published in instalments in the local parish magazine between September 1978 and January 1980. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2105031300 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 32pp A4 booklet, cream cover Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Reepham Society Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kate Nightingale, Joyce Cox Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights Reserved https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/f18105f9d30a32663c3f5d799b53cef6.pdf fcba7badb6407536da04022f6e1e0792 PDF Text Text ������������������ Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Publications Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Publications Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Reepham Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 to 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed documents Box *** Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976 to 2014 Reepham Description An account of the resource Reepham Society Publications Text - printed Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Town Band Description An account of the resource History of Reepham Town Band from its beginnings in 1916 until 1984 when it became Matthews Norfolk Brass with financial support from Bernard Matthews. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2002 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1916-1984 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2104141200 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 16pp A4 booklet Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Joyce Cox Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights Reserved https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/bfe0a8c46b1405c60e08815c773a7962.pdf 3d76faaca5ee4c1b4b5d2efe608303e8 PDF Text Text �������������������������������� https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/f506f7e078c91f52398264bae3da016e.pdf 613918267d00c9c8d51294fa5abc4d20 PDF Text Text Reepham Society Magazine Millennium Edition April 2001 �SJP J SOLICITORS Hunstanton & Guestwick DIVORCE WILLS LANDLORD AND TENANT ( PRIVATE OR BUSINESS ) COMMERCIAL LEASE PROBATE EMPLOYMENT CO-HABITATION CONVEYANCING PERSONAL INJURY DEBT CIVIL LITIGATION Legal Services Commission Franchised Firm So Public Funding may be axmilable FREE HALF HOUR Office Hours Tel. 01485 532662 After 5.30pm Fax 01485 534802 T el 01362 68423 I IL T LB a m Residential Care Home, Church Lane, Sparham, Norfolk T el. 01362 688702 email: ronny.hillbarn@virgin.net Hill Barn is an attractive family-run H om e for the elderly, offering an informal and homely atmosphere. It stands in attractively landscaped gardens with open views across the countryside. The proprietors have over 20 years experience in elderly care, and with their daughter Nicola Bryant, RGN, Dip M CS and a team o f highlydedicated and N V Q trained staff provide 24 hour care tailored to the needs o f the individual. Various hobbies are catered for and a wide range o f entertainment is regularly offered. There is also a visiting hairdresser, chiropodist, optician, mobile library and shop. All meals are home-cooked and special diets are catered for. The H om e has held a G ood Food Hygiene Award from Breckland Council since 1997. All rooms have call bells and TV points. Accommodation is ground floor with mainly en-suite facilities. For further information or to arrange to visit the H om e please contact the proprietor Mrs. Ronny Hawtrey-Eastwood or the manager Mrs. Bryant at the above address. �Contents Editorial Editorial 3 Why Reepham? 4 Public Access and Right of Way Tony Ivins on Whitwell 6 9 Hackford through the Last Millennium Childhood memories of Reepham A Thousand Years of Salle 13 20 22 Reepham Personalities and Institutions 26 The Reepham Society is established for the public benefit in the area comprising Reepham, Hackford, Whitwell, Kerdiston, Salle and Booton. The aims of the Society are: 1. To stimulate public interest in the area. 2. To promote high standards of planning and architecture in the area 3. To secure the protection, preservation, development and improvement of features of historical or public interest in the area Front coven Jolyon Booth, Chairman of the Parish Council, with the competent help of the local Fire Brigade, erecting the banner advertising Celebration 2000 which marked the turn of the Millennium in January 2000. Typeset by CRB Associates, Reepham Printed by Norwich Colour Print, Drayton We have to mark the Millennium Year in some way. The Reepham Society nearly let it pass but, seizing on the fact that arguments have been made for both 2000 and 2001 as the definitive Millennium Year, we have just about squeaked in with a Millennium Edition of the Magazine. Not before time, did I hear someone say? Well, it is true that the last magazine went to print in ... well, quite a time ago. As a result we do have quite a lot of material to draw on. To mark the Millennium, we want to look back at the history of Reepham and our group of parishes. We have included articles on the history of Reepham, Whitwell and Hackford because that is what this magazine has always focused on but we also thought it appropriate to celebrate some of the well-known people who have contributed so much to the work of the Society and to the community. We had intended to bring out new publications and hold a History Exhibition to mark the Millennium in 2000 but the renovations carried out on St. Michael's and St. Mary's churches made that impractical. Doesn't the tower of St. Michael's look splendid after its renovation? The work on St. Mary's is mostly internal so do go inside and take a look. There is more to come. However, we have decided to bestride the two Millennium years by publishing this maga­ zine and another book, Poems from Reepham and by holding the History Exhibition in May 2001. A preview for Reepham Society members will be held on May 10th, and the exhibi­ tion will be open to the public on May 11th, 12th and 13th. You may even have bought your copy of this magazine there. If you have not heard of Poems from Reepham, let me tell you that this is a charming collection of poems entered by local people for the Reepham Literature Festival in 1999. They were too good not to have a larger readership than the six judges of the competition so the Reepham Society has published them - with an ISBN number so that a copy will be retained in the British Library and Reepham will have made one more permanent mark on British history! 'Poems' is on sale in Very Nice Things and Echo Antiques. The Reepham Society is not, however, solely concerned with the past. We are a member of the Norfolk Society (CPRE), we have links with other Amenity Societies in the county and we are also consulted on planning for our area. This is a time of great and rapid change so we must look forward as well as back. Within the limits of our constitu­ tion we in the Society are concerned with preserving, protecting, improving and developing features of historical and public interest in our area. We have already embarked on the promotion of environmental awareness in relation to safe and effective waste disposal. These issues affect all of us at a time when we can no longer go on ignoring our individual responsibility for keeping our increasingly crowded planet a safe place in which to live and bring up children. What better time to look forward constructively than during the first year of a new millennium. Oh, in case you were wondering what Reepham did to mark the Millennium, we should remind you that Celebration 2000 was held in St. Mary's in January 2000. This was a really effective event in which over 200 children and a smaller number of grow-ups joined together to look back at the last 2000 years - not to mention parents and others from the town who formed their audience on three occasions. This was a very moving event and drew people together in a very appropriate way. �Why Reepham? Wesley Piercy One of the older and better known Reepham residents is Wesley Piercy. Now in his eighties, he has lived all his life in Reepham and has always taken an intense interest in the history of the town. He completed the local history course run here by Chris Barringer in the 1970s and', later, went on to receive an Open University degree. Whilst completing his history course he wrote this speculation on the origins of Reepham. Why does Reepham stand where it does? Why is it so different from the surrounding parishes? Perhaps most puzzling of all, why did its churchyard contain three churches, now reduced by fire to two. Read on if you want to know some very believable theories of the origins of this town. 'Reepham is a small market town which extends into four parishes'. So says the White's Norfolk Directory of 1845. Why these four parishes, Reepham St. Mary, Kerdiston, Hackford and Whitwell, should collectively be known as Reepham when Reepham St. Mary is the smallest and least important is a puzzle. People are puzzled, too, by the fact that three of these parishes had churches in the same churchyard, which is said to be unique. This paper is an attempt to give possible answers to some of these questions. If one looks at the district, either on a map or on the ground, the four parishes, with the addition of Salle, form a compact whole with boundaries following streams for most of the way. Salle has to be included as the boundary with Reepham is so complicated that it seems that they must originally have been one. It seems possible that these parishes formed one large pre-Conquest estate. This, I Reproduction drawing of All Saints Church, Hackford m ade in 1784 before most o f the ruins were pulled down. All that now remains is a fragment of one wall. suggest, would have been called Reepham. The AngloSaxon 'ham' ending is generally thought to be earlier than 'ton' and other suffixes. The question then arises as to where the original settle­ ment was likely to have been. This, I suggest, was somewhere in the vicinity of the market-place and churches. If we try to put ourselves in the minds of a party of immigrant farmers looking for a place to settle, this area seems to be the one they would be most likely to pick for the following reasons: 1. 2. 3. It is high enough and far enough from the River Eyn (Booton Beck) to be in no danger of flooding and yet is not so exposed to the wind as other parts of the parish. With an underground stream running through, it is easy to sink wells to give an adequate water supply, wells being the only water supply until very recently. The soil in this area is a good medium loam, easily worked and well drained, with a sandy sub-soil under much of it, whereas much of the outer area is stiff clay. A good deal of this land was grazing land and was not ploughed until very recent times. It can only be surmised where these early settlers came horn. Had they come directly from the continent or from a previously settled part of Norfolk? If the former is correct, it is possible that they landed at Caister-by-Yarmouth and followed the Roman road that led inland from Caister and crossed the Eyn at some point in the Reepham area before continuing on towards Bawdeswell. If this was so, they would have passed through many miles of heath and woodland with very poor soil. The same applies if they came from the Norwich direction where much of the ground between Norwich and Reepham grew nothing but bracken until a few years ago. For people approaching from either of these directions, the fertile valley of the River Eyn would have appeared very attractive. If, as we suppose, Reepham was an early Anglo-Saxon settlement, the original inhabitants would have been pagans. Though no pagan cemetery has been found, it seems possible that the present churches stand on what was originally a site of pagan worship.1 This we can only surmise but the site does appear to be very old if the height of the churchyard, several feet above the roadway, is anything to go by. It is a fact that when sewer pipes were laid in Church Street a great many human bones, appar­ ently very old and crumbling, were dug up. This seems to indicate that the original churchyard was much larger than now and that the churchyard was originally on the level of the street. If this is so, it may be supposed that the early burial ground must have been associated with a church. That would mean that there was a church on the site at a very early period, any remains of which would be many feet below the present churches. Who knows wrhat might be found if they could be excavated. The floor levels of the existing churches, being only a little below the level of the churchyard, seem to indicate that the churchyard was a considerable height above the street level even in the fourteenth century. These must be indicators of a very ancient site.2 1 With the development of metal detectors and increasing interest in historical research, further evidence is slowly emerging of early settle­ ments in and around the Reepham area. [Ed.] 2 It is interesting to note also that instead of stepping up into the chancel of St. Mary’ s there is a step down to a lower level. Was this the original site of a church? �This was the opinion of the late Rev. H.G.B. Follard, Rector of Bawdeswell and Foxley, who had studied Norfolk churches for many years. A similar situation was discovered at Bawdeswell during the building of the present church there. The previous church was destroyed during the last war when an aeroplane crashed onto it. Under the founda­ tions of the old church were found the base of a Norman tower of flint and the foundations of the body of the church which was apparently built of timber or wattle and daub. There would have been plenty of timber available which, being less durable than flint, may explain why so few Saxon churches remain in Norfolk. The first church in Reepham, then, was probably also of timber and not replaced until, perhaps, the thirteenth century. This docs not, however, explain why there came to be three medieval churches in one churchyard. If, as was suggested above, Reepham was a large Anglo-Saxon estate consisting of the four parishes of present-day Reepham and Salle, and the original settlement was in the present church and market area, it is possible that the other parishes were off-shoots of Reepham. This may explain why four or five parishes are still collectively known as Reepham. Reepham itself was known as Reepham St. Mary with Kerdiston. If these names came into general use for the separate manors, as in similar cases elsewhere in the county, it would be simpler to explain why they are still, and apparently always have been, called Reepham. Salle, of course, is not called Reepham. If, as suggested, it was part of an original large estate, it may have become a separate parish with its own church at an early date. Hackford and Whitwell, which could have become Reepham All Saints and Reepham St. Michael's, but did not, evidently take their names from topographical features. In the case of Hackford (the ford at the bend), it must be from the ford in Hackford Vale where the bridge now is. This is also the only ford in Hackford. It may seem logical to suppose, then, that this was the original settle­ ment in Hackford. There is another small hamlet in Hackford which is known as Pettywell, another name from a physical feature. This is probably a later date than Hackford, otherwise this could have been the name for the parish.3 However, Hackford extends into the town itself and includes the whole of the Market Place which must have been part of the original settlement of Reepham. There do seem to be some good grounds for assuming that these settlements were extensions of Reepham by people seeking new land as the population grew.4 For Whitwell, the details are rather similar to Hackford. It joins Reepham and Hackford near the churches. The parish boundaries have been arranged so that they meet at a point in the churchyard with each church standing in its own parish. The former Duke of York public house is said to stand in all three parishes. Bar Lane, the former Gracious Street, leads from the church into Whitwell parish. Whitwell Street could be the original Whitwell settlement but a more likely spot seems to be near Whitwell Hall where excavations have revealed traces of an ancient settlement. There is another group of houses on Whitwell Common and the White House, though now showing a Georgian facade, has been identified as on the site of an older manor house. Another small settlement on the outskirts of the parish, Jordan's Green, was probably fairly late as it has grown up on very stiff clay. Kerdiston appears to have had twTo centres, one connected with the 'Giant's Moat' near the Old Hall and one with Kerdiston House, a farmhouse now demolished at View across the moat into the Kerdiston m oated site known locally as the Giant's Moat. The m oat itself is now surrounded by trees, but the remains o f an old well can be seen inside the moat. the other end of the parish. The population was, appar­ ently, never very large and there wfas never a public house or shop, though there w'as a blacksmith within the last fifty years and, formerly, a brick and tile works. Much of the parish, it seems was wooded until fairly late. The last remnant of ancient forest, the 26 acres of Haw Wood, wfas only cleared and ploughed after the Second World War. Much of Kerdiston is also heavy clay and a good proportion of the present arable was grazing ground until the 1940s. The question remains, why three churches? And stranger, why are they all in the same churchyard? The old story of three warring sisters is nothing but a legend though it may contain a grain of truth. It is natural, when the original manor split, that each lord should wish to have a church on his manor or estate. Unless some pre-Conquest docu­ mentary evidence turns up we shall never know the truth. If, as seems likely, there was already a church on what may have been an ancient sacred site, what can be more likely than that all the daughter settlements should wish to worship on the same site as their forefathers, and be buried there, leaving us with the puzzle of our three churches. 3 Apparently the original name was Petter's Well which seems to include a name, perhaps of the owner. 4 We should not forget, however, that there is also a suggestion that Reepham Moor was the site of the original settlement which could offer another explanation for the development of the town. 5 �Public Access and Right o f Way Kate Nightingale Reepham has many footpaths and lokes in the centre of the town which are public rights of way. There are also many other footpaths and green lanes around the town which have been there; as they say; 'for time out of mind'. Having a public right of way on your doorstep makes you wonder what the phrase; Tight of way' actually means. It also gives you some insight into why some landowners should be so keen to resist the use of rights of way by the general public! After all, the general public does include some people you might prefer not to walk over, through or along the side of your property for a number of reasons. Having started this article; I was going to wait until the new Access to the Countryside Bill had passed through Parliament but, having waited some months, I decided that we could not afford to hold back a new edition of the Reepham Society Magazine any longer. As a result I must remind readers that some legal details on access and rights of way may have changed by the time they read this article. What is a right of way? It is one of those phrases which people use freely without really understanding what it means. When rights of way were first granted, they were granted by owners of land to others in their own local community who wished to cross their land, perhaps to access their own land or to work in the fields. They knew the people who would use this access, personally, and both the community' and the landowner, however large or small their holdings, respected each others' rights. Respecting others' rights was taken for granted in a small community where everyone knew everyone else. After all, living in community depends on mutual give and take. In our modern world, as communities grow in size, we do not all know each other. Different groups have different values and aspirations. It is much easier to infringe other's rights and liberties if you do not know them or have some lack of respect for those who belong to different social groups or are in a different age group from yourself, even if you do not mean to do so. There is also a tendency, in these days of consumerism, to put more emphasis on rights and rather less on those responsibilities which are the other face of rights. One reason that there has always been such contention over access and right of way over open land is due lo the fact that the public right of 'way' across land and the rights of those who own the land on and around a road or path are not the same. You can only expect your right of way to be respected if you act responsibly in respecting the rights of the owner or owners of land and property around the road. Some people will know of the celebrated case in the 1930s when the Manchester Ramblers made a mass trespass onto the grouse moors of the Duke of Devonshire in Derbyshire. Seventy years later, a modus viveruli has been worked out between those wishing for access to beautiful areas of countryside and large landowners. Not least was the initiat­ ive of the National Trust in buying up large areas of land to allow public access. However, we should remember that it is the preservation of moors and coverts for game by landowners which has preserved much of the countryside now available for access by the public. It seems only fair, in the circumstances, to respect the landowners' rights to close areas when needed to prevent disturbance to game or stock. It is this care and seclusion which keeps the land un­ disturbed for other wildlife and, we have to admit, not all members of the public exercise their responsibilities effectively. At the other end of the scale we could consider those rights of way in a small market town such as Reepham. Those who live on lokes and narrow paths and roads are all too aware of how intrusive the passage of others can be. People passing late at night, despite the lack of street lighting, chat loudly under bedroom windows. (You would be amazed at what can be overheard!) We will not embar­ rass them by recounting some o f the late-night activities or describing the debris left behind. During the day people look over fences into gardens; a young man stops to smoke an illicit cigarette whose smoke drifts into garden or sitting room, passing dogs make resident dogs bark or leave less pleasant evidence of their passing! Others sometimes park blocking the road, usually when a resident is late for an appointment or when there are several cars behind as you want to drive in. In this context It is also apprupiiate to mention the new European legislation on Human Rights which states that a person has the right to 'peaceful enjoyment of his personal property'. That would also include noise being created outside someone's property on any right of way, including a metalled road. This can include thoughtless noise and litter created by children who often have no idea of how disruptive to others their play can be. All of this makes you have some sympathy with farmers and landowners who discourage walkers from using rights of way on their land, especially when a path goes right across a growing crop. Is it too much of a disadvantage to walk round the edge of the field? It is far more difficult for the farmer to keep that path clear when he is sowing the crop. He did not cover the path with malice aforethought and the law makes allowances for this as the farmer does have a duty to indicate and clear the course of a right of way, even if it does go across the middle of a field. I, for one, can never understand why anyone wants to walk across the middle of a field with a standing crop just because there is an old right of way there. Why wilfully damage a crop? And if you are looking for interesting wildlife it is going to be in the hedge, not in the middle of the field. Another aspect of this issue is that of 'common rights'. Until very recently, land always belonged to somebody, ultimately, of course, to the Crown. In feudal times anyone who owmed land held it of someone else. Although the feudal system and its associated communal agriculture was replaced by money rents for tenancies and personal ownership of farms and land, the question of common land and rights of access has taken much longer to resolve. In the manorial system common rights did not mean that common land was open to all and sundry. A common belonged to the 'commoners', a group of specific­ ally designated people who held specific rights, in common, to a piece of ground. Those rights of access w'ere for prescribed purposes which may originally have been to graze beasts, gather kindling, dig turves and so on. The 'fen tigers' were particularly notorious for their riotous defence of their common rights when Charles I enclosed and sold off tracts of the Fens to outside landlords. This led to drainage and loss of their common rights on that fenland. �Commons were the last flicker of the age-old style of communal farming and were retained for the very purpose of ensuring that villagers did retain a place to graze their beasts and to gather wood for their fires. In this area they comprised the heathland and marshy land along the streams. Much common land has, of course, been sold off or enclosed. By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries some comm on land became 'poor allotments', which were used either directly or indirectly to provide for the poor, and other commons have been opened to public access by a variety of means. During the last two hundred years the concept of a common has changed and commons have been defined under a series of parliamentary acts. The Commons Registration Act 1965 defined a common as follows: over our countryside. The Countryside Access Charter defines both rights and responsibilities in relation to rights of way: Countryside Access Charter 1. You have a right of way on: a] footpaths - on foot only b] bridleways - on foot, horseback and pedal cycle c] byways - on public roads designated as byways (see also below). NB. Public rights of way are marked as such on Ordnance Survey maps. Public rights of way have been closed in the past around reservoirs or if land was sold to the Forestry Commission though many of these paths are now being opened up again. Land which has been allotted under any Act for the exercise or recreation of inhabitants of any locality or on which the inhabitants ... have a customary right to indulge in lawful sports or pastimes ... or have indulged for not less than twenty years.5 This demonstrates very clearly how attitudes to and ideas about common land have changed since enclosure of c o m m o n s and the d e m i s e of communal farming practices. The only registered common in the Reepham area is Whitwell Low Common though there are other remnants of former common land indicated on old maps. Since 1981 Public Rights of Way in the County of Norfolk, as elsewhere, have been defined under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Any changes had to be obtained under a Modification Order from the surveying authority, the County Council. This involved taking evidence that included a description of the path or road and local state­ ments of the traditional use of the right of way before the Modification Order could be confirmed, published and marked on the map. Local authorities have a duty to protect rights of way and must record them. They also hold a register of commons and village greens. It is to them that you should report any problems. In the 1990s, 'green' elements in the population have been much more insistent on the rights of access to the countryside for all. At time of writing (March 2001) the new Act confirming unlimited access rights to specified areas of open land is to become law. My own feeling is that there is already considerable access to open country and to extend this will mean disturbing land which not only needs to be undisturbed for farming but to protect the way of life of the animals and plants which live there. One aspect of unlimited access that is only now becoming clear is that farmers and landowners will have the right to close areas temporarily if necessary and that areas with unlimited access will be mapped. The Act will not be effective until the maps are complete and this could take one or two years However, in 1992, the Countryside Commission published the Countryside Access Charter which defined rights of way but also gave information on the respons­ ibilities of those making use of rights of way over land belonging to others. This is particularly relevant for town dwellers (and some country dwellers) who may have limited understanding of the disturbances, not only to farmland and farm animals but to wildlife, from the irresponsible exercise of any rights to roam uncontrolled 5 I am indebted to Sara Birtles for the information on comm ons in 'The impact of commons registration: a Norfolk study', 'Landscape History and 'Common land, poor relief and enclosure'. Past & Present, No. 165. November 1999. On a Right of Way you are allowed to: a] take a pram or pushchair or wheelchair (if practicable) b] take a dog on a lead or under close control (this means within ten feet of you) c] circumvent or remove an obstacle sufficiently to allow you to pass. 2. You have a right for recreation on: a] public parks and open spaces - on foot! b] most commons near older towns and cities - on foot, sometimes on horseback c] private land if the owner has a formal agreement with the local authority. 3. Some areas are open to the public by custom or consent. a| open mountain, tell or moorland and coastline. (Much of this belongs to the National Trust whose aim was to open the countryside for general recrea­ tional and aesthetic use, especially to town dwellers.) b] most commons c] some woods and forests (This includes those owned by the Forestry Com ­ mission.) d] country parks and picnic sites e] most beaches f] towpaths on canals and rivers. In addition: • Land being rested from agricultural use may be tempor­ arily open to public access - notices will display the fact. This may include use by horses and pedal cycles. • Some private tracks and paths may be opened to the public by the owner on a concessionary basis. This means you can use the footpath as normal but that the owner is reserving his rights to close the footpath, usually in response to some abuse by users. We have to remember that it is those who live and who have lived in and used the countryside who maintain it. It is they who have made the English landscape the beautiful place it is. This is not a natural, totally unspoiled environ­ ment. It is because it has been managed and developed over centuries by farmers and other landowners, great and small, that the countryside is as we see it today. If it is made uneconomic for them to continue their way of life, the land will lapse back, not to its previous state, but to over­ grown scrub. Without our protection and sympathetic use of our rights of access to our fragile countryside it will be �irrevocably damaged. This is a particular risk at a time such as this when farming is depressed and there is little money to spare for conservation, even as more and more people come into the countryside. You should always remember that the OS map that you are using could be out of date. Surveys are only done at lengthy intervals and reprints have, in the past, been based on surveys which could have been carried out some time previously. In this age of IT the whole process is being speeded up and the national map is available on-line. This allows the sale of up-to-date maps through authorised agents. These maps can be centred on your own home or other specified site and you obviously have to pay the agent to cover the copyright fee. Needless to say, Norfolk has been one of the last areas to be computerised in this wav. Further information about rights of way and countryside access can be obtained from: Countryside Commission Postal Sales PO Box 124 Wa Igrave, Northampton, NN6 9TL For a Rights of Way Action Pack (CCP 375P) please contact: Countryside Commission Publications Printworks Lane Levenshulme. Manchester M l 9 3IP The Country Code In return for your right to enter or cross someone else's land you have responsibilities that the Countryside Commission has enshrined in the Country Code: 1. Apart from main roads, motor vehicles are only allowed on byways and roads used as public paths (RUPP), which were indicated on the OS map. RUPPs are, however, in the process of being re-categorised as bridleways. 2. Respect the work and life of those whose living is earned from the land. 3. Close all gates and do not damage locks and catches on them. 4. Guard against all risk of fire. This is a very real risk as global warming results in hotter summers with tinder dry grass and undergrowth - even quite early in the year. 5. Keep dogs under control, especially in lambing time. In sheep farming areas the farmers can shoot a dog seen in the field and off the lead, however well behaved or just having fun. And there may be young birds and animals or pheasant poults in the undergrowth in any part of the country. Untrained dogs can do much damage quite unintentionally. 6. Do keep to the public paths, especially in farmland. Not all paths are open to the public. You can check this on the OS map. 7. Always use stiles and gates to cross fences, walls and hedges. 8. Never interfere w ith crops, farm machinery or livestock. Protect wildlife - plants, animals and birds. 9. Keep water clean. 10. Take your litter home with you. 11. Take care on country roads. The road may be empty but there is no pavement, the road is narrow and what is round the next bend? 12. Make no unnecessary noise! �Tony Ivins on Whitwell Part 7 Tony Ivins was a founder member; and remains the President of the Reepham Society for his life-time. This article is based on a recorded talk on the history of the parish of Whitwell, where he lived for many years. Unfortunately, the beginning of the transcript had some damage but I think we have recovered most of it. The talk began by acknowledging a debt to two wellknown local historians, Chris Barringer and David Yaxley, both of whom have, in the past, carried out a great deal of research in the area. At least two tapes of the original presentation are held in the Reepham Society Archives. Anyone who wishes to listen to or copy the tape should contact the Chairman or Secretary of the Society. A good place to begin the history of this parish is to consider its name. Whitwell is said to mean 'clear spring'. There are a number of live springs in Whitwell. In particu­ lar, there is a good clear spring near the southern boundary of the park of Whitwell Hall. This was embanked in 1842 to provide the water supply for the Hall itself. It has never failed and, coming from deep underground, it maintains a constant temperature for its population of frogs, toads and small fishes. Possibly, that old Roman Road, after the Roman's went home, was an access route for various Saxon groups who came looking for land to settle in. That really brings us to the earliest Whitwell village records. In the north-eastern corner of Whitwell Hall there are the remains of an old village. We knew through oral tradition that there was a village there but it was not until the early 1970s that an archaeologist came along called Helen Supermeister. Sadly, she is no longer with us but she spent that summer, with a group of friends, excavating there. They found the footings of medieval brick walls, quite a number of them. Under­ neath those she found staining in the soil that could indicate a possible Saxon settlement. The last mention of that village that we know7of is on Fayden's 1797 map of Norfolk and on the site of this village he has marked 'Whitwell demolished'. And we think that the last few7, possibly empty, cottages w7ere pulled down so that the owner of Whitwell at that time could enlarge his park. At the southern end of the hall grounds, getting towards the south-eastern corner, there's a site which we think may have been the first Whitwell Hall, probably an old timberbuilt Saxon Hall. There is a little clearing, still clear, strangely enough, surrounded by what our man called 'bottomless ditches', in other words very soft muddy ditches. An archaeologist friend who came to look at the site some years ago thought these ditches indicated a moat, possibly a drainage moat around the old hall. Of course, it would have had the advantage of being quite close to the Whitwell Hall when it was opened before the last war as the Forest School. The earliest history of the parish can be traced back to Roman times w7ith the presence of the Roman Road w7hich runs from Billingford and Bawdeswell, through Booton and on to Caistor-by-Yarmouth. The actual route of the road is not clear across Whitwell but in Whitwell Hall grounds it can be seen as a sort of small curved embankment. It goes on through Jordan's Green to Bawdeswell along Common Lane.6 6 One indication of the site of a Roman road is the use of the term ’ Street' in a village name. We should remember this when considering the route of the road through Whitwell even though the OS map marks it differently and the word 'Street' is common in Norfolk villages with no evidence of Roman presence. springs I mentioned earlier on so it would have had a good w7ater supply. Getting aw7ay from Whitwell Hall and back to the parish, there is a seventeenth century map, of which I have a copy, which shows the Whitwell Field with its cultivated strips. That Whitwell field lay between the present Whitwell Street and what is now called Whitwell Road, with Mill Road in the middle. That made quite a big cultivated field, one of the common fields of the Whitwell village. This map seems to be a copy of an earlier map, copied later to show which of the strips paid tithes to which of the three churches in Reepham because the various strips are marked 'W', 'R' or 'H\ 9 �This map of 'Whitwell Field' was probably used in the eighteenth century to establish to which church tithes should be paid. It is almost certainly copied from an earlier map as it still shows all three churches. The railway line now cuts across the west end of the field. The buildings of Leeds Farm are dilapidated today but they occupy the site of the Leeds Tannery. In the field behind here it is possible to see the remains of at least one o f the tannery pits. The other piece of common ground in the village is still there. Whitwell Low Common, some 40 acres of rather wet comm on has no ownership as far as the Commons Commissioners know. Their feeling is that it was a piece of manorial waste but, among the early Enclosure Awards, is an early nineteenth century one that says that this bit of ground should be set aside for the poor of Whitwell to gather fuel and, possibly, to dig peat as well. Such rights are known as the rights of turbary. One little bit of medieval history that is quite interesting is that there has been a long tradition of a chapel of St. Nicolas in Whitwell. We think this may have been sited on the Whitwell Hall grounds, just south of what we call the New Wood because there is an acre of ground there which, until 1880, belonged to the Dean and Chapter of Norwich Cathedral. This might possibly indicate that this was the site of the chapel of St. Nicolas. However, there have been no excavations there but we should note the site as a possible site of interest for the future. There was also, near the village, an old water mill that worked from the little stream that rises near Themelthorpe and runs through the Hall Farm grounds and then through Whitwell Hall grounds, eventually running into the Blackwater River and, thence, to the Wensum. This mill possibly ground the com for the old Whitwell village. After the village became derelict, the mill itself was probably abandoned but was rebuilt in the 1830s to break up the tan bark for the Whitwell tannery, of which I will say a bit more later and it did that sort of work until the 1870s when it was replaced by a steam engine. �Coming right along now to the nineteenth century, the principal landowners then were the Leamons of Whitwell Hall. They came to Whitwell in the early nineteenth century and left by the end of that century, three genera­ tions of them. They had a tannery. The Leeds of Whitwell Green Tannery were tan owners and farmers, too, whilst the Collyers of Hackford Hall also owned quite a lot of land in Whitwell.' There is a map of 1824 that shows interesting road changes in the parish. It shows how the first Robert Leamon, like many another landowner of the time, pushed the road away from the Hall because he felt it ran too near his house so he had it moved about 50 yards farther to the north. Several other little tracks were cleared out and a riding alley was opened - that is the little lane and a bit of footpath that runs between Whitwell Street and Mill Lane, crossing Mill Road and through to the Whitwell Road. It is still called Riding Alley. Fiddlers Alley runs from the top road above the Hall down to the bottom road through Whitwell. Bar Lane is an interesting road that runs out from Back Street in Reepham as a little footpath but until 1816 it was a cart road. A good many years ago now, 1 was given a bit of a notice board that had been used as a shelf in a cottage when one of the corners was cut off. It was a white painted board, and on it in black lettering were words to the affect that this road had been shut up 'By Order' at a certain session. The date was 1816. As it was found in a cottage on the corner of Bar Lane we are pretty sure it referred to the shutting up of Bar Lane. Another interesting little fact that one of my local friends told me is that when Bar Lane was open as a cart road it was called Gracious Street. I cannot tell you any more about how it should get that name but that is how it was. Nineteenth century people Some years ago 1was able to get a copy of the census returns for Norfolk and I thought it might be interesting to look at what Whitwell parish looked like, the people who lived and worked there, what sort of work they did and how many of them there were. And it goes rather like this. The biggest group of people was those whom the census called 'agricultural labourers'. Whitwell parish comprises just over 1500 acres so it is about the area of a reasonably sized modern farm. In this parish the Whitwell farmers employed 69 men, 30 boys and four women on 1500 acres. Now, those of you who farm or have connections with farming will contrast that with what happens today perhaps at the most half-a-dozen chaps. There were ten farmers. Interestingly, eight men and two women were farming then. Most of the farms were fairly small. I will go through them because quite a lot of the names keep going over the years and are still known now. Mark Eglington farmed 270 acres and employed nine men and five boys. John Billham - now that's interesting because a number of people will know that at the end of Whitwell Street is an area known as Billham's Hill and that is where he farmed. He only farmed 22 acres, but to do that he had three men and a boy.8 Peter Wilkin, his acreage is not recorded.7 7 Most villages used to tan the hides of their own beasts in the past so it is possible that these tanneries are on much older sites. h He is also named as a 'machine owner" in one census so he probably had a horse-drawn threshing machine which would be hired out to others. [Ed.] Sarah Barrett farmed 40 acres and she employed one man to help her. Stephen Leeds I mentioned earlier on he was one of the principal landowners in Whitwell, farmed 880 acres and employed 30 men and 16 boys. He also had his tan yard, t h o s e b u il d in g s near W h itw e ll Common, just b e y o n d the White House. That was Leeds Tannery which, incidentally, finished work about 1903. As a tanner he also employed ten men, three boys, three carpenters and a blacksmith. Thomas Dunger farmed 332 acres up by Jordans Green and he had seven men and three boys to do the work of that. Elizabeth Neil farmed 50 acres with 'one man and two sons', whether they were hers or the man's it doesn't say. Marianne Seeker we would really call a smallholder now. She farmed an acre and a quarter. Robert Leamon of Whitwell Hall farmed 340 acres on which he employed 21 men and ten boys. As I said earlier, he was also a tanner employing 17 men and five boys. John Bacon farmed 22 acres. I don't know where he farmed. if you have added up all those acreages, you will find that it comes to a lot more than the 1500 acres in Whitwell parish. The answer to that is that Stephen Leeds, who farmed that 880 acres, had a lot of land in other parishes. In total there were 89 farm workers, men and women. I will not list all those, although, here again, you find names that have persisted through to the present. There were three pages of farm workers then we come to the blacksmiths there were two blacksmiths in the parish. John Smith, who was a qualified tradesman, aged 46, and John Rudd. Rudd must have just come out of his apprenticeship because he was aged 16, born in Reepham as a journeyman blacksmith. The name of Rudd goes on in Reepham today. There was one brewer - Mark Brett, a man who combined the job of being a bricklayer and an inn-keeper. That happened quite often, I found, especially with the little beer houses. Very often the man followed a trade and his wife looked after the beer house. William Springell kept the pub called the Cock Inn which was in Whitwell Street and is now the house called 'The Old Star'. There was another inn-keeper at the Foldgate on Whitwell Common - Samuel Vile. A high proportion of these villagers were born in Whitwell, Reepham or the surrounding parishes. Hardly anyone comes from very far away. Well, one chap came from Cawston - that's a long journey. He was one of the three bricklayers. In a lot of Norfolk villages there was a brickmaker and bricks were made. I don't think bricks were ever made in Whitwell, but I suspect he worked at the Reepham brickyard which is just up where the road turns sharp right by Reepham Station. Now carpenters - there were lot of those. It is interesting to reflect for a minute that in these early records one never finds the term 'builder' - they're all of a named trade. If you wanted a job done you didn't send for a building firm, you sent for the tradesman you wanted to do the job carpenter, bricklayer, mason if it was stone work, and so on. As a result, you never find 'builder' listed. As for carpenters, I see there were a lot, about ten of them living in Whitwell, not necessarily all working there. One of them, Thomas Sawyer - good name for a carpenter - was also a wheel­ wright. 