10 20 1030 https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/506f37495143f4a4f8d92d87db616ebe.pdf 54d65e79916796c000a2355f99c995d8 PDF Text Text GB/REE/2402121700 Moor Lodge B&W Photographs �� https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/4bc3f52e446fc7f0c83e35c8bfb6bc04.pdf c0c49d1941c29847e81349935700115c PDF Text Text GB/REE/2402121700 Moor Lodge Colour Photographs ��� 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 The Moor Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Mixed media Streets & Buildings/The Moor [File 17, Archive Box 117] Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Reepham Moor Description An account of the resource Mixed media related to The Moor, including the Moor House. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Reepham Archive Photograph-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 Moor Lodge Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2402121700 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Three B&W photographs Six colour photographs Streets & Buildings/The Moor [File 17, Archive Box 117] Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Reepham Moor Description An account of the resource Moor Lodge was for many years the home of Herbert Temple Owen, manager of Barclays Bank in Reepham. His wife Annie was the youngest daughter of Rev. M. Wilkinson. Owen Reepham Moor https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/b9381226763ae0e282e02bc6c6b30892.jpg faeaaf425c596461622ab2aeb1dcc7c5 Photograph-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 Wood Dalling Post Office Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2402121600 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource B&W Postcard Local Villages/Wood Dalling [File 12, Archive Box 112] Description An account of the resource Wood Dalling Post Office near the junction of Red Pits & Norton Corner. Wood Dalling https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/b7a2e8656f82a7c74e162af2f76e034c.jpg 76e8177e4e122d223ff0d8d0c2e1ff6a Photograph-digital Any photograph for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The photograph 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 photograph 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 Norwich Road Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2402121530 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Streets & Buildings/Norwich Road [File 17, Archive Box 117] Description An account of the resource View of Norwich Road showing Virginia's Workbox, currently Rococo Loco. Sandbags are in place to protect from flooding. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Danson 2023 Norwich Road https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/adc3a1c2fcf4c8aee2dbe9442dbdb906.jpg 9953603f6656c9ab5975ecb1b9755de7 https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/28d79c89580a8133f87cc544d53e30da.pdf ebbf194dcb0d79fc995ea77f9ee9dc0f PDF Text Text � Photograph-digital Any photograph for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The photograph 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 photograph 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 Self Service Stores Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2402121500 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital + 2 colour photographs 12mm x 10mm Streets & Buildings/Dereham Road [File 17, Archive Box 117] Description An account of the resource View of Dereham Road showing Reepham Self Service Stores, empty and with a sold placard outside. The shop had previously been the site of Norwich Corporation Electricity Office. Two colour images taken from across the road, probably from the same date. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Danson 2023 Dereham Road Self Service Stores https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/0783c8d02aab1d6e45c4891748973c24.jpg edd47e82db138812167d172ae5de956f 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 The Moor Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Mixed media Streets & Buildings/The Moor [File 17, Archive Box 117] Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Reepham Moor Description An account of the resource Mixed media related to The Moor, including the Moor House. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Reepham Archive Photograph-digital Any photograph for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The photograph 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 photograph 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 Thatched Cottage, Reepham Moor Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2402091440 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Streets & Buildings/The Moor [File 17, Archive Box 117] Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1917 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1917 Reepham Moor Description An account of the resource Thatched cottage near the corner of The Moor where it meets Orchard Lane. Two army cyclists are pictured about 1917, with a woman who was possibly Mrs. Self, mother of Charlie Self. Reepham Moor RL Calendar 2015 RL Calendar 2024 https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/73a704d058be4878e3e3ef0289eb17c7.pdf 0451b34773e508bb85c2022bda6f6606 PDF Text Text Reepham Moor Corner GB-REE-2402071540 & GB-REE-2402071550 �� 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 The Moor Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Mixed media Streets & Buildings/The Moor [File 17, Archive Box 117] Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Reepham Moor Description An account of the resource Mixed media related to The Moor, including the Moor House. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Reepham Archive Photograph-digital Any photograph for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The photograph 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 photograph 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 Reepham Moor Corner Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB.REE/2402071540 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Streets & Buildings/The Moor [File 17, Archive Box 117] Description An account of the resource Two views of the corner where the Moor reaches Norwich Road. The signpost looks newly erected in the first image. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource EW Reepham Moor https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/98622233e43fb012aa15f932b7e0e512.jpg cb79e691d8290a2e2b3035dc1cca243e 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 The Moor Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Mixed media Streets & Buildings/The Moor [File 17, Archive Box 117] Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Reepham Moor Description An account of the resource Mixed media related to The Moor, including the Moor House. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Reepham Archive Photograph-digital Any photograph for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The photograph 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 photograph 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 Reepham Moor Junction Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2402071500 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Streets & Buildings/The Moor [File 17, Archive Box 117] Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Reepham Moor Description An account of the resource Postcard of the junction of the Moor with the bottom of New Road (on the right) & looking towards the Norwich Road. High hedging replaces/hides the picket fence. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource EW Reepham Moor https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/4a4e2ceb383c614b64ad7632788fe686.pdf 51219337dc174f0328aac032a6f9641c PDF Text Text Reepham Moor Cottages GB/REE/2402091540 & GB/REE/2402091550 �� 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 The Moor Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Mixed media Streets & Buildings/The Moor [File 17, Archive Box 117] Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Reepham Moor Description An account of the resource Mixed media related to The Moor, including the Moor House. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Reepham Archive Photograph-digital Any photograph for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The photograph 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 photograph 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 Reepham Moor Cottages Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2402091540 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource B&W photograph 206x 135mm Streets & Buildings/The Moor [File 17, Archive Box 117] Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Reepham Moor Description An account of the resource Two views, taken at different times, of the row of cottages on the left of the road that leads up towards Orchard Lane. The shop was a grocer's business run by Martin Luther Dewing. The barn-type building in the second picture still looks the same. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource EW Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived RS Library Presentation Book No.14 Reepham Moor RL Calendar 2017 https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/7e21793b76e4ca63f43e1bbd56db51a4.pdf a79d1be1ad703e93c733d9b878d768f0 PDF Text Text George William Reeve George Reeve died in May 1984, aged 94, after a very active and eventful life; his return to this area in the late 1940s quickly earned him the apt description of “village lad made good”. He was born in Bawdeswell, where his parents kept a public house, in December 1890 but after about three years the family moved to a house in Booton Street. He started his education at Booton School, but for some reason he couldn’t settle down and it seems that the remainder of his schooling took place at Lyng where he went to live with his grandmother. An early job, possibly during the school holidays or shortly after he left school, was as “odd job boy” at the Moor House. One task was attending to the pumping of water to a tank situated at the top of the house by a mule driving a pump in the garden. The clearance of undergrowth at the Moor House in the last year or so has uncovered this old pump situated in the corner near The Moor turning, off the Norwich Road; the remains of the machinery are clearly visible to passers by. Little is known about the next few years but in his later teens he worked in London for a corn merchant and even managed to purchase a car, quite an achievement around 1908, although on his own admission he “had to run it mainly on paraffin to keep expenses down!”. While in London he became friendly with some American students who apparently spoke highly of prospects in the United States so George decided to go with them when they returned to their homeland, selling his car to pay for his passage, but being completely broke on arrival. Throughout his life George would always find a use for his undoubted talents and making use of his motoring experience he obtained employment as a chauffeur with a well-to-do American family. Around 1914 he obtained a job with a government construction firm in Washington (New Jersey) which with the outbreak of war in Europe became engaged almost totally in producing war supplies. He was there for just a few years and during this relatively short period he enjoyed remarkable employment success, rising to the position of chief inspector by 1918. One of his most treasured possessions was a silver cup presented to him in 1918 at a dinner given in his honour by his own staff; it was inscribed “as a token of esteem by his inspectors and checkers”. This dinner and presentation was recorded in the local paper at the time: Washington Park (NJ) Government Man Honoured 18 May 1918 A party of 35 men inspectors and checkers from Woodbury and vicinity gave a theatre party Thursday night in Philadelphia to their chief George W. Reeve. �After the theatre, the gentlemen were escorted to Krugler’s magnificent banquet hall where a well-loaded table provided for all the wants of the inner man. Many pleasant after-dinner speeches were made, Mr W J Charlton acting as toastmaster. Bobbie Nash of Billy Watson Co., now playing at the Casino Theatre, was an honoured guest and pleased the boys with many anecdotes and stories. Mr Charles Hill presided at the piano and with his delicate touch brought forth melodies that inspired the boys to do the two-step. During the evening Capt. C P Budd on behalf of his fellow employees presented an inscribed cup to Mr Reeve who responded with a few well-chosen words, heartily thanking everyone for their loyalty and support. After the war there was a decline in the type of work that he had been involved with during the past few years and he decided he wanted to make his way so he traded on his own in the business of removals; he built this up and for a number of years was successful and employed several drivers to carry out the work. The large influx of immigrants to the USA in the early post-war years meant there was a considerable transient population at this time and George’s decision to be his own boss was more then justified. Information about the next few years is hazy. These were the years of the Wall Street Crash and the Depression which hit America so hard and then spread over most of the major manufacturing countries of the world. During the mid/late 1920s George had some connection with the manufacture and selling of oil burner stoves with the trade name of “Islander”. �It is not known whether George dealt with the “Islander” as a sideline to his removal business, whether the manufacture and selling was carried out under licence or whether George actually invented the stove. After a gap of nearly 30 years George returned to England in July 1936 but, as he had acquired American citizenship in the previous years, he was only allowed an Alien Permit to land for six months and with no authority to find or enter into any employment. After a few months he returned to America but came back in 1939 with permission to stay for 12 months. For a time he stayed with his sister, Mrs Muddle, at Lyng and for some time at his parents’ house at Booton. In 1940 he stayed at a hotel in Thetford which seems to have had something to do with the restrictions on his activities as he was still classified as an alien. He had by then managed to acquire another car and, according to an entry in his passport, was officially “allowed to use his car in connection with his business”, whatever that was at the time. In February 1941 he was exempted from the “Alien Restriction Order” on such occasions as when called upon for ambulance duties, and unconditionally exempted in October 1941. Soon after the end of the war he started building a house on the Norwich Road/Moor Corner in Reepham. This was a house with a character entirely of its own and built in the American style with a big basement and an off-the-ground veranda which went all round the building. George made the hollow concrete blocks for the walls and he also made individually the concrete and sand-red tiles. The house was centrally heated with an automatic burner using diesel oil which was thermostatically controlled with the main unit situated in the basement. In 1946 such a unit in a house in this country was indeed unusual, but his years’ manufacturing the “Islander” obviously played a great part in the innovation. The unit provided heating for the whole house as well as producing the domestic hot water. George moved into this house, always known as “New House”, Norwich Road, thereafter, in 1946 and within a few years had developed the garden; pedestrians along the Booton end of the Norwich Road were well rewarded as they glanced through the open gateway with a vista of well laid-out flower beds and quasi-natural shrubberies. He established a tyre business in a separate building which was situated just inside the gateway and he carried on with this until the mid-1960s although one of the large metal signs remained visible to passers-by until the house was sold. On the domestic side of his life it appears that George at some time married a British girl who joined him in America but could not settle to the life there. She returned to this country and they were subsequently divorced; there was one son from the marriage. George later married an American girl and his son from that marriage is �still in America. It seems that this marriage was over before he came back to this country in 1936. During the last 10 years of his life George’s health declined and he received devoted care from his housekeeper, Mrs Betts, who gave much assistance in the original compiling of the notes that led to this article. For many years there was an ironwork seat which stood on the Moor Corner looking up the Norwich Road towards Booton Street. George placed it there and cemented it in when he heard that the authorities were planning to widen the road by taking in the wide green verge, which he claimed belonged to him. At that time, the road was not widened and the seat remained. A number of years later (and after George had died) it was widened and the seat was moved to the opposite side of the road. Sadly little remains today of the items that George so profoundly stamped on this corner of Reepham. The house has been replaced and his garden and shrubberies were swiftly and sadly removed by mechanical digger. The outbuildings, the metal advertising signs and the ironwork seat are now gone. It is ironic that the only thing that George would recognise today is the remains of the mule-driven pump in the corner of the Moor House grounds – the one item that was there before all the others! From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1993 �The Reeve family circa 1900 at Booton. George is next to his mother, and the other boy is Walter who lived at Hackford Vale and for many years ran a carrier business’ he was also a JP and served on the local bench. In the centre is Violet (now Mrs Muddle); in 1984 at the age of 96 she drove up from her home in Kent to visit George. The “New House” shortly before it was sold in the late 1980s. � 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 George William Reeve Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2402071030 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 5 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993 Description An account of the resource An account of the life and businesses of George William Reeve, 1890-1984 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1993 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher Reeve https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/4af4419ecf88252707f72230f095dfe8.pdf 71900a679b421c9aa1f1c50ee75508da PDF Text Text Marjorie Gibbs 1899−1992 Marjorie Gibbs was a founder and life member of the Reepham Society and in my early days as magazine secretary she contacted me and offered me assistance with whatever detail she could supply in connection with prospective articles about Reepham. In recent years I had made a number of visits to Marjorie and had spent many interested hours in her sitting room, listening, discussing and learning of the minutiae of Reepham detail that her memory so prodigiously recalled. One afternoon in the early summer of 1992 I went to see Marjorie at The Laurels, her home in Dereham Road, Reepham, as I wanted some additional information about the Black Diamonds, a local minstrel troupe which performed in Reepham in the years just before and after the First World War − a troupe which included her father, who was a founder and subsequently a leading member. As usual we sat and talked in her sitting room, a room that could recall a family’s history and events that reflected the past century, a room that breathed memories and nostalgia. Here was the bureau that Marjorie so often went to, to find some item that contributed to her particular topic of conversation. Photographs of her father and his business, old account books that clarified a point, somewhere one of the drawers held “the bones” that her father fashioned and then used when he was one of the four cornermen in the Black Diamonds. Her father was Edward Gibbs, who figured greatly for many years in the business, parochial and religious life in Reepham and many words must have passed between the members of his family as to how the town would organise, cope with and enjoy coronations, jubilees and other celebrations and how the families in this close rural area would cope with the tragic unfurling of events of both World Wars, particularly the first which was to take the lives of so many young men of the area, many of whom Marjorie knew and whose names she could so easily recall. Disasters, happiness, grief and joy − this room could recall them all; the pictures, the carpets, the furniture, some of it decades old, was seeping with this memory. Its very presence recalled clearly to Marjorie her life; a life synonymous with Reepham. Her childhood spent in Reepham when this area of North Norfolk was still decidedly rural − a ruralness of silence, of dusty roads rutted by horses and cartwheels, a countryside innocent of oil and petrol. A youth spent in the slow and timeless years leading up to the First World War and in a small market town which was the central point of business for the surrounding a rea. A time when work was hard and long and when many weeks of endless work were intermittently broken only by the high days and holidays that the town organised and enjoyed. �At this visit, which so unfortunately turned out to be my last, she recalled the Black Diamonds and particularly the fete in the summer of 1912 at which the troupe gave their first and possibly their best-loved performance. Her memory brought back details of that day nearly 80 years ago as though she remembered it from yesterday. How at 12 years of age she had helped with the refreshments and how her father had allowed her to stay up late and go back for the evening entertainment. Marjorie spoke of the friends she met and with whom she enjoyed herself, and her recollections of that day vividly described an era of Reepham’s history that is long past and sadly no longer in the recall of most local people. Many times Marjorie put her memories into the written word with articles in local publications, earnestly reflecting the oral history that on many occasions I was privileged to enjoy. It is ironic that this latest Reepham Society publication contains three articles which reflect the ability and detail that Marjorie could offer; their inclusion was planned long before her death and I have no hesitation in dedicating them to her memory. She had a great love for Reepham, its history and its inhabitants and the town has lost a dear friend with her passing. May Marjorie Gibbs long and fondly remain in its memory. Michael Black From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1993 � 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 Marjorie Gibbs 1899−1992 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2401241040 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF 2 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine 1993 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher Gibbs https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/63591286da5b86b3720ce0793ea14546.pdf 99bd6cfccc1727d16dff20f9609d7b28 PDF Text Text THE REEPHAM SOCIETY • agazlne . I I I " r :" .. I I II ! �._.Mr" '":,,. t::£:z4t'cr:'~()111 S ould be reproduced in any - lo u t the prior consent of the 2 8 12 16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~__~____~~~~~~S~:.~~] ·~::::,;(!~!!ru~g::~~i!iiIIi:r:~· ~ IlIft..M~IfiW#.~ 's Way :~ ~~ft-~~__~~~~~~,~~~~~~j 19 29 32 34 �The guide lists the Whitwell station as being on the L.M.S. line but this is not strictly correct, the various lines in the North Norfolk area underwent 8 number of Changes, takeovers and amalgamations during their working life and this resulted in ·a number of name Changes. Hopefully this will be more fully explained in la ter pages. I've enjoyed finding and bringing together the information; I hope you enJoy reading it. The information that has filled these pages is not available from one source but it has been found by researching a number of archives, books, studies and by talking to people who remember the railways. To all these sources and people who have helped me r must offer n collective thank you, but there are som e who must be singled out for a particular mention. Mr Richard Joby who offered me advice, and who has allowed me to quote from his publication 'The East Norfolk Railway'. Mr W Freeston who allowed me unhindered use of the scrapbooks of Reepham news which had been kept by his mother Mrs Freeston, a lifelong resident of Reepham. To Mr Richard Black who has so meticulously redrawn the map of the 1ayout of Reepham Station. Mr Ben Stimpson who offered many hours of time to talk with me about the history of Stimpson's and also about the general daily life of Reepham Station in its heyday. To the M and G N who have generously allowed me access to their collection of photographs a number of Which are reproduced here. Eva Tuddenham and her son Edwin lived in Luburnham Grove in l{eepham and from the 1940's onwards built up a wonderful collection of photographs of the local railways, most of which they took themselves. Whilst Edwin worked on the railway his mother worked in Hunt's Stores at Station Plain, Reepham, this however, did not stop her from photographing particular trains at specific times. She would rush out of the Stores and down into the Station to take her pictures and then go back to carry on with her work. How many people were able to say they were slow in being served because tI train was late! Tragically, Edwin died relatively young in 1967 but Eva carried on with this great love; after her death SOIr"le years later, the collection passed to a friend who had a similiar interest. He then passed the negatives on to the M and G i'f Circle for their archives and the collection is today extensively used by its members and others who are interested in trains. It is a fitting tribute that this magazine about railways in Ree9ham should be so adequately illustrated by Eva and Edwin's handwork. I'm sure they would have been m ore than pleased! And a final 'thank you' to my Wife, who has had to endure many evenings of 'railway talk' and who now knows more about railways than she ever wished to. :Introduction· In November 1990 I received a letter from Mr Norman She~ry who lives at East Grinstead in West Sussex, he had received pre\;ious magazines of the Society and had written to me asking for f urther information about the railways in the Ree pham area; he was particularly interested as t o hy a relatively small market town in the middle of agricultural Nor folk should have had the benefit of t wo railway Hnes and two stations. It is indeed an interesting point and in acknowledging Mr Sherr ·'s interest I must also confess that "his enquiry subsequen tly determined the content of the next issue of the magazi ne of the Reepham Societyit is wholly about Re epham and its Railways. I have tried to cover the buiJding and eventual closure of the lines, the impact it had on local life particularly the affect it made t o business in the town and also the future use that is to be made on the route of the old line.$. The story of their history is often complemented by the uniquen ess of having two lines, one ei ther side o Reepham which were operated by two independent co mpani es for nearly 70 years until they were nationalised in 1948. Their separateness and individuality were strengthened by fierce staff loyalty. These points and many more, add to the story of Reepham and its Railways. An official guide dated about 1930 describes Reepham as "situated in one of the most charming par-ts of Norfolk is Reepham - a sm all town on the banks of the little river Eyne. If it's not very ancient, it is at least, not very modern, and for that reason can be recommended 8S a haven of refuge for thos~ who wish to flee from the stress and strain of city life". Although in one sense it was 'out of the way' it was by no means inaccessible as it had two stations within a very short distance of each other. The first (is described in 1930) as being on the Aylsham-North Elmham line of the London and North Eastern Railway (L.N .E.R.) and serves Reepham and the second, on the Mel ton Constable-N orwich line of the London, Midland and Scottish (L.M.S.) which serves the neighbouring parish of Whitwell. Both lines maintained good services of local trains and connections could be made with the south ma.in line expresses from Norwich and with those runn ing west and north (via Melton Constaple) at o t tingham, Leicester and Peterborough. It was possible to travel from Reepham to London in 4 t hours although to achei ve this you had to tra vel to Norwic h via Whit well as the trains on this line accomplished the distance of 12! miles in about 25 minutes. If the journey was taken from Reepham Station then it took nearly one hour as the trains went Via Aylsham and Wroxham into Norwich and the distance was approximately twicE' the WhitwelJ journey. Michael Black Middlemarch Broom hill Lane Reepham 1 Norwich (0603) 870936 �~~~~~~~~~~~~gg~f.