11 �Now, cattle dealers and shop-keepers - four of those. Three of them seem to be related - they all named Neil; and then dealers in fish - two of them - William Guymer and Peter Wilkin, both bom at Whitwell. This again shows the big variety in trades and tradesmen. There were seven dressmakers, so it seems quite obvious that no one went and got something ready to wear - you called in someone to make it for you. The seven dress­ makers were Jane Warr, Franklins, Galimer, Roland, Vile, Vone, Seeker. There was one washer-woman, Elizabeth Hunt and one char woman, Deborah Wilson. In the parish there were two grooms. They would probably have worked either at the White House on the comm on or at the hall. Shoemakers - again you see no buying of the ready-made things. Three shoe makers working here - Guymers again and a Rudd. Also a turf maker and fowl dealer. Quite how he made his turf I don't know but 1imagine he would be drying the turf for burning, possibly turf gathered on Whitwell Common. paupers lived with their grown-up children - their families. I didn't find one in Whitwell who was living alone. They were all in their seventies. One man was 84. The census gives the professions of some of them. Rebecca Whur, was formerly a stay maker, Thomas Barker a carpenter, the others were all agricultural labourers. In the parish at that time there were a 106 dwellings occupied and three empty. That includes the two listed as big houses, Whitwell Hall and the White House, but they were mostly cottages or very small farm houses. Listed in the census was a total of 477 people including children, 224 males and 253 females. Of that total, 173 were in jobs, leaving 304 not working. That is what the parish looked like in the middle of the nineteenth century. 1think that there is one really signific­ ant thing. That is how occupations and jobs were very local because they are pretty well all working in the parish or in the neighbouring parishes of Hackford, Reepham and Kerdiston. As I mentioned earlier, their ancestry, too, was local. Most of them were born in Whitwell and I think Finally, there was one wheelwright and then the house servants - nine of them. That is not very many compared with the other parishes. Admittedly, Hackford parish is a lot bigger than Whitwell and Reepham is about the same size. Though there were not many houses in the parish at that time who would keep servants, or keep many of them, there were nine of them living in the parish at the time. The directory- shows another interesting fact about what happened when people got too old to carry on with their job. The only pensioners you find are men who've been in the armed services, and here we had two Chelsea pensioners, Henry Rudd and John Right. Henry7Rudd was aged 73, bom at Whitwell and at the time of the census he was blind. John Right was aged only 45, also born at Whitwell, and he was a pensioner of the 77th Regiment of Foot. Then we turn to the tanners, of course, Robert Leamon and Steven Leeds, plus the number of men working for the tanneries. The two tanneries employed between them 27 men and eight boys. There's one woman listed working in the tannery and she was called the 'bark cleaner' - Lydia Wilson, aged 36, and she was born in Reepham. The other group of people listed are the paupers and, in all the cases I've looked at in the census returns, those practically none, in this particular census, were bom outside Norfolk. The other place I have mentioned is Whitwell Common. We thought that it would be a sensible thing to make it into a local nature reserve because of local interest at the time. This then happened - with a management group made up of a number from the parish council plus myself, as a trustee under the old Parish Commissioners who managed the common from the beginning of this century, and representatives from Nature Conservancy and from the County. Two other people, John Barkham, Environmental Scientist, who advised us on the management of the common and Lyn Garland, who lives in Whitwell and was very enthusiastic about enrolling groups of volunteers to do necessary clearing work on the common, made up the numbers. This article comprises about half of the content of Tony Ivins' presentation to a meeting of the Reepham Society. The second half, which considers some different aspects of Whitwell parish, will be printed in a further Reepham Society Magazine which we hope to publish later in the year. �A Brief History o f Hackford Parish through the Last Millennium Jennifer Roberts Jennifer Roberts lives in Pettywell and has been there now for several years. She is a qualified archaeologist. Though no longer practising that discipline she has a deep interest in local history. She is another of our authors who has completed a local history course under the aegis of Chris Barringer. This article is the result of the research carried out on her course and since. The view from a slightly different standpoint, that of Hackfordgives new details about the history of Reepham and its satellite villages. Hackford-by-Reepham is one of the three parishes sharing the communal churchyard in Reepham. The parish includes most of the town of Reepham and land on either side of the Eyn Brook. It is possible that the boundaries of the parish were determined by the heath and comm on on either side but this is by no means certain. It is possible that the name Hackford was derived from haca, a hook or haecc, a flood or sluice gate. 'Ford' is Anglo-Saxon for river crossing. The name then could either mean a 'ford at the bend of the river', or 'the sluice gate (for catching fish) at the ford'. At the turn of the last millennium, just before the Norman Conquest the principal lordship of Hackforda was held by a freeman called Wither. It is possible that Reepham was at the centre of a large Anglo-Saxon estate. After the Norman Conquest it was given to Earl William de Warrene, just one of the 139 manors he held. Although William de Warrene resided frequently at nearby Castle Acre, at the time of the Domesday survey the manor of Hackford was held by a person called Turold. There were few inhabitants, probably only 17 or 18 families lived in the area. The land was farmed, some was put down as meadow but cereals must have been grown as there was a mill. Honey and wax were important products. Beeswax was used for church candles,9 and it was the tradition for beekeepers to supply their local church. Hackford at that time had five skeps of bees. It had woodland able to support 30 swine. Sheep, rounceys (horses) and cattle were also kept. There was a church supported by 11 acres of land. It was valued at 15 marks. The manor passed through William de Warrene's heirs for the next 200 years. In 1276/7 a Saturday market and annual fair charter was granted to Sir John de Vaux, who owned both the manors of Hackford and Reepham. An unofficial market had existed in the 'cemetery of Reepham' for many years before the Bishop of Norwich, in 1240, ordered the Sheriff of Norfolk to ensure that a new market place was found. The market was held on Saturdays, with a fair on the 'eve, day and morrow' of the feast of SS. Peter and Paul (29th June). The present market-place lies in the parish of Hackford, but it is not known if this was the site decided on in the thirteenth century. By the following century the de Roos family held land in Hackford, probably as tenants of the de Wanenes. A few years later they are mentioned as being the holders of the knight's fees and paying returns to the Duchy of Lancaster. 9 It is interesting to note that a former name for the Cardinal’ s Hat in Back Street was Candle Court. Some of the local inhabitants during medieval times must have been fairly rich for the church of All Saints had a collection of rich vestments, communion ware and church ornaments, including silver chalices, a portable cross and a holy oil vessel. The vestments included some made from woisled, fusleyn (fustian) and velvet and silk. Margaret and Ralph Vernon, Hackford landowners, were possibly some of the major benefactors, during the later part of the fourteenth century. During that century several of the Hackford residents stood surety, along with citizens of other parishes, to locals who were in trouble with the law. Brice of Hackford stood surety when Agnes Renandgo and her sister Emma were released on bail after being arrested for the murder of Richard Brightman at Billingford. A Richard o f Hackford also stood surety in a murder case, when Robert of Holden was accused of robbing and killing Henry o f Clermont. Other fourteenth century crimes include robbery. One night William Rillo had one quarter-and-a-half of barley, worth 5/-, stolen from him. A Roger Willok was charged but acquitted for the offence. Some information about the medieval inhabitants of Reepham and Hackford parish can be gleaned from the old wills. For instance in 1429 Robert Baxter, a citizen of Norwich is mentioned as owning lands in Hackford. Fifty years later Hugh atte Fenn made a will leaving 6/8d. towards the upkeep of the church. He also left money, to be obtained from the sale of his lands and manors in Hackford to help scholars at Cambridge and Oxford as long as they were not wasters and haunters of alehouses. William Cubit, the Rector, in a will dated 1505, gave to the town and the church of Hackford a drinking house with two acres of land to have a yearly obituary kept in the church. He also mentioned that the guilds and 'drinkings' of all the four parishes i.e. Hackford, Whitwell, Reepham and Kerdiston be kept there if they desired it. In a will dated a few years later John Goddying gave 6/8d towards the making of a chapel in the south part of the church if one happened to be erected there. If not, the money was to go to the upkeep of the church. In 1543 a fire burnt down most of All Saints, the parish church of Hackford, along with its church goods, orna­ ments and jewels. The fire also destroyed most of the town. The tower and parts of the west gable were the only parts of the church that survived. They were pulled down in 1790/6. It is, however, possible that a part of the gable can be seen in the tower of St. Michaels. A drawing in 1784 by E.F. Boon shows that the surviving tower had a chequer-board parapet and diagonal buttresses. The south wall of the tower had a square sound hole and the porch an elaborate doorway. As a result of the fire, Hackford parish lost its independ­ ence and was joined with Whitwell. On the 18th April 1544 an agreement was made between Robert Coke, owner of the fee simple of the church of Whitwell, Christopher Lockwode, clerk, parson of Hackford and vicar of Whitwell, and Thomas Bayfield. William Brese, John Blofield parishioners of Hackford, that the church and rectory of Hackford was to be consolidated with Whitwell by William, Bishop of Norwich. According to this indenture all the parties were in agreement. However, some of the parishioners obviously intended that the church should be rebuilt. One, Anthony Sugate, bequeathed 20 marks (1 mark = 13/4d or 66.6p) towards its rebuilding. Some of the surviving church plate was sold in 1547 for £20, probably to stop the ministers of Edward VI getting their hands on it. Some of the church materials were used to 13 �repair roads in the parish and some were used to build the transept in Whitwell church. During the reign of Elizabeth I each parish had to provide a militia. The parish was involved in a muster in 1577. An inventory was taken of 'of all Common Armor, Artelery munition and wcponnc and every ptccular pson shewed' It was found that the town had 'one Corselet, one peke, too Curreors et Dom furnished'(!) Three people were also able to support arms. Vynse Hawude, Thomas Crotche and Roger Hase were able to furnish a few bows and arrows, pikes and helmets between them. The Bishops court had some dealings with local drunks. John Twithney and Henry Bagrave were brought before the Bishops representative on a charge of being common drunks. Henry Bagrave who swore and resisted arrest later confessed to being drunk every day of the week and was ordered to do penance. Around this time the inhabitants were having problems with a person called Robert Kirk. It seems he was extracting money from the people as fines and then keeping it for his own use. The parishioners paid him 61- as payment for a fine for not planting hemp. A Thomas Croche then paid him 2/6d and then swore on 'his book' to make a payment of 5/- yearly. Mr Berte, 'Gent,' also agreed to pay Kirk 5/a year for all years to come. Nathaniel Bacon set up an enquiry into Kirk's misdeeds but the outcome of this appears to be lost. Hackford gained some notoriety during the Common­ wealth when the parish refused to billet a party of troops because the commanding officer referred to the parish as Reepham instead of Hackford. At the same time the parish was paying £3.3s.l0d per month towards the upkeep of troops and the furnishing of ammunition for the Royalist cause. As in Elizabeth's time, the inhabitants were expected to attend musters. Hackford men formed a Foot Militia under Sir W. Doylys, which mustered at Heydon Ollands on September 24th 1661 to be inspected. During the seventeenth century, weavers in Hackford, as in many of the local parishes supplied worsted. During 1657 Henry Juby a local worsted weaver must have been having a period of prosperity. Surviving records show that he took on several apprentices; Matthew Bale, Roger Hammond and John Humfrey were indented for seven years whilst a John Crotch was indented for eight years. The social make-up of the parish changed during the next hundred years. The worsted weavers gradually disappeared, a result of cheap products from Yorkshire, and tanning became important as a local industry. The tanners were wealthy enough as a group to make wills. There was also an increase in the number of shops and professionals in the parish. Grocers, bakers, brewers, a surgeon and an excise officer were all wealthy enough to make wills. The provision of services increased rapidly so by the middle of the next century the inhabitants of Reepham and Hackford were well provided for. The town of Reepham had all the services that would be expected from a local market town. All needs were catered for, ranging from the people supplying the local brewing and malting industry with barrels, to those who made hats and dresses for the local female population. The town was well served by bakers, butchers, grocers, confectioners, cabinetmakers, gardeners and drapers. There was even a hairdresser. The parish was also served by a number of inns and taverns, most in the town but at least one, the Lamb Rppr House, stood in the countryside. Links with Norwich, and thence the outside world, were maintained by a coach and carrier service. Local people believed it was the purity of the water which led to the excellence of the local ales. Although there were several brewers and maltsters in the parish, the Birchams were the major producers, so much so that when they were bought out in 1878 they had fifty associated pubs. In the parish generally though there was very little industrial activity. Like the worsted weavers of previous centuries, tanning also seemed to have disappeared from the parish, although there were tanneries in the local area. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the poor children of Hackford were reported to have been receiving a sufficient education. They attended a mix of Sunday school, evening school and day school. In 1837, however, the Land use in Hackford 1846 (based on the Tithe Apportionment Map). �Rev. Holley established a school in the Old Poor House consisting of a boys' school and a girls' school and a house where the schoolmasters and mistresses could live. By 1844 the rector's daughter had begun to hold a Sunday school in the school building. These were church schools for the children of Hackford and Whitwell. The children of Reepham parish had to wait until 1847 when St. Mary's School was set up. An inspector's report in 1869 said the National School was conducted in a highly satisfactory manner. The Methodists had also set up a schoolroom when they built the chapel in 1817. Mr Goodwin Kilburn had run a day and boarding school in Reepham since 1836, when in 1846 he decided to sell up and emigrate. A Mrs W oolm er also ran a school for girls. The pauper children received an education in the workhouse. The poor Hackford children at this time went to Buxton. Their education must have been a somewhat patchy one for there seems to have been a problem in keeping and finding suitable mistresses. A Poor House had existed in Reepham for the inhabitants of Hackford for many years, but, by the 1840s, the poor of Reepham and Hackford were sent to the Aylsham Union Workhouse,10 which also included the old Gilbert Union workhouses at Buxton and Oulton until the new workhouse was built in 1849. Hackford parish paid around £100 annually towards the cost of housing its paupers. Some of the older inhabitants were receiving outdoor relief, which allowed them to live in their own homes. This came to around 2/6d per week. There were also several charities, which provided relief by paying out money for emigration and for people who had sudden illnesses and accidents. Most of the charity payouts were under the control of William Bircham. REEPHAM To Be Sold By Auction By M r ] VERDON Wed 21 O ct 1846 Neat and m odern Household Furniture and other effects of M r G Kilburn w ho is removing to a distant country. Catalogues had on the premises and of the auctioneer. Great W itchingham . TO SCHOOL MASTERS The house and premises where In April 1846 smallpox made its appearance in Hackford and the workhouse medical officer was asked to vaccinate the inhabitants. They protested. The outbreak continued and by October it had been decided to give extra money so all in the Reepham area could be vaccinated. Life must have been miserable for the poor of Reepham and Hackford, with the majority living in little more than hovels. However, the more able poor and the lowermiddle classes were able to emigrate to a better life in the colonies. Mr Goodwin Kilburn, the schoolmaster, is an example of this trend. He was 36, married with two small children, when he put the above advert in the Norfolk Chronicle. He was not the only local to emigrate between 1836-1842. The St. Stephen's charity had paid for some people in Reepham to go to America and it also paid for a W idow Beales to go to Ireland. In common with the rest of Norfolk, by the nineteenth century Hackford was celebrated for the growth of its barley. Other crops grown included turnips, peas and beans, clover and wheat. A certain amount was kept under grass, especially by the river and stream margins. Stock keeping was also important and provided some local employment in the form of drovers, tanners and cattle dealers. The annual stock fair continued to take place on 29th June. In 1804 William Bircham who farmed 840 acres of the parish was the major landowner. He improved his soil by marling and liming, used a six-year rotation but did not have any of the new threshing or drill machines. By 1846 the major landowners included the Rev. J. Bedingfeld Collyer who owned 182 acres and resided at Hackford Hall, the Rev. J. Humphrey who owned 144 acres and John Sewell who farmed 108 acres. Most of the land seemed to be farmed by small tenant farmers. Hackford escaped the wholesale destruction of machinery and property, which the rest of Norfolk suffered during the Swing Riots. Maybe this was because the small tenant farmers could only afford to farm in the traditional way. By the nineteenth century around 23% of the local population were employed in agriculture on a permanent basis, although many more were employed doing seasonal work. Children were able to earn as much as 5d a day bird scaring, while gangs of women were employed hoeing, planting beans and thinning turnips. Many of the local clergymen were concerned for the morality and welfare of the field-working women especially as the gang masters were 'rough bullying fellows who would bluster and swear'. A number of Hackford women, once the fieldwork was done, earned a few more pence by weaving straw hats. In 1804 a farm labourer would earn l/6d daily rising to 4/6d at harvest. During the last millennium Hackford has been an essen­ tially rural parish dependent on the small market town of Reepham for its infrastructure. This has remained largely unchanged although recent changes in mobility have brought Norwich and the wider world into commuting distance, thereby bringing new sources of money into the parish. a profitable school has been carried on for the last 10 years are now to be let w ith imm ediate possession. Enquire of M r Kilburn on premises. 10 Union Workhouses sewed a 'union' of parishes and these larger workhouses replaced the smaller parish workhouses. �An aerial view of Reepham's three churches. The last remnant o f Hackford church can just be seen at the right of the clump o f yews. The photograph can be dated by som e differences from a present-day view. For instance, York House (top left) can be seen in the process o f restoration in the background. Hackford Hall. In 1846, at the time o f the Tithe Apportionments, this was home to the Venerable John Bedingfield Collyer, Archdeacon of Norwich. 16 �Pettywell Place now lived in by Howard and Margaret Blondford-Boker was formerly owned by the Eglington family. In 1846 it was owned by John Sewell but occupied by Margaret Rodham. This plaque adorns the wall in the yard o f the Old Brewery. It marks the site o f the former Bircham's Brewery erected by William Birchom in 1839. 17 �There was no piped water supply to Reepham until the 1950s. This well which has now been restored, also in the Old Brewery yard, was the source of water for the brewing of Reepham Ale until 1876. �This was the site o f the shop formerly run by Mr and Mrs Ron Gibbs at Towns End Corner. It has now been pulled down and replaced by the new development containing the hairdresser, DIY shop and electrical shop. [ I This model combine harvester was made by Ron Gibbs and was later presented to the Reepham Society. In this photograph it was on display with other agricultural implements at our previous Historical Exhibition. 19 �Childhood Memories o f Reepham Ann Dickinson This account of life in Reepham in the 1920s and 1930s was handed to the Chairman recently. Mrs Ann Dickinson now lives in Hunstanton but she was born in Reephami, a member of the Gibbs family who have contributed so much to the records of the recent past of the town. Ann's parents were married in 1918 and she was born in 1923. She looks back on her childhood in Reepham with great affection. After receiving a copy of the Reepham Society' Magazine from my life-long friend Peggy Hum, I began to reflect on my wealth of memories of Reepham. To begin ... the sermon to end when we could hear the congregation in St. Mary's singing their last hymn. The Rev. Moore, in charge of St. Mary's, invariably finished his service first! With the retirement of the Rev. Moore, and when the Rev. Geake left the parish in the early 1930s, the parishes of Reepham with Kerdiston and Whitwell with Hackford were finally united into one parish. The Rev. B.P.Lipscombe was installed and the present communicating door constructed between St. Mary's vestry and the chancel of St. Michael's. Often 1had to pump the organ for my mother, watching a lead weight rise and fall, paying attention so that it should not fall below a certain mark otherwise the organ let out a tremendous sigh and faded out. Mother had played a church organ from the age of fourteen and she later took over St. Mary's from a Miss Jewel. The Rev. Lipscombe was extremely musical and could coax ability from the least able. Under his jurisdiction my mother became an excellent organist. The Reepham Post Office and postmen in 1913. In those days it occupied what is now Meloncaulie Rose. It is possible to recognise the door into the cafe at Diane's Pantry on the left. At the age of three years, we attended Miss Bull's Kindergarten, situated at the back of the Brewery House. There was me and Peggy and her brother John, Pat Hall, Kenneth Hilton and Joyce Wagg. A year or two later we were attending dancing classes at Miss Holah's at Rookery Farm. The dancing school put on shows for parents and friends at the Town Hall. I remember dancing in The Wedding of the Painted Doll with John Kerridge, son of the bank manager, who was Jumping Jack. Sunday school was conducted by Mr Donald Chapman who, with his sister Olive, ran the Post Office at Iona House.11 Donald ran a flourishing and well-attended Sunday school. We had wonderful outings and prizegivings. Miss Wasey taught the senior children and, when we reached her class, she insisted that we learned the Collect for the coming Sunday off by heart and we had to recite it in turn. I remember her with great affection and appreciation. My mother was organist at St. Michael's when the Rev. Geake was the incumbent at Whitwell Rectory. Both churches were used for Sunday worship then. Frequently, the congregation of St. Michael's would still be waiting for 11 Iona House is in the Market Place and is now 'Diane's Pantry'. The postoffice was where 'Meloncaulie Rose' now trades. We had a fantastic choir tinder his leadership, singing oratorios at special church festivals - the Messiah, Elijah, Olivet to Calvary, to mention just a few. Occasionally we incorporated the voice of Mr Broad from Heydon although Donald Chapman did very well in solos, supported by his fellow tenors, Fred Alford among them. Apart from church music, various members of the choir founded a group to entertain during the year, putting on many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. This group included Donald and Olive Chapman, Elsie Varley, Mabel Utting and Mr Cocking. The latter ran a boot and shoe shop which later became Gwen Hardesty's fruit and vegetable shop and which is now the Bridal Shop. The Market Place was a grandstand for the Reepham Town Silver Band under the baton of Mr Ruffles from Fakenham. When the weather was kind, and it invariably was, they played for the town's entertainment after the evening service at church on Sundays until nine or ten o'clock. Reepham also boasted a fine Salvation Army Band. They shared the Market Place as their meeting place on alternate weeks. I have memories, too, of carol singing with the choir and the hand-bell ringers in the snow. In those days, the seasons seemed more seasonable! In the spring we would pick primroses at Broomhill; snowdrops �Ron Cibbs. He was a man o f energy and imagination who refused to give in to illness. Rev. Ceakes with members of his choir outside the porch o f St. Michael's. grew like a carpet at Catchback and the perfume from the violets at Reepham Moor was unbelievable. Father, who was invalided out of the Navy with tubercu­ losis, put his talents to good effect when he settled in Reepham. My mother loved to tell of when motor cars became the 'in thing'. My father built one around an engine and chassis and, so anxious to try it out was he, that one Sunday afternoon he drove mother and an aunt and uncle to Cromer and back. Father, being the driver, sat on the kitchen chair and his passengers on upturned orange boxes. The sides of the car consisted of chicken wire draped with old curtains but when they reached 10 mph the curtains flapped alarmingly and had to be removed! In between bouts of illness, Father dabbled in photo­ graphy, watch and clock mending, garage and battery charging and, when confined to bed, built models, two of which, a ship and traction engine, drum and elevator (threshing machine) were housed with the Reepham Society.12 Mother started a business making hats, which flourished and this eventually became a fully-fledged drapery, millin­ ery, tobacco and confectionery shop. The garage, erected to sendee the growing car trade, was built at the rear and side of the shop, over an old Baptist immersion pool. This site has now been rebuilt as Lesley Tooley's hairdressers and Reepham DIY. I am sure it needed very little demolishing as it was built chiefly of corrugated iron but the side facing our garden was all glass, consisting of photographic plates of almost every photograph my father ever took. Part of the garage was given over to the engine room where Father had a generator from which he produced electricity and proudly wired our house - the first 12 We still have the threshing machine but does anyone know what has happened to the ship? in Reepham to have electric light. This was in 1928 or thereabouts. He also made me a doll's house and fitted that with battery-powered electric light. Towards the end of my Father's life I remember that the trees in our orchard had to be felled as they were old and barren. They had given shelter to the goats and bantams that we kept there. Mother's ambition of having a tennis court built in the old orchard began to take shape. Father wanted to oversee the project and make sure the ground was quite level. This proved a problem because he was now on constant oxygen. Not to be thwarted, he asked Dick Hatley, who worked with him, to get an inner tube from a car wrheel and inflate it with oxygen, added a piece of rubber tube to connect with the valve and, by slinging the tube over his shoulder with a clip to control the flow of oxygen, he was able to walk up the garden and inspect the new' tennis court for himself, returning before the tube was deflated. We wrere now able to have tennis parties, comprising Donald and Olive Chapman, Jean Hawes, Evan Symonds, Ricky and John Lambert, Ruby Barnes, Len Wilkinson, mother and myself. My great friend, Peggy Hum, and I had other delights in common. Her father, and both of my uncles, Edwrard Gibbs senior and junior, were among the company which formed the 'Black Minstrel Troupe'. We look back with such affection to our childhood in our beloved Reepham. A tennis party at Towns End Corner. Ann C ibbs (now Dickinson) is seated on the right next to her mother. 21 �A Thousand Years o f Salle During the Millennium Year, Salle village, church and estate celebrated the history of Salle on a beautiful June day. Morning service was attended by most of the villagers, followed by drinks at the hall with Sir John White before everyone joined in a barbeque at the Village Institute. The afternoon was spent in watching a cricket match or climbing the church tower for a glimpse of the splendid view from the top. This was a real traditional village event made all the better by the blessing of good weather. To bring memories of the past into the present, Claire Buxton, Chairman of the Parish Meeting, with help from long-time inhabitants of the village, such as Ben Stimpson, had organised an exhibition in the church. This included archive material and a fascinating display of metal detector finds dating back across most of the last two millennia and collected by Richard Saunders who lives and works in Salle. This article is based on a brief history of Salle which was available as a handout on the day. Origins Salle lies on the top of the Norfolk watershed between the Bure and Wensum rivers. It is, in very many ways, a typical Norfolk village. Its history from before the beginning of this millennium illustrates what was and is happening in many other Norfolk villages. The name 'Salle' is usually taken to derive from sallows, the old name for willows but other suggestions have been put forward. Is it a corruption of 'aul' the old English word for hall? One of the manors in the village was once known as Kingshall which could easily lend itself to shortening as 'Sail'. Or perhaps it is related to an old northern word describing a high, windy place that appears in the Cumberland name - Black Sail Pass. Salle is high and windy - for Norfolk. The land of the village has always belonged to one or other of the manors in the parish. Now, it is almost entirely part of the Salle Farms estate. Before the improvements of recent centuries this would have been regarded as poor soil Salle church from the south on a winter's day in January. This huge and beautiful church dominates the skyline. 22 and used for sheep, much perhaps remaining as common land which was important also for the poorer villagers. In the past, those with common rights not only grazed their animals on the common but also collected wood and kindling and wild fruit. This left their own small plots, or 'pightlcs', to be cultivated to feed the family. As in the rest of the county, enclosure started quite early in Salle to meet the changing needs of the farms. Commons and small pightles and closes have now long been enclosed and those old open fields, themselves, have been changed to meet the needs of modern farming practices. A small landowner in the village is the church but it is the large and beautiful church itself which is the jewel in Salle's crown and perhaps the best known building in this part of Norfolk. Salle church has recently figured in England's Thousand Best Churches by Simon Jenkins (1999). No one should leave the village without making a tour of this unique church. Built on the wealth of the wool grown on the sheep which grazed the local heaths, its presence emphasises the change from stock farming to arable which has taken place over the centuries as the farming families who built it grew wealthier. Heath, pasture and woodland have now largely given place to open arable fields. The building of Salle church by a group of leading sheep farmers in the fifteenth century and its maintenance, since, by leading local families shows how such families have always been important in supporting the life and people of a village and its surroundings. The families and manors of Salle Perhaps the most important historian of Salle is Rev. Walter Parsons who was the parson here for over 30 years. As a former scholar of Pembroke College and Dean of Selwyn College, Cambridge, he took great interest in researching the history of his parish. His book Salle saves all of us much time and effort when researching the early history of the village, the manors and the church. It provides invaluable information on the history of the village and is available from Reepham Library'. Salle also figures in the Paston Letters. One of the Salle manors belonged to the Mauteby family, one of whose daughters married into the Paston family. Although litigious and concerned about keeping a grip on their lands, like so many medieval Norfolk farmers and lords, the letters concerning Salle directly are often concerned with the promotion of a courtship between John Paston and Margery' Brewes. The Pastons remained closely associated with Salle for the next 100 years. Salle itself is mentioned in Doomsday Book when it was said to have four manors. The history of the manors is well testified. Today, Salle Moor Hall and Stinton Manor House probably represent the site of two of the manors whilst a third was probably finally destroyed when Salle Hall was built. Parsons speculates that the fourth manor house was sited on the Wood Dal ling side of Gatehouse Farm near the bridge over the stream. Salle Moor Hall was a Bullen (Boleyn) possession from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. Yes, that is the family of Anne Boleyn! But there is no evidence that she ever lived in Norfolk! More recently in the hands of the Stimpson family, Salle Moor Hall now belongs to Mr Ardisher Naghshineh who is farming this land organically. Ben Stimpson is now the only member of the Stimpson family still living in Salle. Though now past his ninetieth birthday, he remains a forceful member of the community and was, �until very recently, still a churchwarden. His knowledge of the past and present of Salle village and its church and people is unsurpassed. Stinton Manor is the manor which was formerly a royal manor but that was before the Conquest. Doomsday Book tells us that this 'Kings Manor' belonged to Godwin - the father of King Harold. Harold, himself, held Cawston. By the time of Doomsday, both were held by one Ralph who was made Earl of Norfolk. He rebelled, and his lands were given to the new Earl, William de Warenne, one of William's major lords who built Castle Acre. Stinton House, having passed through the hands of the Townsends of Raynham and Bulwer Longs of neighbouring Heydon, is now part of the Salle estate and is, at present, the home of Paol Hovesen, the Salle Farms estate manager who came here from Denmark some 13 years ago. Many other well-known Norfolk families have held land in Salle, the Briggs, Fountaines, Pastons, Townsends and Earles, to name but a few. After Edward Hase created the Park and built the hall in 1765 it passed to the Jodrell family after Richard Paul Jodrell of Lewknor in Oxfordshire married his daughter. She had inherited the right to a baronetcy from her uncle, John Lombe, which now passed to the Jodrelk. The Jodrells were squires here until Major Timothy White, who owned the chain of chemist shops, now absorbed by Boots, bought the estate in 1890. Both these families have done a great deal to both preserve and to develop the estate and parish of Salle. Farms and farmers of Salle One interesting point emerging from early history is a suggestion that this was an area with many 'freemen' in the Middle Ages. Their counterparts, after the sixteenth century, were the yeomen farmers, tenants of the remain­ ing farms in the village, all of which now belong in one capacity or another to the estate. These were the successful men who prospered by buying up and enclosing land after the collapse of the feudal system. A number of their old farmhouses have been sold off as private houses though some remain as part of the estate. A typical example of an old farmhouse is Park Farm, formerly Bog Farm, standing on the edge of old water meadows which lie between Salle and the former royal manor of Cawston. This is now the home of Andrew and Claire Buxton. Andrew farmed with his brothers in Heydon and now works for himself whilst Claire is Chairman of Salle Parish meeting. Park Farm stood empty for some years until it was used as a film set for the television production of M ill on the Floss which was filmed largely on location around mid-Norfolk. Since then, it has been restored with a considerable degree of sympathy to retain much of its original character. The date 1770 can be discerned in the brickwork on the front of the house but the house is older than this. Like many Norfolk houses it has been refurbished or rebuilt repeatedly over the years. Manor Farm, which may have been closely associated with Dorothy Repps, mother-in-law of the builder of Salle Hall, remains an integral part of the estate as the farm office. It probably started life as a common-edge manor house in the Middle Ages. The late eighteenth century estate maps indicate that the area that is now Bluestone Wood was then common land as was an area near the bridge on the way to Cawston. The name 'Brake Pasture' of a field next to the park, also indicates common. A 'brake' was a field cut out of common or heath. The insertion of an older staircase into Manor Farm may have been carried out because Edward Hase lived in Manor Farm after the destruction of the former manor house. The date on Park Farm also seems to link the improvements to these two farms with the creation of the park and building of the hall in the late eighteenth century. Practically next door to Manor Farm lies Cherry Tree Farm. This still belongs to the Bulwer Longs of Heydon and illustrates how closely inter-linked all the villages, manors and farms of this group of villages are. This probably stems from t h e o l d m an orial system when strips of land were held in a variety of open fields, not always close together or even in the same parish. Later, we find farmers owning strips belonging to different manors. This is shown particularly clearly on the 1864 Tithe Map where the few remaining strips still held by individuals show where the old open fields existed. This intermix also affected the parish bound­ aries. Until very recently a long strip of Reepham parish cut right across Salle Park, balanced by a strip of Salle, which reached down to Reepham Moor. The parish boundary has now been changed to adjust this anomaly which had been perpetuated over time, possibly due to old land ownership Manor Farm as it is today when it is in use as the Solie Farms estate office. �boundaries, perhaps to allow a manor or tenant to have a mix of arable land and water meadow. Salle Village The village itself is not large, consisting of a scatter of houses leading down past the cricket pitch from the church. It comprises cottages probably built on the sites of the old 'tofts and crofts', formerly worked by tenants who may also have been craftsmen and whose family would have spun and woven woollen cloth in the time between all their other tasks. Even in the past the number of brick built or stone houses would not have been much more than now. There would, however, have been many more residents, working the land, carrying out their trades in the village or working as servants on the farms. Families were also much larger, and expectations lower, until well into this century, so each house supported more people. The old school house still stands opposite the church. The school was originally a 'non-provided school', that is to say, it belonged to the estate and was administered under an agreement with the Board of Education, as a church school. As owner, the squire was, therefore, Chairman of the Board of Managers and appointed several of them Surviving correspondence in the White family archives gives interesting insights into the running of the school around the turn of the century. Education was already fairly closely controlled and inspected and the school developed over time to include examinations and scholarships as opportunities opened up. The staff consisted of a head­ mistress, most of whom seem to have come from southern counties and were required to have musical skills and to be able to teach physical education as well as the other more usual attributes of any teacher. The headmistress was supported by one assistant teacher and/or a 'monitress' who was a senior pupil of promise. The letters of these women, written when applying for the job, indicate that they had very little money. Shades of Jane Eyre! Before the First World War children would have finished their education by 12 years of age. In such a rural area, holidays were taken to allow the children to help with the harvest and these had to be specifically requested from the Education authorities. Mrs Williamson, the last teacher is buried in the churchyard. Next door is the Lynton White Institute, built by the White family, which provides a home for the Parish Meeting and a site for social events, not least cricket teas, as the Institute stands on the edge of a splendid cricket field. On the other side of the field is the forge, owned by the church and still a fully fitted working forge, though no longer regularly used. The first of the houses in the village is the former 'White Horse' public house now converted to a dwelling house since its closure in the late 1960s. The Street continues down to Gatehouse Farm between two rows of cottages, some of which are occupied by estate workers. There were more cottages around the eastern fringe of the park and a dairy farm in the park but there is very little more than a few bricks left from these buildings. More interesting are the houses in the park itself and the pictur­ esque style lodge cottages at the four entrances to the park. These have one unique feature as lodges; they are on the opposite side of the road from the Hall. Most of them have now been adapted or enlarged by the estate to meet the needs of their inhabitants. The village is, obviously, dominated by its magnificent church but nothing has been included here, as booklets on the history of the church are available in the church. Suffice to say that the church of St. Peter and St. Paul continues to attract visitors to view its architectural splendour and music lovers who wish to take advantage of its excellent acoustics to perform and listen to concerts and to make recordings. Salle Park By far the largest house in the village is Salle House. Edward Hase created the park itself in the late eighteenth century before he built the house. A map, still in existence, shows how Edward Hase bought up small closes and strips to make the park, processes know to historians as 'engrossment' and 'emparkment'. When Edward Hase died he fortunately, left a Memorandum Book which Sir Richard Jodrell continued to use after he succeeded in 1804 so we can date and follow some of the early developments in the park. Gardens and trees were planted, a beautiful walled garden still remains in use and there is an icehouse in the shrubbery. Work continues to maintain house and gardens in their present good order. Pat Dennis, who has now returned to the village of his birth, keeps the gardens in order without the army of under-gardeners and boys of former days. He still lives in the old gardener's house next to the walled garden. Fortunately, pleasure gardens were not fashionable when the house was built and were never planned to be very large though extended across the South Lawn as far as an ornamental ha-ha before 1846. One particularly happy aspect of the park is the number of magnificent trees it contains. Of course, creators of parks, following the ideas of Humphrey Repton (now buried in Aylsham church yard) and Capability Brown, looked for a natural effect in their new parks. Trees were often planted in clumps or as shelter belts but also in 'rows'. One way of achieving a rapid mature effect was to retain the trees which had formerly stood in hedgerows along field boundaries. It is possible to identify these former hedge lines from aerial photographs and old maps even though, in their more mature state, the lines are not always obvious as trees succumb to old age or storms. Many trees have been felled during the 200 years of the park's existence. However, one major oak tree, which must predate the park by some considerable time, still remains. It is now a huge and venerable veteran supporting considerable amounts of wild life. The park trees have always been well cared for and a new avenue of horse chestnut trees is now beginning to grow up along the main drive across the park. New plant­ ings of park trees also include turkey, evergreen, red and English oaks Salle House Salle House was built in 1763. It is a mid-Georgian neo­ classical building influenced by the emerging forces of romanticism. It consists of a two-and-a-half storey central wing of seven bays, built in red brick with a stone Ionic pediment on both north and south elevations and a hipped roof surrounded by a balustrade. The architraves of the principal doors are also of stone. A single-storey wing extends to both east and west where two courts were converted to an orangery on the east and a billiard room on the west in Major White's time. The Victorian upper storey, added over the billiard room, has since been demol­ ished. Beyond the wings, low two-storied buildings extend on either side - to the coach house and stables on the east. The appearance of Salle House is now almost identical to a �Salle village street looking west from the church. The larger house on the left was formerly the White Horse public house. Salle Hall from the southern garden. The park is so thickly planted with trees that there is only one sight line from which the hall can be seen drawing on an estate map of 1807. This, however, is due to work carried out by Sir John White who has now restored the house both inside and outside whilst retaining its original character extremely well. Salle Farms Estate Salle Farms is now entirely arable. Crops include large-scale cultivation of barley, beet, beans, peas and wheat on land which, before the improvements of recent centuries, would have been regarded as poor soil and used for sheep, The estate also remains conscious of its stewardship of the countryside. Successful modern farming is contract farming to meet the needs of large-scale food suppliers. Output is constantly monitored by the use of satellite technology. In addition to the large-scale production of grain, pulses and sugar beet, a recent addition has been the appearance of plantations of Christmas trees which provide work during quieter periods of the year. Areas of set-aside supplement other conservation innovations that are now possible. Attitudes to the countryside have changed in recent years and many who formerly knew little about it are able to get out and about and have demanded access to a countryside which they regard as a common heritage. This can be a twoedged sword. Unlimited access can be disruptive to wildlife habitat, to game birds and to growing crops alike. However, many footpaths and green lanes marked on the OS maps are maintained to provide walks across the estate. Some paths have been diverted round the edges of fields rather than cutting through the middle. Those who wish to quibble at this should remind themselves that walking along the hedge is much more interesting as this is where the greatest variety of flora and fauna is to be seen. In addition to the more conspicuous pheasants and partridges reared on the estate, and the ever-present rabbits, there are less evident denizens of this land. Stoats, weasels and other small mammals are much shyer but are still in abundance where there is a large rabbit population. Though many small birds have disappeared in recent years there are a number of larger birds to be seen. Herons and kestrels are regular hunters in the area. Bam owls are becoming re-established and three are nesting on the estate. Recently, a group of Canada geese have settled near one of the ponds. These birds can be a mixed blessing and have become a nuisance on some farms elsewhere. The more remote part of the estate is hare country and numbers of mad March hares are to be seen every spring. Yes, there are large fields but many new hedges have been planted and old hedges preserved. Other conservation measures are being undertaken. These include the planting of broad-leaf trees along the old railway line near the Cawston boundary and maintenance of existing patches of woodland on the estate. One important conservation measure now being implemented is the scheme whereby 4-metre strips along watercourses are left as permanent set-aside to reduce the risk of contamination of ground water by pesticides and so forth. The watercourse, which crosses the estate from beyond Wood Dalling, winding round past Cawston to Booton, is a case in point. Anyone who walks down the road by the side of Wood Dalling church should note the ditch on the right-hand side which is full of wild flowers, especially primroses and orchids in springtime. This ditch now has a preservation order on it. Yet, it was dug very recently, showing that modern farming activity is not always destructive. Much of the information in this article was obtained from the White papers and Bullen papers now held in the Norfolk Record Office. 25 �Reepham Personalities and Institutions At the beginning of this century Reepham was a small Norfolk market town with long-established families living in a smaller community than today. They all knew each other very well often being related by marriage, mostly working locally in the town or on the surrounding farms and estates. Some of the older families still remain and have contributed immensely to the records of the recent past of Reepham. As Reepham has grown and new houses are constantly built, new people have increasingly moved into the town. Many of them will be unaware of the contributions to the community made by former inhabitants and the origins of some Reepham institutions. Following the long gap since the publication of the last Reepham Society Magazine, this seems an appropriate time to record a little about some of those who have contributed to the life of the town and who have helped to make Reepham the lively and caring community that it is. One message which comes over very strongly, even in these short profiles, is just how much people's lives were disrupted by the effects of the two World Wars of the last century. Miss Jessie Brown MBE Jessie Vera Lawford Brown died on 14th April, 1983 at the age of 95. She had a remarkable career, one achievement being the foundation of the Reepham Housing Trust - eight bungalows for the elderly or disabled known as Sunbarn Walk. 'My hope is that there will be accommodation of this kind in every village in the country/ said Jessie. Jessie was the only daughter among the seven children of Colonel F.D.M. Brown VC. Her early education was directed by a series of governesses but, later, she studied history at the Oxford Home Students, now St. Anne's College. Her academic career was discarded when she joined her friend, Olive Sankey, and answered an appeal from Agnes Hunt,13 the founder of a new hospital at Baschurch in Shropshire, to train as an orthopaedic nurse. After two years, Jessie went on to pass the examination lor the Society of Trained Masseuses, later to become the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists. At the outbreak of war in 1914, Agnes Hunt and Jessie went to France but were very soon frustrated with condi­ tions over there and returned to Baschurch which had then become a military hospital. It soon became obvious that after-care clinics had to be established in the main market towns in Shropshire but transport was a problem. Undaunted, Jessie acquired a second-hand motor bike, learned to ride it and, by 1917, 13 orthopaedic clinics had been established throughout Shropshire. In 1918 Mr G.R. Girlestone asked Jessie to help set up clinics in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. He could offer no salary but arranged a small sum from a special Red Cross fund if a survey of all disabled people could be carried out - just the sort of challenge Jessie enjoyed. In 1924 Sir Robert Jones, the prominent orthopaedic pioneer, received a call from Nepal. Princess Mani, the five-year-old niece of the King of Nepal, was ill with 13 Agnes Brown and Sir Robert Jones, a pioneer orthopaedic surgeon, were responsible for the foundation of the orthopaedic hospital in Oswestry which carries their names and remains one of the leading orthopaedic hospitals in the country. poliomyelitis and it was decided to send Jessie to help. Within three days she had set off by sea to Bombay, then overland to Kathmandu. There was no road from India into Nepal in those days so Jessie was carried or rode on the back of an elephant for the three-day journey. During the next ten years Jessie visited this brave little girl several times and after Mani's death in 1935 a ward was built in the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre as a gift from her grateful parents. Everyone who knew Jessie Brown was constantly reminded of her aims - that every patient must be instilled with the joy of life, irrespective of their handicap and that one must work until each disabled person is as independent as possible and able to contribute to their community7. It became necessary for Jessie to return home to Yateley to look after her ageing mother but she soon had the outbuildings of her home converted to be a unit where physically handi­ capped people could learn hand-block printing. Grace Finch, a patient at the Henley Clinic, was persuaded to go to Yateley to help and, together, they soon had money raised and a training scheme for handicapped girls was launched. New buildings were opened in 1952 and bungalows in 1956. Yateley Industries is a successful residential sheltered industry* and employs more than 40 men and women. Jessie placed little importance on personal possessions and was able to move on without regret, always full of enthusiasm for a new venture. In 1952 her work was recognised by the award of an MBE. But she was always far more interested in the success of her many projects. In 1968 Jessie 'retired' to Reepham. It was during her retirement that she became the inspiration behind the building of the eight bungalows on Sun Barn Walk which formed the core of the Reepham Housing Trust. Today, the Trust is managed as a charity by local trustees, sharing a warden with the Wherry Housing in Ewing Close. Many in the town feel privileged that she touched our lives and hope to pass on her enthusiasm and joy of living to the full. We are grateful to jan Henry for this piece on Jessie Brown. Ben Stimpson Ben Stimpson was born at Salle Moor Farm in 1910, a member of a well-known local family here in Mid-Norfolk. He is a forceful and well-respected character in both Salle and Reepham and has given much service to the two Ben Stimpson �communities both as an active member of a number of organisations and as a benefactor to the communities. The Stimpson family farmed at Salle Moor for several genera­ tions as well as running the family business based in Reepham. It was Ben's grandfather who opened the Salle Coal Company at Reepham Station, a company that contin­ ued in business as a general agricultural merchant under several names until 1980. Some of you will have read the book on 'Salle' written by the Rev. Parsons who was Vicar of Salle from the early 1920s until after the Second World War. It was Rev. Parsons who married Ben and his wife Margaret in 1937. They came to live in Salle House, the house in which they still live and Ben gradually took on the management of the family business as well as his other work in the community. For many years he was chairman of the Salle Parish Meeting and succeeded his father as churchwarden there, a post which he held for over 40 years. Added to his father's tenure of 50 years this gives nearly a century of continuous service to Salle church by the Stimpson family. To this can be added the tireless work of Margaret who was also a member of the PCC. The role of churchwarden was not a sinecure as there have been a number of major problems, including a lightning strike, in keeping up the fabric of Salle church one of the medieval gems of rural Norfolk - as well as the day-to-day routine of the church. It is largely due to Ben's efforts that Salle church has been able to maintain itself so successfully in recent years. A tribute for this work for the church was published in the November 2000 issue of Town and Country when Ben retired as churchwarden and was given a tremendous send-off by the congregation. Needless to say he remains a member of the PCC. During the war Ben played his part in the local Home Guard as well as helping his father with the family busi­ nesses. The activities of the Salle and Reepham platoon are well documented in Standing up to H itle r'14 which tells the tale of the Home Guard in Norfolk. It was Ben Stimpson 14 1997. A. Hoare: Standing up to H itler. The Story of the Norfolk Home Guard. Published by Geo. R. Reeve, Wymondham. ISBN 0 900616 50 4. who provided the comprehensive records of the local units which now form a considerable portion of that book. Ben had led the local platoon since May 1940 but by the latter part of the war the 17th Battalion Norfolk Home Guard was based in Reepham with its HQ at 'The Bays' in Norwich Road, and led by Lt Colonel G.E. Gurney with Ben as his second-in-command. Duties included airfield defence, defence of bridges and liaison with other units backed up by weekly training and regular battle exercises. Stimpson's Piece Perhaps the most memorable mention of the Stimpson name to present-day Reepham residents is in reference to Stimpson's Piece. This piece of land was originally six acres, leased to the parish of Reepham by the Stimpson family for use as a playing field. Following the Second World War a pavilion was built as a war memorial and in thanksgiving for victory. The pavilion has been rebuilt since then but the memorial plaque remains in the present pavilion built in 1995. In 1987 the land was gifted to Reepham and extended by the parish council with a further seven acres to form the present Stimpson's Piece. Despite all he has contributed to Reepham, Salle remains Ben's first love and he has become closely identified with that village and, as you can imagine, he knows a very great deal about Salle, its past, its present and its people. Wesley Piercey Wesley Piercy is the man we all turn to when we want to find some elusive detail of the past of Reepham. Wesley was born in Reepham in 1917, in a farmhouse on Saleyard Hill. For those who are comparitive newcomers to Reepham, this was the old road going up from Town's End Corner towards the old sale yard and curving up behind the cottages which presently look down onto Station Road. Later, the family moved to 'Cabbage Court' - Railway Cottages on the New Road - before moving back to the farm until 1940. After leaving the Hackford and Whitwell School, now the site of Reepham Primary School, Wesley first of all worked in �Wesley has spoken to many organisations in the town over the years. He remains an active member of the Reepham Society - and still the fount of knowledge on the past of the town. Tony Ivins Wesley Piercy Cawston before going as apprentice to Reeder's, the baker in Back Street. The premises were known as 'house and baking office' and are now represented by the house known as The Old Bakery. Although he had moved just before the war to work in Wells, as a member of the Supplementary Reserve, Wesley was called up immediately. He had quite an interesting war! He went out with the British Expeditionary Force to France in 1939. In the confusion of the retreat from France, Wesley was separated from his unit when he had a brief spell in hospital. He was discharged from hospital to the base depot near St. Nazaire which was then being readied for a division of Canadian troops who were, at this stage, the only available unit still fully equipped to fight. However, it became necessary to evacuate all troops following the capitulation of France. Wesley then spent the next six months out in England before embarking for the Middle East and the Western Desert in 1941. His unit was now with an army group later known as the Desert Rats (the Eighth Army) which then crossed to Sicily and fought its way up Italy. In 1944 'time expired' men were replaced by new recruits and Wesley returned to the UK. He then returned to Aldershot where he found that all the bakehouse jobs had been taken over by the women of the ATS. After the end of the war Wesley was demobbed in 1946. As you can imagine, returning to civilian life was some­ what of a culture shock and Wesley left baking for more active jobs. He eventually found his way into the Eastern Electricity Board, for whom he worked for 23 years until he retired in 1982. His love for history and the past of the Reepham area was never lost. A number of historians and archaeologists had an interest in the local history and ran a number of WEA courses in Reepham during the 1970s. Wesley enthusiastically joined to expand his knowledge of the past. Following his retirement in 1982 he was able to follow up his great interest in history. He started an Open University course, wherever possible completing history units, to qualify for his BA. His life also changed in another way around this time when he met his wife Olive on holiday. By this time the Pierceys were living in the bungalow where Wesley and Olive still live in Park Lane. As a result of his encyclopaedic knowledge of Reepham and its people 28 Tony Ivins remains the President of the Reepham Society to this day though increasing age and frailty prevent his active involvement. He was also a founder member and, with Susie his wife, a driving force in the development of the Society. Bom in South London in 1915, Tony gained a diploma in animal husbandry at an agricultural college in the south of England. In the late 1930s, he joined the staff of the Forest School in Hampshire. The school was a progressive co-educational boarding school in the New Forest. Its ethos was to teach children how to respect the countryside and make use of natural resources. In 1938 the school had to move to new premises and an educational trust was set up to enable the purchase of Whitwell Hall and grounds. This is where Tony met Susie Dommen who became the Matron at the new Forest School where Tony was now the bursar. Not long after the move the Second World War broke out, the school was evacuated and the army requisitioned the Hall. Tony Ivins Tony enlisted in the Air Force where he became a navigator. His war years were spent in Africa where his squadron's role was to reinforce the British role by ferrying diplomats and heads of state around that country. From this he acquired an abiding love of Africa and has many albums of photographs from that time, especially aerial views. Meanwhile, Susie joined the Land Army and worked as a farm secretary at Sparham Hall. At the end of the war Tony and Susie were married and returned to Whitwell in 1946. Due to the financial costs involved, a decision was made not to re-open the school. Instead, Tony set up a pig farm at Whitwell Hall which brought in sufficient finance to enable Tony to set up a Country Centre offering schoolchildren an opportunity to enjoy a week under canvas, or in the house, and to experience the country, the wildlife and the natural resources. Tony and Susie's children, Sally and Hugh, were born here and Hugh still lives with his family in one of the cottages which was bought from the estate. �Tony came to love Whitwell as well as the educational trust which had always been dear to his heart. It was his interest in finding out about Whitwell and its past which stimulated Tony's broader interest in history. With Susie's drive and enthusiasm, they not only developed the Coun­ try Centre at Whitwell but gave a great deal to the village and to Reepham. It is largely due to them and several other early members of the Reepham Society that we have been able to develop such comprehensive archives for the Society. Tony's work at Whitwell Hall enabled him to meet numerous well-known Norfolk folk. His friends included Ted Ellis, Dick Joyce and Philip Wayre of the Norfolk Wildlife Centre who shared many of his interests. Tony was also Chairman of the Norfolk Deaf Children's Society and one year he was able to show the Queen Mother round the NDCS stand at the Royal Norfolk Show. As Wardens of Whitwell Hall, Tony and Susie had lived in the Hall itself but when he retired they moved to Hillside Cottage on Whitwell Hill. Tony now became Chairman of the Country Centre and continued his life-long work for Whitwell Hall and its 40-acre estate. Whitwell Hall Educational Trust A great many people are unaware of the existence of Whitwell Hall Country Centre, its unique history and unusual development. We think it is worth telling a little more about one more interesting aspect of the Reepham group of parishes. Whitwell Hall itself was, of course, a private house. The previous history of the hall, park and deserted medieval village has been described elsewhere in earlier Reepham Society magazines, often relying on infor­ mation fro m T o n y Ivins himself. Forest School was started in 1928 near Godshill in the New Forest and consisted of 100 acres of woodland over­ looking the Avon valley in Hampshire. It was bought by Earnest Westlake, the son of a Quaker and wealthy indus­ trialist from Fordingbridge. He became a humanist and educationalist and, as a result, founded the order of W ood­ craft Chivalry - the Woodcraft Folk - where families met together under canvas, later in huts, and learned to live in and appreciate the natural environment. Loosely built on the ideas and culture of the North American Indians, its aim was to enable children to find out about themselves by offering opportunities for development and self-discipline rather than by imposing learning and discipline. Other schools, such as Dartington and Summerhill, developed from similar roots as did organisations like the Guides and Scouts. After the war, it was decided by Tony and Susie and the school secretary, who lived in Cambridge, not to re-open as a school as such a large financial investment would be required to renovate and repair the buildings. Instead, Tony set about earning an income for the trust by utilising his training in animal husbandry and set up the pig farm in the existing outbuildings on the site. Each summer, former pupils of Forest School continued the tradition of camping activities with their families until the late 1950s when the Forest School was set up again to continue elsewhere. A young Tony Ivins working with older boys in the kitchen garden. In the early 1960s contacts were established with teachers and education authorities in Norfolk and Suffolk at a time when such bodies were keen to encourage children to spend time out-of-doors. From this grew a thriving Country Centre which continues to provide opportunities for many groups of children to spend a week or weekend camping in the grounds, or living in dormitories, whilst undertaking country activities which are totally new for some city children. Tony Ivins, the original Warden of Whitwell Hall, was assisted by Susie as House Mother until the 1970s. By this time, it was necessary to take on more staff. Sue and Brian Evans joined the staff and later took over the running of the Centre which they continue to manage down to the present. On his retirement, Tony became Chairman of the trust and worked tirelessly for the Centre, a role which his son, Hugh, has now taken on after him. The CountryCentre is always looking for ways to broaden its activities and a number of local groups and pupils from Reepham High School use the house and grounds for a variety of activities. Any group can contact Brian and Sue Evans to see if the Centre can accommodate their requirements - always bearing in mind that it is limited by its status as an educational trust. Our grateful thanks to Hugh Ivins for his help in preparing this profile of his father and the outline of the development of the Whitwell Hnll Country Centre. 29 �Reepham Society History Exhibition Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11th, 12th & 13th May, 2001 Friday: 10.00 am to 4.00 pm Saturday: 10.00 am to 6.00 pm Sunday: 10.00 am to 12.00 noon Local history of Reepham and the surrounding villages Members preview 7.30 pm Thursday 10th May The editor is very aware that the articles in this magazine talk about footpaths and access to the countryside in some detail. At time of publication the country is ravaged by Foot and Mouth Disease. Fortunately, this part of the country has remained free of infection. We would like to remind visitors to the area to observe footpath restrictions. Whilst this is a largely arable farming area there are numbers of animals in many places. Please only use those footpaths, like the Marriott's Way, which you are sure are open and do not venture into farmland. �Hendry & Sons Funeral D irectors Private C h a p els o f Rest R ic h a r d H e n d r y , DIP. F. D. M e m b e r s o f th e N.A.F.D. Station Road, Foulsham, Dereham Norfolk Tel Foulsham (01362) 683249 MUCK & MAGIC Garden Serviced From on e off solutions, to all-year-round maintenance Whatever your gardening n eed s w e’ ll cov er the ground for you. VEGGIES & GRASS HEDGES & PATHS PONDS & PATIOS GUTS & STRIMS COMPOST & MULCHES PLANTS & SEEDS TURFS & WEEDS I ! ! A FIRST-CLASS SERVICE Call JON PURDY for a quote H o m e 01603 308093 M o b ile 07771 926582 Brantleyj, 10a New Road, Reepbam Reepham Beers Distinctively Different \0orth Seeking Out �BONHAM S {BROOKS Thinking of selling? This small oil on panel by John Moore of Ipswich was sold in our June 2000 sale of East Anglian related Works of Art ‘The East Anglian View’ for £8,500. For valuations for probate, insurance or sale and general enquiries contact: James Glennie, Caro Flower, Angela Ellis Bonhams & Brooks East Anglia Office The Market Place, Reepham, Norwich NR10 4JJ 01603 871443 eastanalia@bonhams.com � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Publications Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Publications Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Reepham Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 to 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed documents Box *** Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976 to 2014 Reepham Description An account of the resource Reepham Society Publications Text - printed Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Magazine Millennium Edition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 2001 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant April 2001 Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1707191706 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Reepham Society Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 booklet Reepham Society Publications {Archive Box 15] Events/2000 {File 5, Archive Box 105] Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Description An account of the resource The Archive holds a stock of about 30 Magazines in 2020. There are some unfortunate errors in this magazine. A photograph of Ron Gibbs appears as Ann Dickenson's father. Her father was Fred. J. Gibbs. GB-REE-1707191706a.pdf is the OCR version of the PDF. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights Reserved 2001 RS Magazine https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/4f7550d673538954cbb417ca8e15cd98.pdf 84021371046455644dd288e95e2eedd9 PDF Text Text Poems from Reepham �2 Poems from Reepham These poems are selected from the large number of poems submitted to a poetry competition which was part of the Reepham Literature Festival in 1999. The winning poems in the various categories were widely publicised in the town. However, so many of the poems were of such high standard that it was felt that they should all see the light of day and be read by as many people as possible. The collection also forms a fitting contribution to all the events and activities of Millennium Year 2000. Included in this little book are the winning poems from all categories and many more poems from the Adult category. There were so many poems from schools in the area that we simply do not have space to publish them. Some of them were clever, charming or whimsical but, as they were read at school with their teachers and seen by others in this way, we felt justified in leaving them out of this collection. We are grateful to all the poets for their permission to print their work. There is great variety of style, imagery and content in the poems. Enjoy! 2 �3 Part 1 This first section contains all the poems that were deemed to have won their category in the 1999 Reepham Literature Festival and gives you some idea of the variety of poems contained in the book. 3 �4 Sparrowhawks Sparrowhawks are birds of Prey. Sometimes they fly And they hunt sparrows, Raid blue-tits and Rob them. Often fly high in the air Wild birds! High in the sky And in the woods, With sharp talons, long yellow legs, Kill other birds Guy Jackson Reepham County Primary School The Flower Flower like a jellyfish, Middle like bright lights. Bud like a fish swimming in the sea. Straight stem like a rocket Going up to the moon. Oscar Denyer Lyng V C Primary School 4 �5 Sleek Black Cat The cat burglar sneaks through the cat flap, She is a sleek graceful prancer. She is a wave of black light. Her eyes are Christmas lights glowing in the darkness. Her tail is a sleek black blur. She is thinking "Where shall I sleep? Where is the most comfortable spot?" Settles down and goes to sleep. In the morning she does not wake up. No sneaking through the cat flap, being graceful Her eyes are no longer glowing No black blur; no thinking. She sleeps forever Sarah Warren Reepham County Primary School 5 �6 My Dad. How would you feel if your Dad can tickle You and a few days later, he can't? When you fall over and he cuddles you And a few days later he can't? When you run and he chases you And a few days later, he can't When he picks you up from school And a little later, he can't. When he sings you songs, washes your hair, Cooks your tea, reads a story, goes snow sledging, Dances with you and swims with you And, suddenly, he can't do all these things And I know I still love him. Rebecca Vick Reepham County Primary School 6 �7 The Dove A dove is like leaves being blown around. A storm is a dove violently fluttering its wings. The wind twists and curls like the dove hunting for its food. A sleeping dove is a gentle breeze. The thumping thunder is the dove's heartbeat. The dove hops like small stones being lifted in the wind, The dove rests like a calm, shivery breeze, silent. The wind whistles like the doves' calls to one another. A baby dove is warm, like the air on a hot day. The dove sits in the tree like lingering air. The dove violently ruffles its feathers like a dying tornado. A dove looking for food is the storm hovering over the land, The dust and sand being lifted is the dove pecking and having a sand bath. A silent breeze is the dove flying through the air A dove is the wind, strong yet peaceful. A dove can be temperamental like the brewing storm. A dove flies like a fluffy white cloud in the sky, A dove is a peaceful whistling wind. Doves' eyes are the piercing winds on a cold winter morning. Katie Atkins Reepham High School 7 �8 Feelings. Blood rushing and rushing, Muscles tensing and flexing, Head racing and racing. It's amazing! Excitement, that's what it's called. Eyes gushing and gushing, Happiness fading and fading, Body slow and weakening. It's horrible. Depression, that's what it's called Heart beating and pounding, Joints slowing and freezing, Breath racing and racing. It's scary! Fear, that's what it's called. Mouth rising and falling, Face crinkling and scrunching, Tears sliding and falling. It's great. Happiness, that's what it's called Every day is exciting and thrilling. Nothing's depressing or boring, Tiring or jarring. It's wonderful. Love, that's what it's called. David Lambert Reepham High School 8 �9 Chops Look at this man chopping up the rhythm, Cutting into the song like the butcher to the bone. Hacking out the meat, throwing it to the hungry. He pulls on the sinews of the song, Tightening them to breaking point, Lets them go. Saws along the length of the bones, Splinters them into skinny chords, Plays on the hunger, Stretches out the notes to breaking point Then pounds them into chunks, Feeding them to the starving, piece by piece, To suit himself, Bit by bit. Leaves them wanting more. Kay Riggs Wood Dalling 9 �10 The Beginning My friend , lover, blue-eyed Adonis, Straight-backed and proud. Atlas, with the world of towers and tomorrows on your shoulders, Ice-cold and cruel. Your frigidity melts when I smile for your warmth. Tonight I want you, To cleave sublimity from your arms, To lie with my hair against your cheek, To drink in the sensuality of this chill April evening. I could say I love you But I would whisper those words silently, Lest my heart, full-blown with happiness, Would break into tiny slivers And pierce this solitude For I cannot spoil the feeling or closeness of this moment. Though Elysian illusion masks the reality of sight, Tonight, dream-child, you shall be my lover And, tomorrow, on the edge of our shadowland Reality awaits. Stephanie Harris Billingford 10 �11 Cow Talk Mummy cow and Baby cow were going for a walk. "Mummy cow," said Baby cow "How did you learn to talk?" "I learnt it from the milking maid when it was milking time, But, because she read me poetry, I can only speak in rhyme." Jackson Family poem The Fox Fur My eyes were wide and bright For seeing in the night. My teeth were sharp for hunting, Panting in the forest. My ears were pointed, my tail Bushy and furry. My feet were silent as the moon. Now I am old and sad, Scruffy, in a box Under the bed and forgotten. Mrs Yerby's class Reepham County Primary School. 11 �12 Part 2. Now follows a complete change of mood. The residents of Reepham have long been noted for being proud of their town! Yes, it is a town, not a village – and has had a market for seven hundred years. I think these poems tell you that we are still proud of our town. The poems were written by residents of Reepham and other villages in this part of Norfolk to express their feelings about the area in which they live. As you will see ,this is a great place in which to be at home! 12 �13 Arrival at Reepham We fled the city many years ago To seek a more congenial dwelling place, With fresher air to breathe, Where kids might learn to grow In harmony with Nature’s gentler pace. Once free of London’s manic pace, We drove by peaceful country ways Towards our promised land – the EastWhere we might quietly end our days. We gazed on hedgerows pink with ‘May’, Wondered at unknown flowers in the wayside grass. This was a paradise where we could stay “Quick! Fetch the map we will not pass!” But now the light began to fade. Our thoughts had turned to food and bed When through the trees we heard a church bell sound. “Hurrah a village welcomes us.” we said. “Perhaps we’ll make it Home.” Lov Lieberman 13 �14 Reepham: Spring Sunday Sunday at last! A curious hush Enthralls the sleeping town. Only an early morning thrush Reveille calls, with cheerful song. He has no seven-day calendar. All days alike he greets with praise, While we take Sunday to recover From six long tedious working days. But sleeping Reepham’s soon awake Resolving to make holiday. Each to himself a promise makes . . . To do his ‘thing’ in his own way. So some will potter round the home And some will read or snooze all day. Some will wait in for friends to come, But we’ll be cycling – far away. Lov Lieberman 14 �15 Reepham Rainbow town, A rich palette, When heady drowse swoons over sleepy Reepham. Azure sea of deepest blue delphiniums Breaks vividly on mouldy crisp white stone Bronze finished leaves shudder down When toadstools burst forth from rotten wood. Blue-grey bonfire smoke curls. A Russian cat Wears the berry choker of scarlet beads. Odd bleak days of monochrome, When plastic cones wear dark mourning crosses. Black clouds gather. Circling black rooks cry out Funeral songs to tear apart a white sky. Christmas light, of jewelled hue, When homemade candles wink in paper bags. Twin church windows that smoulder, hot Melting colours against the bitter cold. Leonard Spencer-Steed 15 �16 Booton Church Look there – Stop the car - ! Those towers, two rising high. Pinnacles and piers in profusion Absurd ! Look now ! From distant fields merged into one space Move and again become two, pierced by long windows Looking through to sky. Booton’s lofty one More Gothic than Gothic ! Crockets and crosses and corners embroidered. Lorna Gray 16 �17 Thoughts after seeing Reepham Brass The past is ever present here, Not that I do fear But rather wonder what the years Have seen that make it such a place With prayer folded hands content Ghosts about the house have spent Eternity in solemn thought, bent In thin clear lines of brass. The crispness of their many falling folds Have never altered place, but hold A soundless rustle as though cold With frosty nights spent staring. You armoured one hang meekly there Beside your wife, who does wear A stubborn mouth and both do glare, Hiding your thoughts from me. Lorna Gray 17 �18 Living in Reepham Run to the top of Pudding Pie Alley And stand in the Market Square Spread out before you in all of its glory, The essentials of life are all there. An unusual church, a chemist and hardware, Pianos and fridges galore, Antiques and health foods, and Johnny-come-lately, A superior Bridal store. We're provided with clock-mender, bus stop and library, Cafes and beauty shop too. The King's Arms delights us with jazz in the summer, And there's Bonhams of London to view. A stately hotel, two butchers, a fish van, And to add to all of those The. greengrocer's shop is the best-named in Norfolk, 'Meloncaulie Rose'. We arrived and were conquered by North Norfolk's beauty, Sea, country and villages, too. Mid-way between coast line and grandeur of Norwich, We really think Reepham will do! Betty H. Brooks 18 �19 Festival Here we come Round Reepham We are going to have fun. Literature and reading will be leading Churches and Schools, Multi-Arts pools! Adventure in the Bircham Centre. Music and Dance in the Kings Arms! Collections. displays. photographic ways: Gardening on the trail to Booton. Guestwick. Salle. Dorothy Hindon 19 �20 Golden Autumn An elderly lady from Corpusty No longer fetched her pension From Saxthorpe For the post office had closed. She cycled to Wood Dalling then, To the post office there. There she met old George Who was collecting his pension. And they live happily now In the old lady's cottage, Cycling together to Wood Dalling In the golden autumn of their lives. Adrian Taylor 20 �21 Weekend Walk Hat, coat, scarf round your throat, Sturdy shoes and bring the brolly; Rev the car, forget the supper Saturday's here and we must be jolly! Where shall we go to? What shall we see? Too much choice, so it's up to me. Weybourne's windy and Cromer's crabby, So Cley, just Cley - that's the place for me. Lofty church and grassy green, Smokery, Pottery oh! what a scene! Windmill, cobbles, and road to the sea, Fishermen, twitchers and birds flying free. Prawns at the pub, and the Delicatessen, Aches in the legs which take ages to lessen; Gallery, tea-room and windswept marsh; Cover your ears 'cos the wind is harsh. Cley, Cley, pie in the sky, Glinty, flinty, strange and free, Desolate, pebbly, stays in the memory, Cley's the place where I want to be. Betty H. Brooks 21 �22 Part 3 Once again a change of mood. This long section contains love poems and other poems which express emotion or are reflective in mood. 22 �23 Thoughts for the Millennium Strive not to chase the dreams that sparkle brightest, They may be those that break and fall like dust. Rather seek to peer beyond your line of vision, For joys and wealth and riches more robust. Stand still and look at all that is around you, Let not the scene distort and lose its form. Whilst climbing to the top may promise heaven, The view from lofty towers is oft forlorn. Money doesn't always bring all it may promise, It can court the most unsavoury of friends. And yachts and sprawling mansions' gold and silver, Are no comfort when the dark on us descends. You cannot buy a family or a friend, Though neither of them cost a penny piece. Yet may you be a rich man with a fortune, You're a poor man if your soul is not at peace. So invest rewards of friendship very wisely, Feast ever on the fruits of humble birth. Bank daily all that nature lays before us, And you'll be amongst the richest men on earth. Patricia Barnes. 23 �24 Of Consequence Do not mask your light to the dreams that edge reality Or feign to show your heart to vulnerability For yesterday and tomorrow could shroud today’s improbability. Yet tomorrow may never come. You were young when I caught your heart And love fell like a plump, ripe apple into my lap. I watch your smile that teases and lingers too long Before you sweep me up into your arms. Do not be cynical of my love tonight, Although you can catch the night air with your hands And hold its sharp cutting edge close to my cheek, Stinging my eyes with your touch. For there is something as intangible as fire When I hold you buried deep in my warmth. And if you can love me without cynism of thought Then we can see today, tomorrow and yesterday as one. Stephanie Harris 24 �25 December 1999 The tide has gone out of my life Leaving sharp rocks, Scattering shells like so many memories. Your sudden death froze my tears Until the day I threw your gardening gloves away And, waiting to be darned, I found your socks In my needlework box. And the tide came in and covered up the rocks And I must go on. But, however, long I stay My love for you will never go away. E K Olney 25 �26 Words I said it But how could I mean it? What prompted the words That long ago night? He said it, and meant it just then, But only just then. For on reflection I knew it never was As we saw it then. He took my words And threw them back. Back and forth, back and forth They went, those words. My words, his words, Never meant words. But words. Cooed the dove to the blackbird Sing your happy song Sang the blackbird to the dove Coo your plaintive one, my love. Elsa Munn 26 �27 Summer Love Take my hand in yours as we wander past the golden fields of high summer corn. Kiss my lips, and tell me that you do not feel forlorn; I love you more than words can say ... I love you dearly, today. Now the corn has been harvested, and from the womb of Summer, autumn is born. Today is not so warm. Burnished leaves on the ground now lay. I loved you dearly, yesterday. Philippa Wilton-Pattison. 