~w.~"~i~r"~~~m Whitwell and The Muddle a d Go owhere ~ii1i~~f~~i~iiii'1i!iifii~i~~~~~~~~~~ The Muddle and Go Nowhere as it was affectionately known retained its independant existence but finally ceased to exist under its own title on the 1st October 1936 when it came under the control of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). 1t then became part of British Railways with the nationruisation in 1948 but to the end of its days the route was always referred to locally as 'the old M and G N'. Whitwell Station was opened on the 1st July 1882 when the section of liT').e from Guestwick to Lenwade was opened up to pass,enger and goods traffic. This section WaS 6 ~ miles ;,in length and ini tially there were four trains a day'" (with variations on Tuesday) which ran to and from Melton Constable. On the 12th August 1880 the Lynn and Fakenham Railway was authorised to buildl from Fakenham to Norwich and the line was subsdquently opened in stages as its builders progressed through the countryside of central north Norfolk; Ptikenham to Melton Constable, then to Guestwick, to Lenwade and then to Norwich where the line terminated at the City Station. The whole length was offically opened on 1st January 1883. The Lynn and Fakenham was merged with a number of other local railways and they formed the Eastern and Midland Railway Company. For the next ten years the, East Midland ran the system although by 1889 it :' had run into such financial difficulties that the Midland Railway and the Great Norther Hailway made a joint offer to take over the Eastern and Midland system. This offer was accepted and after some four years of negotia.tion the new committee, took control of the line from 1st July 1893 and the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway was born (the M &. G N). The forming of the M and G N was therefore a microcosm of the railway fever that had swept Great Britain in the 1840s; as thE;! major cities were linked by the amalgams tion of small railway companies so the towns and villages of much of Norfolk were linked by the amalganHl,tions, forty-two Acts of Parliament 9.nd foresight thilt made the M and G N. The lines of the M and G N stretched from Little Bytham in Lincolnshire through the Fens and Kings Lynn wi th a sp ur to connect with the Great Northern at Peterborough; f r om Kings Lynn it ran across Nor folk t o _ el ton C onst able and on to Norwich with oth er lin es r unning out from Melton to Sheringham and Crom er and another which went to Great Yarmouth vi a North Walsham. As .1elton Constable was the crossroads of these lines i e- entually became the headquarters of the 1 and G • This was due to a number of reasons; the first was geographical as it was below the ridge of high la d runn ing from Fakenham to Cromer and secondly the a vailability of 25 acres of land owned by Lord Hastings (with part of the eventual contract being t he construction of his own platform and private waitin g room). As a result of one of the earlier amalgamations the locomotive shops of the Yarmou t h an d Fakenham Railway were moved to lelton and this was the initial impetus that was to create the 'Crewe of Norfolk' and turn Melton Constabl e into hi storical uniqueness as the only rail 'lay village in the world. In 1888 it had a population of only 118 and this had increased to nearl:-; 1000 2 �were regular goods trains that would deliver coal, artificial fertiliser and animal feed stuffs and would pick up grain and livestock and sugar beet during the winter months. As with Reepham (North) the sugar beet was brought to the station by farmers wagons (drawn by horses initially and then in later years by tractors). This crop was grown under contract to the Can tley factory and to get there it had to be hauled from Melton Constable to Great Yarmouth and then onto the line to Cantley. Both stations at Reepham were in the Cantley contract area and as the area was purely agriculturally based they were both competing for the same type of business, the Whitewell Station generally suffered from this campeU tion. Although there were large facilities at Whitwell for storage, the en trenched business of Sti rnpsons at Reepham Station meant that they enjoyed most of the trade in fertilizers and feed stuffs that was available although Sti mpsons stored grain etc. at Whi twell. by 1901, the works gave a great impetus to the local labour force as an alternative to the only other occupation - agriculture. With the influx of labour into Melton it was necessary for the Company to provide accommodation. Houses were duly built which included gas, running water and main drainage - all for a rent of 4/- a week which was stopped from the wages. A general store was built to serve the growing community and a school soon followed; this provision set the foundation for what was to be one of the most successful and happy railway companies in the history of steam locomotion. It is little wonder the there was such affection for the M and G N during its working life and for many years after it demise. Obviously the 43 years of the M and G N saw its ups and downs; on one occasion the Company ran into such financial difficulties that they were unable to pay the men on a Friday night but on the Monday morning they all turned up for work as usual and the engineer in charge was physically reduced to tears at the loyalty of his workforce. With the volume of s.ugar beet being loaded throughout the season meant that the railway gangmen uften had the onerous task of clearing up the soil th8t would drop through the wagon doors. They would have to clear up the yard nearly every day and so much soil would be collected tha tit would be put into wagons and sent to the coast to be dumped along the sea wall. The twelve mile length of track which included the stations of Hindolveston~ Guestwick, Whitwell and Lenwade was looked after by an eleven man gang who were based at Guestwick and who used a motor trolley to travel up and down their length of track. For much of the year the work of tt1e gangmen was routine but it was often aggravated and at times made hazardous by the vagaries of the weather. The engineer was William Marriott who was the Chief En~neer and Manager of the M and C N system for 41 ye.ars. He was based .and lived in Melton Constable and often worked from a railway carriage which had been turned into an office and in which he travelled round the railway system. His name became synonomous with the M and G N and he is remembered today in the new long distance walk named 'Marriott's Way'. Whitwell and Reepham was a typicoJ M and G N small country station which was staffed by a station master, a clerk, two signalmen, one porter and a lad porter who cleaned the lamps and carried out other general duties. There was a daily passenger service of four or five trains eAch way and there D 16/3 No. 62597 LEFT Leaving Whitwell in the evening in June 1957 and RIGHT The same view in June 1991 3 �D 15 No. 62538 Taken in August 1950 this shows the best kept 'Claud Hamilton' on the Norwich District at that time leaving Whitwell for Melton Constable D 16/3 No. 62533 Hackford Bridge was removed a few years ago, this shows a full head 0 f steam as the train heads from the Bridge towards Themelthorpe in May 1957 D 16/3 No. 62562 Before the passenger traffic declined in the 1950's the 10.41 am from Melton to Norwich leaves Whitwell in February 1949 4 �D 2s Nos. 2157 and 2195 Just before the train was released from snowdrifts at Guestwick 9th March 1947 J 17 No. 65588 The 'afternoon freight) from Norwich to fl,1elton Constable in May 1957 4 MT No. 43111 (Goods) D 16/3 No. 625 15 (Passenger) it busy scene at Whitwell in . September 1957 The goods train has shunted its ballast truchs into the yard to let the 9.37am Melto n Consta ble to Norwich City pass by. 5 �The main Station building at Whitwell in August 1965 In the severe winter of 1947 many roads and rails were blocked by snow and two engines and a coach becll.me stuck on Wednesduy 5th March in high drifting snow in a cutting at Cuestwick. lnitially railway stuff could not get to it by using snow ploughs so it hud to be manually dug out. Troops based at the Weybourne army camp assisted by a number of German prisoners of war started digging from the Melton Constable side and a train load of men (who were temporarily unemployed due to the wea ther) were brought from Norwich. The train also brought a refreshment van and a quantity of shovels supplied by R G Carters of Drayton. for this was a few lumps of coal that he had off the tenderj it was an offence to take these but the driver aod guard were not in a position to say any thing as the loss of their goods train was far worse than the loss of some coal. In the days before large road transport the railway was one of two means of getting cattle to the. main Norwich Market (the other was to walk the animals there). Every Saturday a special train would leave Melton Constable at 4 am and would convey the animals to Norwich, they would be unloaded at the City Station (near Heigham Street) and would then be d ri ven to the M arke t then si tua ted in fron t of the Castle. After much hard work the train was finally freed on Sunday 9th March when a snow plough coupled with three engines from the LMS was used to clear the finol drifts. A large number of passengers (particularly on Saturdays) would be conveyed to and from Norwich, many farmers and business people would go and make purchases and these would be delivered by the shopkeepers and merchants to the City Station ready for the Ipassengersl to pick them up when they came back for the return journey. Another great weather problem was the fog and in u poem about the job of a plate18yer, Mr A L Jex, who worked on the length gang covering Whitwell wrote that: 'When thll t black beast colled fog descends, A signal post he must a t tend; Put detonators on the line, So drivers may be warned in time'. The agricul tUfal goods traffic declined rapidly at Whitwell after 1945. There was the competition from the G E R at Reepham and from the increas!ng number of road hauliers, full wagon loads from Whitwell became non-existent from the late 19405 onwards. He recalls that he was on fogging duty at Whitwell one day and he cracked a fog signal to stop a goods train. After a while he heard what he thought was wagons on the rails and then through the fog came a brake van and eight wagons. The track was downhill from there to Lenwade so he jumped on the brake VHn and pulled up the wagons in the mack Water Cutting. He then. went back to Whitwell Station and told the staff and they arranged for an engine to go down and pick up the wagons. His only reward By the 19505 the passenger traffic had declined and this sleepy country station displayed a general absence of business. A member of staff from the Norwich office of the Railway remembers a day in the mid 1950s when he went to Whitwell to catch the train back to Norwich. It was a cold day and the waiting room fire made a welcome place to sit by until the train came. There was no one about 6 �and sadly its state in June 1991. would come and in February 1959 the last passenger train steamed its way through Whitwell, the lamps were put out, the doors were closed and the cold winters day was warmed only by the nostalgia which so many felt for this much loved railway. except a lady station attendant; when the Norwich train came in - she called 'Whi twell and Reepham Station' three times - no one got off and just the one passenger got on; as the train slowly pulled out of the station he remembers thinking 'change and decai - it was therefore inevitable that closure Whitwell Station - date unknown, but believed to be circa 1920. 7 �The Reepham Line Q.j ~~ ~fi ~ii!i iii'i!& ifii~'i~~~ffi5~ffi5~~¥Wi~ The East Norfolk Western Extension Railway Before the railways, communications in North East Norfolk were served by the turnpike systern which in this area was sparse and followed the main coach routes and by a dense network of country roads which until the 1870s was extensively served by carriers carts. Essentially all ronds in this area seem to lead to and from Norwich. Passenger services on these roads were very poor, the smaller market towns such as Aylsham were well served with passenger coaches twice a day, but Reepham had to make do with a passenger service twice a week. Apart from these services the only alternative was to hire a horse and carriage or to pay for a seat on a carriers cart. William Leeds, the proprietor of the Sun Inn, ran an omnibus and carrier service from that establishment every Wednesday and Saturday, leaving at 8am and concluding the journy at the IMoon an9 Stars Public Housel in Norwich, returning the same day at 4.30 pm in Winter and 5pm in Sum mer. The journey passing through Booton, Alderford, A ttlebridge, Taverham and Drayton. William Stimpson-Lewis offered a similiar service from Reepham on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and the Post Office operated a mail cart which left Reepham at 4.30pm and which returned from Norwich at 6am the fol1owing morning. Carri ers carts rarely took more than a ton of goods and were primarily to transport consumer goods to and fro m market centres and to supply local shops and businesses. I-leavy, low value goods were less In the 1860s and 70s the people of Reepham were able to journey to Norwich or have their goods picked up from or delivered to there by the two local carriers. A timetable from the early part of this century, note there is no Sunday service. When land was purchased for the line many Farmers only sold on the condition that the 'Lord's Day' was observed. NORWICH ITborpe) WROXHAM. AYLSH AM (South), COUNTY SCHOOL, and D£RE R.A.M A RtaUon tor ThorDe Bt. Andrew a I o E 1.01 . RLln! li5th July t.o ith &lJtembu I n(;h~4'e 3 mlnut ..... l'{flr on 8&lurda,.-a E~cept F The L Eu~ Ancliao. Llmlud accommothLl()n Via Norwlrh lTho~) ~p . 1 0 p .m. on Wedo~Jayl and 1 J p . m. OD tla\urd.ys • Arr. D 8 p.m. until 2Hh JUDe UeV. 10 2~ a.ro . DC Saturda,. f p .m. 8 or S BaturrlaYI onl,. , I lJoep. 11 f' p.m. on Munda,. 8al UfcU.T!I For &THEa TW. \ I N~ betw&ell "0",..1<:..11 and W'hllU 1..1 tu.m. T&.bld ~ aDd U-Jforwlch u~d WrouLlD, 'fable ~-)Cor-lc..h Lnd Ooun~y School, Table ~-------Dou..oL7 ~ool "!lei Dere.hLmJ 'tAble $4. 