27 �28 I ask not ... I ask not for roses, Nor diamonds, Nor pearls. I ask not for garlands To entwine In my curls. I like to see sunsets That redden the sky And dewdrops that compare With the tears in my eyes. I am restless Yet I ask for nothing more Than loving warmth And a tender look That can say so much. But as I reach out And try to touch The depths of you My heart is churned and tossed Like a wave on the sea For though you look You do not see . . . me. Philippa Wilton-Pattison 28 �29 Adams's Apple “Take the apple.” Adam said to Eve Smiling gently. The sunlight dappled golden through the leaves In that beautiful place. He held it cupped in loving hands, Eyes intent upon her face Expectant. Watching. Yet she stood still hesitant Unsure about the “commitment thing” And needing- more This wasn’t enough. He handed her the core. Diane Lambert 29 �30 The Helpline Call 'She listened and hardly spoke at all, while I ran on and on. The first time I had ever spoken of it, my words pouring like a mudslide. She listened as I released my pain, and I believe she cared, as the shame and bitterness spewed from me. She was faceless and could not see mine. The vacuum between us was my security. Her listening was my lifeboat.' Rosemary Birks 30 �31 The Piper of Dreams (based on a picture by Estella Canziani) What is that, deep in the forest? A little snatch of music Like water over sand! What is that, soft in the distance? Sweet cascading droplets Make music in my mind. I must find that music, pursue its magic spell. I need to find the player And tell him how I feel. Is it you, golden dusk, the bluebells surrounding, Wispy, floating goblins Darting here and there? Is it you, scented earth, your roots all entwining, Giving out your secrets Of an ancient alchemy? Is it you solid tree, centre of the picture? You've been there a long time, The elfin you see. Is it you early spring, with your brand new clothes on Bursting through the earth With a flourish of joy? Is it you, sky and sunshine, breaking through the branches Playing heaven’s music As I listen here? No, it's you little man, with your hobnail boots on A feather in your hat And a Robin on your toe! 31 �32 It's you tiny fellow, with a cheap penny whistle, A stanza of stardust And fairies in the air! It's you, earthling pixie, with flowers on your doorstep, A squirrel looking on And a mouse as well! You capture the song you hear in the woodland And then distil its essence Deep within your heart. It's all in the lovesong, with aching reminders Of apples in the autumn And winter in the snow. There's music in the air, with hobnail boots on, A feather in his hat And a robin on his toe. Rosemary Birks 32 �33 The Field As I walk through the swathes of shimmering corn I can feel myself reborn. The worries of life just ebb away As I walk through the fields on a summer’s day. In the autumn, there’s fresh chill in the air. Mists rise from the earth, now bare. The farmer has gathered that corn to store And all that hard work is done once more. In winter’s grip the creatures are hiding I walk on the frost, slipping and sliding, Home to a fire and thaw out my feet, To look through my window at the snow and sleet. In spring, the land wakes from its long sleeping, Buds and blossom and new life peeping. The scars of winter have all been healed. Another new miracle begins in the field. Diane Smith 33 �34 The City Dusty pigeons, Heat haze particulate, Arab voices on the Romford road, Slaves of the computer escalate to Mordor. Time rules the city, Schedules and train times, Microchips and Vodophones. The lover stumbles, his love Turned to nanoseconds. B. Somerville 34 �35 Portia Striped killer, white fanged, Gorged on the blood red carcass of A purr-loined strawberry. Frank Steed Kestrels Kestrels are birds of prey Easy to spot Soaring up high They pounce on their victims Ready to tear flesh Eat small mammals Live wild and free. D. Jackson 35 �36 Tether’s End The house at Tether's End is framed of wood Rooted in basalt. At one metre from the ground Granite walls end and serve as a base for cob, Clay and straw that could have made brick But preferred not to kill trees in the baking. The roof of slate, split with careful, skilled hands, Stretches like drip tips. Even the bats are welcome. And then the tall man came along, Rubbery lips and watery eyes, And smashed the house down. So far below him it was. A window sighed as it shivered. A door splinterd and shrieked. Quick as that, One! two! three! He built another house Of Lego bricks. Breaking bits off and twisting and pulling To fit them together. A metal stairway stretches and tips. Suddenly it has no banister And the walls have gone; It is suspended in air And only balance can support your steps. Provided that the one below is still there. Dinah Thompson 36 �37 Trees They stand erect, steadfast onlookers Of the passing years; The eyes and ears of centuries, Silent witnesses of love and war. Shyly they begin to clothe themselves To dazzle us with robes of lilac, Pink and white, prelude to Summer's verdant capes. Autumn then bedecks them With bewitching hues, Prior to costing them off To reveal their shapely limbs and torsos. Meanwhile, the evergreen In proud dissent Stays cosily clad From year start to end. Seeking comfort, some reach out To hold hands, forming canopies Of shade and secrecy From the inquisitive sun and sky. Others stand alone, guarding their solitude, Gazing down from their majestic height Upon those lesser souls Reaching upward with truncated limbs. Joyce Cox 37 �38 Rapunzel Poem inspired by a photograph of Benham's Place, Hampstead. My name's Rapunzel But I'm short-haired and fat No temptress am I One look and men fly. Trapped in this tower Bereft of all hope, My own silly fault Feel entombed in a vault. Climbed up the stairs Squeezed through the door Puffing and blowing Sweat freely flowing. Door slammed tight shut Guttering's cracked Window’s too small No hope at all! No hope of a rescue No braids to cast down No long queues to ascend Can't telephone a friend. But life's good for the figure It's stopped getting bigger Hair's growing longer And longer and stronger. My name's Rapunzel Now long-haired and slim. When I cast my hair down They can't wait to climb in. Joyce Cox 38 �39 A Quiet Corner of England Early morning, daylight begins Thro’ shuttered windows - a new day brings Perhaps some sun, perhaps some rain. Thank God each day is not the same! So rising early, my hens to feed Out they rush - no grace, just greed. I watch them search and scratch for corn Thank you God for a new day horn And so I lean upon my gate And view the world laid at my feet. How beautiful each season seems Oh, England, place of many dreams But for this moment I'll be content. My quiet reflective moment spent Now to return to make cups of tea. Just another ten minutes in bed for me! So a final word that must be said Before I rise again from bed And, gazing out upon the land, I thank you God - it looks just grand. Ruth Charville 39 �40 Anger I’ll take my spade down from the nail And dig awhile – A row and maybe back again. Another row. I’ll thrust into the tilth my mood And turn it up again Upon the blade and spread it out To worry it. Then, as I dig my spade will burn And I will cool – To breathe the air that blew my doubts away And see my labour Turn from hate to love along the row. Lorna Grey 40 �41 Seasons. When in the blustery showers the dead leaves whirl, And scudding clouds sweep clean a leaden sky, When swaying boughs bend to the west wind's will, Then lively Autumn heads for Winter's chill. When blue tits search beneath the sheltered sills, And thrushes cock their heads and stamp for worms, When raucous starlings joust for morsels rare, Then steadfast Winter yields to Spring's fond care. When snowdrops push their heads above the moss, And violets bloom beneath a shelt’ring bush. When hedgerows' leaves and blossoms poise to burst, Then lithesome Spring gives way to Summer's thirst. When weighted boughs with apples are well hung, And blackberries punctuate the hedgerows' green, When chestnuts pop out from their prickly case, Then Summer melts in Autumn's wide embrace. Anthony C Martin 41 �42 Three Short Verses Conker red against the wall, Polished by sun and rain. Layered leaves herald the Fall, First bright signs of Autumn come. *** Bib and Brace, a smile on his face A saucy twinkle in his eye. His name is Len, the stoutest of men, Fearless, bold and canny. *** A dragging brake, yet we made it, A "fag" at the end of the line. A pint of the best Then half a night's rest And tomorrow we'll start just fine. Elsa Munn 42 �43 Country Patterns. Azure blue the distant skyline, Brown, the winter trees stand high, Mingling with the fields' green furrows; High above, the plovers fly. Ugly grey and loathsome pylons Thrust their bony sinews out. 'Phone wires stretch their charcoal tendrils, Casting shadows all about. A tractor crawls into the distance, Turns to corduroy its wake. Undulating roads and hedgerows Rural patterns help to make. Rays of golden sunlight filter Through the low dark clouds' array, Showing earth's reflected glory Into which life's fancies stray. Anthony C. Martin 43 �44 Ghosts Lines written at a Village Cricket Ground, at dusk, when everyone else had left. Through the closed and dark Pavilion Shades of Cricket's past parade; Munroe, Orbel, Mead and Stillion Motion with the willow blade. Quiet now the clicking scoreboard That in the past great feats displayed. Ghostly shadows pace the greensward Though they know the game is played. Glories of the past recaptured, Failures now must play no part, For the noble game is chaptered By exponents of the art. Though the ball is but a vision And the stumps are just a wraith, Leather, willow make collision, Calls, appeals, just acts of faith. Once cheered 'Greats' pass into shadow, Days of cheer return no more, Moonbeams flit across the meadow, Life is gone - Death's turn to score. Anthony C Martin 44 �45 Ode to a Birthday What does it mean? This feverish mood That brings joy And anticipation? Perhaps it’s someone’s birthday. Two thousand years is a long time With troubles and trials, Good times and bad. But everyone’s smiling, friendly and glad. It has to be someone’s birthday. The flags are flying, Bad times behind us, Friendships mended, Quarrels forgotten. It must be someone’s birthday. Bells are ringing, children singing, Everyone’s having fun. But the reason is clear At the end of this year It’s a very special birthday! Olive Curtis 45 �46 Part 4 The poems in this section could be described as humourous , or perhaps whimsical would be more appropriate for some of them. 46 �47 Puddles Splish! Splash! Splosh! Puddles are fun. Puddles come on rainy days, Puddles vanish in the sun. Splash! Splosh! Splish! Puddles are nice. Puddles can be very cold, Puddles can be ice. Splosh! Splish! Splash! Puddles are great. Puddles are for jumping in, Puddles saturate. Splish! Splash! Splosh! Puddles are fun. Puddles come on rainy days, Puddles vanish in the sun. Grania Ward- Brown 47 �48 Car Boot Sale What rubbish some stalls offer! And you wonder how they dare Offer their goods as fare. But, on the other hand, Such bargains can be found When touts don’t understand The value of goods at hand. A tape measure is surely a must, Otherwise you have to trust And, often, when at home, The goods tried on make you moan. Furniture is my forte And hunted high and low for. Makes you wonder how big Some car boots are. On a good day I understand it’s so worthwhile To clear the cupboards and pitch for a while. When rain comes visiting, such drudgery, it seems, Can’t make up for all the schemes. Sylvia Bailey 48 �49 The Gospel according to . . . Hello, Doris. This is Ella. Have you heard about the fella Going out with Joan? So I hear. Between you and me, my biggest fear Is that Brian will find out very soon And that will certainly be his ruin. Although the story goes he’s seeing Jane. I find that woman such a pain! Keep it to yourself. Now I’ve got to go! I don’t like to gossip, as well you know! But I’m going to Pam’s. I’m in such a rush. She’s drinking again. She’s such a lush! Her daughter’s pregnant, no surprise! Just looks at a man with those limpid eyes. She told me in confidence, so don’t repeat it! The father’s supposedly Colin. He’s never been fit. I must go now! I’ll see you soon. Keep this quiet. I know I can rely on you. Hello, Elizabeth. Doris here . . . B D Barker. 49 �50 Hair’s our Work At 9 o’clock our work begins, our column full of sets and trims As ladies arrive we greet them with smiles, give them a seat and show them some styles We’ve washed their hair with plenty of bubbles, we fetched them a coffee and help with their troubles. In front of the mirror at our work station, with scissors in hand we start our creation. Whilst chatting and trimming, rolling and pinning. Broad smile on her face - we know we are winning! After finishing their looks with gel, wax and spray, our ladies then are Happy” to pay. As one lady says “Bye” another comes in. We give her A seat and start over again. Clare Hannant & Karen Davies 50 �51 Apathy I'm Ms Apathy, I don't care, Said quite glibly and without flare. I'm not involved in any way "Disconnected" some might say. When asked to help - I disappear, That isn't really quite my sphere! I really do not want to know If I could help a project grow. I have no feelings, I just don't care, About my face, my shape, my hair. Men look at me - they don’t ignite, And I, quite frankly, don t excite. Stock markets up or stock markets down, Will cause me neither smile nor frown. Conservatives in and Labour out... Or p'r'aps the other way about. I have no convictions to bother me, I think you'd call that apathy! Grania Ward Brown 51 �52 Friends Harry is a little boy Who's got a special friend, Someone who makes life a joy On whom he can depend. A friend who's always faithful, A friend who's always sure, A friend who's always truthful, A friend who will endure. A friend who's always loving, A friend who's always there, A friend who's understanding. The friend's his teddy bear. Teddy takes him hand in paw, Says "That's what teddy bears are for". Grania Ward Brown 52 �53 Questions from my son, aged 6. "Why are things different, Mum, and why are they the same? Why do fish swim in water, and why aren't tigers tame? Why is Laa Laa yellow and why is Postman Pat called Pat? Why do we live in Reepham, why can't we have a cat? Why do people grow older, why don't they grow young? Why is earth a planet and why have I a tongue? Why aren't dinosaurs mammals and why are they all dead? Why are flowers called flowers?"… …"BECAUSE THEY ARE!" I said. Wendy Jackson 53 �54 The Foxglove Pink Petals like a trumpet hanging their heads, The inside spotty like lots of little bubbles. Petals getting bigger like a child growing up. The stalk as tall as a beanstalk. Leaves blowing gently in the wind, With holes … Caterpillars lunch? by Mrs Tebbutt's and Mrs Crisp's class Lyng V.C Primary School 54 �55 Part 5 We are going to end this collection of poems with a group of much harder edged poems. Many, but not all , are poems about war and the effects of war. 55 �56 Easter Chair. It's sweet and sturdy, of good elm or beech, a model for us all, humble, strong in shape, well made, a hard place for a chapel or school, for creaking and polished floors, the syllabus in the cupboard and prayers. Underneath the seat is an iron clamp, through which was passed a wooden bar, from chair to chair, holding them all rigid. In this way the teacher or priest would be sure that no-one could move out of alignment, shuffle forward, join another row, or to put it another way, that all seated were safe, in the same place at the end as at the beginning, of hymns, lessons, pictures of a grown-up world. Here people live for ever, sitting up straght, until they die, passing away, fading like bromide prints into the afterlife; except for soldiers, who fall, rolling into holes from which they climb, at ease together, when the bugle blows. It's a monument to our lives, this straight backed chair, like shiny shoes or long Remembrance Sundays, poppies. Give this chair wings to match the look in your eyes, reclaim this chair, cover it with cloth, repair the back and, sink or swim, it will always know who it is, each little bar, each little bone. Ian Starsmore. 56 �57 A Shed at Night. Red clay tiles undulate along the roof, the walls bulge from the plumbline leaning into the shape of a prow. The doorway of square cut wood is stained and phosphorescent, the posts rotting at the base as though washed by the sea every day, each time the tide leaving more colour, transmuting timber into blue-green. Nearby, protruding wires and bolts, there are some parts of an old car, headlamps, a bonnet, a running board, worn red leather seats. I sit down; feet on the engine, watch its oil still spreading on the floor. There's a dashboard, wood veneer, outlined in cream, a radio. Idly I turn the knob, travel the dial and hear silence. Against the end wall are drainpipes of odd sizes like telescopes of different focal lengths, or containers of small black holes; and next to them, stacks of glass, smoky as dusk in the sky or photographic plates of the movement of stars. Their bright dark leaks into the oil and lies in pools of night on the floor and on the ceiling, where it leaks again to outside, into gaps in the lathes and plaster, creeping between the tiles where the ivy pushes through, seaping and rising, becoming the Great Bear or Andromeda, infinity. A new moon leans in the corner, a crack or tear 57 �58 at edge of the wall, pouring light on old newspapers, on pictures of walking figures in bright and ragged clothes, their stories once important, as they pass each other on the pavement, high on the bridge between here and there, above and below, then and now. When I leave, from somewhere across the garden comes a trace of song, and the curling sound weaves like the wind through the holes in the door, follows me as I walk back up the path to the house. Ian Starsmore. 58 �59 Making it Back As we stood , shivering, sweating, full of fight, All the men thinking will we make it back tonight, The sergeant stands behind us, all big and bold, Pistol at the ready in case we fold. The whistle shrieks out like a bird in the night. As we climb the ladders; enemy star Shooting , putting up light Running faster, faster. Men going down both left and right. BANG! As the bullet hit me, I fell screaming to the ground. The men with stretchers came all night. One patted me on the shoulder And said “You’ll be allright.” Ernest Adams 59 �60 The Blitz We sat there through the raid that night, and the Warden cried "Put Out That Light!" The ack ack guns sounded long and loud, But can they really hit Jerry in the cloud? Searchlights criss crossed in the sky, And I heard my young brother start to cry. The bombs came screaming, whistling to the ground. Will we ever forget that awful deafening sound, The sound of horror, the sight of death? We witnessed devastation and held our breath, And as we ran to the shelter weary and tired, Without shame, we admitted we were petrified. To us it all began to seem, that to sleep in a bed Was a bygone dream, For we woke each day feeling tired and sore, After trying to sleep on the shelter floor. Then at last the war came to an end, But we'll continue to pray there'll be no more fighting, No more dying, and no more broken hearts to mend. Instead we'll pray to our dear Lord above, To teach us to keep the peace. Spread our friendship and everlasting love. If the whole world prayed together With all their heart and soul, For peace to reign forever, We may achieve this priceless goal. Pat Harrison 60 �61 A Kosovan Mother. It is the mud That I shall remember. Not the sound of my child Screaming with terror of the unimagined; Not the cold, naked fear in the eyes of my man As he was led away with the rest; Not the cold haunted slit of the mouth Of the young lad with the gun. I may forget the stench of the smoke As my neat home went up in flames; And the jerky, rumbling journey, And the sting of the wind and the silent travellers When dignity and self respect were lost. All this will pass into visiting dreams. But what I will remember is the mud And the hope that was lost; The hope that was buried in the stinking mud That greeted us as we arrived in Macedonia. And some of these are Christians too. Sue Page 61 �62 Geography Lesson. The war was fought inside these heads. Here, propaganda slithered in beside them, figments murdering them in their beds and, safe above the heads, practised planes and plans, far above the heads in which they fought this war and the sounds from them became normal. I recall a pilot, you could see his face, looking from his visor at me digging, in the garden digging, where I found the head of Miss Pepper, ceramic, dimpled, bodyless. Over there are those other heads, faces caught on trees, blown into the ruts of fields, like Miss Pepper, but softer, jawless, and the war was fought inside these heads. Ian Starsmore 62 �63 Business as usual in Dubrovnik (on seeing a photo of Dubrovnik taken in 1993) The Foreign Office travel advice states Croatia is safe; Dubrovnik is not Belgrade. Its people walk in sunshine down crowded marbled streets, stand in doorways, dawdle under shades or stride with purpose home to families and friends, pursuing Wednesday's journey along narrow-gauge gutters, down pavement platforms, moving like shoe-shod engines running on familiar tracks, neither loving nor hating their neighbours. The tenements grand, square-shouldered, wear Greco-Roman smiles, hang round doorways, hover over arches and climb up three flights to pantiled dormered rooves, un-telling Thursday's story of bomb-blast smithered doorways and blasted-open shutters, the spoil of ethnic cleansing, mothers' sons and daughters, smashed or violated, men hating their neighbours. Dubrovnik is not involved in the Kosovon conflict Dubrovnik is not Belgrade -- today. Terry Phillips 63 �64 Author Index Ernest Adams Katie Atkins Sylvia Bailey B. D. Barker Patricia Barnes Rosemary Birks Betty H. Brooks Ruth Charville Joyse Cox Olive Curtis Karen Davies Oscar Denyer Lorna Gray Clare Hannant Pat Harrison Stephanie Harris Dorothy Hindon Guy Jackson D. Jackson Wendy Jackson Jackson Family David Lambert Diane Lambert Lov Lieberman Anthony C. Martin Elsa Munn E. K. Olney Sue Page Terry Phillips Kay Riggs Diane Smith B. Somerville Leonard Spencer-Steed Frank Steed Ian Starsmore Adrien Taylor Mrs. Tebbett’s & Mrs. Crisp’s class Dinah Thompson Rebecca Vick Grania Ward-Brown Sarah Warren Philipa Wilton-Pattison Mrs. Yerby’s class 64 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Publications Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Publications Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Reepham Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 to 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed documents Box *** Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976 to 2014 Reepham Description An account of the resource Reepham Society Publications Text - printed Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Poems from Reepham Description An account of the resource These poems are selected from a large number of poems submitted to a poetry competition which was part of the Reepham Literature Festival in 1999 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1999 Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1707191608 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Reepham Society Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A5 booklet Reepham Society Literature Festival 1999 [File 15, Archive Box 115] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Publications Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Some of these poems have already been published elsewhere, The authors, who have retained copyright, have given us permission to reproduce them here. 1999 Adams Barker Barnes Cox Crisp Curtis Gray Hannant Harrison Lambert Page poem Smith Taylor Thompson https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/378b415af60b8f24b89d2c33b3f62675.pdf a84f456c39ac28a9ecce809f75d2c4ee PDF Text Text A Hero of Crecy? Reepham is one of those parishes, mostly to be found in East Anglia, which has more than one church in its churchyard. Reepham is unique in originally having held three churches in the one churchyard. Anyone who wants to follow up the 'shared churchyard' phenomenon is referred to an unpublished thesis by Nick Groves held in the Centre of East Anglian Studies, University of East Anglia1. This article was intended to be written about the shared churchyard but the subject has been thoroughly explored by Nick Groves in recent years and anything I wrote would be largely based on his work. Reepham is unique in having not just two but three churches in one churchyard. Such sharing has led to legends about shared inheritances and sisters who did not get on but the real reason for the sharing of the churchyard by Whitwell, Hackford and Kerdiston-with-Reepham is buried in the complex development of both lay and clerical aspects of the parishes. In Reepham's case this may be even more complex as it is possible that there were other churches or chapels in one or more of the three parishes. Grove's view is that Reepham's parochial development may be unique. He suggests that the concentration of churches in one churchyard may be the result of the coalescence of four separate parishes once tenurial holdings had become splintered and intercalated. There may, of course, originally have been something very special, perhaps sacred, about the site which focused the spiritual life of the parishes in this way for so long a period of time. Another distinction which St. Mary's church, Reepham, enjoys is the presence on the north side of the chancel of a magnificent decorated Gothic box-tomb, said to be of Sir Roger de Kerdeston who died in 1337. On the floor of the chancel is the brass of his grandson, Sir William (d. 1391). But, is it the tomb of Sir Roger? The identification of the occupant of the tomb seems to have been made some time ago by Blomefield2 or Stothard3 and has been accepted in local literature ever since. Certainly, this is the generally held 1 Anyone wishing to follow up this fascinating topic is recommended to Nick Grave's unpublished thesis; Two Sisters: Two Churches which is held in the department of East Anglian Studies at UEA. 2 Blomefield, F & Parkin, C. An essay towards a topographical history of Norfolk (London: 1805) 3 Stothard,C A. The Monumental Effigies of Great Britain (London: 1817) �belief in Reepham and the information published in the church leaflets despite at least one primary source and three learned secondary sources which suggested a different occupant of the tomb. My attention was drawn to the identity of the occupant of this tomb by a chapter in Curry and Hughes' Arms, Armour and Fortifications of the Hundred Years War4. Kemp's chapter on church monuments of the time reviews the characteristics of monuments of this period and concludes that, judging by both the architectural style of the tomb and the style of armour which the effigy is wearing, the tomb is too late to be the tomb of Sir Roger. Indeed, the year of his death, 1337, was the year when Edward III fully committed himself to the first campaign of the Hundred Years War. Kemp's source for the identification of the box tomb is an article by Martindale (1989)5 which compares three tombs of similar and unique style, the knights lying uncomfortably, with arms and legs crossed, on a bed of stones. He suggests that the model for the tombs may be a classical statue in Rome which was mistakenly thought, throughout the Middle Ages, to represent Mars. Mars would have been seen as an appropriate inspiration for the tombs of heroes of the French Wars such as Sir Oliver Ingham, Seneschal of Gascony, and Sir William de Kerdeston who fought at Crecy in 1346. The third tomb in the group is at Burrough Green, Cambs. and is much more difficult to identify as it has been moved and greatly altered. The Reepham tomb is the best preserved of the three, though the Perpendicular canopy is badly damaged and the tomb is now recessed into the wall. All of these tombs, though displaying quality workmanship, had a considerable degree of painting rather than carving, much of which has now disappeared. The back panel of Sir Oliver's tomb at Ingham has been described by Stothard (1817) as still showing the remains of a hunting scene on the back panel whilst the de Kerdeston tomb still held vestiges of light blue and scarlet paint on the inside of the canopy at the time. Unfortunately, the colouring of the heraldic shields has also disappeared. Other characteristic features of the time which appear on the tomb of this hero, again comparable with features of the Ingham tomb; are the weepers along the side of the tomb chest and the angel high up in the west side, holding a shield, and the elaborate spires of the canopy, now somewhat damaged. Angels began to appear towards the end of the fourteenth century and, in this instance, the angel is intended to represent the transport of the soul of the deceased to heaven. All these monumental details date the tomb to the transitional period between the Decorated and Perpendicular Gothic periods, confirming the suggestion that this tomb is more likely to be that of the Sir William who died in 4 Kemp, B. English Church Monuments during the Period of the Hundred Years War in: Curry, A & Hughes, M (eds) Arms, Armies and Fortifications in the Hundred Years War. (Woodbridge: Boydeil Press 1994). 5 Martindale, A. The Knights and the Bed of Stones: A Learned Confusion of the Fourteenth Century , J. Brit. Arch. Assoc CXLII (1989):64-73 �1361 than the earlier Sir Roger. The final piece of evidence is documentary and much stronger. The Complete Peerage is a gold-mine for anyone wishing to trace old family histories and contains information on the de Kerdeston family for just this period. It should be pointed out that the family owned lands elsewhere, including at Claxton and others brought into the family by marriage. The entry for Sir Roger tells us that he was born circa 1273 and fought in the Scottish wars, being knighted with Edward II after a muster in Berwick (1301). In 1324 he attended the Great Council in Westminster as a Knight of the Shire for Norfolk. He acted as a Commissioner of Array, and in 1331/2 was Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk and Keeper of Norwich Castle and from 1333 was one of the custodians of the coast. (The 'Auld Alliance' was now in existence and there would be enemy ships passing between France and Scotland.) He was summoned once more to attend the King in the north and before his death appears to have been made Lord of Kerdeston. In 1337 he died and, here we have it, was buried in Langley Abbey. The Annals of Langley read as follows: Anno domini mcccxxxvii obiit dominus Rogerus de Kerdeston' miles et sepelitur in ecelesia Abbatie de Langley juxta matrem suam et ex parte australi eiusdem ecclesie. Sir William, his son, was born in 1307 and joined Edward III on both of his early campaigns in France and the Low Countries. He was present at the first battle of the Hundred Years War, the naval clash at Sluys in 1340. Two years later he joined the King's next expedition to France with 10 men-at-arms and 10 archers. In 1346 he fought as a banneret at Crecy and was present at the famous siege of Calais at which Queen Phillipa begged for the lives of the burghers of Calais. William was married three times and died in 1361 leaving no legitimate son. He had a number of children from the three marriages but, strangely, only Maud, born in 1324, was born in wedlock. Maud married John de Burghersh and from hereon the legitimate branch of the family moved to Essex. This appears to be the man who is buried in the elaborate box-tomb in Reepham church. He was certainly a hero of the wars and it appears that Norfolk would be all too aware of the war as demands to support both naval and land forces were made on the county. Norfolk churches contain a number of tombs of the leaders who fought in this early successful stage of the war when some of the battles best known in England were won. These two lords of Kerdeston would be the most likely members of their family to receive a local accolade for their services in the French and Scottish wars and the evidence for Sir William has already been explored. If we accept that the occupant of the box-tomb is Sir William, we then have to identify the knight and his wife represented on the brass in the chancel floor. It is generally accepted at present that the brass is of Sir William de Kerdeston who �inherited the Kerdeston estate from his father despite his illegitimacy. The son of Maud, another John de Burghesh, had been excluded from the Kerdeston lands by his grandfather's will because John had other lands in Essex and Lincoln and his grandfather obviously wished to provide for his other children. John's father died young and he became the King's ward. It was, perhaps, this which led the Burghesh family to continue to claim the Kerdeston lands. They were finally settled on William de Kerdeston's family in 1372. The brass, putatively dated to 1369, possibly belongs to this illegitimate Sir William. Unfortunately, the 'Complete Peerage' gives us very little on his career except for the details of the inheritance dispute which dragged on into the fifteenth century before the lands were finally settled on the de la Pole family. There is also the possibility that the brass may represent John de Burghesh who fought in France though he appears to have been buried at Hatfield Peverel in Essex. So far the evidence points to the box-tomb's occupant being Sir William (d. 1361) but whether the brass is that of the second Sir William has not yet been proven. More research is needed. The complications of inheritance through the female line and of second marriages by widows have confused the picture. The documents in the case, however, show some interesting links with well-known families (see also genealogical table). Maud's granddaughter married Thomas, son of a certain Geoffrey Chaucer. Their child, Alice, married William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk. Once the Poles retained the manor of Kerdeston, their tenant until 1498 was Sir Terry Robsart who had married an Elizabeth Kerdeston, great grandson of the Hero of Crecy. His granddaughter was Amy Robsart. Kerdeston may be a Norfolk backwater now but it was on the edge of great affairs five hundred years ago. Kate Nightingale January 1998 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Publications Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Publications Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Reepham Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 to 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed documents Box *** Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976 to 2014 Reepham Description An account of the resource Reepham Society Publications Text-digital Any text item for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The text can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a text owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Hero of Crecy? Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource January 1998 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1337 - 1498 Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1705061129 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource K Nightingale Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Verbatim CD-R (585) Digital PDF document Local History/K Nightingale [File 10] Description An account of the resource An account of the box tomb located in St Mary's Church, Reepham Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights Reserved Crecy Pre-1500 St Mary's https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/65f2ec7dc4c697bfbdc09ed01bfda374.pdf 3e2b7e915ce83f3cfd99494c61cd0a14 PDF Text Text Reepham Society Fifteen Locals A pub crawl through history by Joyce Cox The Foldgate, Whitwell Common circa 1960 The Kings Arms The Old Brewery House Hotel The Crown �Pub groupings (in census years) determined by reference to entries in Books of Recognisance* < = 1801 1811 1821 1831 Black Lion No change No change No change 1841 1851 1861 1871 PLUS Duke of York Farriers Arms Lamb No change PLUS Crown PLUS Swan 1881 1891 1901 1911 No change No change No change LESS Farriers Arms Lamb Nelson Swan 1921 1931 1951 1961 No change No change LESS Kings Head Star LESS Black Lion Duke of York Greyhound 1971 1981 1991 LESS Foldgate George & Dragon PLUS Old Brewery House Hotel LESS Sun REMAINING Crown Old Brewery House Hotel Foldgate George & Dragon Greyhound Kings Arms Kings Head Nelson Star Sun Kings Arms * “Books of Recognisance” are the official record of licences granted and withdrawn etc (available from 1789). 1 �REEPHAM PUBLIC HOUSES: A SURVEY Please note: in this survey “Reepham” means “Reepham with Kerdiston, Hackford & Whitwell”. These parishes were united in 1935 to form the new parish of Reepham. In 1853 Lord Palmerston wrote “The words ‘licensed to be drunk on the premises’ are by the people interpreted as applicable to the customers as well as the liquor”. (Peter Haydon, The English Pub: A History). Reepham was typical in being almost awash with ale drinkers in the latter half of the nineteenth century when 14 pubs were opening their doors. The Duke of Wellington Beer Act of 1830 had abolished all duty on beer in an effort to reduce gin drinking. Any householder was allowed to sell beer upon purchase of a 2-guinea licence from the Excise, subject to a £20 fine for selling wine and spirits. Illicit alehouses came out of the woodwork and traded legally. In addition to large numbers of thirsty agricultural workers in this area, one of the chief reasons for the downing of so much beer was the building of the two railways by navvies who "dug, blasted and drank their way through the Norfolk countryside.” (See the Reepham Society magazine, “Railway” edition.). One can imagine the popularity of such situation friendly pubs as The Crown and The Star when work began in the late 1870’s. In his book The Railway Navvies, Terry Coleman refers to an average daily consumption of five quarts of ale. Coleman also notes that navvies were paid monthly, usually in a pub and for days afterwards they "drank their pay, and sold their shovels for beer." A different effect of the coming of the railways to this area was the end of the local Bircham Brewery monopoly. (The Brewery, situated on the site of The Old Brewery Hotel, provided beer for 52 pubs.) Fierce competition resulted in its sale by auction in 1879. Drink also flowed freely at the June annual fair and weekly market when visitors from gypsies to businessmen made good use of pubs. Reepham: public houses and male population by census year (Note: no census in 1941) 1200 16 14 1000 12 800 10 Male 600 Population Pubs 8 400 6 200 4 0 2 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2 Population Pubs �The chart shows a comparison between the number of public houses and beer houses in Reepham and the male population at dates of national censuses, 1801 – 1991. (Data provided by the Office of National Censuses.) Local population figures between 1831 and 1881 were higher than at any other time prior to 1981. The small upward movement in population, climaxing in 1881, may be connected with the building of the railways, when four pubs lodged navvies. On the down side three pubs closed in 1909; The Nelson, The Swan and the Farrier's Arms. The previous year had seen a hotly disputed parliamentary act, which proposed halving pub licences in rural areas from 1 per 200 population to 1 per 400. The Bill passed the Commons, which had seen an influx of new Labour MPs including many committed teetotallers, but was rejected by the Lords. Doubtless news of this debate had given publicans much to think about and in some cases they thought it best to close down, particularly as compensation for lost licences had recently been introduced. Other pubs closed in the 1950s when the novelty of television was an inducement to stay at home. By the early 1970s only the Kings Arms, The Crown and The Sun remained. The last named closed in the early 1980s, ten years after the opening of The Old Brewery House Hotel (see last page). BLACK LION (corner of New Road and The Moor) During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Moor was a prosperous commercial area and up to 200 people lived there. Hence it was a good site for a pub. (See Reepham Society magazine Spring 1990 edition). The original The Black Lion was built in 1830 in the grounds of what was later to become Moor House. In 1953 Henry Hawes, whose father Thomas, had been Parish Clerk for 49 years, wrote his recollections of Reepham since 1868. He describes The Black Lion as "a thatch-roofed building with small farm premises, including a barn, stable, piggeries, yard and skittle alley. On the gable was fixed a long board about 9 feet long with a lion painted on it." When Samuel Bircham built the present Moor House, he bought the pub premises, demolished them, and in 1888 funded the building of a new pub on the present site across the road. John Hever & Son built the replacement and had the road moved - hence the name New Road. The then landlord, Henry Mumford, drove passengers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays to Norwich, departing 8am, returning 5pm. The name The Black Lion is said to be a little unusual. There are lots of ‘Red Lions’ but not many Black. Local builder and brick maker, Arthur Collison was landlord at the end of the 19th century. His builder's yard was nearby. The landlord in the 1920s was John Marsh followed by Tom Horne. It closed in 1952 and was bought for residential purposes by Mr. and Mrs. Claxton, on their departure from the Duke of York. CROWN (Station Plain) (See front cover for picture) The Crown originally used only one of the three 19th Century cottages, that nearest to Ollands Road, and incorporated land running down to Mill Road. It later extended into the other two. The 1854 Directory lists as landlord Edward Page who was also a carrier. Only three landlords ran this pub over the next 100 years. It was popular because of its proximity to Reepham Station and the roads leading buyers and sellers from Holt, Cawston, Aylsham and Wood 3 �Dalling to the auctions. Open all day Wednesday business picked up after lunch as return journeys began. The Reepham Society magazine Market Place edition reports "Memories still exist locally of some of the Briston dealers who regularly made their way home in an intoxicated and fighting state and who would stop and have 'one for the road'. Some local businesses were indeed cautious and Hunts Stores on Station Plain would often lock their shop doors until these particular dealers had passed by". Business was brisk attracting customers from the nearby Collison’s brickyard, from the businesses in the Station area and also from the annual fair which after WW2 moved to Crown Meadow until 1980. Mr. and Mrs. Bob Smith (now living in Bawdeswell) took over in the early 1950s when there were bare floorboards, sawdust on the floor and even old unused spit pans. A wall separated the bar from the meeting room and cellar. The present front door led to a sitting room with kitchen behind. There was a men’s outdoor toilet and a stable. In 1978 the stable, which had once brought in an income of 6d a day when a horse was stabled there, was used to fit electric coolers to the beer pumps – a first for Reepham. When the Old Brewery House Hotel opened in 1972 Mrs. Smith provided bed and breakfast for any overflow and also provided hot meals if ordered. In those times pubs usually provided only sandwiches. Another difference was the rarity of women in pubs. For those who did visit The Crown there was a sitting room where drinks could be served. A very popular Summer Darts League, involving 10 teams including those from Coltishall and Buxton led to one of the Smith’s daughters, Sandra (Greatbatch) playing for Wales and twice becoming Ladies’ World Champion. Sandra’s son now plays for England. Then, as now, The Crown benefited the local community, particularly the elderly, in its fund-raising activities, one of which was a swear box- a penny a swear word - which, with annual interest added, earned a tidy sum! Mr. Smith photocopied for me an article from The Sunday Telegraph, 18/06/1978, written by a journalist reporting on the commercialisation of public houses. He referred to an interview with Mr. Smith and the latter’s refusal “to have a juke box” preferring to attract younger customers through his Darts League. Mr Smith was also quoted as saying, “There weren’t such things as Bacardi when I started here 25 years ago. Beer, whisky, gin, brandy, port, sherry, lemonade and ginger beer – that was just about it”. The Smiths left after 28 years. DUKE OF YORK (Church Street) The Duke of York, a Grade II listed building, originating in the 17th century, stands in three parishes, Hackford, Reepham and Whitwell. All the walls were rebuilt in brick when rear extensions were added around 1800. An outbuilding in the yard was once a skittle alley. It was one of several pubs in or near Back Street and Church Street, originally Reepham’s main thoroughfare. Between 1836-54 White’s Directory mentions a Mr. Brett of Back Street as having a beer house. The 1864 Directory lists a Mr. Dyball and from 1868 it was known as Tom Dyball’s Tap. Its classification as a beer house continued i.e. no spirit licence. Tom was one of a family who had a large horse training business in the town. Before the last war, the Trunch brewery owned it. When Trunch closed, Morgan's brewery of Norwich took over. This was their first pub in Reepham. 4 �The landlord from 1916-1933 was Tom Bacon, quite a character, and a publican who never drank beer. As well as having the pub he also farmed a little land and looked after poultry at the sale ground on market days, but his chief job was as night soil collector and dustbin emptier for Hackford parish. Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Claxton took over in 1933 until 1952 when the Claxtons bought The Black Lion on its closure as a pub. Their daughter, Gwen (now Hardesty) has told me how she helped wash the glasses, clean the red brick floor and scrub the bar and cellar. The large grounds, including stables and sheds (see picture), accommodated horses and carts, large lorries during WW2, even tanks, and a local car salesman, while in the Navy, left 6 cars for garaging. (The left-hand picture shows Mr. Claxton (on the right). His brother is standing in the bar entrance.) Nearby billeting in the Town Hall and Moor House brought additional business. Three dances a week were held in Reepham, music provided by locals. The Claxtons also had an evacuee family from London. In 1974 Mrs. Claxton (righthand picture) with her husband and daughter Gwen) organised the repainting and gilding of the Church clock as a memorial to her late husband. The last landlord was James McCarter who was a leader in a move to get the railway from Reepham to Norwich reopened for passengers, unfortunately without success. The pub closed in 1959 and is now known as York House. FARRIERS ARMS (Ollands Road - previously known as Hall Road) Sometimes known as the Three Horseshoes doubtless due to its blacksmith business, the Farriers Arms was classified as a beer house and situated on the site of the present Spar shop. Part of a centuries old timber framed building, some of the walls were of clay. First officially mentioned in 1836 under a Thomas Grand, its tenancy passed, on his death in 1851, to local blacksmith Robert Parker Gooch whose business included the sale of beer. He was also listed as a vet in White's Norfolk directory, kept cows and sold milk. Customers brought their horses for shoeing and drank beer while they waited, a common enough combination at the time. (The National Statistics Office records 2490 blacksmiths in Norfolk in 1851). The pub closed in 1909. The blacksmith's business expanded into agricultural engineering and descended to Mr. Gooch's grandson, Sidney Parker Eglington. In 1931 Messrs. F. Randell Ltd. bought the business. Mr. R. Randell, the last owner of the business assisted in shoeing the last horse in 1962. The business finally closed in 1991. 5 �FOLDGATE (Whitwell Common) (See front cover for picture.) The Foldgate or Falgate, one of the oldest pubs, is listed in the 1836 Directory under a John West, "victualler and shopkeeper." A picturesque thatched house, possibly 16th century, it was even more old-fashioned than The Star. The last tenants were Reepham residents Norman and Joan Egmore. As was common then, when pub tenancies were not profitable concerns, the wife ran the pub and the husband continued with his normal employment. Beer was sold from kegs standing on stools. The ceiling was very low with lots of oak beams, which made things rather difficult for dart players. It had the old settles round the walls, one of which contained a hole into which old George III pennies had to be rolled. Singing just for fun, with no payment involved was very popular. Cycle teams competed on an outside track. With the exception of crisps and later chocolate, which Joan introduced, no food was sold but customers could eat their own sandwiches over a drink. Bottled beer was very popular. Only one bottle of spirit was bought per month. The Foldgate closed in 1969. Joan has provided a detailed account of her 13 years’ tenancy. This account is with the Reepham Society archives. The present owners, Mr. and Mrs. Viall, are making enquiries as to whether they are connected with Samuel and Hannah Viall, listed in the 1845 Directory, who ran the pub for over thirty years. GEORGE AND DRAGON (corner of Church Hill and Norwich Road) The top picture shows the George and Dragon (on the right-hand side of Norwich Road). The original building was replaced in the 19th century. Sidney Eglington, owner of the nearby agricultural business (see Farriers Arms) was a loyal customer. In 1930 Amos Hessman took over from George Goward and his wife. Mr. Hessman had been a farmer but had to give up due to very severe arthritis. He was a member of the Reepham Rifle Corps. The Hessmans stayed until 1949. In June 1950 Reepham held a “shopping week”. The finals of a darts competition that had attracted more than 300 entries, were held here. Miss Reepham and her two attendants presented prizes. Various licensees followed for short periods in the 50's. The George and Dragon closed in 1962 when Athol Davis was licensee. The Reepham Supplement (the Deanery of Sparham magazine) dated October 1974 mentions the death of a Mrs. Wink (nee Dunn) aged 93 who was born in the pub in 1881. The building is now a private house. GREYHOUND (Back Street) Another Grade II listed building The Greyhound has been much altered since its origins in the 17th century. Partitions, screens, doorways and details remain intact. Henry Hawes refers to the landlord Dick Badcock, one of three brothers running Reepham pubs in the 1860s and 70s. Dick was a carrier to Norwich three times a week. His quarters in Norwich were in the Moon and Stars, Duke Street. Starting from Reepham at 8am with two horses and van, he left Norwich at 4.30pm in winter and 5.00pm in summer, calling at Booton, Alderford, Attle6 �bridge, Taverham and Drayton. For the next two decades the landlord, William King, a blacksmith, also ran a forge opposite. He later moved to the Kings Arms. Norwich brewer, Young’s, Crawshay and Young’s bought the pub and adjoining five cottages in 1901, having previously paid an annual rental for the pub and yard. This was the first pub in Reepham to belong to a Norwich brewer. By 1910 large brewers had acquired control of sales in 90% of pubs nationally. Wesley Piercy’s memories are mainly of the Medlers who took over in 1929. Arthur Medler had previously emigrated to Canada, served in the Canadian army in WW1 but returned to England after the war and married. His wife was used to the licensed trade, as her father was landlord of Haveringland's Kings Head. The Medlers left in 1944. Their son, John, visited The Greyhound and related to the present owners, Canon Page and his wife, a very poignant story. When a young lad during the war he was given a half crown on his birthday by an American airman visiting the pub, and promised a proper present the next day. Unfortunately the airman died on his next mission. Writing about The Greyhound in his book about the Reepham Home Guard, Alec Rowe refers to it as being "like the London Windmill Theatre - it never closed." The Home Guard waited there to go on guard duty at 2 or 4am. "Many has been the time when I would have to go and fetch them from the pub to go on guard”. The Greyhound closed in 1956 and is now a private house. KINGS ARMS (Market Place) (See front cover for picture) The listed building description of the Kings Arms, a former Inn, refers to 16th century brickwork and a south service wing of 17th century brickwork with a "flint wall at the centre and incorporating earlier building". This seems to refer to the east gable wall seen in Pudding Pie Alley and the attached south eastern extension. The former stables are 19th century. Many alterations have obscured its original form. On 7 October 1794 the diarist, Parson Woodforde of Weston Longville, attended a confirmation in Reepham after which he and others had planned to dine at the Kings Arms. However, a last minute change of plan resulted in the landlord, Joseph Bell, being compensated with a shilling from each expected guest. Before the courthouse was built next to the Police Station, the Eynesford Petty Sessions were held here on alternate Mondays. (Also mentioned in The Diary of a Country Parson 1758-1802). During the Swing riots in 1830 the Rev. Collyer of Hackford Hall, a parson magistrate, stood at a window and managed to quieten angry labourers gathered outside. It is said that on one occasion the future Edward VII, perhaps on his way to Haveringland Hall from Sandringham, stopped in the Market Place. William Bircham, owner and local brewer, hurried across with a glass of his best beer, called Old Velvet. The Reepham Society magazine Market Place edition quotes Marjorie Gibbs daughter of a local trader and a founder member of the Society, recalling early 20th century memories "At 6am the people living there were often awakened by the arrival of the mail cart and its noisy driver. The cart was like an ordinary heavy trap, with a covered-in portion behind for the bags 7 �of mail, and was red. The horse was given a nosebag while the driver knocked up the postmaster. He came every day including Sunday." The pub hired horses and carts, used by people such as commercial travellers staying there to tour the area. Henry Hawes refers to John Badcock, publican of the Kings Arms in the 1870’s. "He ran a coach and four horses to Norwich, Saturdays only, starting from the Market Place at 9am with Bugle behind, he kept better time than his brother Dick (see The Greyhound) and came home early." Henry Hawes describes an upstairs clubroom "all along the front”. In 1857 the Loyal Eynesford Lodge of Oddfellows was formed and held its monthly meetings there as did the Foresters. In 1882 a dinner was given to celebrate the opening of the railway line. Marjorie Gibbs recalled weekly dancing classes culminating in an annual dance. Wesley Piercy's earliest memory of the Kings Arms is in 1921 when he was invited to a Christmas Party given by the Hubbard family. George Hubbard, the landlord, had three children who were at school with Wesley A small shop was kept underneath the clubroom by various traders. This part of The Kings Arms (now Bonhams) was sold off in the 1970s. There was no front bar, and only one entrance, that in the corner on the left. A Bowling Green was laid in Dereham Road, or Pound Road, as it was then known. It survived for very many years and was well supported by Market Place residents. Wednesdays were busy days for the Kings Arms, which opened all day “for the convenience of persons attending the public market.” The annual Christmas sale and fat stock show ended in a sumptuous dinner for up to 100 in the clubroom sometimes followed by “entertainment with recitals or monologues performed by the more musical or artistic members of the local community.” These dinners ended at the start of WW2. Most of the farmers, butchers and dealers came by horse and cart, parking their carts on the Market Place. The wife of Mr. Devlin, landlord in 1938 and 1939, had achieved some fame in her youth as the author of a book "The Young Visitors" published under her maiden name of Daisy Ashford. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop (see photograph on left) followed until 1948 when on Mr. Bishop's retirement Mr. J. Haggerty, former landlord of The Foldgate, took over. The Haggerty family continued as landlords until 1990. In 1987 the then landlady, Pat Chipperfield, daughter of Mr. Haggerty (see photographs on right) accepted a Reepham Society biennial award "for the successful restoration both internally and externally which had in no way changed the appealing features of the Kings Arms. The financial efforts that the brewery owners had injected into the building and the flowering enhancement that Mrs. Chipperfield had introduced were greatly appreciated." Pat has vividly described to me her long years as landlady, her introduction of home cooked meals, bed and breakfast for local construction builders in the eight large bedrooms and frenzied Wednesday market days. 8 �KINGS HEAD (Booton) Listed as an alehouse in the 1789 Book of Recognisance under a John Bircham, the Kings Head was owned by the brewers Chapman Ives of Coltishall. A Mary Coxford and Francis Bircham occupied the two cottages that in 1900 were developed into one building. By 1832 the cottages had been transferred to local landowner Samuel Sewell; the John Bircham mentioned above still living there. The last landlord was Reginald Gray. His wife Mabel gave hunt dinners and receptions. During WW2 she sold home-baked food to American airmen and RAF personnel stationed at Haveringland. The pub closed towards the end of WW2 and is now a private house. (Photograph, looking towards Reepham from Booton, showing pub sign.) LAMB (Lamb Hill, Hackford Vale) The Lamb on Lamb Hill was a beer house that White's 1836 Directory associates with Mr. John Neale. The 1864, 68 and 76 Directories link it with Mrs. Springall, whom Henry Hawes also mentions as occupier. The 1881 census records The Lamb taking boarders including five navvies. Conveyances in the early 1900’s refer to a “dwelling house formerly a public house”. A cellar complete with delivery hatch to the road, room above with settle bench and serving hatch into the lounge were revealed in redecoration. It closed by 1902 and is now a private house. NELSON (Back Street) A listed early 18th century building, The Nelson in Back Street was originally called The Nelsons Head. An attached blacksmith's shop was later demolished. The original building had a thatched roof and was very old. Henry Hawes remembered it when occupied by landlord Sam Howes in the 1860s and 70s. It was Mr. Hawes who stripped off the thatch, re roofed and tiled it and coloured the walls. The Nelson closed in 1909 and is now in private occupation as two cottages. STAR (Whitwell Street) The Star, once known as The Cock, was very oldfashioned with sand on the floor. There was no bar counter; all drinks had to be brought up from the cellar. It was also well known for selling vinegar. The last landlord, William Morris, had been a "clicker" (he hand-cut shoes) in a Norwich shoe factory. Henry Hawes writes of its Whitsuntide Tuesday sports. Whitwell Street was used for races and a small field belonging to the pub for a ploughing match. The Star closed in 1935 and is now a private house known as The Old Star - but no longer permitted by its deeds to sell vinegar! 9 �SUN (corner of School Road and Market Place) Positioned in the Market Place The Sun, known as an Inn, was an extremely popular venue for traders and sometimes referred to as "the posh pub" popular with drinking schools. The 1854 Directory referred to "The Hero" omnibus leaving for Norwich on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 8am. Carts were hired in pre-railway days. Wesley's great grandfather, James Piercy, after working on a farm as a horseman and later as a steward ended his working life as ostler at The Sun. Among his duties was driving young Sam Eglington (son of a local landowner and businessman) to school in Norwich. Mr. Eglington, then over eighty related this to Wesley in 1950. Marjorie Gibbs wrote, "My very early recollection of the Sun Inn ...was of 'Charlie Colling', the dog, so named because Mr. Colling was the landlord. I think someone else followed him for a short time, but then came Mr. and Mrs. Fred Watson (see picture above taken 1920) and they were landlords there for a number of years. Mr. Watson was a most efficient painter and decorator and worked for Mr. John Wright who lived in Norwich Road. Mr. Watson continued with his work for some years but later gave it up to work entirely in The Sun. Mrs. Watson was a woman of great character, and very much respected by all her customers. She was a kind, motherly soul and during the War(WW1) was known to the forces as "ma". She was extremely good to all service men, whether Army, Navy or Air Force, especially if they were home sick or lonely." Extensive alterations were made in the 1920s or early 30s, including the demolition of the old stables. New ones were built opposite on School Road, but due to the advent of cars, not used for long. The stables were converted to a hall, which was used for functions where various organisations such as The Bowls Club and the Fire Brigade held their excellent annual dinners, catered for by Violet Watson. Violet and her husband Clifford, son of Frank, took over in 1922 and were landlords until Violet’s death in 1964. Irelands the auctioneers favoured The Sun. They had purchased the orchard in Station Road from William Bircham who owned the Reepham Brewery (now the Old Brewery House Hotel). This site became the Reepham Auction Market (or Stock Market) finally closing in 1972. In 1924 permission was granted to sell intoxicating liquors between 2.30-5pm on Wednesdays. This was for the benefit of those involved in cattle market trading. A board had to be displayed on the outside of the premises indicating this particular licence. During WW2 The Sun was popular with American servicemen stationed at Whitwell Hall and nearby airfields People who remember the Watsons describe them as “perfect landlords”. Ben Stimpson affectionately referred to Violet as a “disciplinarian”. She was captain of the Reepham Women’s Bowls Club which played on The Sun bowling green next to the Sun Hall. Four of its players represented Norfolk. The photograph shows Violet holding the runners up trophy in the ladies National English Bowls Association final, the first time a national trophy had come to Norfolk. The green now belongs to the Reepham Society, in use by Reepham Bowls Club. 10 �At the beginning of the 1980s Watneys decided to close down either The Crown or The Sun. The closure of the weekly cattle market in 1972 had reduced trade and as then tenants Mr. and Mrs. Barnes wished to retire the choice was easily made. SWAN (Corner of Dereham Road and Smuggler's Lane) Records of The Swan, a beer house, are few. The 1868 Directory links it with a Henry Russell, watchmaker, whom Henry Hawes also mentions as occupier at that time. The Swan closed in 1909 when the licensee, Arthur Palmer, forfeited his licence. The owner at that time was a Mrs. Robert George of Bawdeswell who also owned other property in Reepham. Her daughter Kathleen married Sam Eglington in 1925. It is now a private house, known as Cob House. Recent redecoration by present owners Mr. and Mrs. Clive Elgar has revealed a bar with hooks above used for the hanging of glasses, also a staircase leading to what would have been the cellar for storage of beer barrels. THE OLD BREWERY HOUSE HOTEL (Market Place) (See front cover for picture) The Old Brewery House hotel is included in this report for completeness although, because its establishment as a public house / hotel was comparatively recent, it has not been researched. The following is derived from the hotel’s own literature. The listed Georgian building was built in 1729 and originally named the "Dial House" because of a large sun dial over the front door. This can be seen as a white square in the photograph on the front cover. In 1972 the house was converted to a commercial hotel and renamed The Old Brewery House Hotel to recognise its previous rôle as residence of the Bircham family that, for generations, had run a brewery in Reepham, and because one of the hotel's principal rooms used to be the brewery. Acknowledgements My thanks to Wesley Piercy for his invaluable help and to Ralph Cox for technical advice. Also to several local residents for their time, friendly co-operation and use of photographs. Published by the Reepham Society, charity number 270398 Printed by DoorStep Print (Hellesdon) telephone 01603 402310 Copyright Joyce Cox 2001 ISBN 0-9539858-1-4 See map on back cover for sites of pubs. 11 �Index 1 Black Lion 4 Farriers Arms 7 Greyhound 10 Lamb 13 Sun 2 Crown 5 Foldgate 8 Kings Arms 11 Nelson 14 Swan 3 Duke of York 6 George & Dragon 9 Kings Head 12 Star 15 Old Brewery House Hotel � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Publications Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Publications Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Reepham Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 to 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed documents Box *** Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976 to 2014 Reepham Description An account of the resource Reepham Society Publications Text - printed Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Fifteen Locals Description An account of the resource A pub crawl through history by Joyce Cox describing Reepham public houses. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 2001 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1801-1991 Reepham, Whitwell Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1703171307 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Joyce Cox Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 13pp A4 Box 51 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society RS Database 691 & 430 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Joyce Cox 2001 Black Lion Crown Inn Dial House Duke of York Farriers Arms Fifteen Locals Foldgate George & Dragon Greyhound Kings Arms Lamb Inn Nelson public house Star Sun Inn Swan https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/5c9dd8b3a3c39a8749e92be65cad3ca5.pdf 53ba0511a70cfa6d6cb7f3194b507225 PDF Text Text My Town Essays on the History of Reepham by Wesley Piercy �Thomas Piercy, to whom this bill is made out, was Wesley’s grandfather. S & SW Leeds later became E Gibbs & Son. ��MY TOWN A Compilation of Writings by Wesley Piercy Born 25 February 1917 Compiler’s Preface I met Wesley shortly after moving to Reepham in 1994 when I attended Reepham Society meetings and courses run by the WEA (Workers’ Educational Association). I quickly recognised how much lecturers on local history appreciated Wesley’s vast knowledge. The Piercy family can be traced back in Reepham to the first part of the eighteenth century. Wesley has had no wish to live anywhere else and apart from his war service has lived here all his life. An account of his war experiences is included in the BBC2 People’s War Website under parts 1-4, A Baker at War. A devout Methodist, Wesley has also written and had published The Story of the Reepham Methodist Chapel 18171992. During the 1970’s a group of historians and archaeologists interested in Reepham’s history, ran a number of Workers’ Educational Association courses in the town. Wesley readily acknowledges the inspiration of lecturers David Yaxley, Chris Barringer and Richard Joby. Subsequently Wesley passed on his researches into the town’s history to local organisations, including The Reepham Society. Some of those talks are included in this publication. Wesley met his wife Olive during a Conference at Pakefield. As part of the programme they both chose to visit Norwich Cathedral. Their house, in which Wesley has lived for over fifty years, resembles a museum; packed to the gills with books, reference material, photos and local objects. I had known Wesley, a very modest man, for eleven years before accidentally seeing a letter from British Mensa Ltd. notifying him that his score of 157 was “higher than would be achieved on this test by 98/99 per cent of the population”. His comment was “I just took the test for a bit of fun”. Wesley has always answered any questions posed by Kate Nightingale and me during our researches into Reepham’s past. I know the Reepham Society takes great pleasure in publishing this compilation of memories of his beloved town. Although there have been some changes within Reepham since these articles were written, readers will follow the routes with little difficulty. My thanks to my husband, Ralph and to Chris Peakome for their assistance in matters technical and photographic respectively. Joyce Cox ISBN 0-9539858-4-9 Published on 25 February 2007 by The Reepham Society Registered Charity No: 270398 �THE TOWN OF REEPHAM REEPHAM, NORFOLK (D.B.Refham, 1203 Cur. 1254 Norwich Valuations.) Manor held or run by a Reeve. (O.E. gerefa.) The Old English form must have been (ge) refham analogous to O.E. gerefaern "courthouse" gerefmaed "meadow under the supervision of a reeve" [Dictionary of English Place Names. Ekwall] Reepham is a small market town that lies in what used to be four separate parishes, Reepham St. Mary, Kerdiston, Hackford and Whitwell. The town itself is mainly in Hackford parish, that is to say the market place and its immediate surroundings. Being small, strangers often allude to Reepham as a village but size is really nothing to do with it. The Lord of the Manor of Hackford obtained a charter to hold a weekly market and annual fair in the fifth year of Edward I, 1276-7, making Reepham one of the oldest market towns in Norfolk. It also appears that there had been a market held here even before the charter was obtained. It may also be pointed out that Reepham looks like a town, with its large market place and its huddled houses. Reepham, it seems, has always been the centre of a district. It is said that the hundred court was held here in the old days, and the Eynsford Petty sessions were held here. Eynsford, the name of the hundred is supposed to get its name from the ford near Booton bridge. The Hundred was a division of the county dating from Anglo-Saxon times. Booton Beck of course is otherwise known as the Eyne. Foulsham, also in the Eynsford Hundred, was once a market town and the petty sessions were held there alternately with Reepham, but Reepham was always the more important. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Reepham was an industrial as well as a market town. There was a large brewery and two large tanneries in Whitwell. There was also a horse-training establishment. Beside all the usual trades, there were blacksmiths, tailors, harness makers, shoemakers, cabinet makers, wagon builders and many more. There were butchers, bakers, grocers, ironmongers, basket makers and chemists; in fact everything that people needed could be obtained here. Reepham also had thirteen public houses. Perhaps the chief thing about Reepham as far as the surrounding area was concerned was the cattle market that was held on Wednesdays. It was the only cattle market in this part of Norfolk; there were several that sold pigs and poultry but not so many for cattle. Wednesday was the day when the usually quiet town became a busy and crowded place. There were herds of cattle driven through the streets, the pubs and shops would all be busy, (pubs were open all day). In the 1920’s all the farmers and dealers used to come by horse and cart, and the stables of the pubs would all be full with their horses. The farmers’ wives would come with their husbands to shop and sell their eggs and butter. Reepham Fair was held on the 29 th and 30th June. It was originally for horses but by the 1920’s it was just an amusement fair with roundabouts etc. The market place would be full and sometimes there was an overflow on Ireland’s meadow (by the Chapel). Before the District Council took over the market place they were not strictly limited to the actual fair days. Afterwards they were not allowed to overstay so they had no time for setting up and taking down and the fair died out. Before the 1950’s the population of Reepham was much smaller than it had been a century earlier when the brewery and tanneries were going strong. Also the numbers employed in other trades had declined. Further decline came when the cattle market closed. This decline halted when piped water and sewage were provided. A spate of house building began that attracted retired people from London and elsewhere, houses here being cheap compared with London. Reepham became almost a dormitory for Norwich. Unfortunately this did not lead to any more employment in Reepham and made little increase in trade as many of the new inhabitants shopped in Norwich. We thus have the larger population at the same time as shops were getting fewer. Reepham has still not been able to attract any industry to the town and when firms have made enquiries there have been objections from the newcomers. On the whole the increased population has not been of any benefit to Reepham. The inflated prices of houses make it very difficult for local people to buy, and the low wages in Norfolk do not allow them to compete with buyers from the south. Housing for rent was almost non-existent. At the same time all the available building land has been taken up by the developers and any plot that may become available makes the price out of the range of most locals. It appears now that incomers outnumber the natives, completely changing the character of the town. The population is probably double what it was in the 1920’s but while the population has been growing the local amenities have been going. We had two railway stations, now there are none. We had a resident registrar of births and deaths, now we have to go elsewhere. We also had a police station and police court. �The decline in amenities also applies to shops. In the nineteen twenties there were no fewer than seven grocery shops. Three of these were in the market place, one of them being also a drapery. There was one in Back Street, one on Towns End Corner, which later moved to Station Road, one at Station Plain that was also a pork butcher and general store and one at The Moor. There were three bakers, one in the Market place, one in Church Street and one in Back Street. There were three butchers, each of whom slaughtered their own meat, not mere retailers of meat as there are today. There were three shoe shops and three tailors, a pharmacy and a druggist and two watchmakers, a newsagent, stationer, confectioners, tobacconists and nine public houses. However, in spite of all this, and being called a dying town in the fifties, Reepham is not dead yet. REEPHAM MARKET PLACE AND TRADE - 1920-39 Supersript numbers in the text refer to the map inside the back cover The North Side Starting from Town’s End Corner E. Gibbs & Son’s Ironmongers and Seed Merchants 1 business was founded in the eighteenth century and the shop appeared to have altered little since. My grandfather Thomas Piercy worked there for Stephen Leeds before Mr. Gibbs’ time and stayed with Mr. Gibbs almost until his death in 1930, over thirty years. I remember going with my grandfather on Gibbs’ horse and cart delivering iron bars to blacksmiths in the surrounding villages, particularly Lyng and Sparham. That was about 1922. Lyng Bridge had not then been built and going through the ford was a thrill for a small boy. I also recollect going to Weston House and Heydon Hall, I think delivering paraffin. The shop and premises were fascinating to a youngster with all the funny little places, mysterious stairs and cellars etc. The seed room where grass and clover seeds were mixed for hay was an interesting place too. Mr. Gibbs and family attended the Wesleyan Chapel where Mr. E. Gibbs jun. was organist. The cottage next door2 was occupied by Mr. Lee Hall who worked for Purdy and Holley, solicitors. He was also secretary of the Eynsford Lodge of the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Odd Fellows, who met in the King’s Arms clubroom. The house was later occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Claxton and became the telephone exchange. The opening next to this was known as Hall’s Yard. 3 Next to this was D’Arcy Collyer’s office, 4 (later Purdy and Holley). Alongside was E. Jewell’s druggist’s shop. 5 Mr. Jewell I believe was a Reepham native who left as a young man to join the Royal Navy and returned in the early 1920’s. He had one daughter whose name was Bessie. He later moved across to Ivy House, which had been the telephone exchange. Round the corner facing east was Barclay’s Bank. 6 Mr. H.T. Owen was manager with a staff of two. Mr. and Mrs. G. Bunnet were caretakers living on the premises. Their living room was in the basement and their bedrooms on the top floor. I remember visiting them in the basement as a child. Mrs. Bunnet was a cousin of my grandfather. Next was a private house,7 occupied by Mr. John Hall the harness maker after he retired. He had a housekeeper, Miss Gurney. Next was the harness maker’s shop 8 which Bert Hall took over when his father retired. He lived over the shop. The workshop was at the back. A selection of items of harness was displayed outside. At harvest time repairing binder canvasses was the main task. Next George Fisher’s, Grocer and Draper, quite a large shop 9 with the grocery counter on the right as you went in and the drapery on the left. The shelves behind the drapery counter were packed with bolts of cloth; calico, flannelette etc. also some ready made clothing. On the grocery side items such as sugar, rice, currants, etc. were loose in drawers and had to be wrapped for the customers. Very little pre-packed groceries in those days. My mother served an apprenticeship of two years (without pay) learning the drapery business in the early 1900’s. She returned during the first world war to take over the grocery counter when the men were called up. Mr. Fisher was a talented musician, choirmaster and organist at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. The organ was formerly in a side chapel of St. Nicholas Church, Great Yarmouth. Mr. Fisher went to Yarmouth, dismantled the organ, had it brought to Reepham where he reassembled it. He was a member of the Black Diamonds concert party who performed for charity. Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Sidney Eglington were also members. Mr. Fisher was Captain of the Reepham Volunteer Fire Brigade. He had a pony and cart for delivering groceries to Kerdiston, Themelthorpe etc. This was driven by Mr. Alfred “Bantling” Coe; a retired farm worker who suffered from rheumatism and was unable to do heavy work. One day he was thrown out of the cart and killed, unable to save himself because of his disability. Soon after this tragedy, which upset �Mr. Fisher, he sold the business to Dent of Cawston who put in a manager. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher retired to Barnham Broom where their son Reg had a shop. Harry Swoish’s barber shop10 was next, where a haircut cost 6d for a man and 4d for a boy. Mr. Swoish was a former regular soldier in the Norfolk Regiment and had many good tales to tell of his experiences in India before 1914 and Mesopotamia during the first world war. I once heard him say that his name was Swedish in origin. About 1930 ladies hairdressing was a new thing in the district and Harry decided to open a ladies salon in the room over his shop. He employed a young lady from Lowestoft, Miss Patricia Manby. After she left to be married, Miss Molly Amis from Cromer took her place. Both of these ladies lodged with my grandmother at The Hill. Mr. Swoish at first was a sub-tenant of Mr. E. R. Kiddell, a carpenter and wheelwright who lived in a house behind the shop in what used to be called Dyball’s Yard. When Mr. Kiddell died Mr. Swoish took over the house. All this block of property belonged to Mrs. Kate Eglington of Bawdeswell and included Fishers, Swoish’s, outbuildings including a barn (now demolished), another house, an orchard and garden. Next is the yard 11 to Brewery House with its ornamental well top. This is not a former public water supply as some have supposed but the source of water from which the famous Bircham’s beer was brewed. The cover was made by Henry Hawes from oak taken from the windmill at Booton, by order of Samuel Bircham Esq. Brewery House was the home of Mrs. Nan Bircham and family. Mrs. Bircham was a kind-hearted lady who helped many who were in need. The younger son, Michael, was a member of Norwich Aero Club and one time used to fly over Reepham doing all sorts of dangerous looking stunts and frightening all the old ladies. I believe he was asked to stop it and he did. The next house12 was occupied by Mrs. Knights and her son Jack and later by Mr. and Mrs. Dick Ford. Ford’s bakery13 was next. Mrs. Ford senior was a native but Mr. Ford, I believe, came from Somerset. On Wednesdays (Market day) they did teas. The Fords were often delivering late at night after people were in bed. The bread was sometimes left in peculiar places. Dick and Walter Ford were both bell ringers at St. Michael’s. Next to Ford’s yard was George Cocking, shoemaker’s shop. 14 Mr. Cocking came to Reepham in the early 1920’s, taking over the business of Mr. Allen. He employed one or two men and a girl to serve in the shop. Mr. Cocking, a small man, played the double bass in the Reepham String Orchestra. He was also a member of Reepham Town Band, and retained an interest all his life. These premises were once a tallow chandler’s, that is a maker of candles. The proprietor was Mr. St. John, hence the name of St. John’s Alley. I have forgotten who lived in the next house. The house 16 beyond St. John’s Alley was occupied by William Bishop, watchmaker. Next17 was Mrs. B.M. Miller, newsagent and stationer. Mr. Miller who was in poor health, had a photographic studio behind the shop. I remember as a small boy being taken there to have a photo taken with my mother. I believe Mr. Miller took some of the postcard views of Reepham which are eagerly sought after today. Next was a house where Mr. Bishop lived before moving to that mentioned. The corner shop,18 now the Post Office, was occupied by A V King, tailor. Mr. King was a son of a former landlord of the King’s Arms, his wife a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cornell, the last master and mistress of St. Mary’s school. Mr. King died quite young and Mrs. King carried on the business as an outfitters. They had two sons, William and Trevor; contemporaries of mine. Both were in the forces in the 1939 war. William took Mrs. Miller’s business after the war and died a few years later. Trevor’s name is on the war memorial in Reepham church. He died while serving in the Middle East. The South Side of the Market Place Opposite the Post Office was20 grocer and wine and spirit merchant L R Riches, reckoned to be Reepham’s high class grocer. He had two sons and one daughter. Sidney Whyer, a one legged man, worked for him for many years. Next to Riches’ yard was the entrance to the Gospel Hall, meeting place of the Plymouth Brethren, a room which was part of the premises belonging to the grocers shop next door. This shop 21 had earlier been occupied by Mr. H. Peck who was followed by Reeve and then Stangroom (or vice versa). About 1923 Mr. Percy Hilton took it. This was another good business, employing two or three assistants besides Mr. and Mrs. Hilton. They had one son Kenneth. Mr. Arthur Hardiment was an assistant with Mr. Hilton and took over the business when the Hiltons moved away. �Next the Bircham Institute, 22 where Mr. James Piercy and his wife were caretakers. Mr. Piercy, a retired policeman, was a distant relation of my grandfather. They had two daughters, Edith, who had a small lock up tobacconist and sweet shop in School Road. She married Arthur Hunt. The other daughter, Evelyn married Bert Hall the harness maker. After the Piercys retired to The Ark in Park Lane, their place was taken by Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Fuller. Mr. Fuller was a lorry driver with Stimpson & Son of Reepham Station. Past Pudding Pie Alley to the King’s Arms 23 whose landlord, Mr. George Hubbard, did a good trade, especially on Market Days when the stables would be full of farmers’ horses. Some of those attending the Market would lunch there, I think having ordered in advance. It was also a place where commercial travellers could put up. Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard had a son Ted and daughters Doris and Edna, all of whom were at school with me. The Hubbards left about 1932, and the pub was taken over by Mr. and Mrs. W. Devlin. Mrs. Devlin was otherwise known as Daisy Ashford, who, as a girl wrote the children’s book “The Young Visiters”. In 1939 the tenancy was taken by Mr. Monty Bishop. The little shop24 next to the King’s Arms yard was occupied by Tom Coe, shoemaker. When he died his widow still sold boots and shoes. Next to this a door opened on to a staircase which led to the clubroom where the Odd Fellows held their meetings and here I was initiated as a member with due ceremony in 1933. The next building25 was occupied by the Misses Boon. Miss Ethel Boon was a teacher at Hackford and Whitwell School. Later it was used by a dentist who attended on certain days. Mrs. Bishop, wife of the watchmaker was the receptionist. Next a butchers shop26 which Mr. W. Utting took over from Mr. Watts Austin about 1923. Mr. Utting bought his bullocks and pigs at Reepham cattle market and with other local butchers slaughtered them himself in the slaughter house on Station Road, opposite the Methodist Chapel. His slaughter man was Mr. Albert Fowle. Next the Post Office,27 Postmaster Mr. D.K. Chapman who lived over the shop with his two sisters, Olive and Hilary. Miss Hilary Chapman had a wool shop at one time in the part of Gibbs’ premises which is now Ewing’s office. Mr. Chapman sold stationery, sweets, tobacco etc. in the Post Office. He was clerk to the Parish Council, prominent churchman and choir member, Scoutmaster, (to see him in shorts was a sight never to be forgotten), reporter for the local newspapers and Chairman of the Reepham and District Football League and a patriotic Reephamite. I used to clean his windows and brass on Saturdays for sixpence. Ivy House28 next door, held the Telephone Exchange, run by Mrs. Wilton. This was later moved over the way when Mr. Jewell moved his shop from the Bank. Finally the Sun Inn,29 run by Clifford Watson with his wife Violet. This pub, like others in Reepham, did a good trade on Market days when they were allowed to stay open all day. The Sun was altered extensively in the 1920’s by Collison Bros. The Market Place Itself Having travelled all round the Market Place, let us have a look at the place itself. In the 1920’s it just had a rough gravel surface; no defined roadway, just an open space. All week except Wednesdays it would be empty, not cluttered with cars as it is today. On Wednesday it would be full, including Sainsbury’s van taking eggs which people brought in, Cannel’s seed van and various odd stalls. The rest of the space was taken up by farmers’ carts. In the summer there was Peruzzi’s ice cream van, drawn by a piebald pony. Sometimes there were stalls on a Saturday night and cheap jacks would sometimes appear. J. Wyer from Back Street sold ice cream and at one time a man named Dick Woods sold hot peas. Sometimes politicians held meetings on the Market and sometimes evangelists came to convert the Reepham heathens. Every Saturday night the Salvation Army would gather there to hold a service. There were always plenty of shoppers about, the shops stayed open till about 9.30pm. There were always plenty of people in the pubs too, Wednesdays when they were open all day and Saturday night. The rest of the week was quiet, this also applied to the shops. �Once a year the Market Place took on a different aspect; this was the time of the annual fair. In the year 1277 the Lord of the Manor of Hackford was granted a charter by King Edward 1 to hold a weekly market and an annual fair to be held on “The eve day and morrow of SS Peter and Paul”. That was the 29 th and 30th of June and the 1st of July. Later this was reduced to two days. It was originally a stock fair but by the 1920’s it had become merely a fun fair. The Market Place would be full of roundabouts and such like with coconut shies and all the fun of the fair. The people living nearby were not very happy with the noise but the shopkeepers did not complain too much; they did quite well out of the fair people. There were several different showmen who used to come to Reepham including K. Gray and Stocks, but the one mainly associated with Reepham Fair was Underwood, better known as “Rhubarb”. I remember old Mr. Underwood coming to the school when the fair was set up to invite all the school to a free ride on the swinging boats. The fair stopped coming on to the Market after the Council took it over and it was covered in tarmacadam. They went either on to Ireland’s field, near the Chapel, or to the Crown meadow, now they do not come at all. Beyond the Market Place, Church Hill and Norwich Road The trade of Reepham was not all situated in the Market Place. There were more shops etc. in Norwich Road and Back Street than there are today. Continuing along Church Hill where we left off at Kings, the tailor, we come to two thatched houses; 30 one of these was occupied by the Salvation Army Officers, the other by a Police Constable, who afterwards lived in a Council House in New Road. The house on the corner of Ollands Road31 was a butcher’s shop; first John Rump and then Hubert Pratt. The present Spar shop opposite, previously Randell’s, we will leave for the moment till we come to look at Ollands Road. The present Echo Antiques, previously Spar shop32 was a bakers, William Overton, followed by Mills then Barrow and eventually Sidney Morley. Next door33 was S P Eglington’s ironmonger’s shop, later Randell’s. Next was a house34 with the name Frankland over the door; formerly the home of John Frankland, tinsmith whose daughter married Mr. S. P. Eglington and the two businesses merged. At this time the house was occupied by the Alcock family. Next was the George and Dragon, 35 licensee George Goward, later Amos Hessman. The building36 next to the George Yard was part of an old maltings. It was made into a garage where cars could be kept. It belonged to the pub. Next to this on the maltings site was a beautiful garden belonging to Jesse Bircham who had the pharmacy opposite. 