8 �often carried in this way. Farm waggons, droves of animals and walkers formed the rest of road traffic at this time. Footpaths were also intensively used by both locals and by foot postmen. Carts were expensive, 8d to 1/- a mile, and more in bad weather and hence were a strong factor in the isolation of the communities in this area. During the mid nineteenth century in the whole of North East Norfolk less than fifty passengers a day could be carried by public transport and yet there was little call for a more intensive coach service. This dearth of traffic was noted as a fact by the Board of 'Trade when the rest of the country was gripped by railway mania. North East Norfolk therefore lacked any manufacturing industry and it lacked a transport infra-structure capable of supplying any new large industry or resort, the area was totally agriculture based and it was undeniably prosperous for the farmer if not for his labourers. This area ~ was, in the eyes of many an entrepreneur ripe for the consideration of a profit making line of communication - the railway! The first railway in Norfolk to be built was the Yarmouth and Norwich railway conceived in 1841 by the Stephensons as the first link in an east-west trunk railway from. Yarmouth to Peterborough, the line was completed in 1844. The second stage of the Stephenson project was the railway from Norwich to Brandon which was duly built and when the line was extended from Brandon it finally allowed Norwich to be linked to London, although it was one of the last major urban centres in England to be so joined. Norfolk was linked to other main centres of trade but the route was often tortuous and the lines badly run but there was no reasonable alternative. In 1850 goods sent from North East Norfolk to Ipswich, had to be carrried by horse to Norwich and then consigned on the railway via Cambridge and London, a journey of some 200 miles as against 40 by road. This long journey was still quicker and more reliable as the turnpike in winter was invariably half a yard deep in mud. .: ..:;- . ", '"'.,>-,.' " . . .. , 9 ' �The Station Staff take time between trains to pose fo r the camera - date unknown, but probably the early 1900 s. A busy m o men t at the Station during the in ter war period. The use of the Railway declined during these years, bu twas revived fo r a few years during the Second World War. The Last Passenger Train to stop at R eepham Station - organised by Aylsham and D istric t R ail A ction Co mmittee in 1 978. 10 �The First World War brough a halt to the extensive holiday traffic to the Cromer/Mundesley area and there was compepsation by an increase in military and general farm traffic as maximum production from the land was encouraged. The immediate post war period continued this revival particularly as farm production stayed high but the first buses started to run scheduled services to Cromer and Aylsham. When the road surfaces improved during the 1920s and bus stops were introduced into the very centre of Norwich, the passengers started to turn away from trains onto the buses. They found they could catch a bus which passed through the village rather than walking up to two miles to a station to catch a train. There was then a flood of proposals for railways to fill the gaps in the railway map of the 1840s and 50s in North East Norfolk but for various reasons none were built. In the early 18705 construction began on the line from Whitlingham Junction to North Walsham and after the appropriate Board of Trade inspection it was permitted open to traffic as from the 20th October 1874. The line ran through Wroxham and it was from here that the east-west extension was planned. The East Norfolk Railway Act of 1864 had originally planned an extension to Aylsham but delays in building other extensions (noteably to Cromer) and other financial problems slowed down expansion plans so that the Act to extend the line to Aylsham was not granted until the 16th April 1876. Tenders for the work were submitted during 1878 and that of the lowest, William Waddell, was accepted and in August 1878 the work commenced. There were a number of initial problems particularly with the weather; bricklaying was stopped in December, due to the severe frosts. The Wroxham to Reepham and County School line really suffered in this inter-war period, being an east-west line when most of the traffic was northsouth (to the coast and the Broads). Reepham to Norwich was catered for also by the M & GN line from Whitwell (which was 35 minutes quicker) and by buses. Worst of all in the inter--war period was the depression in farming and allied industries. Arable North East Norfolk was depressed more than most areas and with little money available to finance development or initiatives the railways were losing a lot of a decreasing total of traffic. It was not until the approach of the Second World War that traffic began to increase markedly. RAF Stations built at Coltishall and Foulsham brought extra traffic to the line, agriculture revived as in the First World War and bus schedules were slashed. A great many people now had to travel and the only service available were the trains. However in the Spring of 1879 with a large increase in the number of men employed and with the assistance of two stationary steam engines and a traction engine he was able to keep to his contract of 'Coltishall by the middle of June l and he estimated that he would be at Buxton by the end of June. The Board of Trade Inspector declared the line adequate and the first section from Wroxham to Buxton was opened on the 8th July 1879. The Company however was running into financial problems and when shares in the Western Extension (to County School) were offered in September 1879 there was a lack of res onse and this coupled with proposals for extensions submitted by other railway companies in Norfolk meant that there was litttle chance of the Wroxham to County School extension becoming a profitable possibility if it ran on its own. It was inevitable that it would only survive if it was taken over by a larger company, this happened in June 1881 when the East Norfolk Railway was amalgamated with the Great Eastern Railway. During these troubled times however, the building of the line continued with the extension from Buxton to Aylsham opening on the 1st January 1880 and from Aylsham to Cawston opening on the 1st September 1880. At the time of the Great Eastern Railways takeover in June 1881 land for the two miles beyond Reepham had already been purchased and work from Cawston was proceeding on schedule. After the war there was a rapid decline in passenger traffic on the line from Aylsham to County School once the buses and private cars returned to the roads. The long meandering line from County School to Norwich via Aylsham in a slow train pulling dowdy and worn carriages which were at least 40 years old were no match for the direct and competitive buses. The passenger services from Wroxham to County School ceased on the 15th September 1952 and the line from Foulsham to Reepham was closed to goods as well. The line was linked to the M &. GN line from Melton Constable to Norwich via Whitwell when the Themelthorpe curve was laid in September 1960 and this allowed the concrete production from Lenwade to form much of the traffic for few years until it finally closed to goods in 1982. After the amalgamation with the G.E.R., the East Norfolk lines were developed as part of an integrated system but this development favoured the Norwich to the North East Norfolk coast area and this was further enhanced when a line from Mundesley to Cromer was opened in 1906. The line was last used in the mid 1970s when a small number of passenger trains were organised by the Aylsham and District Rail Action Committee. The journeys from Thorpe Station to Lenwade (and back) via Wroxham, Aylsham, Reepham and Whitwell were packed with passengers but they provided Ii ttle more than evocative reminders of the slow pace of life of a bygone age, a service which could not be profitably sustained today. The western extension of the North East Railway became the poor relation of the system; it proved to be an unpopular and profitless extension which slumbered along into the twentieth century; it epitomised the sleepy rustic branch line that -our memories are so fond of. 11 �Memories of th R ilw y ~WiY:~~fi~i~i' ai'i~ifii~i~~~~~~~~~~ The days of man are three score years and ten but that was certainly not the vision that inspired the building of the 'Western Extension of the Great Eastern Railwayl, as it was termed, when it was opened in 1882, but 70 years WaS how long the passenger service lasted until its closure in September 1952. Horse-drawn trucks were the motive power, and Mr Walter Wilkin, drove the tip horse. Originally the road from Cabbage Court to Cawston New Road (now known as New Road) ran through Crown Meadow, but with the construction of the railway bridge to the east of the station, it assumed its present curve over the bridge. lnciden tally, this bridge is the highest spot in Reepham and served admirably as a lookout post for air raid wardens in the last war. The blaze at Lowestoft in its worst night could be discerned at this vantage point. La'unched amidst much anticipation (with perhaps not a litte trepidation) during the period 1876-79, grandly the project gathered sway from Aylsham to County School, as Cawston, Reepham and finally Foulsham Stations arose and the railway tracks compl~ted their easy communication in 1882. All the actors on that stage have now taken their last call and it is no longer possible to converse wi th anyone who was involved wi th the building of the line. There are many and varied episodes connected to the building, some are complimentary and many are contradictory. The search for detail c-an be long, exciting - sometimes exasperating but always interesting and at last a more or less coherent story can emerge. When the line closed it was still possible to contact people in the Reepham area who could remember the 1880s. Whilst most could remember the line being built very few worthwhile details could be gathered. Victorian ideas as to the Sabbath - and they were not bad ones either - insisted that the sale of many properties through which the line ran was conditional upon there being no Sunday traffic over them and this reservation has been scrupulously observed. ~---------~------~ M AID1S HEAD HOTEL, NORWICH. I;\'t,C't,\f'i\.'< I;\DIO\jI\\'t,\) \'t\I;\O\) (j't\ O\) \ , The onlY purely Fa.mJ1y Hot.elI.nNorwlch, and the County Hotel of Norfolk {or over 500 yeaTS. OPf'O.'iITE THE CAT HEDRAL. CHAROES MOOERAT.E, ~ \RSVC\.I\"S CI'IH. The patriotic urge, to provide waste paper and reduce the danger of fire f rom aerial attack early in 1939 doubtless resulted in many old papers being given over for salvage. II AOY JEUNE W'.:I: t'i' (S IN ' ''' £. · ·W!(IIILY SVN " CI-( A ISTMA.6 N \J ~8tA , 18 96: "It seems to me that the real interest oj Norwich centres in th e Cath.<.::;;-<.!I and the Maid 's Head Hotel, " One lost paper held an accoun t of the dinner gi ven at the Kings Arms, Reepham to celebrate the opening of the line when the Superintendent (Mr R W Kendall), under whom it was built was chief guest. T lI. t O JUP\04IC .A.O OA( $$ N" ' ICIW AL. TILrP)oo.o~r MAIO $ Hr.A o. N ORWICtt. Address, "Proprietor." N O_ &S , N OR WICH The high fields bounding Stoney Lane and the eastern boundary of the yard to the railway bridge are often a puzzle to people. The navvies who built the railway excavated the site of the Reepham Station yard, leaving the fields high up on either side. The soil tha t was removed went to build the embankments which lead to the bridges on the Cawston and i\ erdiston roads. One old inhabitant, Mr Matt Timbers recalled the making of the yard, entailing the work of a pick and shovel brigade (IlThere were no excavators or bulldozers in those day, you know!!), and the earth was run down the ' slope on a specially-constructed light track to build the embankments approaching the bridge over the Kerdiston road. ~--------------------------------~~~~ 12 �+---------------------------+ GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY. ~ EASIDE, AND P BROADS AND RIVERS OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK. TOURIST, FORTNIGHTLY, AN D FRIDAY TO TUESDAY ISSU E D F ROM LONDO N AS UNDER : TOURIST, (a) Liverpool Street or St. Pancras to- . , . Hu nstanton · L owesto(t .. ·. ·. 1\[ undesley-on-Sea · . , Yarlllont h ·. Cr(\mer~ ·h Wrox ham . _ N orwich . ·. ·. . . Liverpool Street .. · . ·. · ., , ·. ·, · . .. · . .. ·. t o- W alton.oo·the-Naze, C lacton- l o n ·St!L.l, or Frinton ·. . I H ~rwich or Dovercourt ·. F el ixstowe .. ·. ·. Alckburgh .. · . . ·. ·. South wold .. · . · . · . · Southenu-on-Sea, tBurnham- ) on-Crouch .. f ·. · . . · ·. . .. Clas~. s. d. ! 1St Class. C lass. (c) 3 rd Cbs", d, s. 0 10 0 d. 22 0 II 0 IS 0 22 0 TI 0 15 0 22 0 1I 0 15 0 22 0 1 I 0 11 6 10 0 1 7 6 6 10 0 13 10 0 13 9 0 20 l' 0 20 0 0 20 0 10 18 6 6 27 6 27 6 II .. 20 0 12 0 20 0 12 0 1 23 4 14 9 3 8 16 1.8 17 '27 3{ 3 9 5 25 0 27 6 1 t4 4 t7 t4- 4- t8 d. 16 IJ 0 IS 0 2 34 31 ~, !;;. !-. . 0 0 Class. 0 d. 6 3 rd Class. 1st d, s. 18 19 30 33 34 31- ARE FRIDA.Y to TUESDAY, FOR.TNIGHTLY (b) 3 rd 1st TIC K ETS 5 27 27 0 .. .. .. 3 6 7 6 6 6 7 6 0 10 0 3 0 16 IS 0 2:::! 0 6 8 I I 0 0 3 6 0 I (a) Tourist lI'lckets are issued tltlily throl.lg-Ilullt the year, by allY train, ;'\l)d arc avail,lhlc (or the retllrtl jou~Iley by any train a.s fullows. Th,?se issued from 1St May to 31St ()ct(lb~r ~llcJuS!V e 011 any day up to and lnc1udlllg' 31~t DCCl!lllhcr; those Issued frmll I~t Novemher to 30th Al->nl IIlCIU SIVC Oil allY day withifl two calendar mOllths (rolll the (\;It.:= of iSSllC. (b) Fortnightly Tickets are issued daily l>yallY train, and. an; availahle for return II}'. any uf the adv(~ rrised trains Oil ~lllY (i:ty withil_1 .15 dityS, i~lcIlJdin~ ddYS uf ISSue alld return. ee) .E'nda,v to Tuesdo.y Tlckets are l~sul:d every l·nday and Satunby lly allY train, and ,lre iLv"ilalJlc fur retu rn by ,Illy of the advertised traills UII the day of issue, or on cwy tidY lip to alld including- the ft)llowing' Tues(I;IY. • These lid.:ds are t',nlled to JF1'o:t:hfl))l olllyfroJJL lJ.[ay to Odv/7r:1' blciJlsivl!. 10Ur£j·t aJld Fortllt:I:iJtly hrJ:t'/s art: only :'.:,::,ut'd 10 HU1'Jlltam-on-Crouch'/rOJJl ~!I1Y to Od, inclusive. These Tickds are ~lv:.Lil;Il)le to or from additional StatIons a~ follows :-Hllllstalltoll Tickets at 1 [t::tch;llll j Lowe~toft Tic.kets at Heccles, Rc<.:dhalll, Carlton Colville, Ullltllll Broad, Yarmouth, Crolller, Mundeslt..:y j Y;trllloutil Tickers at Bcccics, Reedham, St. Olaves. Acle, Lowestoft. Cromer, I\luJldcsley ; CWILIer Tickets at North Walsh,UlI, ClIIlton, Y;lrmouth, Lowestoft. Mundesley j MUlldesley Tickl:ts at P ,lstl)lI :l.IIO KIlClptnrl, CrOlller. Yarmouth, l.owestuft; Walton-()Il-thc-N;ize Tickets at Frinton, Claetun, llarwich, Dovercourt; CI;(etoll-OIl-Sea Tkkcts at Frilltoll, \Valtun. H.trwich, Dovercourt i FrilltOJl-lIl1-Sea. Tickets at Claclon, Waltt)ll, lJ.lrwich. J)overcourt; J{.(rwich Tickets at Dovcrcourt, P;lrke!;;tl)l1, FrintoJl, CI;lctUl1, W.t1t(jII, l FL:lixstuwe; Fclixs{Owe Tickets at Trimley. HarwiCh; Aldt..:burgh Tickets at Leistoll; Suuthwold Tickets ilt Darsllall!, Wen haston, Blythburgh, Walbcrswick; SoutheJld on· Sea Tickets at PrittlL'well; Burnh;\lIl-on·Crouch Tickets nt Famhridg-e, Althorne, SouthlIIinster. Pils~t:ng-crs 1I1uSt pay the ordinary local ~i1il;!'\e Fares when trilvl!llillg- from one Station to the other. S }'aiJOljft:r.... travdtlJlg to or ./}"O))l. FdixJ/owe wilh Har'zvlch or Dov~rcolI1't Tickets arc rcl/llirert 10 pay the dijfert'Jzce Ot'/7Ut'I'1t the rt!sjr:dhe Fares. ill arldiho)l to the Local 5z'1l¥le Boat 01' Rll il Fan', 7I.IhOl tra7 /l'ih'JlJ.," ./1'O)Jl the 011r: pial'( to thl' other. Extra. Journey Return Tickets at H.ed uoed Fares are is~uecl at the above Stations-excepc SoutIH·.nd-oll-Sea, Bumhilffi,oll.Crouch, Prittlewdl, Famhridg-e, Althorne, and Southminste r-to the Station from which the Tickets an; j:;!:olled) to visiturs holding- not less than two Tourist or ¥oTtllig'htly :rickets. The J;:.xtra Journey Tickets willlJe available fur return until the date of expiry ofthc Tickets III respect of which they are lssLtcd. J. 'F. S. GOO DAY. GENERAL MANAGER. Liuerpool Street Station, 1900 . ~-------------------------------------------------~ 13 �The Midland and Great Northern Railway Company had for some time been considering a line which would give a more direct route to the Midlands whichl covered much of the area taken in hand so energetically by the Great Eastern once the necessary sanction had been given the latter really got on wi th the task and the speed with which the work was done came as a great shock to those who favoured the nearer route to Norwich from Whitwell Station. Because of the close proximi ty of the two stations of rival Companies the fare to Norwich was the same, notwithstanding that the mileage from Reepham was about double that from Whi twell. The Whi twell line had no Sunday service either. The story of the sheds at Reepham used as blacksmi ths' and iron-workers' shops, of the turntable in use because the Government of those days forbade a train to run with the tender before the engine; the work of Mr H E Hawes, a survivor of those days when he was a carpenter employed in the interior construction of the station's dwellings at Cawston, Reepham and Foulsham and on the woodwork of the line - are not all these with many another written in the Book of Memory. In the early 1880s a favourite Sunday walk of those days was to the station to see the weekly progress of the line - how many more sleepers had been laid; this walk was alternated with a visit to Booton Church to see how many more bricks had been laid by the Rev Whitwell Elwin Dnd his team. reasonable so he started walking a short cut home along the railway line. It was late and dark and a train overtook hi m, cutting him to pieces. The gory evidence of the accident was only revealed when the train stopped at Reepham Station and search parties went out and soon found further evidence to SUbstantiate the tragedy. No story of the Reepham railway would be complete without some reference to its stationmaster-s, the first of whom was Mr Richard Sayer, a genial and much-beloved gentleman. It seems he was succeeded for a s.hort while by Mr Frank Rice, who subsequently became stationmaster of Sheringham, to help in its development from a lobster fishing village to a popular North Norf olk watering-place. Probably his successor was Mr Youngman, whose son Harry contributed much to the cultural life of Reepham through the Orchestral Society and Nigger Minstrel Troupe before the 1914-18 war, in which he was killed. Later holders of the office were Mr Wilson, Mr Moore and finally Mr S B Ba.ss whose maternal grandfather was a Mr Hoggar who was the first stationmaster at Foulsham. Mr Bass came from a real railway family who accumulated 390 years of railway lservice between them. Eleven members of his family we~'e ' stationmasters. ~------------------------~ PELMANS' HORSE SALES, The line from Reepham to County School was opened on the 1st May 1882 and two months later the July issue of the Foulsham Parish Magazine proudly printed the first timetable of the East Norfolk Railway wi th its conglomera-tion of IMixed ' , 'Parliamentary! and IMarket' trains. By this it took 43 minutes to travel from Aylsham to Foulsham, the editor for brevity omitting reference to Cawston and Reepham. The journey from London to Foulsham by the 'Mixed' train occupied 5 hours 14 minutes while the 'Parliamentary' one took 6 hours 29 minutes. NorwiCh to Foulsham by the same trains were a matter of 1 hour 24 minutes and 1 hour eleven minutes respectively. There were, however 11 trains daily from Norwich to Foulsham and 10 from Fowsham to Norwich. All these, of course, passed through Reepham too. Norwich. mESSRS. SPELMANS' Fortnigbtly Sales of High-Claus ~ Horses are noteworthy for their assemblage of follies, Cobs, Saddle and Harness Horses, and Hunters. Entries can be auanged on application at tbe Auctioneers' Ofll.ces. St. Glles St.reet, Norwich, and 28, H.a.ll Plain, Great Ya.rmouth. OUTSIDE LONDON THERE ARE FEW MORE IMPORTANT CENTRES OF Periodical In 1882 the fastest train of the day did the 17 mile journey from Foulsham to Norwich in 63 minutes. This seems to be the fastest time recorded for this trip in the 70 year history of the line. Horse Sales THAN THE GlTY OF NORWICH, The building of the line seemed to have been relatively accident free, or else no accidents were ever recorded, but two incidents were recorded. Firstly, the one outstanding incident before the line opened when a steam traction engine used by the contractors blew up near Foulsham while the users were de~parately trying to replenish the boilder with water from a nearby stream. Shortly after the . line opened the only bad accident occured when a man named Flatman left Cawston where he had been waiting longer than he thought WHERE $PELMANS' SALES ATTRACT BUYERS FROM ALL PART. OF THE UNITE 0 KINGDOM. I ~--------~~------~----~ 14 �-----------------------------~I was then where magisterial business was transacted and where a well attended busy market was held each week. The railway gave Reepham a direct communication with neighbouring villages and with towns like Dereham and Norwich, while London was now only 5 hours travelling time away. To the farm labourer of the time for whom a journey to Norwich was likely to be an annual event the prospect of leaving Reepham at breakfast and to be in the centre of London for lunch must have been difficult to comprehend. Although it is unlikely that he would have been able to afford it let alone have the free time to go. The novelty of a railway journey though, undoubtedly brought a shrinkage of trade and it is more than possible that the railway started the dispersal from the countryside. >~~~------------~--------------~ Was the coming of the railway to Reepham a blessing or not! Till the 1880s it certainly was a prosperous, self contained unit, numbering many influential people among its inhabitants. Whitwell Hall, Hackford Hall, The Brewery House, The OHands and The Moor House were all the homes of gentry and Reepham The railway came as an engineering marvel which provided unlimited travel to the people of this Victorian era the service however, did not change much during the next 70 years and in its latter days it had many faults of infrequent and slow service but the passenger train during its 70 years at Reepham did meet a very real need. Even wi th its faults there was considerable sadness expressed when its farewell finally became necessary. E 4 No. 2793 The 2.10 pm from Dereham to Wroxham leaves Reepham Station in - Our local railway memories are encapsulated in pictures like this. 15 May 19:50 �- -- ~~ -1 ,:' " ~j, -I:· J...,.. ~ . "" 'I :::'. -"-----.,<, B 16 I �Around the -World 17 �K 2 No. 61748 A Gresley K2 ,' e.: passes Themelthorpe, later the site of the British. Railways curve, on 10th May 1949. Heepham is one of those few places that had the benefit of two railway lines, which ran independantly f or many years and which were unexpectedly linked in 1960. The line through Reepham Station which closed to passengers in 19~2 and the line through Whitwell which saw its last passengers in February 1 9 59. The railway lines were eventually taken up in t he mid 1980s but in the intervening years the lines con t inued in use until the mid 1970s with regular t rains hauling freight, the final goods train from Lenwade made its journey on 4th January 1982. The reason for this continued use was the building of the Themelthorpe curve in 1960. This line starting from Whitwell Station and turning back almost on itself at Themelthorpe returning to Reepham Station makes a pleasant walk which traces the transport Hne which for 70 years was the backbone of most of the life ond goods that came in and out of Reepham. Prior to British Rai lways amalgamating the li nes in 1948 the area was served by the Midland and Great Northe rn J oi nt Ra ilway which journeyed into Nor wich Cit y Station (t he a re a east of He igha m Stree t now developed as an industrial estate) a nd the Gre a t Ea stern Rail way which journ eyed into Norwi c h Thorpe Station. The t wo Norw ic h s tations wer e only a mile a part ye t t here was no dire ct link and a ny frei ght that had t o be moved f r om one s tation had to be se nt northw a rds vi a Nor t h Walsha m, Cromer a nd Melton C onstable a nd t hence ba ck to Norwich. For a distan ce of one mile direct t he actual fa il j ourne was imm ense, th e rout e was affe c.t ionately know as 'going-ro un d-t he-world'. When t he T he melthorp e c urve was laid it halved t he journey at a s t roke. No. D 5537 Concrete beams on low loader wagons leaving Len wade in August 1 965 and abou t to make .their jo urney aroun.d the Themelthorpe curve . 18 �~~~~~~~~~~'~~~r~g~~~~rl.~~~ Reepham Station The timpson Co nection O:l IiiY~~fJ~i~iii~'i~iffiWi~~~~~~~W¥i~~ As the railway builders moved on their relentless course from Cawston to Reepham and on to Foulsham during 1880 and 81 the site of Reepham Station became an important point for the Company building the line. The site occupied a large area which today is bounded by Stony Lane and Wood DaIling Road an d it was deyeloped not only to house the station, ssociated buildings and various areas of lines to e used for marshalling goods traffic but also included areas and facili ties that at the time were vi t al to t he railway buildingo There was a carpentersf shop, where level crossing gates were built and materials prepared to build the signal boxes. There was a blacksrfli ths' shop where the metal work for gates a nd buildings was forged and there were areas used f or s toring the sleepers, rails and the mass of other ite ms that were broug"ht in by rail to assist in the Taken about 1930 it shows Stimpson and Hurn staff with some of their delivery wagons. 111.r Th omas Hurn is second right from the centre horse and AIr Ben Stimpson stands to its left. 19 �AM E ._----------_ .... _- - - - .. -._--I Scale - ., 0 IHRRRR 20 1 rhain fo dn inch 3 & I I -- �On each weekday the 6pm from Wroxham and the 6.05pm from Dereham met briefly at Reepham at 6.38pm REEPHAM STATION as it was built and laid out in the 1880's. The only items that remain today are the Granary, the Station buildings and the Old Carpenters' shop (later used by Stimpson's for stabling horses); this is the shaded building in the upper centre of this layout. 21 �+.1- 'I- '1' + -I- -I-'~'I- +++... building of the line onto Foulsham and beyond. The site even included a bakery which was built to produce bread for the gangs who worked on the railway, many of whom came back at night and slept in and around the station area. + + ~: + -I- .).t-I- To encourage its usage the owners of the railway had to introduce and sustain goods traffic; they couldn't relay entirely on passengers to produce their profit and so the area round the station became a site of Victorian business development. Businesses were to be encouraged into the station area and hopefully would profit and expand from the regular delivery to the station by the daily goods trains. 't: r/ . 12 +"" ++'1' ·1- +./-+ + -I- ++- ++- +-1-""1- '" + '1-++ 1-+++++++ ·1· "C .1"fO SIIIJIP.on, 'R.ecp~am t l flU: oj. STIMPSON & ~: Coal. Com, CaJ?t! 6- :t :A[ allure ~r erc/'anl5 + :1: + -I+ t COALS:t -I- "" .j. -I- + + ... ... FOR t COMFORT + -I- + ... t-I- \Ve :1: your t CDn meat dem8.IJd~ all jar HOUSE, STEA1v{ & 1(ITCHEN + :~ Special QUOlo.lionlJ (a,. Lar!!er Quanlilies t DELIVERIES TO ALL PARTS + + Trucks + + sent -I- to allY :t -I- t -I- + Station + + + .-- -> ... ... .. . .. .. ::: CORN, ·1· CAKE & t 4- MEAL Ev~,.y(hi(lg in CallIe Food ·1· 4.to ·1· :!: t 1: HIGH GRADE MANURES We Sf')":!. d,C :1: Best + .J. 1 + ... t!OQUlrht.1 Inloil.J PrOUljJt A{contion GJYII/) and A YLSHAM For COAL, COALlTE ANTHRACITE COKE Pig. Poultry and Cattle Foods Fertilizers "We serve to please. and we are pleased to s.e rve " PHONE PHONE 201 2 114 -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - _ . +,. ++ +++ -I- The three companies cuntinued in competition until 1927 when Sharpins closed down and their business area in the station yard and Granary was taken over by the other two, although by this time the Sall Coal Company had changed its name to Stimpson and Hurn. Collers moved their Reepham area base to Aylsham in the early 1960s and the whole station site was then taken over by Stimpsons. All grades of Solid Fuel DISTRIBUTORS B.O. and C.M. PRODUCTS of...j' L.o All in the station area, although Taylors was taken over in 1886 by the SaIl Coal Company. Coal, animal feed stuffs and grain were the main business of Sharpins and Sall Coal whilst Collers mainly con cen tra ted on the supply of coal. LIMITED REEPHAM J REEPHAM STATION Y~lIr :::'1- -I- +.1-++ ++ +++ ++++ '!-'I- +++ + -I- -I- ++ oj. ++ -I ' ++++ "' ... R. Coller & Sons, t+ J ·1· t + 01- + + ·1· -I- ~ "CUmpQu! Our P,ias" ./. Quality :r. ./. -I- In the first year or so after the opening of the line Garrett Taylor, Sharpins and Collers all set up business -I- '1' -I- The area to the south of the sta tion buildings and the main up and down lines was developed as the business area; the Railway built a large granary (approximately 200 feet x 50 feet), there was an area known as the coal grounds and a group of cattle pens all served by a series of sidings. ~. + 01- :l: + The obvious business role was one that would satisfy the supply and .clem and of the agricultural needs of the areas and also to provide bulk goods for the business and domestic needs of the residents in and around Reepham. Service HURN Mr Benjamin Stimpson was a farmer at Morton and Great Witchingharn who purchased farm land at Sall in the early 1880s when c,arrett TAylor had to sell up; Mr Stimpson also took over their Reepham Station bus-iness setting up the SaIl Coal Company in 1886; the business continued during the next 100 years and the site is still used today by Pertwees for the distribution of seed corn, agricultural chemicals and fertilisers. 