37 This was an old established business founded by Thomas Staples, Mr. Bircham’s grandfather, in the early 1800’s. When Jesse took the shop after his mother he had it fitted out with mahogany counter and fittings in the traditional chemist shop fashion. Later vandals ripped it all out and turned the shop into a garage. After Jesse Bircham died (he was not connected with the brewery family in any way), his business was taken by Mr. James and later by John Freeman. The shop, now Virginia’s Workbox,38 was J. White, harness maker, who then lived in the house attached. He later moved to Cawston but kept on in Reepham by building a wooden shop on what had been Jesse Bircham’s garden opposite and he attended on certain days. The Bays, 39 was home to the Storey family. Mr. George Storey, a painter and decorator took over the business of his father-in-law, John Wright. His paint store was in the top storey of the building next to the road and the ground floor was a butcher’s shop, proprietor W.E. Spriggs. When Mr. White went to Cawston Mr. Spriggs moved over the road into his shop. Walter Spriggs was a bachelor and did not live at the shop. The house 40 was let to a Mrs. Harvey. The Storeys moved away to London and that house eventually was taken by the Allen family who had a coach business and ran services to Norwich. Next to Mrs. Harvey’s house was Beavers. 41 This had once been a grocery shop but then Mr. A. G. Beaver used it as an office for various posts which included being Clerk to Reepham Parish Council. Mr. Beaver was a former nonconformist minister; his son, Heslop Beaver was for a time a partner to S. P. Eglington, his cousin. Next door was Mr. James Gray’s shoemaker shop; 42 the mock Tudor shop front was put on in his time I believe, also the false beams on the gable. Mrs. Gray who was another daughter of John Wright, died and the family moved away. The shop was later taken as a sweet and tobacconist shop by Mrs. G. Frankland. The house at the end, 44 which had been the Salvation Army headquarters, was occupied by Mr. Tom Coe, who had a shoemaker’s shop in the Market Place (see above). The iron gates next to this house were the entrance to another house, "Sunnyside" now demolished. Here lived Mr. and Mrs S. Fenn. Beyond this was the barn and other farm buildings belonging to Reepham Rectory. These were let to Mr. Ambrose Frankland, but were later sold to Mr. J. Wyer, the man who sold ice cream (see above). St. Mary’s School was formerly the school for the parishes of Reepham and Kerdiston but was closed about 1920. It was later used for woodwork and cookery classes for children from other schools. Opposite were two houses belonging to The Ollands, occupied by gardeners. These were demolished to make way for Bircham Road. Next to the school was the cemetery for Reepham and Kerdiston which is now a nature garden. A little further along is the White House, this had been a doctor’s house for many years. It was �occupied at this time by Dr. Berry, assistant to Dr. Perry. After Dr. Berry died it was occupied by a succession of doctors, none of whom stayed long. (I should have mentioned that Dr. Berry was later partner to Dr. M. H. Cane, Dr. Perry’s successor). The last doctor here before the war was Dr. C. Burgess. School Road School Road in those days was more often called Whitwell Road or Sun Barn Road. We start at the building50 where the DIY and Mr. Leslie’s hairdressing salon is now. This is a new building very recently erected. Here Mr. and Mrs. F. Gibbs had a shop. Mr. Gibbs was an engineer who had contracted TB in the Far East. He did watch repairing, electrical work and when broadcasting began he also went into the wireless business. Mrs. Gibbs sold sweets and tobacco. They lived in the house adjoining 51 which is still standing at the moment. After the death of Mr. Gibbs his wife had the old shop demolished and a new one built with plate glass windows in which she sold ladies’ clothes. Standing where it did, the shop windows were broken more than once by vehicles crashing into them; on one occasion even a horse and cart. Mrs. Gibbs remarried, becoming Mrs. Clarke. The little shop next to the house was at one time a fish and chip shop. Later Mr. Gibbs used it as his wireless shop. Later still it was C. Plume’s barber’s shop. The land next to this belonged to the Sun Inn. There was the bowling green 69 (still there), a wooden building, originally stables, later converted into the Sun Hall, which was used for functions such as dinners. The rest was garden. Across the road, in another part of the old maltings, was John Walker’s upholstery shop. This later became a fish and chip ship run by Mrs. W. Reeve. Reepham had two fish and chip shops for many years, and no one complained of the smell as some of the present residents do. Next was a small lock-up shop where Miss Edith Piercy sold tobacco and sweets. Next Sun Barn Yard and then the Methodist Hall, which was used by the Band of Hope, which I have mentioned elsewhere. Then came John White’s garage, of which S. E. Abbs was manager. This was later taken over by Messrs. Massy and Bridges, Mr. Abbs setting up for himself on the opposite side of the road. Next to the garage were the barn and other buildings belonging to Sun Barn Farm, farmed by Mr. Walter Sharpin. It was later acquired by Sewell Eglington, who added it to his other farm, The Oaks. This farm at one time belonged to the Bircham brewery family. The barn was too large for the amount of land that went with it at this time so it may be assumed that there had once been more. In Arthur Young’s “General View of the Agriculture of the County of Norfolk”, published 1804, Mr. Bircham of Hackford is reported as farming 840 acres, which may explain the barn. The barn was demolished to make way for yet more houses, a piece of historic Reepham townscape disappearing without a protest being heard from conservationists. Opposite to the barn was Sun Barn Pit, (pond if you are not Norfolk.) This was filled in some years ago. Next to the barn is the back way to The Oaks, and next to this was a brick wall and then a row of stables; used by the baker in Back Street. The field opposite, now a Council estate, was called Sun Barn Close or nine acres. We have now covered the main business areas of Reepham. It just remains to cover those that were scattered over the rest of the town. In Station Road was Mrs. Ada Frost’s shop, built in 1935. On Station Plain was Philip Hunt’s General Supply Stores, which was a laundry before Mr. Hunt opened about 1920. He had previously had a shop at The Moor, which was taken by Mr. John Andrews. There is now no shop at The Moor. At Reepham Station the granaries and coal yard were occupied by Messrs. Stimpson & Hurn and by R. Coller & sons. Both of these firms were corn and coal merchants. On Cawston Road was Collison Bros. Brickyard and their other premises were at The Moor. I have not mentioned Dereham Road in this. It ought to be included. On Towns End Corner was Mrs. Frost’s grocery shop45 and Mr. Frost’s bicycle business; he also had two petrol pumps and owned a charabanc called The Lollipop. Later Mr. and Mrs. Frost parted. He went away and she had a new shop built on Station Road. The next building46 was built by Mr. Frost and was let to Norwich Corporation Electricity Department as shop and office. Opposite was W. E. Pask, tailor. Mr. Pask employed two men as tailors and was also assisted by his two youngest daughters. I think I have now gone through all the businesses but we will just keep going up Dereham Road. The house next to the electricity shop 47 was then called Bevan House, and was the residence of Mr. A. Smith, Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages and Relieving Officer. It is a strange thing that with a lot more houses and population we now have to go outside Reepham for a Registrar. It seems the more the place expands the more amenities are lost. The Laurels 48 next door was first the home of Mr. H. Hawes and then Mr. E. Gibbs and the next house was occupied by Mr. Gilbert Jeary, a porter at Reepham Station, and his wife. �The Primitive Methodist Chapel49 was closed at Methodist Union and became the Fire Station. Next Dr. Perry’s house, He was the local practitioner for a great many years and a Reepham benefactor. His father had been doctor here before him. In the next house lived Mr. and Mrs. William Pitcher, former master and mistress of Hackford and Whitwell School. They later moved to The Bays on Norwich Road after the Storeys went away and before the Allens had it. The next house, on the corner of Smuggler’s Lane, was the former Swan public house occupied by Mr. Williams, Excise Officer, another thing we do not have here any more. Over the road was the old Police Station, built in the 1850’s and demolished 100 years later. This was on the site of Hackford pound. The buildings at the top of Lamb Hill were hired by Tom Bacon (see above). Spriggs the butcher had a slaughter house here. At Hackford Vale lived Mr. Walter Reeve who ran a passenger and carrier service to Norwich via Horsford. Mention should also be made of Hardiment’s blacksmith shop at Kerdiston. This was on the road past Brick Kiln Farm, opposite the turn to Four-Water Lane. The smithy and the two bungalows with it have now disappeared without trace. REEPHAM IN THE 1920's and 30's. Reepham in the 1920s was a very different place from what it is now. We hear talk of preserving the character of Reepham, by which is meant the appearance of the place and its buildings but, to my mind, the character of a place is in its people. Reepham in the 1920's, like all towns and villages, had a distinct character of its own. Since the last war the town has changed its character completely. If our deceased Reephamites could come back they might recognise some of the buildings but otherwise they might wonder if they were in the right place. I hope to give an impression here of Reepham as it appeared to residents at the time. Reepham is a small but ancient market town. Its charter for an annual fair and weekly market was granted in 1277 making it one of the oldest market towns in Norfolk. However, I am not going to speak about ancient history but of the period between the wars. The population of the four parishes had decreased from nearly 2000 in the nineteenth century to between thirteen and fourteen hundred in 1921. The town was more or less self contained, most of the necessities of life could be obtained locally. Almost everyone worked locally, very few chose to commute. Reepham's chief reason for existence was as a market in the centre of a farming area. The majority of those working here were employed in trade of some sort, often related to farming or to supplying the people of the town with the necessities of life. It was very different from today when most people go out of Reepham to work and do their shopping. Reepham is now not much more than a dormitory and a place for people to retire. I find it all rather sad. At the start of our period Reepham consisted of four civil parishes with three parish councils, one for Reepham with Kerdiston, one for Hackford and one for Whitwell. There were two ecclesiastical parishes, Reepham St. Mary with a rector and a vicar for St. Michael’s, Hackford and Whitwell. As well as two churches there were three Methodist Chapels, the Salvation Army and the Plymouth Brethren. There was a relieving officer cum registrar, an Excise Officer and a volunteer fire-brigade. Hackford and Whitwell School (now Reepham Primary School), was on Whitwell Road. Reepham St. Mary's School, on Norwich Road, had closed earlier. There was a Police Station with a resident sergeant or inspector and two constables - no shortage of police in those days! There were two doctors, Dr. E.V. Perry who lived at Eynsford House and his partner Dr. Berry who lived at the White House on Norwich Road. The resident solicitor was D'Arcy Collyer, a rather eccentric character. He was one of the Collyers of Hackford Hall. After him came Purdy and Holley Market Day The weekly cattle market was held on Wednesdays when Reepham really came to life. The place was full of farmers, dealers, drovers and various others from many miles around. A policeman would be on point duty at Townsend Corner all day, another would be on the sale ground issuing licences to move pigs and keep an eye on things. There were no cattle floats in those days, all had to be driven. Ladies of a nervous nature would keep off the road on market day in case they met a herd of bullocks! �Market Day was a busy day for the shops, of which there were many more than there are today. Lots of farmers’ wives came in with their husbands to do their weekly shopping and bring in their eggs and butter. Butter was sold to the grocers who sold it on to their customers; eggs were sold either to Sainsbury’s who had a van in the Market Place for that purpose, or to Mrs. Freeston who had an egg depot in The Back Street (as it was then called). It was also a busy day for the pubs which were allowed to open all day. Most of the farmers came by horse and cart, stabling the horses at the various pubs; The Kings Arms, The Sun Inn, George and Dragon, The Greyhound, Duke of York, The Crown and The Black Lion. The Star and The Foldgate were too far out to benefit from this trade. All three Reepham butchers attended the market to buy their meat on the hoof and slaughter in their own slaughterhouses. All the meat we ate was produced locally or in the surrounding area, all yard fattened. Other butchers from round about also bought their beef, pork and mutton from Reepham, the best market in this part of Norfolk. Those animals not sold to butchers were bought by dealers for the London market. They were driven to one of the stations where cattle trucks were always waiting. A lot of poultry, especially old worn out hens were bought by a Jewish gentleman by the name of Isaacs; apparently the Jews in London were partial to boiling fowls. The Shops Saturday was also a busy day for shops when they stayed open till about 9.30pm. Reepham had numerous shops. I have already mentioned the three butchers. There were three bakers, seven grocers, one of whom was also a draper, one also sold wines and spirits, and one was also a pork butcher and general store. Only one of the seven sold grocery only. There were three tailors, three shoemakers, two harness-makers, two watchmakers, one chemist, one druggist, one newsagent and stationer, the Post Office which also sold confectionery and tobacco, two other tobacconists, two barbers and a fish and chip shop. Perhaps the chief shop was Edward Gibbs and Son, ironmongers and seed merchants. There was also Barclay's Bank, managed by Mr. H T Owen. Other businesses were F Randell, formerly Eglington and Beaver, agricultural engineers (in the yard behind the present Spar shop), Stimpson and Hurn, coal and corn merchants (run by Ben Stimpson of Salle after the death of his father), R Coller and Son, coal and corn merchants (after whom the small industrial estate is named) and W Freeston, coal merchant. Wilkin Bros. had a small milling business in the Old Maltings. There were builders, painters and decorators, an undertaker, a brickmaker, chimney sweeps, a florist, a plumber, two garages with petrol pumps and an upholsterer. There was also a small private school run by a Miss Bull. Utilities Electricity did not reach Reepham till 1930, and there was no piped water or main sewer till the 1950s. Most people managed with oil lamps and candles though some of the shops had acetylene gas. Water was obtained from wells, each house or group of houses had its well or pump. [some of the pumps can still be seen around the town as well as the large wellhead in the Old Brewery yard.] Everybody also had a tank or tub for catching rain water which was used for washing. Soft water is so much better for washing than the hard well water which was used for drinking. No flush toilets, of course. Pail closets in the town were emptied weekly by Tom Bacon; people in the outer area had to make their own arrangements. The Large Houses Now we come to the larger houses in Reepham. First, The Ollands built by the Birchams when they moved out of the Old Brewery House. In 1920 it was standing empty, the previous occupants, the Kendrews, having died. About 1923 it was bought by E. Philips Oppenheim, a popular novelist at the time, but now almost forgotten. Mr. Oppenheim lived here in the summer, winters he spent in the south of France. After a few years in Reepham, he lived permanently in France, The Ollands being occupied by his daughter and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Ryder Smith. Later it was sold to Mr. Harmer of the Norwich clothing firm, F.W. Harmer, Ltd. After he died it was sold to Fred Irwin (hence nearby Irwin Close) Sad to say it has since been demolished. The Brewery House, now part of the hotel named after it, was occupied by Mrs. Nan Bircham, her sons Merrick and Michael and daughter Ann. Michael was a member of Norfolk and Norwich Aero Club and used to fly over Reepham doing stunts which frightened some of the residents till someone complained. �The Moor House, happily, is still standing. This house, in Norwich Road, was also built for the Bircham family but was occupied by Ernest Hudson in the 1930s. I remember seeing Mr. Hudson being pushed about in a wheel-chair. In Whitwell lived Captain Evelyn Barclay and his wife, the Hon. Mrs. Barclay, JP. Capt. Barclay inherited Colney Hall from his father and moved there just before the Second World War. Antony Ivins bought Whitwell Hall, turned it into a school and ran it. Brigadier General Collyer lived in Hackford Hall. He later moved to South Africa where Mrs. Collyer had been born. A family named Broughton then had the Hall. They were Roman Catholics, the first in Reepham since the Reformation, perhaps! After the Broughtons a man calling himself Baron de Pitchford and a Scots lady (not his wife), who called herself the Baroness Pitchford lived here. They turned out to be confidence tricksters and both landed up in prison. Sport and Leisure Reepham had a great cricket team at one time. The cricket ground was on Norwich Road opposite the present trout farm. There were two football clubs, Reepham Town and the Band of Hope. The town played on what was then known as ‘Holah Pasture’, the meadow next to Bar Lane, by permission of Mrs. Holah who lived at Rookery Farm. Later, they played on Coller's Field, where the industrial units are now. The Band of Hope played on the field belonging to the Ollands which is now the housing estate called Moor House Close . Reepham Fair was held on the 29 th and 30th June. Originally three days, later reduced to two. It was once a stock and horse fair. I have heard tales of horses being tethered all round the Market Place and along Pound Road [Dereham Road] as far as the Swan Inn [Corner Dereham Road and Smuggler’s Lane]. By our time, it was just a pleasure fair. The fair people would arrive with their live-in wagons and for a few days the Market Place was crammed with roundabouts, coconut shies and all the fun of the fair. Lots of noise and congestion but all good for trade, especially for the pubs but also for the other tradespeople. The fair people worked hard and needed plenty of good food which they purchased from the local shops. The Market Place belonged to Mrs. Kate Eglington, or at least she owned the rights as Lord of the Manor of Hackford until about 1930 when she sold the manorial rights to the Rural District Council, to be managed by the Parish Council. The R.D.C. had the Market Place tarmacked and did not want the fair driving stakes into it. They could not prevent the fair coming but, by making a rule that they could only stay for the two fair days, made it impossible to set up and dismantle in the time. After nearly seven hundred years, this was the end of Reepham Fair! Fairs still came to Reepham on other sites but not on the fair days. It was not the same as on the Market Place. Several different fairs used to come to Reepham – K.Gray, Stocks and, best known of all, Underwood, better known as ‘Rhubarb’! Mrs. Underwood was famous for her home made rock. I remember old Mr. Underwood coming to the school the day the fair arrived to say we could all have a free ride on the swings after school. Every December there was the Christmas Fat Show and Sale when fat bullocks competed for the Reepham Trademan's Cup. There was great competition among local butchers to buy the prize beast. There were also classes for pigs, poultry etc. Another annual event was the Michaelmas Sale which was held on the nearest Wednesday to October 11th, Michaelmas Day, when farms traditionally changed hands. Any surplus implements were brought to the sale which was held on Ireland's Meadow, opposite the Methodist Chapel. All sorts of things were in the sale such as household furniture and almost anything you could mention. This field was also sometimes used as an overflow for the fair if they could not all get on to the Market. It was also the venue for the occasional travelling circus. This field, like so many former open spaces in Reepham has been built over. The Crown Meadow, now also built on, was another site for travelling circuses and fairs, after they stopped going on the market. It was also a regular stopping place for caravan dwellers or gypsies. One of them,Tom Gray, did a bit of horse dealing. They made clothes pegs which the women hawked from door to door with other odds and ends. They were decent people who never caused any trouble, unlike some of today's so called gypsies. Tom was reputed to know every pub in Norfolk but never went into one on a Sunday but be that as it may he had an unrivalled knowledge of the roads of Norfolk. One couple, Charlie Temple and his crippled wife lived on Crown Meadow permanently, and when they died their van and its contents were burnt. I believe the Grays eventually settled down in a bungalow at Attleborough. �The Town Hall was called Hackford Parish Hall in the Twenties but, to my grandparents' generation it was The Old School. It was built by subscription in 1861 as Hackford and Whitwell School on the site of a former poorhouse. It remained a school for those parishes till the 1890's when the present primary school was built and then it became the Parish Hall. It had always belonged to the parish although the church tried to claim it from time to time. The hall caretakers in the 1920' s were Mr. and Mrs. W. Cornish. Mr. Cornish had a hook in place of his left arm that he had lost in the 1914-18 war. Mrs. Cornish was rather deaf which led to an amusing incident when Mr. Cornish stuck his head through the doorway as his wife was trying to shut the sliding door. His head was on the inside and the rest of him outside with her still pushing and not hearing his yells. His face turned blue and so did his language when he got free! A travelling cinema came to the Hall once a week. The front seats, where we youngsters sat, cost four old pence. Harold Lloyd was a great favourite of ours. There were frequent whist drives and dances held in the Hall, plus the occasional concert. About once a year the Reepham Players would perform a play. One that I remember is ‘The Ghost Train’. Occasionally a touring company would put on a play. I must not forget to mention The Bircham Institute. The former Hackford House, which had been acquired by the Birchams, was given to the town by Sam Bircham in 1919 as a memorial to the dead of the Great War for the use of the inhabitants of Hackford, Whitwell, Reepham and Kerdiston. It contained a reading room where newspapers and periodicals could be read, a billiards room, facilities for other games and the old parish library. These facilities could be used subject to a small annual fee. Rooms were also available for other organisations such as the whist club. The caretaker was Mr. James Piercy, a retired policemen, who lived on the premises. From about 1927 the County Library had a room in the Institute which opened two or three times a week, manned by volunteers. Mr. Thompson, the schoolmaster, was librarian. This carried on till after World War Two, when it was changed for a mobile library which only came once a week during daytime when people were at work, which was rather inconvenient. No account of Reepham in the twenties would be complete without some reference to Reepham Nursing Association which, for a small subscription provided a nursing service for those who needed it. The District Nurse was Nurse Coles. She came to Reepham in 1923 and lived on Station Road in a dwelling made from two old railway carriages set in a V shape with a glass roof between forming a sort of conservatory in which was an aviary containing dozens of birds. On the spare ground next to her house she had a tennis court made which was used by lots of local people. I do not know how many babies she delivered during her time in Reepham, many scores I think. She was a great character, very much loved. Coles Way, opposite to where she lived, is named after her. Characters In those days Reepham was rich in interesting characters with ways that may seem strange today. One who springs to mind lived at Bilham's Hill, and later in Bircham's Yard. His name was Jimmy Jarvis and he had been a labourer. Now he was an old age pensioner. After his wife died he was left to fend for himself. However, according to Jimmy his wife used to appear to him and tell him how to make Norfolk dumplings and shortcakes and so on. Jimmy claimed he was born in “chime hours” - three, six, nine and twelve are chime hours - and people born at those hours can see ghosts and things that the rest of us cannot see, or so it is said. Jimmy,therefore, could see his wife. This went on for some time but at last she told him she was not coming any more and he should get a housekeeper. Jimmy thereupon got a lady named Jane Newstead, an inmate of Aylsham Workhouse to come to be his housekeeper. She had not been there long when Jimmy's wife appeared once more and told him he must marry Jane. Jimmy would have been happy to do so and told people it was true love and how lucky he was. He attributed his good luck to the fact that he had "several mole spots about him". Jane, however, had no desire to marry Jimmy and she left. Not only that but, according to Jimmy she took his nutmeg grater! Jimmy had an old gramophone and one record of the old Gospel hymn "Joyful, joyful will the meeting be", which he played over and over again. I never knew what was on the other side. He would stamp his feet in time to the music. He had very big feet and always wore hobnailed boots! Somebody once said, "Jimmy Jarvis would be a tall old fellow if he didn't have so much turned up at the bottom." He would sometimes sing with the record as well as stamp his feet. He never changed the gramophone needle either. �REEPHAM CHURCHES In the early 1950's I was employed on building a church at Bawdeswell to replace the church that was destroyed by an aircraft crashing into it during the war. When the foundations were being dug we came upon the remains of three former churches, mediaeval, Norman and Anglo-Saxon. This led me to think about our Reepham churches and what might lie beneath them. We look at mediaeval churches without thinking about what has gone before. We forget that this country has been Christian for well over a thousand years and that there have been church buildings here for most of that time. During a conversation with the then Rector of Bawdeswell, the late Rev. H.G.B. Folland, who knew a great deal about Norfolk churches, he mentioned that Reepham was a very ancient site. One important clue is the fact that, due to burials through many centuries, the churchyard is several feet higher than the adjacent streets. Since that time I have read numerous books and collected information from various sources looking for clues as to the origins of our churches and why there were three of them. As there is no documentary evidence available answers have been found by other means. I leave others to judge whether my answer makes sense. In Reepham churchyard are two mediaeval churches and the remains of a third. The question of why there are three churches in the same enclosure has puzzled people for many years and no one seems to have come up with a satisfactory answer. I would not presume to solve a problem that some far more learned than I have failed to solve, but do suggest a possible answer. To do so we must go back to the Anglo-Saxon settlement of East Anglia and the coming of Christianity. Although Christianity had existed in Britain during Roman times it seems to have disappeared from East Anglia before the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, which, according to Bede began in AD 449. However, pagan Saxon cemeteries of an earlier date have been found in East Anglia. By AD 600 an East Anglian kingdom had been established under the Wuffinga dynasty. In AD 597 Augustine arrived in Kent, sent by Pope Gregory to convert the heathen English. About AD 600 Augustine baptised Raedwald, king of East Anglia and Brewalda, or high king of Southern England. Apparently his baptism was for political reasons for he merely placed a Christian altar in a heathen temple, and made no serious attempt to adopt the new religion. Bede says that he was seduced by his heathen wife. East Anglia really began to be converted to Christianity after Sigebert became its king. Sigebert, who was either a stepson or nephew of Raedwald was baptised while exiled to Gaul and became a committed Christian. When he became king in AD 635 he brought Felix, a Burgundian from Kent. With the latter’s help Sigebert set up a school for priests. Felix built a church at Babingley, the first in Norfolk and set about converting the heathen East Anglians. He was appointed Bishop of East Anglia with his see at Dunmoc, thought to be Dunwich in Suffolk, and travelled throughout East Anglia as Bishop for seventeen years. As there were few churches and few priests it was necessary for the Bishop to travel his diocese. The church in East Anglia had its origins in both the Roman and Celtic churches. While Felix was busy making converts a party of Celtic monks, led by Fursey or Fursa had been permitted by Sigebert to found a monastery in the Roman ruins of Burgh Castle. They were busy making converts and created a lasting influence on the church in East Anglia. They set up individual cells, often on pagan sites, sometimes two or three together, each of which developed into churches. This may be the origin of what H.O. Mansfield calls church clusters such as we have at Reepham. There are a number of similar sites in Norfolk but only Reepham has three churches in the same churchyard. After Fursey's monastery was destroyed in a Mercian raid in AD 664, he left England for the continent, so ending the involvement of Celtic Monasticism in East Anglia. However, their "loving democracy and humble saintliness" lived on. After the Synod of Whitby in AD 664 the Roman and Celtic Churches were linked and the Roman practice was followed by all. By AD 680 the church in East Anglia was well established and a second diocese was established at North Elmham. There were still few churches at this time but, in the absence of a church, a cross for daily prayer would be erected, often on a pagan site as recommended by Augustine. It may be significant that each of the three parishes of Kerdiston, Hackford and Whitwell contain the sites of one of these crosses. The Kerdiston cross can still be seen in the shape of its flint base about one mile from the Town’s End on the left hand side of the road. The Hackford cross’s base was unfortunately destroyed, presumably through ignorance of its significance, when the pathway known as Sun Barn Walk was made. The site of the Whitwell cross is just �beyond Whitwell Station bridge about a mile to the south of the Hackford one. It seems reasonable to suppose than the pathway known as Sun Barn Walk was made. The site of the Whitwell cross is just beyond Whitwell Station bridge about a mile to the south of the Hackford one. It seems reasonable to suppose that they date back to this early period. There does not appear to have been one in Reepham parish but as these crosses came before churches, there may have been one in the present churchyard. There were few priests and not many villages before AD 700 and the parish was still in the future. Later on wealthy noblemen were persuaded to build and endow churches on their estates. Having more than one church in close proximity is a sign of Saxon origin as is an oval churchyard. Dedications also are a sign of early date; St. Mary and All Saints and especially St. Michael, the slayer of demons, which was often used on former pagan sites. Other churches in these so-called clusters had similar dedications; St. Mary and St. Margaret at Antingham and St. Mary and St. Lawrence at South Walsham among others. Thus we have in Reepham churchyard three churches with early Saxon dedications; St. Mary, Reepham, All Saints, Hackford and St. Michael, Whitwell (later Saxon dedications were usually to Saxon saints), probably of monastic foundation on a former pagan site. This gives us a probable 8 th century date. Supposing that Reepham was the original settlement as seems likely, Hackford and Whitwell were daughter settlements. There were no parish boundaries at this time; it appears that the churches were not intended for any particular parish, the churches being older than the parishes. Who the wealthy noblemen were who built them we cannot say. I have never believed in the story of them being built by three sisters but with regard to the original churches there may possibly be a grain of truth in it. There are very few 8th and 9th century churches existing today; most it seems were destroyed by the Danes in the 9th century. Although there was no bishop for a hundred years, heathenism was never dominant and Christianity survived. After the Danes were defeated by Alfred the Great, their King Guthrum agreed to being baptised and the Danes became Christian. The Saxon system had remained unaltered under the Danes and the Bishopric was restored with a single diocese at North Elmham. Those churches which had been destroyed were rebuilt including presumably the three at Reepham. I have not mentioned Kerdiston so far because it always seems to have been united with Reepham St. Mary. There is supposed to have been a chapel there at one time but this would have been a field church with no burial ground, perhaps attached to one of the manors. Burials from all four parishes would have to be at Reepham. Kerdiston had its own Rector at times, sharing St. Mary's Church with the Rector of Reepham. At other times one priest served both parishes, for example in Domesday book, under Lands of William de Warenne, Kerdiston, half a church and half a priest. This I believe refers to St. Mary's, the other half church and priest belonging to Reepham. Also under Lands of William de Warenne is Hackford one church. There is no mention of a Whitwell church but this does not necessarily mean that one did not exist. Doomsday was an inventory of property and if a church did not belong to an estate it was not listed. We can only surmise what happened here during the next three or four centuries before the present churches were built. The evidence is hidden beneath them and we shall probably never know. Parishes did not become general until the 10 th century. Therefore, if, as I have suggested the churches were here earlier instead of, as is usually supposed, their being built at the point where three parishes meet, the parish boundaries must have been drawn so as to include one of them in each parish. I cannot believe that Whitwell church would have been built surrounded by Hackford Parish if it had been built as the parish church. Before closing this essay there is one interesting item I must add. In 1368 Archdeacon Swyneflete made an official Visitation of his Archdeaconry of Norwich and found in Sparham Rural Deanery these churches: Refham Omnium Sanctorium, Refham Michaelis and Refham Marie. This I believe goes to prove that these four parishes have always been known collectively as Reepham. NONCONFORMITY IN REEPHAM There appears to be no record of dissent in Reepham before the second half of the 17 th century. In 1603 the Rector reported that there were no recusants or dissenters in the four parishes. Two Puritan usurpers were ejected at the Restoration in 1660, Sampson Townsend of Hackford and Whitwell and William Sheldrick of Reepham and Kerdistone. Sheldrick later became an Independent minister at Yarmouth. By the end of the century there were connections with the Independent chapel at Guestwick. A letter from Tunstead in 1696 requests the Guestwick congregation to accept Lydia Robotham of Reepham. Oddly enough the Rector of Reepham from 1674 to 1690 was also named Robotham, perhaps there was some �connection. Lydia’s children were baptised at Guestwick but there is no mention of her husband as a member of the Guestwick congregation. At the beginning of the eighteenth century religion in Norfolk, as elsewhere, was at a low ebb. The diocese of Norwich was known as the “deadsee”. Many incumbents did not live in their parishes, taking the stipend but leaving the work to a poorly paid curate. With parishes neglected and the poor almost untouched by religion, the time was ripe for the Methodist Revival when it came. It arrived in Reepham perhaps in 1759 when the house of Francis Taylor, Hackford, was “set aside for the exercise of religious worship of Protestant Dissenters”. Methodism had been established in Norwich in 1751 and John Wesley himself had visited Norwich in 1754 so possibly Francis Taylor was a Methodist. There is a story, the source of which I have forgotten, of two Methodists preaching in the Market Place being set upon by ruffians sent and paid by the local parsons. However, despite opposition, Methodism became established in Reepham, although it seems there was no regular meeting place. The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on Station Road was built in 1817, but with a very different appearance from the one it has today. It had a gallery round three sides and the entrance was on the east side. They must have expected a large congregation. Even after the gallery was removed it still seated 200. The founders included many of the tradesmen, Thomas Staples, chemist, whose shop was in Norwich Road, Thomas Scurll, baker, (see Parson Woodforde’s Diary) James Pumfrey, farmer, Kerdistone, Seymour Jewell, veterinary surgeon, John Frankland, brazier, Church Street, and Thomas Peck. The Chapel was originally in the Norwich Circuit but was later included in the Cromer, North Walsham and Holt Circuit. These places all had a resident minister. Reepham had a lay pastor, a sort of apprentice minister. This arrangement contined until the Methodist Union in 1934. In 1827 a Baptist Chapel was built in Fisher’s Alley, but it was later taken over by a breakaway group, the Free Methodists. They later amalgamated with another group to become the United Methodists. This chapel closed when the three main Methodist bodies amalgamated and the congregation transferred to Station Road. The chapel was sold and became a carpenter’s workshop. It later became the Good Companions’ Club. It has been demolished and two houses stand on the site. When the Free Methodists appeared on the scene the Primitive Methodists were already established here. Cyril Jolly, in his book The History of the East Dereham Methodist Circuit, tells the story. “Key took his stand in Reepham Market Place in the summer of 1830. Many listened but soon hostility was shown”. The principal opponents, Key affirms, were the tradesmen of the town. The labourers sided with him and cried for a fair hearing. Apparently another preacher was helping Key for he was knocked off his stand and the labourers were so incensed that they took the matter to law. The magistrates, however, heard the case and dismissed it, telling Key he had no business to preach in the Market Place, and that they would bring the water engine to play upon him if he did so again. Key was not the type of man to be intimidated; moreover he had many brawny supporters and they rallied round him so strongly that when he did preach again in the Market Place he had a large bodyguard armed with sticks and other weapons. Fortunately the threat of the water engine was not carried out, otherwise there would have been a “civil war” in Reepham. After this visit a Society was formed with preaching places at Whitwell Street, The Moor, Whitwell Beck and Booton. Robert Wilkin of Whitwell Street, who was converted by Key, helped to establish the cause and became a local preacher. By now the Wesleyans had become “respectable”, and the poorer people went to the more radical “Prims”. By 1847 they were able to build a chapel at a cost of £103, 1 shilling and 7 pence, a remarkable achievement considering that most of the members were labourers with very low wages. The attendance at Sunday services was between 30 and 40. In 1840, the chapel had seating for 116. In 1867 the chapel was rebuilt (in brick and tile), at a cost of £232, 7 shillings and 2 pence with seats for 192. This building was sold after the Methodist Union and the congregation transferred to Station Road. For many years the old chapel was used as home for the fire engine (what would Robert Key have though of that?). Now it is the R.A.Y.S. Hall in Dereham Road. Toward the end of the century the Salvation Army appeared in Reepham. At first they had premises in Norwich Road which they hired from Mr. S.P. Eglington. They had two officers stationed here who lived in a thatched house on Church Hill. They were also in charge of the Corps at Wood Dalling. The Army was never in large numbers in Reepham. It made its presence felt by holding open air services all over the town on Sundays and on the Market Place on Saturday nights, competing with the church bells, which were �always rung on Saturday nights in those days. When the fair was also on the Market the noise had to be heard to be believed. The Army finally faded out in Reepham in the 1960’s. The Plymouth Brethren were a little later in starting, around the turn of the century I should think. A man named Jennings who had a shop on Town’s End Corner, seems to have been the person who brought the sect to Reepham. Their first meeting place was in part of his premises in a building which has long since disappeared. Arthur Fowle, barber, was another leading member. Their later meeting place was in part of Hilton’s premises (now the Town Office) next to Riches’ yard. They faded out after the second World War. So