22 �ing the past 100 years the following name changes ve occurred. From 1886 to approximately 1914 ere was the Sal 1 Coal Company, Ben Stimpson d E. Stimpson; from 1914 - 1932 it was Stimpson d Hurnj from 1933 to 1965, E Stimpson and Son, d then E Stimpson and Son Limited; from 1965 o 1980, Stimpson and Partners and Stimpson and e rtwee Limited, and from 1980 (and probably not ally) Pertwees. Benjamin Stimpson (who was the grandfather of e present Mr Ben Stimpson) set up the Sall Coal om pany, an agricultural merchants business which eal t in animal feed stuffs, grain and artificial :erti lizers, these were bough~ and s.o ld throughout e local farming community and they also bought coal which was then sold to business premises .and householders in Reephan\ and the neighbouring ·llages. coal grounds were served by two lines ong which the trucks were brought to be unloaded; he coal was often stored in piles at the station and unless the coal could be directly shovelled out _ o m the trucks then men were employed who would hovel the coal into skeps which were then carried awa y from the tracks and hand tipped into prepared ooden bays. e coal would be distributed in various sized lots ma inly to the more affluent households of the district ho could purchase and store the coal in such bulk. The big Houses in the area would order coal by the r uck load and many a long working day had to be endured by the employees who were responsible or deli vering the regular truckload ordered by the wners of such places as Haveringland Hall and Great Witchingham Hall. "-hen steam engines were used to thresh the corn the farmer would arrange for a suitable amount of steam coal to be delivered to the farms and this mild be supplied in bulk by Stimpsons· and Collers. the deliveries being made to arrive in advance at e respective farms as the threshing contractor it h his machinery made his way from one site to ano ther. Some farmers would buy a truckload of s ea rn coal for use in the house as well as for :hre shing. The coal was also bagged and weighed in small lots which was then sold by a delivery undsman who toured the local area. Stimpsons d their main rounds in Wood Dalling, Kerdiston, lli t well and Sparham with most of the Reepham area. being covered by Collers. The coal (as with 1 other deliveries) was made by horse and cart :rom the 1880s until after the 1940s although the 1 rst motor truck entered service with Stimpsons - 1925. _ e coal was usually bought through a Factor such _.lellonie and Golder of Ipswich, Bessey and Palmers _ Gr eat Yarmouth or Vintners of Cambridge and was mostly obtained from the Nottinghamshire A Stimpson inventory of 1887 shows that they er-e stocking best coals, kitchen coals, brick burning , smithy nuts, cobbles, screenings, coke, natural _ds, steam coal and household nuts. 23 In the early 1960s Collers moved to Aylsham and continued with their coal rounds but by this time there was a general decline in the demand for coal, the requests for bulk deliveries had all but gone and the introduction of oil fired central heating had reduced the household demand. The closure of the goods traffi c in the 196 Os and the subsequen t difficulties that would ensue in the delivery by road signalled the end, in 1965, of Stimpsons as coal merchants. Most of the work at the Station concerned with coal was carried on outside in the yard area, the granary was rented and used for the other sides of the business; the feed stuffs and grain and the artificial fertilizers. The company bought in general feed stuffs which were sold to the local farming community and it bought from the farmers their cereal crops which were then sold or stored depending upon the market demands at the time. The grain was sold at the Norwich Corn Hall in Exchange Street (now the home of Jarrolds Department Store). A balance sheet from the end of the last century shows that the follOWing feed stuffs were being sold to local farmers; bran, barley meal, cotton cake (square and long), decorticated cake, supers, linseed cake, maize (flat and round), malt culms, lamb food, black oats, rice meal, tares, porridge meal, fowls wheat, bullock food, beans and white peas. They also sold bar, land and rock salt. At that time there was a small demand [or artificial fertilizers and Stimpsons were buying in and selling on nitrate soda, phosphates, superphosphate, lime, bone manure and sulphate of ammonia. Much of it seemed to be recorded as manure: "this would appear to have been 8 generic term to describe the product irrespective of whether it came f rom animals, chemical firms or as a by product from the mining areas (basic slag was high phosphate). Stimpsons were responsible locally for their pioneering approach to the manufacture of feed stuffs: whilst there may not have been a specific demand from farmers for animal farm compounds. Stimpsons recognised that balanced feed stuffs were much more beneficial (and cost effective) than single feeds and they developed products which were then sold direct to local farmers. In the early 1930s they started preparing mixed pig and poultry feeds and this soon developed into a wide range of similar products. In those ea-rly days all the feeds were mixed by hand shovel but as the demand increased a mechanical mixer, hammer mill and oat crusher were all purchased and installed in the Granary. The early development with artificial fertilizers led to the setting up of an agency with rCI in 1930, sales increased during the 19305 and during the Second World War the business was almost wholly concentrated on it. There was a great need for the Country to become as near to self sufficienct as was possible and at the same time Stimpsons had to sustain a decrease in their workforce as more and more staff left to take their place in the Forces. �Mr Ben Stimpson supervising another delivery of Artificial Fertiliser from leI in the 1950's, Towards the end - Stimpsons unload another delivery in the 1960's also Artificial Fertiliser. 24 �less staff available and with a growing demand crop production Stimpsons concentrated on - -':-idal fertilizers ,and decreased their activities - feed stuffs and grains. to shunt the trucks into the granary ready for unloading. The station yard diagram shows two lines of track, one which goes behind the granary, this was known as the 'back road' and another which goes in one end of the granary and out the other end. This was known as the 'shed road'. Two horses would be used and they moved the trucks around in the sidings until the ones to be unloaded were in posi tion, they would then be pulled by the horse to the south door of the granary. - '- - was freely available during the early years he war but a decline in the number of men in pi ts coupled with a particularly long and bitter spell in January 1942 caused the rationing of to be brought in later that year. Stimpsons con tinued wi th their coal rounds, although the __ ly to them had been erratic particularly during winter months when the transport of coal by would sometimes break down completely. When - -ooing was introduced the deliveries continued . g the rest of the war but it was of speCific Olffi ts and to regular customers. There were two mixed goods trains a day, which passed through the station and every afternoon if trucks arrived for unloading then the trains would leave them in the area to the west of the station si teo There was a gradien t up through the coal grounds, until it reached the granary dOOf; there it levelled out. If the trucks required unloading in the coal area or other outside sidings or in the granary then they were pulled into position by two horses. One was fitted with a special harness and pulled nearest the truck and the other outer horse was fitted with an ordinary trace. er the war some areas of business slowly declined in 1965 (the year the coal sales finished) they -erged with Pertwees: eventually the feed stuffs ·sed and today the whole business concentrates artificial fertilizers, agrochemicals and seed - _ many years the business relied heavily on horses - ~ t heir delivery work and also for use in the yard Both horses would walk on the right hand side (not between the fails) and they would pull the trucks The Granary today, little changed in its structure since the 1880's. The Goods Trucks were pulled into the building through "the large doorway on the right hand side. original enters shop, ~ standing only just-' 25 �J 17 No. 65534 A train of Cattle Trucks wait to pull away in April 1950 Harvest Machinery waiting to be unloaded -- probably destined for sale by Randells to Farmers in the district. on the long haul up from the dip to the granary doors. Once they reached the doors the gradient levelled off and by now there was sufficient motion for the trucks to run on inside the granary (the horses having by now been released) or if the trucks had stopped they would be pushed or 'pinched' along by hand by means of a long pin-ch bar. There was a gradient up to the granary, once unloaded (and with the downward gradient out) the trucks could be pushed manually down into the Sidings. Stimpsons had horses available for the coal delivery and each day, for six days a week, one of these would be out on a round in the morning and then back to shunt the trucks in the afternoon. As the shunting was really a task for the GER they paid Stimpsons f or the f acili ty of the horses doing the work of a train. In 1890 there was an income of nearly £90 a year from the GER for this work. (The GER also gave a first class return ticket to London which was invariably made use of by Mr Stimpson). The amount of work must have been extensive When you consider that the average wage of a labourer of the time would be little more than £25 per year. 26 The daily shunting was physically hard even for the horses and they did not last too long on this work, it was a necessary task Which had to be carried out. If the trucks were not unloaded within three days then the buyer would be charged 'demurrage' by the GER. Another problem, particularly during the colder months, was that the grease on the truck wheels would begin to harden and this made their movement a lot harder, particularly for the poor horses pulling them uphill. In the late 19205 a horse named 'Smut' was regularly used on this work and it cost Stimpsons £1 25 Od a week to supply this service; it cost 10/- a week for oats, bran and cut hay to feed 'Smut' and a labourer cost 1/- an hour for two hours a day, six days a week. If none of the horses were available to shunt the wagons, then a horse from one of Stimpsons nearby farms would be brought in. The shunting with horses started in the early 1880s and carried on until the mid 1930s when the operation was then taken over by trains. Throughout the Country the railway companies used many horses as an alternative to trains to shunt goods trucks and in the larger stations th~y were �A great deal of other work was carried out at Reepham; there was the seasonal need for the loading and movement of sugar beet to Cantley and large consignments of grain, fruit and vegetables were sent out from the station, all of these were manually loaded and unloaded for many years by the local farm labourers. The sta tion had the use of a group of cattle pens and these were used for cattle going to and from the local Reepham Wednesday Market. Cattle sent from t he Reepham area t o the main li vestock market in Nor wi ch were invari ably sent fr om Whit well, the journe y fr om Whit weU t o Norw ich was much quicker than t he journey fr om Reepham Station whi ch would delive r the ca ttle to Trowse Station wh ereas the Whitw ell line ended at the Ci ty Station which was then a much shorter drive (up Westwi ck Street and 5t Andrews) t o the Market held each Saturday morning in the a rea around Norwich Castle. The imbalance in the business for transporting cattle was partly offset in the warmer months of the yea when large numbers of local cattle were se nt to Th e Loading Gauge, unused now for 30 years and nearly smothered by natures un;;hecked growth . . eepham Station - !l1id 1930 'so used for th e delivery of goods. Grass alongside rural lines was cut and dl">ied and sent as fodder the horses based in the urban areas, notably London. e companies employed inspe ctors wh o would travel d their a reas and inspec t the horses on a six thly basis. If horses had not be en available at eepham fr om Stimpsons then it L reasonable to :;ssum e that the GER woul d ha ve had t o supply and aft e r them. }en t he li ne was being laid a carpenters l shop was which carried out most of the cialised woodwork requirements of the line as progressed towards foulsham. After its short vi tal working period the building was left vacant was eventually hired by Stimpsons for them stable their horses in; it held up to six. Collers had horses and they were stabled in the area occupied by th e new industrial uni ts in Collers _. The stables used by Stimpsons horses are still - t o<la y; it is the delapidated wooden building the nort h side of Stony Lane. Any visit to it should _ taken with car e a s th e building is leaning badly ill probably collapse in the not too dis tant ~e. H owever, a visual inspection shows its hi st ory, - floor is la id in a numbe r of pla ces with small e stable bri cks, par t of th e fl oor has been laid old redundan t sleepers, possibly th e only ones _ can now be found in t he station area and under - :ll'esent roof you can still find re ma ins of he covering that was put on by t he r a il ways builde rs e early 1880s - t. at Reepham 27 �Reepham Station for the journey to Acle marshes where they were grazed during the summer. On the edge of the main platform there was a loading dock with small manually operated crane which was used to lift farm machinery on and off trucks, machinery that was bought and sold by Eglingtons and Randells, the main agricultural machinery merchants in the area. The loading dock was also used by the loading and unloading of horses, these animals whether for hunting or for working on the farms or to work with local business people were highly valued and could not be driven and packed into trucks like cattle. The M & GN supplied special covered wagons (which contained seats for grooms and other workers who rode with the horses) and these wagons had large sides which would drop down onto the loading dock and down which the horses could be 'led. It was common practice for horses travelling to and from local hunts and race meetings to be loaded and unloaded in this manner, although such events never happened in Reepham. The GER had a parcels office (the small building next to the station) which was used for small parcels and they also had an area in the granary which was used for storing or holding the larger items. Reepham was the epitome of a country station which served a small but busy market town acting as a centre to the surrounding rural area. The area was wholly agriculturally based and the station and its five acre site adequately served Reepham's needs during the seventy years life of the railways. The GER Reepham station was always in competition with the M and GN at Whitwell but there was little doubt as to which one was the more successful. Reepham was always full of people, horses, traffic and generally displayed an air of business; Whitwell was the one which won prizes for its flower beds and settled into a rural quietness between trains and which dealt with goods on an intermittent rather than a regular basis with the exception of the animal trade on Saturdays. We miss them both and although Whitwell has deteriorated to a state of dereliction, the buildings at Reepham in their ·soft cream brown brick remain and as a permenant reminder of their former glory. The station master's house with the attached booking office and waiting rooms, the small parcels office and the large granary are all in current use. No doubt whilst they remain as working buildings they wil1 be preserved in good order and will act as a living reminder of their contribution to the history of Reepham and its area. A present day view of the Station Buildings. The Parcel Building is the small separate unit to the right. The two storey part of the building was the Station Masters' house. 28 �NORFOLK NEWS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1952 IVELY FAREWELL TO RURAL LINE With a "funeral oration" from the footplate and wreaths to bedeck the engine, there was a suitable farewell at Reepham Station on Saturday night for the last passenger train on the Wroxham -- County School line. -The Last Pas e ger T • In ' WH~~fi~i'~iiii'~i!iffii~~~~~~B:i5Wiffii~W¥i Branch railway line between Wroxham and County 1 (North Elmham) was open to passenger traffic th e last time on Saturday 13th September 1952, -e that date the line remained open for freight until it finally closed on the 31st October .. . The closure of the line to passen-ger traffi c :.5 an econo my mea sure by British Railways. 29 On the night of 13th September the last passenger train steamed westwards from Wroxham to County School and various ceremonies had been arranged at intermediate stations along the route to make the ending of a service which had been in existence for over 70 years and which had served so well the rural com munities of this area of Norfolk. �open in far more difficult times than the present and pointing out that for many residents in the area the action of British Railways would cause real hardship and inconvenience. The following detail is taken from the newspaper report of the time and it portrays the affection and regret expressed by the local people at the closure of this much loved raHway line. 'One man, for instance, declared that if he decides to use the bus service that will operate in place of the railway service he will be forced to hang about for 80 minutes after leaving off work before he can begin his homeward journey every night. Further along people were speaking of mothers with young children living in the villages who used the train to visit the shopping centres along the line. With the train, they said, these women could take their toddlers and their prams or push-chairs in comfort; now that they would have to travel by bus they would be obliged to carry their children in their arms all the way and all the time. 'At A YLSHAM (North) Station, the black and white crepe paper round and between the pillars supporting the roof of the main platform probably reflected the views of most of the 300 or so citizens who ga the red there, and Chopin's Funeral March, played over public address equipment as the train steamed in from Buxton, seemed to harmonise with the general feelings. The "bang-bang-bang" of exploding detonators as the train drew to a standstill appeared to strike an incongruous noteo 'It must be assumed that when Mr J B Postle, president of the Chamber of Commerce, handed the driver and firemen cigars and bottles of beer, complete with clean tumblers, he was not trying to be lighthearted, but anxious to offer the men tokens of appreciation of their services on the branch line, for, with the help of an assistant, Mr C Skoyles, who, like Mr Postle, wore a top hat and a dark overcoat, he also clambered up a ladder to the top of the engine and hung a large wreath of dahlias, held by a wire round the funnel, over the front of it. 'A t tached to the w rea th was a card bearing the words liTo the memory of another limb of private enterprise which was amputated during the scourge of nationalisation - 1881-1952". 'Then Mr Postle and others having jumped on board to take part in the ceremony at Reepham Station, the train moved slowly off, exploding more detonators as it did so. As the red lamp at the rear of the last carriage faded into darkness, the big crowd slowly melted away. The public address equipment came to life again wi th a modern dance tune in a brave attempt to cheer the gloom, but the emptiness of the waiting rooms had a more telling effect. Then the doors were closed and locked and the porter wondered - would he never see the platform filled with people again? Mr J. R. Postle, president of Aylsham Chamber of Commerce, placing a wreath on the train when it arrived at Aylsham on its return journey. 'Among the many hundreds of people who gathered at the stations to watch the train arrive and then depart into the night, there were several who regarded the occasion wi th lightness of heart. But there were many more who looked upon the passing of the service - which had been a great boon not only to them, but also their parents, their grandparents, and in some cases, their great-grandparents - with real and sincere regret. 'Four of CA WSTON'S oldest inhabitll.l1ts, Whose total ages were 344 years had been taken by cars to Wroxham so they might travel back to Cawston on the last up train. 'On arrival at Cawston they were presented with their rail tickets as souvenirs of the ride by the 'In big and little groups all along the platforms people could be heard recalling that the line had been kept 30 �- on master, Mr J Burgess. They were taken by o the King's Head Inn where light refreshments if served. 9pm, when the last down train reached Cawston, 100 villagers and friends were collected on platform to say 'hail and farewell'. -;-onators normally used as fog signals were placed the track and as the train drew into the station flashes and explosions added to the tenseness scene. !reath was hung on the engine and 'Auld Lang _ e l was sung by those present, then for the last e the train left the station and a large Union - " at half-mast waved it on its way. c t rain steamed on its way covering the short e y to Reepham. - _oon as the 'Pink Uns' had been collected the of pedestrians to RE EP HAM Sta ti on started t he platform was thronging with spectator's good 20 minutes before the scheduled time of _=- -al of the last train into the station, whilst the - -on yard assumed the activity and proportions a c ar park. Never before have there been so many __or cars assembled there. An event, which during previous week had been dubbed 'e. lot of squit' - _ -ually gathered interest and in its final denouement -- clearly proved to have captured the public ~ ~ ation. there was never evidence of any sense of 'rag' ugh the modest ceremony devised by Reepham ber of Trade and Commerce quickly bore the p of an 'occasion' of some importance with - - general public not lacking in initiative. -te 300 people were gathered on the platform, - above their hum of animated conversation the of the Reepham Band were heard. With e cted near-punctuality the long train from _ ston Signed its approach at the Railway Bridge shd with the noiseless efficency and grace of ..:.. express of a more aristocratic line into the station the Chamber's guests, Mr Edward Gibbs and - H E Hawes were engulfed with the spectators, - - the other 35 or so passengers from Ca wston mbarked. 'The former should have been welcomed by the Chamber, but in view of the length of the train, which almost measured that of the platform, and the surge of the crowd, it is not possible accurately to state what happened to this part of the programme. It is understood that a few of the Cawston passengers made the return journey home on foot. 'Then public initiative took command, as Mrs Matthews offered bouquets as a spontaneous gesture of appreciation to the engine drive and fireman. To make the occasion the more impressive, Press photographers hoisted her on to the footplu te and in the flash of their camera bulbs the public had a better view of what was happening. 'In the meantime, the District Passenger Superintendent (Mr D S Lewis), his Chief Staff Clerk, Mr Birkett, and the Reepham Stationmaster, J\lr 5 B Bass were being welcomed and entertained in the station waiting room by Mr Ben Stimpson. chairman and members of the Manllgement Cornmit tee of the Reepham Chamber of Commerce. '50 amidst the strains of Auld Lang Syne frorTI the band, in which the crown joined, the wElving of handkerchiefs in sad farewell, the train mounted stel:l.m to roll outward into the dtirkness for the lu~l time. As it gathered speed rockets (another -unofficaJ addition to the programme) mingled with the scurrying smoke in tribute. IThe final scenes took place in the waiting room. where Mr Stimpson thanked the general public for their grand support, the band [or their greot heir> and Mr Postle and the Aylsham Chamber of Trade and Commerce for their friendly co-operotion and association. Mr Postle thanked the Reepham Challlber for their hospi tali ty and Mr R C Seals repli ed for the Band in which he thanked Mr Skovles of the Aylsham Band [or taking the trouble to corne over and conduct the Reepham Band on tha t occasion. They were proud of the honour he had accorded them'. So a service that had existed for 70 vears came to an end, it was poignant that a num-ber of the older spectators at Reep-ham included some who had been marched by Mr W Pitcher from the school to the Station Bridge to watch the first train intO Reepham Station. GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY. ~EASIDE' AND BROADS AND RIVERS 31 �If there a e hosts They should be here on the old M. & G.'N. 1949 brightens the 10.31 am to N orwich City as it approaches Whitwe ll Sta tion. D 15 No,62528 The Winter sun in February The railway lines around Reepham were built well after the railway mooia which swept t hrough early mid Victorian England. Their working li fe was from the late 1880s until the pl::l.ssenger closures in the 1950s although goods ti'affic carried on for a few more years. Today the line rem ains and has found a new life in offering a route to walkers and horseriders, its past use remains in the empty cuttings and archless bridges nIl built by hand more than 100 years ago. The line was buil t by nuvvies who used tipping trolleys and hand tools as tlle y dug, blasted and dran k their way th r ough the N orrolk coun tryside, man y of them li ve d t oo far away to ret urn hom e at ni ght, so they slept in barns or am ong stacked up sleeper s c overed with tarpaulin s. Many of t he work men em ployed on the li ne we r e ex-far m la bourers from the surrounding ar ea s who were attracted by the 50% in c re ase over the normal wage which nav vying offered and during t he su m mer months particula rly, the possibility of over-time gave the m th e chance to earn e ven more. The gangs were ma de up of colourful characters such as Sam Shirt wh o apparently was not impeded in tl1e quality of his work by having only one ar m j Lum py Ling, Spi ttin g Joe the Diddekoi , and Loo Dye, the latter of whom was famous or notori ous, for his breakneck style of engine driving. The men often had to get or make their own meals. They cut wood for fires and would cook their food in com m unal coppers, which often inCluded anything they could get by poaching. But mostly they would exist on the staple diet of bread and cheese and vegetables often taken from the local farmers' fields. These vegetables were cooked in the coppers along wi th t he famous Norf olk dwnplings m a de fr om bread dough. Water for the coppers oft en had t o be ca rried long dis tan ces and t o ensure that none of it was was t ed any left over after the vegetables and dum plin gs had been cooked in it was used for making tea. The gangs dug cuttings and used the soil to construct the e mbankments and they built culve rt s, br idges, level c rossings and stations with mos t of t he ma t e ri als be ing sent by rail fro m Melton Constable as t he line moved relentlessly on towards Norwic h. On some occasions it was nec essary t o use locally made bricks from san d and clay dug from n earby pits an d then fired in local brick kilns. 32 �Under the bridges you can still see the blackened remains of old train smoke high above on the brickwork. The cuttings are steeply pitched and up to 18ft high. In the summer many areas are ablaze with hawthorn and particularly the dog rose. Later in the year they are heavy with hips and haws a berry-red harvest of crimson and scarlet. e line was built life for those in the permanent ym e nt of the Company was geared to the ~ .:::... and departure of the trains. For a short while rt of the working day was one of hurried ............"'"-"~ and in between it could be confined boredom arly during the wet and colder weather but enjoyment during the spring and summer This intermittent workstyle affected all sta tion staff but particularly the signalmen the crossing keepers. Many a signalman has -ered off to fish in nearby pits or streams whilst - . g for the next train. When the railway was in use the sides of the line were kept free of undergrowth and were used for hay. This was scythed and the tonnage wos sent to London where it was used by the horses of the Great Eastern Railway. This scything of the high grass was a practice which also helped to prevent fire along the banks from the snarks of passing engines. The policy of keeping the undergrowth down meant that wind borne sparks sometimes did not stop until they had landed in and subsquently set alight to nearby cornfields. -- e turn of the century Railway regulations stated - ga te-houses such as the one at Themelthorpe, . only be occupied by married couples, and the d had to be a rail way employee. This meant -: d uring the day (when most of the trains passed gh) the operation of the gates was left to the . With the house so close to the line when the went past they would shake the doors and " w panes and rattle the pictures on the walls ove the ornaments on the mantleshelf. 