for many years Reepham had no fewer than seven places of worship; St. Mary’s with its Rector who also had a curate at one time, St. Michael’s with its vicar, the Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, each with a Pastor, the United Methodists, the Army with its two officers and the Brethren. All these ran a Sunday School, almost all children were sent by their parents to one or another of them. Some managed to attend two, so getting two treats, instead of one. The only one with a purpose built schoolroom was the Wesleyan. Here I attended as a boy. As my grandfather was Superintendent there was no chance of dodging. I have in my possession the gold watch chain my grandfather was presented with when he retired from the Sunday School in 1928. In my day there were about 30 or 40 children on the books, some of whose parents were Church of England. It appears that the chapel schools were more popular with the youngsters, perhaps they had better school treats! All had a seaside outing in summer and a winter treat of a tea followed by games, most of them if I remember correctly, involved kissing. At the end everyone was given a bag of sweets and an orange. The Wesleyans gave everyone with a reasonable number of attendances a book as a prize; I am not sure if the others all did the same. The United Methodists had the largest number of scholars at this time. There are no nonconformist Sunday Schools in Reepham today. All three chapels had organisations attached to them in the 1920’s. The Wesleyans had the Wesley Guild, the Primitives the Christian Endeavour, but the biggest was the Band of Hope, a temperance organisation which started in the United Methodist Chapel during the First World War. It was under the inspiration of John Walker, a temperance enthusiast who was manager of the Reepham branch of Messrs. Wallace King. (He later had his own business in Reepham). The Band of Hope soon became too big for the Chapel and needed larger premises. Jesse Bircham, the chemist, came to the rescue. He was the grandson of Thomas Staples (see above) and inherited his shop. Jesse provided the money to purchase a piece of land at Sun Barn Yard and to erect a timber building on it. This was known as The Methodist Hall and was mainly used for activities connected with the Band of Hope. Weekly meetings were held on Monday evenings which consisted of concerts, miscellaneous evenings, magic lantern shows and lectures on the evils of strong drink. These were always well attended, the membership running into hundreds. The Band of Hope had its own football team, mixed orchestra, ladies’ orchestra, male voice choir, and brass band. This later became the Town Band, one of the leading brass bands of East Anglia, known later and until recently, as Matthews Norfolk Brass. Every summer the Band of Hope hired a special train frrom Whitwell Station for an outing to Yarmouth. The whole thing had faded out by the last war after the death of John Walker. The subject of nonconformity cannot be left without mention of the Sunday School Anniversary. At the Wesleyan, with which I am most familiar, a platform was erected in the Chapel, on which sat all the Sunday School scholars and teachers and the choir. The first Sunday in July was our date. All the children had to give a recitation; no recitation, no treat. These were some of the biggest occasions of the year. All three chapels followed a similar pattern. The chapels were always packed on these occasions, when ladies could show off their new hats. Another annual event in those days was the open air united service held in the Market Place on a Sunday evening after the usual services. This was another of John Walker’s ideas, I believe. Methodists, Anglican and Salvation Army all took part. A farm wagon stood in front of the Brewery House on which the speakers stood, mostly Methodists but sometimes the Vicar of St. Michael’s the Reverend Geake would be there, never the Rector of Reepham, as far as I remember. The Band was there to play the hymns. This was held during June when the daylight is longest. SCHOOL IN REEPHAM IN THE 1920’s It was not called Reepham School when this writer started school in 1921, at the age of four. It was known as Hackford and Whitwell School. There had been a Reepham School in Norwich Road, but it had recently �been closed. It was used again later as a woodwork and cookery school to which boys and girls came from schools around to learn woodwork and cookery respectively. Hackford and Whitwell School, now called Reepham County Primary, then had about 180 pupils, presided over by Mr. C H Thompson. Mr. Thompson taught the first class, otherwise Standards 6 and 7. The second class or Standards 5 and 6 was taught by Miss Ethel Boone, who lived in the Market Place. Soon after this Miss Boone left to be head teacher at Carlton Forehoe, and her place was taken by Mrs. Thompson, the head master’s wife, who had previously taught at Salle. Class 3 or Standards 3 and 4, was taught by Miss Dora Barret, who lived with her parents at Fokhard Farm, Jordan Green, Whitwell. These three classes were in what we called the big room. They were separated by sliding partitions. These were opened in the mornings and last thing in the afternoon when class four was marched in for prayers. Class four was in a separate room (standards l and 2), taught by Miss Dewing, who subsequently became Mrs. Watson and then Mrs. Lawn. The infant room was also separate; Miss Frances Austin was teacher. When she left to marry Mr. E Gibbs junior her place was taken by Miss Saunders, who later became Mrs. Bird and was replaced by Miss Miriam King. The school was built in the early 1890’s to replace the former school, now the Town Hall, which had been condemned. This school was built by subscription in 1861. Apparently it was condemned as unsuitable because of the cramped site, rather than any fault with the building. The head master and mistress were Mr. and Mrs. William Pitcher, they moved to the new school and remained until the First World War. Mr. Thompson came in 1920 after service in the RAMC. Reepham St. Mary’s School was still going at this time, the head master and Mistress were Mr. and Mrs. Cornell. When they retired about 1920 the population of Reepham had become less and so there were fewer pupils. This led to the two schools being amalgamated. The teaching at the school was of a high standard but the building was not very convenient, it was also cold. There was a fire in each room in winter but those sitting at the back could not feel much of it. Many suffered from chilblains. In frosty weather the ink froze in the inkwells. Hot water pipes were installed eventually which improved matters slightly. Those children who lived two or three miles away had to walk to school in all weathers and stay all day in damp clothes and have lunch of bread and cheese. No wonder so many had coughs and colds. Mr. Thompson could do nothing about it except allow them to roast potatoes under the fireplace. The floors were of wooden blocks, which were worn in the doorways so letting in a draught which nothing could stop. The playground was covered in loose shingle which could be rather dangerous. Boys and girls were mixed in class but strictly segregated in the playground. Girls and infants had their playground and boys had theirs. They could see one another through the railings, they could speak to one another if they wished but each playground was out of bounds to the other. P.T. was done in the playground although the surface was not very suitable. On Friday afternoons pupils would adjourn to Holah’s pasture for football or cricket according to the season. While this was going on the girls would be doing country dancing, Mrs. Thompson playing the piano. There was a small private school in Reepham at this time, run by a lady by the name of Miss Bull at Brewmare. She did not have many pupils and when she closed some of them came to “the proper school”. A school of that kind would probably not be allowed today. We had no such things as school uniforms, most boys wore short trousers, often of corduroy, but some still wore the old fashioned knickerbockers which came below the knee. Some wore heavy hob nailed boos and in winter leather buskins like their fathers wore on the farms. We always wore our caps out of doors, to go out bareheaded was unthinkable. Many of the boys had their hair cropped very short with just a quiff at the front. The girls all had long hair, often braided into pigtails; when the new infant teacher, Miss Saunders, arrived she caused quite a sensation by having bobbed hair, the first to be seen in Reepham. I have a photo, taken of the infant class when I first started school, in which nearly all the girls are wearing white pinafores over their dresses. That is all I can remember about how the girls were dressed. The sanitary arrangements were rather primitive, no piped water or sewage in Reepham in those days. The boys and girls lavatories were back to back but each opened on to its appropriate playground. Both were over a deep pit, which was emptied during the summer holidays. There was a wash house in each playground in which was a pump, connected to a soft water tank, into which rainwater from the roof was collected. There was also one of those old fashioned sinks and an enamel bowl for washing hands. A bucket and a mug in the corner of the playground provided drinking water. Everyone left school at fourteen except for those clever enough to pass for a scholarship to a grammar school, these however were rather scarce in Norfolk. Elementary school children were taught enough to work �on a farm which was considered enough by the powers that were. The working classes were expected to know their place and not expect too much education, which would not be good for them. There was no artificial lighting in the school, electricity had not reached Reepham then. At the end of a winter’s day it was often too dark to see to read or write. One improvement that was made in these years was the installation of a hot water system to improve the heating, making the parts furthest away from the fire a bit more bearable. This however was only put into the coldest rooms. In spite of somewhat inadequate facilities the teachers did a very good job. It cannot have been easy teaching a class of thirty odd with an age range of two or three years and of different abilities. The teachers set a good example in dress and manners. Mr. Thompson would never have tolerated the scruffy dress that some teachers have to put up with today. Pupils were taught good manners and to be clean and tidy; not all children were taught good manners at home There were various people who visited the school from time to time. One of these was Nurse Walker, otherwise known as the "chat nurse", from her job of examining heads for head lice. Occasionally she found some. Another was Dr. Campbell, the school doctor, who came once every year. Children were medically examined three times during their school career; or oftener under special circumstances. The school dentist, who was called Mr. Milligan, also came once a year. He operated in a van parked in the schoolyard. Fearsome tales would be told, by those who had been in to those still to go in, of the tortures he had inflicted on them; but really he was a very good dentist. Someone else, whose visit was awaited with trepidation, both by pupils and teachers, was the school inspector. Everything was usually all right. The headmaster's dearest wish was to have a Central School in Reepham with himself as headmaster. There were plans to build some Central Schools in Norfolk, at the same time as there were proposals to raise the school leaving age to sixteen. These plans were all scrapped when the financial crash of 1929 caused government spending to be drastically cut. Nothing was done about the schools until after the war. The headmaster occasionally used the cane. There was none of this nonsense about corporal punishment that is heard today. We accepted it. We knew if we got the cane it was usually deserved, and soon over. Much better than staying in after school and writing out "I must now do ... " whatever it was. If you misbehaved you expected punishment, and a cane across the palm of the hand might sting a bit, but only for a minute. It did not turn us into violent hooligans either. Girls were hardly ever caned. If one was caned, it was by Mrs. Thompson in private. This would be for a serious misdemeanor. Boys of course were caned in public. The school day always started with prayers with all the school present except the infants. They then returned to their own classrooms for Scripture followed by arithmetic. After that on some days there was physical education in the playground; the nature of which was limited by the unsuitable surface. The rest of the day was devoted to subjects such as English composition, history and geography. History was mainly concerned with kings, queens and battles. We learnt by heart the dates of all the kings and queens of England from 1066 on. I wonder how many of us could recite them now? I know I could not. Mr. Thompson did try to include some social history, which seems to be more use than mere recitation of dates and certainly more interesting. Also, as part of the arithmetic lesson we used to recite the tables. This proved useful in later life when calculators had not been invented. The young seem lost without those useful gadgets. We also used to recite "Twelve pence one shilling” and so on. No need for that any more! On Friday afternoon for the first period Classes One and Two used to split up; boys to Mr. Thompson for what was called Hygiene and Physiology; girls to Mrs. Thompson for sewing and other feminine pursuits. The former subject was apparently not considered suitable for girls, at least, not in the presence of boys. We enjoyed these lessons, partly due to the fact that by judicious questioning Mr. Thompson could be diverted to talking about his war experiences in Egypt. Occasionally, he would go on long enough so there was no more time for the lesson. Then he would say we had probably learned as much from that as we would from the lesson. We found it more interesting anyway. So much for schooling in Reepham in the 1920' s. As far as I know none of us ever did anything very spectacular, but I think I can safely say that neither did the school produce any criminals. They all turned out to be reasonably good citizens. As another schoolmaster said to me "It is not buildings that make a good school". �HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS The roads in and around Reepham may appear to have been where they are from time immemorial but this is not so as I shall attempt to demonstrate. One road that has changed over the years is Station Road. Once it was known as The Back Lane, that is to say the length from the station to the Methodist Chapel was so called. It was a very narrow lane with hedges on either side and apart from two old cottages which stood where the Methodist Schoolroom stands, there was not a house in the road until the Newland Villas were built in the 1880’s. The railway arrived at about the same time. Newland Villas were built by Arthur Collison for J. J. Bishop. This was the first job done in the area by Messrs. Collison. They came from London. Mr. Bishop lived in London where he had a removals business, Bishops of Pimlico. I believe the firm is still in existence. Mr. Bishop also farmed at Kerdiston. Newland Villas were named after Newlands farm which he owned. The next house to be built was next to Pightle Way. This was built by Mr. Owen Goddard, a cabinet maker. His wife was a school teacher. He had a large garden from which he sold produce. This has since been built over. There was no further building until after the First World War. On the opposite side of the road, near Stoney Lane, six council houses were built. The road was widened at this time and tarred for the first time. This was about 1923. Up till then it had been very rough and dusty. A few years later four more council houses were built and also Trevone, which was built by Mr. Williams, the local Excise Officer who moved from the old Swan, a former pub, on Dereham Road. This was followed in 1935 by Mrs. Frost’s shop and house, (nos. 49-51) and her son’s bungalow, (no. 53). There was no more building on Station Road until after WW2. There were few houses built in Reepham in the immediate post war period. While lots of houses were going up in other parts of Norfolk, Reepham stood still. It was not till a piped water and sewage works came in the late 1950’s that the building rush started. The first to be built in Station Road was the bungalow “Greentiles” (opposite the Chapel) in the 1960’s. Since then the road has been completely built up, (it was then known as Newland Villas Road ) The lower part of the road, from the Chapel to Town’s End Corner has also changed. Looking up from Town’s End we see three small cottages bearing the initials WB, which I believe stand for William Bircham, the brewer, with the date 1863. Next to them are three larger houses 37 with their backs to Station Road now, but when they were built in the early eighteenth century the road went past their front doors. This road was diverted to its present route at some time before the cottages were built in 1863. These three houses were originally two, but were made into three many years ago. The first house, with the higher roof, was once the home and workshop of a glove maker; the other was a small farmhouse. The barn and other buildings that used to belong to the farm were demolished when the sale ground was made into a car park and the road widened. Till a few years ago these houses still had their original Georgian windows and doors, but unfortunately have been modernised and lost most of their character. The road past these houses used to be known as Sale Ground Hill. Just past the houses was an entrance to the sale ground and the barn. Next to the barn were pig pens which were parted from the road by a corrugated iron fence on top of a flint wall. The road was very narrow with no footpath, not very safe for pedestrians. Beyond the pig pens was a well from which water was pumped by an oil engine for cleaning the pens at the end of the sale. At one time it was pumped by a windmill, but although wind is free it is not reliable, so the windmill was replaced. The sale, run by Messrs. Ireland, was one of the biggest in this part of Norfolk. Most of the markets around only sold pigs and poultry, not cattle as Reepham did. Reepham was a busy and noisy place on market days, (and dirty). I wonder what some of the present residents would say if they met a herd of bullocks on the road (or stepped into what they left behind). Now sadly it is just a memory, the colourful characters who frequented the market are seen here no more, “Satan” Gibson, poultry dealer from Hevingham, Isaacs the Jew, who bought old hens, Billy Brookes from Horsford who bought pigs, Hubert Large from Swanton Morley, who bought bullocks and many more. Then there was Larter’s cockle stall for those requiring a snack to keep them going. Also there were the drovers, later to be replaced by cattle floats which added to the congestion in the confined space in the sale ground and on the narrow roads. Traffic was always a problem, even when it was mostly horse drawn. All the local butchers would be there to buy their meat on the hoof for the next week and of course the farmers who came to see their beasts sold or to buy. �On the opposite side of the road was the property of Dr. E. V. Perry, a local practitioner who lived at Eynsford House on Dereham Road (we only knew it as Dr. Perry’s). The house called “Shrublands” was occupied by Mrs. Laskey, a widow. Dr. Perry had another wing built on to this house in which he lived when he retired, Mrs. Laskey looking after him. The house was left to Mrs. Laskey when the Doctor died. The next house was also built by Dr. Perry for his gardener-chauffeur Mr. Nicholls. This house was built about 1922 and was left to Mr. Nicholls on the death of the doctor. We now come to what was a row of four cottages, the first of which was occupied by George Self, painter and decorator; the last in the row was occupied by another of Dr. Perry’s employees, William Tubby. Opposite to these houses was a double gateway, entrance to part of the Brewery House grounds. This contained many trees, including some fairly rare specimens. These had to go when the houses were built and a road was made through it (Old Brewery Lane). However a dangerous bend was thus done away with. Next to the Long Loke was a yard and buildings; here was the slaughter house belonging to W. Utting, who had a butcher’s shop in the Market Place. At one time it had been the premises of Ebenezer Kiddell, wheelwright. A building here was where the old manual fire engine was kept. I should have mentioned earlier the oil depot, opened in the 1930’s by the Anglo-American Oil Company, (afterwards Esso). Here were tanks containing petrol and paraffin and drums of oil. A tanker lorry used to make deliveries to local garages etc. This site was later taken over by Norwich Corporation Electricity Department, and in 1948 by Eastern Electricity but was still known to one and all as “The Anglo”. Another road which has changed its course is New Road, not really new, all except the newest part is more than a hundred years old. It used to be called Cabbage Court Road, the two rows of terraced houses on it are properly called Cabbage Court. They were built in the early nineteenth century by a tailor, cabbage being a term for cloth left over and taken by the tailor as a perk. This tailor built two rows of houses out of the proceeds. The new part starts below Cabbage Court, the road formerly went off to the right of the present road, through the grounds of Moor House. It was diverted when Moor House was built in 1888. The diversion involved the demolition of two cottages and the old Black Lion public house. The pub was rebuilt on its present position, the date 1889 can be seen on the gable. The council houses were built in the 1920’s. Thegrounds of Moor House. It was diverted when Moor House was built in 1888. The diversion involved the demolition of two cottages and the old Black Lion public house. The pub was rebuilt on its present position, the date 1889 can be seen on the gable. The council houses were built in the 1920’s. The rest of the building is all quite recent. Where the road is now into Richmond Rise was a lane called Orchard Lane The name of the latter has somehow got transferred to the lane from Cawston Road to the Moor. This lane used to be called Moor Lane or Tuft’s Lane. The junction of this lane with Cawston Road was called Tuft’s Post and the piece of land beside it was Tuft’s Pightle. Who Tuft was and what his post was I have no idea. Cawston Road has been diverted slightly. Before the railway arrived there were six roads meeting at what is now Station Plain. However the railway reduced it to five by making Dalling and Cawston Roads use the one bridge. Ollands Road, was once called Hall Road. Starting from the junction with Church Street, Randell’s (now the Spar shop) was then Eglington and Beaver. Mr. Sidney Eglington, known as Togo, but not to his face, had as his partner Heslop Beaver. Mr. Beaver later left to go abroad to Lebanon, where he died at an advanced age. They were agricultural engineers etc. At the end nearest Church Street was an ancient building, timber framed and wattle and daub. This was once a pub, The Farriers Arms, commonly known as The Horseshoes. Next to this was the house occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Eglington. It had a red brick facing, but I believe was wattle and daub at the back. Next to the house was the travis where Walter “Progums” Rudd and Jimmy Plume used to shoe horses. Then came an open space in front of the carpenter’s shop; here was the furnace where tyres were heated and also the wheel plate on which wheels were shod. Next to Malthouse Yard was the office and the “long shed”. All these were cleared away to make room for the present shop. and other buildings. On the opposite side of the road was the old malt-house, also part of Eglington’s premises except for the area occupied by Wilkin Bros. who had a small milling business. The far end of the maltings, in St. John’s Alley was turned into a hall for the Salvation Army by Mr. Eglington, but it remained his property. Beside his main business Mr. Eglington also had an undertaker’s business. When he sold out to Messrs. Randell he still retained the undertaking business and he had premises off Ollands Road, at the Pightle next to the Long Loke. He had Glebe House (next to Newland Villas) built on Station Road and lived there. Mr. Eglington was involved in almost every aspect of life in Reepham; as parish councillor, vice captain and captain of the fire brigade, a prominent Odd Fellow, in fact very little went on in which he did �not have a hand, or at least a finger. The Vicar, the Reverend B. P. Luscombe, used to describe him as “our worthy mayor”. It may be appropriate at this point to have a word about St. John’s Alley. Its name derives from George St. John, who lived in the house in the Market Place called Carlton House and the shop, (now the Bridal shop) with all the extensive premises behind in which he manufactured candles. He was the last representative of an old established Reepham family. A large part of Ollands Road was taken up by the grounds of The Ollands, a large house where lived E. Philips Oppenheim, well known author of spy stories. Built in 1832 for William Bircham, the brewer, it was later sold to J. A. Kendrew Esq. It has now been demolished and houses built on the site. The name The Ollands came from the land it was built on which was a croft of that name. Mill Hill is the site of a former windmill owned by a man named George. When William Bircham built The Ollands he planted trees near the windmill, so stopping the wind and making the mill useless. This angered Mr. George, who is said to have got his own back by building the row of cottages opposite The Ollands, causing Mr. Bircham to build a high wall to stop being overlooked. I cannot vouch for the truth of this. Opposite Mill Hill is a house that was then called The Limes (1920’s). Here lived Miss Georgianna Sharpin and her brothers, Walter and Hobart. Lastly in Ollands Road was the Crown pub, licensee Walter Ward, later Arthur Andrews. Crown Meadow on the opposite side of New Road was a venue for fairs and circuses and a stopping place for gypsies, (or didicois). One well known Romany family, the Grays, were regular visitors to the field. Nobody had any objections to them, they were very respectable people and generally welcomed. The women went from door to door selling pegs and other odds and ends and the men did a bit of “dickey dealing”. My employer, Mr. Reeder, the baker, bought a pony from them once and had no complaints. Gypsies are not the layabouts and rogues they are sometimes made out to be. I never heard of anything being stolen while they were around, though I would not guarantee that there was not an odd pheasant in their pot occasionally. Kerdiston Road. On the right was the yard of the Methodist Chapel with its stable, gighouse and graveyard. There is now a bungalow built on it. The graveyard where the founding fathers of the chapel were buried has been desecrated, their bones removed and buried elsewhere. I wonder what those old Wesleyans would say if they could see it now. Next to the chapel used to be three rather dilapidated and very old cottages which belonged to the chapel until the 1930’s when they were sold. In the yard in front of them was a well from which they obtained their water. They had a brick wall in front and a large ash tree stood in the middle. They were demolished about 1960. Next was a market garden belonging to the Vardigans family. This is now full of houses and named Silver End. Opposite was a field belonging to Irelands the auctioneers, a kind of extension to their sale ground. Here was held the annual Michaelmas sale on the nearest Wednesday to 11 th October, old Michaelmas day. On that day rents were due, tenancies changed hands and farm workers changed their employer. It was the time of year when lots of people were on the move and the Michaelmas sale was a convenient way of disposing of surplus implements, furniture and various odds and ends. Crowds of people looked for a bargain. At times it was a venue for a fair after they stopped going on to the Market Place and even before it sometimes took an overflow from the Market Place. It was also the venue for circuses. Next to this field was a pightle belonging to Fords, the bakers, reaching as far as the end of Smuggler’s Lane. On the opposite side, where the house called Pepper’s Close now is, was an orchard belonging to Watts Austin, former butcher. (Incidentally this piece of land is called Peppers Close on the tithe map). Mr. Austin also had the next piece of ground, on which stands the house called Greenfields with a corrugated iron shed on it. It is said that this was the site where plague victims were once buried but I know of no other evidence to substantiate this. Next to Greenfields stands another pightle and beyond this used to be a post marking the boundary between Hackford and Kerdiston. Further along were the Kerdiston clay pits. There were two pits on the left close to the road, in which all the dustbin rubbish of Hackford was dumped. (The other parishes had no refuse collection). On the other side of the road was another pit with trees growing in it and water in the bottom. Next is the end of Catchback Lane, then a little plantation or coppice and then a meadow running down to the railway embankment. In this meadow used to be a little pit or pond in which great crested newts lived. A beck runs under the road here in a culvert under the railway bridge. This is known as Smithel Beck, really Smithfield, the name of the meadows that join Worlds End. �Further along on the right were three gates side by side, the two outside ones were into fields and the middle one was into a loke leading to some meadows. This was known as Parsons Three Gates and said to be haunted by the parson’s ghost. I know no other details as to who the parson was or anything else. Further along, still on the left hand side is the remains of the base of Kerdiston Cross. There used to be a similar one in Hackford parish near Sun Barn Pit, destroyed when Sun Barn Walk was made. Another similar one in Whitwell just beyond the railway bridge has also now gone. Beyond the cross on the right is a very large and very old elm tree. This is known as Grandmother tree, so known for many years. It was Grandmother tree when my grandfather was a boy in the 1860’s. How it got the name I do not know. The land going off to the right leads through Kerdy Green to Wood Dalling. On the fork were the white gates of Manor Farm, the trees which lined the drive are still there. We next come to Old Hall Farm, the hall itself was not here but in the Giant’s Moat in the meadows beyond. That was the original Manor House and believed to be the seat of the de Kerdeston family. Past the farm and turn left are some houses on the right hand side, generally called Kerdiston Clay Lumps, built of clay lump and thatch by the old Aylsham Rural District Council about 1921. They were not a great success. Traditional building materials have to be used in a traditional way but these were built in a modern style, unlike the old clay lump and thatch houses with low eaves to protect the walls. There were originally two pairs of houses but one got burnt almost to the ground and was turned into a bungalow and the roof was tiled. The other pair is now also tiled. Next to the Clay Lumps is a narrow lane going from one road to the other, called Blind Lane, more or less pointing in the direction of the Giants Moat. It may have been connected at one time. There is a story of a ghostly coach, drawn by headless horses and driven by a headless coachman coming from the direction of the Giants Moat and through Blind Lane. There is a possible connection with the story of Sir Thomas Boleyn driving in a ghostly carriage over a number of bridges in Norfolk. The Boleyns did own this manor at one time. However that is mere speculation. Kerdiston Road from Smithfield onwards was called Castlegate. Gate is an Anglo-Saxon word for road or street, so this means the road to the castle, alluding to the castle or manor house which once stood within the Giant’s Moat. The Giant by local tradition was that member of the de Kerdeston family whose tomb is in the chancel of St. Mary’s Church. The effigy was always known as the Kerdiston Giant when I was a boy. Now to Reepham Moor, starting at the Moor Corner. Where the fir trees are on the corner once stood a farm house. This was demolished when the Moor House was built. The Moor House was built by Samuel Bircham about 1888, at least that is the date over the front door. Sam Bircham, related to the brewers, was a solicitor in London. He did not live in the house for very long and it was let to various tenants. In the 1920’s it was occupied by Ernest Hudson. There used to be a well known brand of washing powder called Hudson’s Soap and Mr. Hudson was said to be that Hudson. I do not know if he was but we used to call him “Soapy” Hudson. In his later years he was pushed about in a wheelchair. The house on the corner, opposite the Black Lion was occupied by his gardener, Mr. Barkway. He had another gardener, John Frankland and also a garden boy. The gardens were always immaculate. The Black Lion was built at the same time as the Moor House, as can be seen by the date on the gable end. It was built by Sam Bircham to replace the original pub which he pulled down when he built the Moor House, together with a row of cottages. These were on the other side of the road and the road was then the other side of the gardener’s house and stables and came out near the Moor Corner. The landlord of the Black Lion in the 1920’s was John Marsh and after him, Tom Horn, who had previously been in the Moor Farm. The house opposite, once the veterinary surgeons, then had two cottages attached. These are all now incorporated. The large house was occupied by the Dennis family. Henry Dennis was a chimney sweep, he was originally from Norwich but his wife came from Stiffkey, from whence the family moved to Reepham and were of course known as “Stukey blues”. The house was later occupied by William Overton, who had had the bakers business in Church Street, and had been forced to retire due to ill health. Mr. Overton had a Trojan car with which he did a bit of hire work, advertising it as a Clean, Cheap, Cosy ride. On the other side, a bit further on was a General Store run by John Andrews, a retired policeman. It had previously been run by Philip Hunt who moved from there to Station Plain, where he had the former laundry made into a shop. Collison’s builders yard was on the other side of the road. The two cottages opposite �Collison’s were built from the bricks from the demolished farmhouse on Moor Corner. Next to them was a row of ancient thatched clay lump cottages which were demolished during the last war. Next to the thatched cottages in the 1920’s stood a barn. Originally on this spot was an old farm house which was demolished by the owner, Sam Bircham, and the barn built in its place. The house had a steep roof and the barn was made to resemble it. The farm was really more a small-holding. In the 1920’s and 30’s it was farmed by Fred Neale, who at first lived in the house called “The Old Monastery”, and later lived in a dwelling made from two railway carriages. The whole farm is now built over. This part of the Moor is called Stocks Hill, as on the opposite corner was where the Reepham parish stocks once stood. Just round the corner are three houses, two of them thatched and one tiled. The next house, which has a porch, is said to have been the Reepham Rectory at some time. Next is the block which contains The Old Monastery. It was given this name by a man named Lovick, a retired Superintendent of Police, who lived further along the Moor. He is supposed to have done some research and found out that there had been a monastery there, but this has been denied by people who should know. It was he who had the plaque put over the door with the head of Edward III. Mr. Lovick fancied himself as a gentleman. He usually wore a grey bowler and also spats. Behind his back he was called Blue Blood. Next to the Monastery were some dilapidated old cottages belonging to an old lady, named Mrs. Rowlands who lived in one of them. They were demolished in 1939. Beyond the footpath to Salle was a row of seventeenth century cottages which have since been converted into a single house. Next to these on what is now part of the grounds of Moor Lodge, once stood some more houses known as Whitehall. These were demolished many years ago. Opposite is the house then occupied by the Mr Lovick mentioned above. The Moor Lodge was occupied by H. T. Owen, manager of Barclay’s Bank, and his wife, a daughter of Canon Wilkinson, a former Rector of Reepham. Beyond Moor Lodge is another group of cottages and beyond them is Manor Farm. In the 1920’s this was farmed by two elderly ladies, the Misses Boddy. They had attempted to farm it since the death of their father, but unfortunately they had not been brought up as farmers but as ladies of leisure, and left the running of the farm to an employee, who made more out of it than they did. Scrupulously honest themselves, they believed others to be the same but learned the hard way. Eventually they had to leave the farm and moved to a cottage on Whitwell Road with very little to live on but the old age pension. The next tenant of the farm was Arthur Hubbard. Further along used to be a lane, known as Sandy Lane, which crossed the railway by a crossing which was used by farm vehicles. From the railway it crossed a field and connected with a lane which led to Cawston Road. This used to be regarded as a public right of way. I do not know if it really was or not, at any rate it has disappeared without trace, like so many others which used to be walked freely when I was young. Another footpath ran from Moor Farm to Reepham Common. This apparently has also been lost (and so has the common). The next thoroughfare we look at is now a mere footpath but it was once a main road. This is Bar Lane which until about 1800 was called Gracious Street and was then demoted to the status of a footpath. The name apparently comes from the fact of its being the way from Whitwell to its parish church. Gracechurch Street in the city of London was known as Gracious Street in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries but was formerly called Grasse Church Street. It gets its name from the church of St. Benet Gracechurch, originally Grass Church, perhaps because it was roofed with turf, as Whitwell church may have been originally. At least the name had some connection with the church we may be sure. So much for Gracious Street, now we come back to the 1920’s. The house at the end of Bar Lane was a fish and chip shop. On the opposite side, adjoining the Greyhound, were three houses which have since been demolished. The smallest one of the three had a half door like a stable. I remember seeing the old lady who lived there, with the top half of the door open looking over the bottom half as a horse does in a stable. A bit further along were two more houses end ways to the lane. These are still there but made into one. They backed on to a building where pigs were kept and were not very salubrious. On the opposite side of the lane were cowsheds and a drain in the lane was very smelly. There were allotments a bit further on, and on an adjoining piece of ground quoits used to be played. At the end of this section of the lane, at the junction with Robins Lane was a clapgate and on either side of the �gate, what was then Holah’s Pasture, was a small lodge. These have now been demolished. Robin’s Lane, incidentally is nothing to do with the bird, but from someone of that name. The other side of the pasture gate was another clapgate and yet another one at the Whitwell Street end. In Whitwell Street the first house was the Star pub, a timber framed building with a brick facing in the front. Next to this were two ancient timber framed thatched cottages. These have been demolished and replaced by a bungalow. Next are two more old cottages which have been made into one. Then two pairs of brick and tile cottages of a later date and then Dairy Farm with its barn of 1790. Just past the junction with Duffus, or Dovehouse Lane is a small bungalow which was built in the 1920’s for the cost, it is said, of £50. Next on the left are a pair of Victorian cottages which have been enlarged recently. On the right is Ivy House, which is probably Georgian. Opposite is a stile to a footpath which crosses the beck by a footbridge to Great Witchingham. Further along is a cluster of old cottages and a row of terraced houses known as Bilham’s Hill; apparently from John Bilham, who is described as a machine owner in White’s Norfolk Directory of 1845. Beyond this point the road becomes a narrow lane, little more than a footpath and joins Mill Road. Stoney Lane starts at Station Plain and ends by the railway bridge on Kerdiston Road. On the left hand side were nothing but fields but on the right was railway property. The only building near the road was a tarred wooden building which had once been occupied by a family as a dwelling. This was replaced by a garage, which was used by Messrs. Stimpson and Hurn who had one of the station granaries. A bit further along were the cattle pens where on market days cattle were loaded on to trucks for London. A large number of fat bullocks went from Reepham market each week, from Whitwell station as well as Reepham. Just past the cattle pens was a post marking the boundary of Reepham and Kerdiston and on the opposite side one marking the boundary of Hackford. Up to this point Reepham is on the right and Hackford on the left of Stoney Lane. At the bottom of the hill was a bungalow made from a railway carriage. This site has an interesting history. In the early 1920’s a man named Dick Woods returned to Reepham from Canada, a disillusioned emigrant. He bought this piece of land and put on it a sort of shepherd’s hut and here he lived. He tried several ways of making a living. He went from door to door selling small items and on Saturday nights he had a stall on the market place from which he sold hot peas. After a year or two of this Dick married and got a regular job on a farm at Brandiston which had a house with the job. For many years afterwards Dick and his wife could be seen at weekends riding round the countryside on a tandem. His place on Stoney Hill was taken by another returned wanderer, an elderly man named Henry Juby. Henry was a boy working on a farm at Kerdiston when he was involved in some boyish mischief. Being afraid of his employer’s anger he ran away. It was rather like the old boys adventure stories where the hero runs away to sea. Henry made his way to the coast where he got a job on a ship and eventually got to America, worked as a cowhand for a time but worked his way over many parts of the country. A book of his experiences would have made fascinating reading. About 1925, after about fifty years away, he decided to come home to Reepham. The railway had not been built when he left and when he got off the train at Reepham station he did not know where he was. However he soon got his bearings and made his way to his sister’s house at Hackford Vale. He took the site at Stoney Lane from Dick Woods and there he lived for the next ten years or so. I remember seeing him wearing one of those broad brimmed hats made familiar by the cowboy films. About 1935 he went back to America but to his disgust he was refused admission. Back in England again he refused to be beaten and went to Canada. He said it would be easy to walk over the border. That is what he did it seems as he was away for another three or four years, returning just before the outbreak of war. He did not go away again but died in Reepham at a good old age. Meanwhile the Stoney Lane site had been taken over by Fred Egmore, a chimney sweep. He had a railway carriage put there and lived in it with his wife and family. They were there until the 1950’s when an elderly couple named Brett, who were Londoners, lived there. The last person to live there was Dudley Bush, an eccentric character whose father was a builder at Cawston. Dudley is still remembered by many Reepham people. Someone has taken the place over and is doing some work on it. There may be another chapter to the Stoney Lane story.  Since this was written it became “The Wooden Bungalow” and kept the name for some time after being rebuilt in brick. �Back Street merits a chapter of its own. (THE) BACK STREET That is how we used to call it, The Back Street with a sign to prove it. In my younger days this street stretched from the rear of the Sun Inn down to the George and Dragon corner; but now the bottom half has a sign saying Church Street. To an old native like me this seems all wrong. Other roads in Reepham are also differently named from those they had in my younger days. However, this description, starting at the rear of the Sun Inn, 29 will include the part now called Church Street. The Sun belonged to the Norwich brewers, Steward and Patterson, Pockthorpe Brewery. The Watson family were the licensees for many years. The pub was altered considerably in the 1920’s. I do not remember what it looked like before that. Next are the backs of the other houses on the south side of the Market Place, thus explaining the derivation of the name. Ivy House 28 was the home of Mrs. Wilton and family in the 1920’s. She ran the telephone exchange, (not many phones in those days) until Barclays Bank took over Mr. Jewell’s the druggist’s shop. Mrs. Wilton moved across the road, taking the telephone exchange with her. Mr. Jewell moved to Ivy House, turning part of it into a shop. Ivy House is now Purdy’s, the solicitors office and the shop, after various uses, is now a florists. Ivy House has no outlet to Back Street. Next to Ivy House was the Post Office 27 in what was called Iona House, home of the postmaster Donald Kendall Chapman and his two sisters, Hilary a semi invalid, and Olive who kept house and helped in the Post Office and shop. The Post Office is now a greengrocers and the Chapman’s front room is now part of Diane’s Pantry. 26 The main part of the latter was the shop and dwelling of a butcher, William Utting, who had taken it after Watts Austin, the last of a long line of butchers of that name. After Mr Utting retired a Mr and Mrs. Bennett had a fishmongers business there. Next is the rear of the King’s Arms, 52 formerly stables. Where the concrete path is next to the street was formerly a lean-to building which took all the droppings etc. from the stables which were eventually carted away to manure the fields. This added to other smells in the street, which included fish and chips, baking bread, beer, smelly drains, pigs and cows. Not a very pleasant environment. Sewell Eglington’s cows came along the street twice a day to be milked. Next to Pudding Pie alley was a high wall, totally enclosing the garden of the Bircham Institute till part of it was demolished to make an access from the street. It is now in a ruinous state and rather an eyesore. The next buildings53 were originally the stable and Coach House belonging to Hackford House. When Sam Bircham gave Hackford House to Reepham to become the Bircham Institute these buildings were the Scout Headquarters and were not included in the gift. The Scout troop was run by Mr. Bircham and at his death the Scouts troop died too and the buildings became vacant. They were later sold to Mr. J. Symonds who turned them into a house and granary. His wife started the fish and chip shop. This is still going after seventy years or more, under various owners. Then came three old cottages, built endways to the street. The first was Bob Gray’s barber’s shop 54 with the traditional barber’s pole outside. He had two lurcher dogs and was reputed to do a bit of poaching. His prices for hair cuts were four old pence men and two pence boys. He lived with his wife in the cottage next door. About 1933 Mr. Gray was taken into Thorpe Mental hospital. The story goes that Spriggs the butcher was having a shave when Bob started behaving in an alarming manner so Spriggs got up from the chair and ran off down the street with lather on his face and a towel round his neck. The shop was then taken over by barber, Clifford Plume who was only sixteen at the time. The cottages were demolished by John Ringwood. He built the present house on the site and named it “Llamedos” (try reading it backwards). He converted the former blacksmiths shop into a hairdressers shop for his wife Christine. As well as being a builder Mr. Ringwood was a professional wrestler, fighting under the name of “Reepham Ringo”. He was accidentally killed when a trench that he was working in collapsed. The Town Hall55 was built by subscription in 1860 as the Hackford and Whitwell parochial school which it remained till the 1890’s. It was replaced by a new school in Whitwell parish. Much altered, it is now known as Reepham County Primary School. The old school was then called Hackford Parish Hall until the three parishes of Reepham were united under one parish council when it became Reepham Town Hall, and despite claims by the church it has always been the property of the parish. �Back Street has a sandy subsoil for its whole length, unlike the Market Place which is a chalky clay. The churches are probably built on sand, a better foundation for a building than clay, despite the biblical parable of the house built on sand. Many of our medieval churches are built on sand. When the new church was built at Bawdeswell in the 1950’s the architect James Fletcher-Watson had all the foundations dug down to the undisturbed sand. At the bottom of the street by the corner of the churchyard it is running sand, a sort of underground stream which caused quite a problem when the sewer was being laid. This may not now be the same as I believe the water table is lower than it was then. When the sewer and water main were being laid a man’s skeleton, said to have been about three hundred years old, was uncovered in the middle of the street. I found a small copper coin nearby dating from Charles II which may have been buried with the body. Who he was and why buried in the street is a mystery. Unfortunately I subsequently lost the coin. The first house on the southside of the street was the Duke of York public house, 56 said to be the oldest pub in Reepham. The landlord Mr. Tom Bacon was a real character, such as is not seen nowadays. He was an unusual publican in that he was a teetotaller. He also farmed a little land, worked on the sale ground on Market days and was refuse collector and night soil mover for Hackford Parish, the only one of the four parishes that ran to such luxuries at that time. After he had rubber tyres put on his night soil cart someone stopped and asked him what place this was he replied “Reepham, the only place with three churches in one churchyard and a po cart on rubbers” The horse he used he acquired about the time the Duke of Kent married Princess Marina, so the horse was named Marina. Marina pulled his cart for many years. Somewhere on the corner near the entrance to the Duke of York yard is where the three parishes of Reepham St. Mary, Hackford and Whitwell meet. According to H.E. Hawes’ “Reepham in Threes” a man, walking thirty paces from St. Mary’s Church gate towards the Duke of York, will be standing in all three parishes. There is a fragment of an ancient cross, preserved in St. Mary’s Church, said to have stood where the three parishes meet. I believe that this could have been the original churchyard cross, placed there before the churches were built. No doubt some would disagree. On the other side of the street, starting from the former Duke of York pub is a row of small terraced cottages, built, I believe by William Sewell. He lived further along the street at The Oaks. At the end of this row is another small cottage, joined to a much larger house 57 which in the 1920’s was occupied by John Russell, watch and clockmaker. Adjoining this is a smaller building, formerly a lodging house. One of the cottages had a large sign on the front saying H. Watson, tailor. It is said Mr. Watson once had a shop in Cromer which failed, causing him to return to his native town of Reepham; (he was I believe brother to Fred Watson of the Sun). Mr. and Mrs. Watson had two daughters, one of which married Lee Hall, eldest son of John Hall the harness maker. He worked for Purdy and Holly solicitors and was secretary of the Eynsford Lodge of Odd Fellows. The other daughter married Cecil Miller, son of Mrs. B.M. Miller newsagent in the Market Place. There was also a son called Colin. Another resident of whom I shall write later was Alfred Burrage, a baker. I must also mention the Wyers who used to sell sweets at their door and ice cream in summer. James Wyer, nicknamed Swimmer, used to have a stall on the Market Place on Saturdays selling ice cream. The small cottage next to John Russell’s was occupied by Mr. Sam Lynn. and his wife. People often addressed him as Mr Ling but his name was Lynn as in King’s Lynn. After the Lynns departed it was taken by George Dunnett and his wife. Mr. Dunnett was over ninety years of age. There were not many of those around in those days. Next to The Lodging House is Rookery Farm, 58 occupied in the 1920’s by Mrs. Holah. She carried on farming after the death of her husband, George. She had a grown up son and daughter, Stanley and Violet, and a younger son and daughter, George and Nancy who were at school with me. When Mrs. Holah retired, the farm was taken over by Alfred Steward. He came from Marsham and had won a bit of money on the football pools, or so it was said. This enabled him to take on the farm and run it successfully for many years. However his life was not without trouble. When he came to Reepham he had a wife and two daughters and another daughter was born at Reepham. While this girl was still quite young Mrs. Steward died. Later on Mr. Steward married Queenie, daughter of Monty Bishop, landlord of the Kings Arms. The two older daughters both got married and later on sadly died. The younger daughter, Doreen, married Austin Burton and went to live at Dairy Farm, Whitwell Street. Next to Rookery Farm stands the house at the end of Bar Lane. 59 This used to be a shop, occupied in the 1920’s by Ambrose Frankland and family who sold fish and chips. Ambrose and his wife, whose maiden name was Skipper, were members of the Plymouth Brethren who had a meeting place in the Market Place �next to Hiltons (now the Town Office). When another fish and chip shop opened at the Towns End the Franklands gave up and moved to a Council house on Station Road. The house was then taken by carpenter Cecil Miller and his wife. The shop window was used to display gravestones. The Millers later moved to the Mill House on Ollands Road. The shop window was removed and replaced by a door and the place was used as a garage for some years and later turned back into a house. On the other side of Bar Lane is the Greyhound, 60 the only pub in Reepham, except for the Duke of York, which belonged to the Norwich brewery of Youngs, Crawshay and Youngs. The landlord in the early 1920’s was named Godfrey. I do not remember him very well but the next landlord was Arthur Medler. The Medlers had three young sons, Raymond, Arthur and John who went to Reepham School. Arthur was killed in a road accident some years ago, I do not know about Raymond but John is still going strong, I believe as a timber merchant etc. at Felthorpe. Next to the Greyhound yard is Eglington’s yard. 61 This goes through to School Road but is not a public right of way. There was a pump in the Greyhound yard which was used by all the houses round about. On the left of the yard is the old bakery office, which in the 1920’s was occupied by Herbert Neal and later by Albert Reeder. George Douglas, who worked for Mr. Neal, was found drowned in Booton claypits. This tragedy led the Neals to give up the bakery business and move to Station Road. On the right hand side of the yard was the house and shop, miscalled “The Old Bakery”, 62 that was occupied by the baker. This bakery goes back to the eighteenth century and was then occupied by the Scurll family. Readers of Parson Woodforde’s Diary will remember Woodforde’s servant whom he called Briton and who was the son of Mr. Scurrl who had this bakery; not the bakery in the Market Place as some people think. The cottage adjoining the house was used by Sewell Eglington as a dairy. The Oaks63 was the home of Miss Edith Eglington and her nephew Sewell William Pescod Eglington junior who farmed the land which went with the house. The Eglingtons were descended from the Sewell family, who built wagons and houses and were farmers, undertakers and goodness knows what else. They had occupied the property for many generations. Apparently they never threw anything away and when Sewell Eglington died there was an amazing collection of ancient implements, tools etc. which were sold by auction and raised a large sum of money Next to The Oaks was the house and shop occupied by the Wilkerson family who sold, beside grocery, a bit of almost everything. The Wilkersons originally came from the Broads area, where Mr. Wilkerson had once been a Wherryman. He had a pony and cart with which he ran a regular round selling paraffin and various other items, announcing his presence with a cry of ‘lamp oil’. The shop later passed to his son George who ran the business for many years. One of the next cottages was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chilly. Mr. Chilly was a signalman at Whitwell Station. Mrs. Chilly was a Scottish lady from somewhere near Fort William, I believe. The first house in the next block of buildings was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. W. Freeston. The adjoining house was used by Mrs. Freeston as an egg depot with a board on the wall announcing this. Most people in those days (1920’s and 30’s) kept a few hens and could here dispose of any surplus eggs. Mr. Freeston was a coal merchant in a small way with a depot at Whitwell Station. Nelson Yard 64 has a row of four terraced houses65 set back from the street and then there is Nelson House. 66 This former public house was the home of the Pask family who had a tailor’s shop at the Town’s End. Mr. William Alfred Pask was apprenticed to a tailor in Reepham in the 1870’s and afterwards set up his own business. Married three times he raised a large family and lived to a great age. It is said he could remember seeing a public hanging in Norwich as a boy The house with half timbering has been given the name The Cardinal’s Hat. 67 Why, I do not know. The half timbering is only on the street-side, the rest is brick. Until about thirty years ago it had no access to Back Street, the only access was by Sun Barn Yard which was its postal address. It was acquired by George Anderson an architect by profession, who made a doorway into the street and restored the house to what he thought it was like in Tudor times. He called the house “Candle Court”. George Anderson had an interesting history. He was the illegitimate son of Herbert Smith, a butler, and a Swedish maid. George was brought, as an infant in 1895 to his grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Smith who lived at Whitwell, where Mr. Smith was employed at Leeds’ tannery. The Swedish lady it seems went home to Sweden. In 1904 Stephen Leeds died and his tannery was sold to Major Timothy White of Salle Park who closed the tannery and dismissed all the workers. The Smiths were left destitute and had to apply for relief from the parish. There was no redundancy �pay or unemployment benefit in those days. They then moved to the lower end of Back Street, now known as Church Street. George grew up in Reepham knowing nothing of his origin until he was joining the army in World War One. His father told him the story. He had not been told who his parents were and did not know that the Smiths were his grandparents. After the war, although his father did not approve, he decided to go to Sweden to look up his mother’s family. He was warmly welcomed. He became an architect in Norwich and was involved in the restoration of Norwich Cathedral. He married a Miss Venables, the daughter of a Methodist minister and had one daughter, Margaret, who also became an architect. On retirement he bought the house as related above and lived there until his death. Nothing seems to be known about the early history of this house except that it dates back to Tudor times. Mr. Anderson had an idea that it might once have been Hackford Rectory. My guess is that it was the farmhouse for Sun Barn Farm or that it could have belonged to the adjoining malt house or perhaps they all went together. The part of the malt house68 next door was once a house, and for a time, a florist’s shop. THE OLD BAKERY The following article was written in the early days of the Reepham Society as a contribution to the Newsletter, it was also published in the now defunct magazine Norfolk Fair. This was in the 1970’s. Dick Joice was a Norfolk farmer who became a presenter on Anglia Television in its early days and appeared almost every day. A programme that he used to present was called "Bygones" He was guest speaker at a cheese and wine party at Whitwell Hall given by the Reepham Society. This was an annual event at that time, (about 1970). He was not expecting anyone to recognise the bread rasp and was somewhat disconcerted when I did. I had not seen one since the 1930’s. It was identical to the one I had used about forty years before in Reeder’s Bakery in Back Street, and it brought back a lot of memories. Later on I also recognised a tool for taking bark from trees to use for tanning. Dick was not very pleased. Dick Joice is no longer with us but I believe his collection of bygones can still be seen at Holkham Hall. On a personal note, I started work at the Old Bakery in 1934; the proprietor then being Mr. Albert Reeder and his son Walter. Neither father nor son had been long in the baking trade. Mr. Reeder senior had been manager of a shoe shop in Cromer and Walter had been a grocery assistant. The most experienced person working there was Mr. Alfred Burrage, a pensioner who worked part time to supplement his pension (ten shillings per week in those days). He was born in Norwich, the son of a master baker I believe and had followed his father in the business but failed it seems through drink. However, he knew the baking trade thoroughly and I got a good grounding from him. When I wrote the article I did not know much about the history of the bakery, but I have learned since that it was owned in the eighteenth century by the Sewell family who figure in Woodforde’s’ "Diary of a Country Parson" The servant whom the parson calls Briton was the son of the baker. The shop and house were next to the street, but the bake office (as it was called) was and still is at the bottom of the yard – a low lean-to building with a big chimney. It had a stable door entrance and in the middle of the room was the trough (pronounced to rhyme with dough) in which the dough was made, and on the right was the table on which it was scaled and moulded. At the far end was the oven, built of brick, known as a side flue oven, with a coal burning furnace on the left. When the oven was fired the flames would circle round the oven to the flue on the right. One dough would be made overnight. Sacks of flour, or more correctly half sacks (140lbs), were stacked next to the wall behind the trough. Two sacks were shot into the trough, enough for one batch. Water had to be carried in pails from a pump in the Greyhound yard next door. (No piped water in those days). Water was heated in the oven in an iron boiler and, when the correct temperature, was added to the flour. Yeast and salt were dissolved separately and the whole lot mixed by hand, then wrapped up to keep it warm and left till morning. �Early next morning the oven would be stoked up and the dough taken from the trough and put on the table. While this was being scaled, moulded and put into tins someone would be making another “faster” dough which would be ready for use when the first batch was drawn. By the time the first batch had proved in the tins, the oven would be up to temperature, the smoky pieces of coal raked from the furnace and the oven swabbed out. The swab was a wet sack attached to a long pole and used for cleaning the floor and walls of the oven. The tinned loaves were placed in the oven using the peel (a flat shovel with a long handle). The furnace was blocked off from the oven by the boiler, full of water, and a piece of sheet iron, to stop the loaves nearest the furnace getting burnt. After forty five minutes the bread was ready, using the peel again; this brings me back to the bread rasp, used for removing any black which might have got onto a loaf from the oven sides. The next dough was then scaled off, the oven flashed, the process repeated. Though this method seems crude, the product was much better than the “stuff” produced by modern bakeries. After the bread and other goods had been baked, the next job was cooking peoples’ dinners. Many of the houses did not have ovens and electricity was too expensive, so, particularly at weekends, joints of meat, Yorkshire puddings and many other items were brought to the Bake Office to be cooked. The charge I believe was 2d per item, not what could be called dear. Bakers did not make a fortune from this service, but as the oven was already hot, it was all profit. The same thing happened on Christmas morning with Christmas dinners, but the oven had to be specially heated on this occasion. The price of bread during these years ranged from 3¾d to 4¼d per 2lb loaf, less than one tenth of the present price – and a loaf today is only 1¾lbs. There were two other bakeries in Reepham – Ford’s in the Market Place and Morley’s in Church Street – but alas now there are none. THE IRONMONGER’S SHOP The ironmonger’s shop of Edward Gibbs & Son was said to have started in the eighteenth century and was supposed to be the oldest ironmongery shop in Norfolk. The first mention I can find is in Pigott’s National Directory of 1830 where Mary George, is listed as an Ironmonger and Colour and Seed Dealer. This is similar to the entry in White’s Norfolk Directory of 1836. In Harrod’s Directory of 1868 the name is William George. White in 1883 lists S&W Leeds. Edward Gibbs took over in 1888. As a small boy I frequently visited these premises as my grandfather worked there. An ironmonger’s shop may not seem the most interesting place but I found it fascinating. The shop with its smell of linseed oil, turpentine and goodness knows what, stairs leading to mysterious cellars or attics that contained all sorts of interesting things. Most intriguing of all was the seed room, up a winding staircase and three stories high, through a doorway with a sign saying “Mind your head”. This was where the grass and clover seeds were mixed for hay. Occasionally I was allowed to accompany my grandfather when he went with a horse and cart delivering iron bars to blacksmiths in the district. I remember Millet’s of Sparham and Barret’s of Lyng among others. The journey to Lyng was particularly exciting as it meant going through the river; the present bridge had not then been built. Another blacksmith was Mr. Hardiment at Kerdiston where the horse was shod. I also remember going to Weston House and also Heydon Hall. These trips were to deliver paraffin I think, I may be wrong. It was a long time ago and I was very young. Sadly, for me, these trips came to an end when Mr. Gibbs replaced the cart with a motor vehicle. A man named Henry Rose drove this. Grandfather never learned to drive it. My grandfather, Thomas Piercy, worked at the shop for Stephen Leeds for some years before Mr. Gibbs took over the business. He was born in 1861 and lived with his parents at Thorney Farm, Kerdiston, where his father was steward. Aged fourteen he left school (the old Hackford and Whitwell school, now Reepham Town Hall), and worked with his father on the farm till 1879. He decided that he did not care much for farm work and got a job with S. & S.W. Leeds, Ironmongers and Steel merchants at fifteen shillings (75p) per week. The two Leeds were uncle and nephew, both named Stephen, not to be confused with Leeds the tanner at Whitwell who was also named Stephen. The elder Leeds lived at the shop and the younger at Church Hill, �in the house now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Betts. After some years, Thomas decided to join the Metropolitan Police but when the Leeds heard of it they promptly raised his wages to a pound, which persuaded him to change his mind. The two Leeds both died within a short time and the business was sold to Mr. Edward Gibbs. The Leeds widows lived together at Church Hill where young Stephen’s son, Willy, also died of consumption. When Mr. Gibbs first took over he knew the ironmongery trade but not so much about the seed side of the business and relied on grandfather’s knowledge. The two were about the same age and became more like friends than employer and employee. Grandfather’s eldest son, Fred, was apprenticed at Gibbs but was killed in an accident in the shop. Another son, Wilfred, took his place. After serving his time he went to work for a Norwich Ironmonger. He volunteered for the army in the 1914-18 war and was killed in action in 1916. Grandfather stayed at the shop till he took his pension at the age of 65, and even then he still went in part time almost until his death in 1930, making 50 years all told. This piece was intended to be about the ironmonger’s shop but has turned out to be mostly about my grandfather, but perhaps it will be of some interest to those who are interested in the past; it is a piece of social history anyway. Sadly, the shop is no more, the buildings remain but have been converted to other uses. These old fashioned ironmongers have had their day; they either had to change to meet present day requirements or perish. Many of the goods that were their stock in trade are no longer needed. With no horses on farms, blacksmiths have no need of iron for horseshoes. There is not much demand for paraffin and shotgun cartridges are massproduced, not filled by hand as my grandfather used to do at Gibbs. On the seed side there is a similar story, with no horses eating hay there is none grown and no demand for hayseed. Cattle are not fattened in yards any more so there is no demand for swede or mangold seeds. Much as we may regret the passing of these traditional trades, change is inevitable. Ironmongery and seed merchanting is one of many trades that once flourished in Reepham that have now gone. THE BAND HALL The United Methodist Chapel has now disappeared and two houses now occupy its site in Fisher’s Alley. In this Chapel before the 1914 war Mr. Horace Howard, a farmer at Booton, started a bible class for young men that proved quite popular. However early in the war with Zeppelin raids and blackout restrictions, Mr. Howard reluctantly decided that he could not carry on the class. Mr. John Walker had recently arrived in Reepham to open a branch for Wallace King, the Norwich furniture store. Mr. Walker was a strong temperance advocate and he suggested to Mr. Howard that a Band of Hope should be started in the Chapel after a Band of Hope had been successfully running at Sparham. Mr. Howard agreeing, the Reepham Band of Hope was launched and soon had 100 members including men of the Middlesex Yeomanry who were billeted in the town. Mr. Walker was assisted by Mr. C. Guyton, carpenter and Mr. Sam Barrett and family, a farmer in Whitwell. The Band of Hope, which was not confined to United Methodists but had members from all denominations, rapidly outgrew the Chapel and larger premises were needed. An army hut was found on Mousehold Heath which was purchased by Jesse Bircham, a Reepham chemist who also bought for £70 from H. E. Hawes the site in Sun Barn Yard where once had been some sort of pig and poultry market before Ireland’s market started in the 1880’s. The hut was erected on this site and given to the United Methodist Society by Mr. Bircham. It opened in 1922 and was called the Methodist Hall. It was chiefly for the use of the Band of Hope but also for any other Methodist purpose. It had wooden forms for seating, was lit by acetylene gas and heated by a coke-burning boiler. In its new home the Band of Hope went from strength to strength. Membership increased to several hundreds, weekly meetings were well attended by people of all ages. Some of the leaders were talented singers or instrumentalists who passed on their skills to others. Choirs and musical groups were formed and a great deal of unsuspected talent was discovered. A football club was formed to play in a local league and did so with some success. Perhaps the most successful product was the brass band, which is still going strong under the name of Matthews Norfolk Brass. �The Band of Hope flourished through the 1920’s and early 30’s and then it started to decline. John Walker and others died and people moved away and so on. In 1934 under the Act of Union the various Methodist Societies united to become the Methodist Church, the Chapel in the Alley was closed and with the demise of the Band of Hope, the Hall became redundant and it was decided to sell it. The band was still flourishing and managed to raise the money to buy the Hall, which was renamed the Band Hall, the band now being Reepham Town Temperance Band. There was of course a serious purpose behind the Band of Hope but a lot of fun was had too which perhaps accounted for its popularity. REEPHAM VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE White’s Norfolk Directory for 1890 states under Reepham “The Fire Brigade comprises two engines, two Captains and twenty men. For over a hundred years an engine has been stationed here.” This puts the beginning of the Brigade to the latter part of the eighteenth century. Exactly how it originated is not clear except that it was not supported by public money. Each time it attended a fire, payment was made by the insurance company involved, but who provided the cash to purchase the first engine we do not know. I first remember the Fire Brigade in the 1920’s. The engine was worked by hand by two or three men on each side working the pump. Water was always a problem as there were no fire hydrants in those days. When the fire was in the town they would use the Sun Barn Pit which was where the present fire station is now. Outside the town they had to use the nearest pit or stream. (They are always pits, not ponds in Norfolk.) It was quite a long process getting the engine to the fire. Somebody had to report a fire to the captain who would then go to the church and “jangle the bells” which called out the firemen and the farmer who provided the horses. Then the fire engine had to be loaded on to a trolley and driven to the fire. If the fire was on a farm the farmer would usually send his own horses to meet the engine hoping to get it there faster. A lot of the fires were of haystacks which had over heated and among the equipment of the brigade were hay knives for cutting the stack and cromes, which are long handled rake-like implements for pulling the burning hay away from that which might be saved. The captain at this time was George Fisher, who had a grocery and drapery shop in the Market Place. Sidney Eglington, agricultural engineer, was Vice Captain. All the rest of the firemen worked in and around the Market Place in shops, etc. By about 1930 George Fisher had retired and S.P. Eglington had become captain. The old manual fire engine was sold together with its trolley to a farmer of Wood Dalling and a steam pump was acquired, from Lowestoft, I believe. It was a magnificent machine with lots of gleaming brass. This put Reepham one up on the old rival, Aylsham who was still using its old manual engine. The steam engine still had to be towed to a fire and was soon discarded in favour of a Dennis motorised engine. The brigade also acquired uniforms topped up with a cap similar to that worn by sailors. About this time Thomas Cook of Sennowe Park, Guist, who had his own fire brigade on his estate, started to organise competitions on his park where fire brigades from all over Norfolk competed for a trophy of some sort into which Reepham enthusiastically entered. I cannot remember if they ever won. Mr. Cook later became Sir Thomas Cook, MP for North Norfolk and was known in the national press as the firemen’s MP until he was defeated in the 1945 election and disappeared from the scene. The Second World War saw the end of the volunteer brigade. All fire brigades were united in the National Fire Service. Reepham’s Dennis fire engine was taken over by the government and despite the fact that it was not bought with public money and had been bought by the efforts of the firemen, no compensation was paid. Most firemen carried on in spite of their disgust at their treatment but some left. Some people who registered for National Service were directed to the fire service as auxiliaries.They had to sleep in the fire station on certain nights on standby in case of fire. I forgot to mention that the fire engine was then kept in the former Primitive Methodist Chapel in Dereham Road which had been bought by Edward Gibbs and let to the Fire Brigade. After the end of the war fire fighting was all taken over by Counties, in our case Norfolk Fire Service. The firemen were now called retained men and received regular payments. The old do-ityourself fire brigade was just a memory, almost forgotten today. �I will end this account with an excerpt from “A True Story” by H.E. Hawes, born Reepham 1863, writing about the town in his youth. “Mr. St. John was captain of the Reepham Manual Fire Brigade. Every year at Midsummer time he had the Fire Brigade in the Market Place for a practice. William Bircham the Brewer had four or five water carts of water ready for the occasion. After the practice St. John gave the firemen a shilling each and then the men adjourned to the Brewery for light refreshment (the quantity was best known to themselves). Francis Bircham, second son of the Brewer, got all the boys together and when the engine played water over the Bank Building, he gave the Hip Hip Hurrah and then again Hip Hip Hurrah!” On that cheerful note we say goodbye to the Fire Brigade. LAW AND ORDER IN REEPHAM Riots in Reepham It may come as a surprise to some people to learn that there have been riots in Reepham, but Reepham has not always been the peaceful spot that it is now. There have in the past been many riots and disturbances. One outbreak that is well documented occurred in 1830/31. In the early nineteenth century there was widespread poverty and distress among the rural population. The enclosure acts of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries had created a class of landless labourers. Many of these had previously had their own piece of land in the common field and grazing rights on the common. Some of the smaller farmers could not afford the expense of fencing their share at the enclosure and were forced to sell to the larger farmers, and were thus reduced to landless labourers. The cottagers too who kept a cow on the common and rights of collecting fuel also became totally dependent on wages. This naturally suited the farmers who now had a tame labour force which would no longer be looking after its own affairs when the farmer needed it most. Wages were very low and with no land and common rights lost, starvation was imminent. The rich became richer, the better off became rich and the poor became very poor indeed. The smaller farmers, the once proud Yeomen of England, had become paupers. This situation naturally gave rise to widespread discontent and occasioned outbreaks of rioting. A great deal of resentment was directed against the threshing machines which some farmers had installed. These worked by horse power thereby depriving the labourers of their winter occupation of threshing by hand in the barn. Without this employment many families became destitute in winter and had to go into the dreaded workhouse. An additional cause of distress was the decline of hand loom weaving, which had been a parttime occupation for many families in Norfolk and was being replaced by power driven looms in the mills of Yorkshire and Lancashire. The disturbances of 1830/31 began in Kent in April and quickly spread over the whole of southern England, including Norfolk. Threatening letters were received by large farmers, members of the gentry who were also magistrates, and by parsons who were often also magistrates. The parsons at this time were classed with the gentry, in fact they were often younger sons who were provided for by presenting them to the family living. They took the money but often left the work of the parish to an underpaid curate. Their income came from tithes, which had often been commuted for a cash payment, which remained the same in good years and bad. Many parsons, not all, demanded their pound of flesh regardless of the farmers’ ability to pay. The amount of rent the farmer had to pay the landlord, and the tithe he had to pay the parson was the farmer’s excuse for the low wages he paid his labourers, hence the labourers’ hatred of the parson. When the day of reckoning came for those who had taken part in the rioting, it was often the parson who showed the most vindictiveness towards the labourers. So much for the Christian spirit. Reepham was very much involved in these disturbances. In mid November two or three hundred people from Cawston, Salle and other of the surrounding villages came to Reepham demanding wages of 2/6 (approx. 12p). Unfortunately or otherwise a detachment of cavalry had arrived in the town a short time before them. The magistrates, with the constables and the military stopped the crowd at the entrance to the town, where they were addressed at great length by the Rev. John Bedingfield Collyer, on “the dangers and follies of their tumultuous proceedings” and how they were liable to the “penalties of the law”. Whether because of the exhortations of Mr. Collyer or from the presence of the soldiers, the people went quietly away. Either on this or another occasion Sir Jacob Astley was pelted with stones by a mob in Reepham. Soon after this a meeting of magistrates and landowners was held at Reepham, in the Kings Arms, for the purpose of swearing in special constables and to discuss matters arising from the disturbances. At this meeting a number of �resolutions were passed regarding advancing the labourers’ wages. While the meeting was in progress a crowd of labourers assembled in the Market Place. The Rev. Collyer, who was in the chair, spoke to them from the Inn window, telling them of the resolutions that had been passed for their benefit and again warning them of the consequences of breaking the law, and that the government would adopt every means to remedy the things complained of. With this the crowd dispersed. We do not know if they believed that the government would do anything to relieve them, if they did they were mistaken. All the government of Sir Robert Peel apparantly did was to encourage the courts to severely punish the rioters brought before them for machine breaking and other offences. A number of incidents took place in the vicinity of Reepham. On the 23rd November, 1830 a threshing machine was destroyed at Themelthorpe, two days later one was destroyed at Kerdiston and another at Whitwell. On the 29th there was a riot at Sparham. Other incidents involved the destruction of agricultural and non agricultural machinery at Cawston, Foulsham and Lyng. (There was a paper mill at the latter place.) In the first of the trials which followed the riots, sentences of death and transportation for life were handed out wholesale, but later there was a reluctance of juries to convict. In the end 487 persons were transported and 29 were hanged; 2 from Norfolk were hanged, 11 transported and 59 nine jailed. This was the last rising of the labourers. After this they were too depressed to protest any more. Their condition remained much the same for another generation or two. They were looked upon as second class citizens and were not given the right to vote until long after the rest of the male population. The labourers seem to have given up hope of improving their lot in this world and instead looked forward to the after life when they would be rewarded for their hardships The Primitive Methodists made many converts at this time by the work of the preacher, the Rev. Robert Kay in Norfolk. I have told of his mission in Reepham elsewhere. However, Primitive Methodism contributed indirectly to the rise of the National Union of Agricultural Workers. Methodists had the incentive to learn to read the Bible and to become local preachers, getting into the way of speaking in public. The union branches were organised on similar lines to the Methodist Society and the union’s aims were based on the Christian Gospel rather than on Karl Marx. Reepham played a part in the organisation of the union. TRANSPORTATION FOR STEALING A SHEEP The story of The Laurels, Dereham Road This house was originally called the Veranda House and this is the story of its origin as told to Henry Edward Hawes by its original owner, his father’s uncle, Thomas Lincoln. When Thomas was about 19 he was apprehended and charged with sheep stealing. This, he said, was wrong. In those days sheep stealing could be punishable with hanging. In Thomas’ case he was transported to Sydney, Australia, where he lived for thirty years. During this time he hired a sheep ranch, began fattening sheep and saved money He married an Australian woman whom he brought to Reepham where they made their home with Mr. John Neale, farmer of Whitwell Street. After a short stay, Thomas made up his mind to build a house on the Dereham Road. He got in touch with a Mr. Gallant and bought a piece of land and built a house with a veranda in the Australian style. On completion Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln moved in. The small house next door to Veranda House, known as The Beeches, was built on a piece of land given as a present to Mr. Neale’s daughter Elizabeth for the kindness they received while waiting for the completion of Veranda House. Fred Howard built the house and married Elizabeth. Veranda House later came into Henry Hawes’ possession and he and his family lived there for many years carrying on a business as builder and undertaker until he was declared bankrupt in the 1920’s and all his property was sold. He then moved into one of the council houses he had built a few years earlier on Station Road. Veranda House now known as The Laurels was bought by Edward Gibbs, ironmonger. �Hackford and Whitwell School Infant Class 1921 or 1922 Wesley Piercy front row right, nearest to camera Weighbridge on former Cattle Sale Ground (now Station Road Car Park) The Sun Barn (now replaced by houses) from Fire Station Yard The Old Methodist Chapel The Maltings looking across Ollands Road from Malthouse Yard (the wall is not quite so tall now, the windows are bricked up and there’s a big blue tin gate where the outside stairs were) �Reepham Sale Yard Reepham Fire Brigade Togo Eglington in command at front right �Saddlers & Harness Maker’s Shop circa 1912 (now Robertson’s Butchers) King’s Yard in Back Street. (now fish and chip shop). John Walker at left. �The Sun Inn Utting’s Butchers Shop (now Diane’s Pantry) �Town’s End from School Road Victoria House, Norwich Road and Garage in George & Dragon Yard �Kiddell’s Wheelwright’s Yard Ebenezer Kiddell (Wesley’s uncle) right of wheel Delivery Cart in Gibbs Yard �Reepham Station Shop in The Moor �British Legion Fête at The Ollands 1953 Mrs Irwin at left, Wesley at the right. � https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/1d704f25aff301865b85143da6ac2b52.jpg ba7832e5a6ecfbfe59faecd47da99453 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Publications Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Publications Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Reepham Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 to 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed documents Box *** Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976 to 2014 Reepham Description An account of the resource Reepham Society Publications Text - printed Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1605171020 Title A name given to the resource My Town Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wesley Piercy Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 booklet 40pp Illustrated cover B&W photographs Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1920s & 1930s Reepham Description An account of the resource Historical background of Reepham & surrounding parishes with detailed personal recollections from the 1920s & 1930s of the streets, shops, trades, buildings, residents & notable characters. Topic Headings:- Reepham Market Place & Trade 1920-1939 Reepham in the 1920s & 30s Reepham Churches Nonconformity in Reepham School in Reepham in the 1920s Highways and Byways Back Street The Old Bakery The Ironmonger's Shop The Band Hall Reepham Volunteer Fire Brigade Law and Order in Reepham Transportation for Stealing a Sheep Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Reepham Society 2007 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights Reserved Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Joyce Cox