'The Last Sleepers' on the old track bed at Reepham Station . J1. & G.N. Crossing Keepers' Cottage -:hemelthorpe. _ €.! Along the walk if you look carefully you can find the few remaining examples of the railway and its staff; the odd sleeper covered in undergrowth which will in time rot awaYi the few rails which were never taken away when the line was ripped up and which will no doubt permanently remain, offering a metal grave stone honouring the life of the railway; whilst their surface bears no inscription they will remain for many years their very presence speaking volumes of the seventy years that the line formed the backbone of the industrial and social life of this areo. crossings were a prominent feature of the .t GN. They usually had a small crossing-keepers : ge, perhaps built of concrete blocks made at - . Ielton works, alongside. Originally it was intended :JUild a cottage at all but the smallest crossings, -de it with a plot of land, and then offer it rent with a modest wage to anyone who would '"take to handle the gates as required. The wages E ... ed varied according to the traffic and in a : minor lane just after the last war it would couple of pounds a week and this sort of sinecure a s much sought after. The line will now become a reserve for nature and a place of peace and solitude for the walker but it will also become a time capsule of ghosts and memories: before the last war there were a number of passenger trains every day travelling along the two lines either side of Reepham. They were slow but punctual and many a farm worker would stop and check their pocket watches or would time the routine of their day with the sound of the whistles or the sight of the trains. In this hurried age we can now only look back and cons' er these thoughts with nostalgia but wouldn!t we like to travel back in time and ride on these trains again ••• if only we could! Reepham Station was built the navvies were ate in that the site was used as a main base the contractors and a bakery was completed - a ailable to make bread and dough [or the workers ade their way back to Reepham each night. - li ne is now overgrown and has become a wilderness ildlife such as seen in very few other places - _-. It offers a rural enchantment in its slumbering _ - and you can feel a wistfulness and nostalgia _ railway tha t has now gone forever. 33 �In 1979 the route of the former M &. GN Railway from Norwich to Lenwade (a length of seven miles) was opened to walkers, cyclists and horse riders for them to use as a footpath and bridleway. The route was named after William Marriott who was the Chief Engineer and Manager of the M & GN system for 41 years. A further 14 miles has now been purchased and the route has been extended from Lenwade to Aylsham via Whitwell, Themelthorpe, Reepham and Cawston. The walk finishes in Aylsham opposite the station of the Bure Valley Light Railway. j THEMELTHORPE ~ ~ ,------ _ !~ ~~~~~~~~~I~~9i~.~f?MPn~~'~~ --~ Marriott's Way ;a""...,~ ~t5!d~jiii·~~ifii~Wi~~ff.ii~H6Wi ·~ The walk was offically opened on the 1st May 1991 by the Chairman of the County Council's Countryside Com mi ttee, Ingrid Floering Blackman. The route is not a public right of way, but members of the public are invited to use it as a footpath and bridleway a t their own risk. The purchase and development has been carried out by Norfolk County Council, Broadland District Council and Norwich City Council with further assistance from South Norfolk District Council, Costessey Parish Council and The Countryside Com mission. Discussions were started with Bri tish Rail in 1987 to purchase the 14 mile section and these were concluded in December 1990 when contracts were exchanged and the implementation work com menced. Part of the agreement was for the County Council to also take over the bridges and put them (and keep them) in good order - all 35 of them! Urgent work costing £44,000 has had to be carried out on the bridges at Lenwade and Whitwell. Although a lot of money has had to be spent it is intended tha t no further structural repair will be required for a least another 20 years, it is ironic that the sleepers used to repair the bridges were imported from Holland as good sleepers at a reasonable price are no longer available in this area. Whilst walkers and cyclists are to be encouraged there have been efforts made to discourage the motorcyclists who use and churn up the track. A large number of gates, stiles and fences have been erected and these should make it difficult for the motorcyclist, the large gates will be padlocked but are there to allow maintenance vehicles to get in and out. Horse riders have been presented with gates that can be opened without dismounting and three horse ramps have been built to allow horses and riders to get down easily from embankments, the best local example is alongside the bridge over Orchard Lane. J 17 No. 5567 'Trains you could set your watch by ~ --- changed into LNER livery the 3.S2pm to Norwich approaches Whitwell in May 1949. 34 �--~ o o 2 Weavers' Way / V'in g Hall Link Palh 3 2 ....-MARSHAM ,, r ' 1 ' ', I , IYIWSTRAWBERRY HORSFORD YELLOW TOADFLAX - oute is well signed with small unobtrusive signs the gates and larger sign boards, which offer -e detail and some of the basic rules to be followed. the railway was in operation the wildlife was . r estricted. The track vegetation was frequently sprayed or burned off so that the trains were obstructed by scrub and the sparks from the - g st ea m engines did not set fire to the tra ck. as only a very limited range of wild an imals - plants tha t survived under such con diti ons. In ears since the closure limi ted work bad been 35 ''"L ' J\. ./ . . :. \ . ~. ": ' 1)r:.=Jr~ ~'Vf~ < . ': . ... , , , ;%' , ~ . .~ 'V' - 5 mile Norwich :.,. ~Q -0-. ,"--. R'IverSI'de WaJk' ",I'(; ~~~"~ " �carried out and the ve'g etation has been allowed to encroach back in some places nearly across the track. A priority was to create a strip four metres wide along the whole length and this has meant that a great deal of vegetation has had to be cleared or cut back, this seems visually drastic but a season's growth will heal the wounds. With exceptions of where the track starts and finishes in Norwich and Aylsham the only other place in its 21 mile length where houses come up to the track is in neepham where the Richmond Rise estate and the houses along the Cawston Road come up to the track; it is in tended to plant trees to soften this view. Generally there are some excellent views from Marriott's Way compared to other similar walks, particularly th~ local views from the embankments beyond Whitwell Station looking towards Reepham, at Kerdiston looking towards Pettywell and on the line beyond Orchard Lane looking towards Cawston. Since the closure, a range of wildlife has colonised the line. Trees and shrubs are the main colonists, including oak, field maple, thorns, apple and the rarer spindle, with its distinctive coral-pink berries. The track bed and some sections of the banks have remained open, developing an interesting dry chalk grassland nora of a type that has become increas;ngly rare. Sections can include attractive flowering species such as wild strawberry, haresfoot clover, great mullein and primrose. Nature conservation work will be encouraged in a number of areas particularly the cuttings which are good habitat for all manner of wildlife, a good example is Blackwater just south east of Whitwell Stati on. Cuttings often support both a wide variety of plants and good ranges of insects, particularly nectar-feeding butterflies and moths. In some places, the track verges are wet tcr and species such as marsh-marigold, meadowsweet, common or Norfolk reed and horsetail. Horsetails are non-flowering, fern relatives which are of particular intel'est as they come from a very ancient family that has survived almost unchanged for over 40 million ycars. j The most frequent animals that will be encountered are insects and birds, bird species include jay, magpie, goldfinch, wren and green woodpecker (whi ch is noticeable when flying because of its loud, laug"hing song). 36 One aspect relating to wilcllife that will not meet with everyones l approval is the control of rabbits, this work is not only essential but is also a statutor"y obligation under the 1953 Rabbit Act. Whilst many walkers will have enjoyed watChing the rabbits that Ii ve in the embankments near the meadows off the Back Lane beyond Broomhill, they will I'm sure, appreciate that the large numbers that can be seen must be controlled. With the purchase of the line the necessity of this control has now passed to the County Council. The walk is now offically open, it I?asses through some lovely Norfolk countryside and is there not just to be used by mainly to be enjoyed; the closure of the railways may have been regretted but now the old routes have been opened up they can be appreciated at a pace that is probably comparable with the speed of the steam engines that for 70 years plied their way backwards and forwards through this coun tryside. One point will, however, never be fully accepted; the name MorrioU's Way. The Themelthorpe Norwich length is the route of the M & GN Railway whilst the Themelthorpe-Aylsham length was originally run by the G.E.R. The two companies ran in competition for many years, competition which was at times fierce and which fuelled solid loyalties among its employees. Whilst the two companies were amalgamated with the nationalisation in 1948 and the two lines were physically joined in 1960 many people will never agree that an area of G.E.R. line should be known as Marriott's Way. �__ - .2780 The 2. 33pm from Wro xham - : to enter Reepham Station in A.prill _ . J ~ 5 ~ '0 . 5478 The 12noon {rom Dereham .. Reepham in August 1948. �Prin ting I & J Watton Tel. Norwich 871998 � 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 Newsletters Description An account of the resource A comprehensive collection of newsletters published by the Reepham Society. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed and digital Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Magazines Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1983-2000 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society 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 Reepham Society Magazine 1991 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2401101055 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 40 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society RS Database 425 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned by Geoff Fisher GER Railway M&GN Railway railway https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/a31387b8b8f9b4757fad427b886bedc6.pdf db726b77f03f405e815b7bf28235b077 PDF Text Text Marriott’s Way In 1979 the route of the former M&GN Railway from Norwich to Lenwade (a length of seven miles) was opened to walkers, cyclists and horse riders for them to use as a footpath and bridleway. The route was named after William Marriott who was the chief engineer and manager of the M&GN system for 41 years. A further 14 miles has now been purchased and the route has been extended from Lenwade to Aylsham via Whitwell, Themelthorpe, Reepham and Cawston. The walk finishes in Aylsham opposite the station of the Bure Valley Light Railway. The walk was officially opened on 1st May 1991 by the chairman of the county council’s Countryside Committee, Ingrid Floering Blackman. The route is not a public �right of way, but members of the public are invited to use it as a footpath and bridleway at their own risk. The purchase and development has been carried out by Norfolk County Council, Broadland District Council and Norwich City Council with further assistance from South Norfolk District Council, Costessey Parish Council and the Countryside Commission. Discussions were started with British Rail in 1987 to purchase the 14mile section and these were concluded in December 1990 when contracts were exchanged and the implementation work commenced. Part of the agreement was for the county council to also take over the bridges and put them (and keep them) in good order – all 35 of them! Urgent work costing £44,000 has had to be carried out on the bridges at Lenwade and Whitwell. Although a lot of money has had to be spent it is intended that no further structural repair will be required for a least another 20 years; it is ironic that the sleepers used to repair the bridges were imported from Holland as good sleepers at a reasonable price are no longer available in this area. While walkers and cyclists are to be encouraged there have been efforts made to discourage the motorcyclists who use and churn up the track. A large number of gates, stiles and fences have been erected and these should make it difficult for the motorcyclist; the large gates will be padlocked but are there to allow maintenance vehicles to get in and out. Horse riders have been presented with gates that can be opened without dismounting and three horse ramps have been built to allow horses and riders to get down easily from embankments, the best local example is alongside the bridge over Orchard Lane. The route is well signed with small unobtrusive signs on all he gates and larger sign boards, which offer route detail and some of the basic rules to be followed. When the railway was in operation the wildlife was very restricted. The track vegetation was frequently cut, sprayed or burned off so that the trains were not obstructed by scrub and the sparks from the passing steam engines did not set fire to the track. It was only a very limited range of wild animals and plants that survived under such conditions. In the years since the closure limited work has been carried out and the vegetation has been allowed to encroach back in some places nearly across the track. A priority was to create a strip four metres wide along the whole length and this has meant that a great deal of vegetation has had to be cleared or cut back; this seems visually drastic but a season’s growth will heal the wounds. �With exceptions of where the track starts and finishes in Norwich and Aylsham the only other place in its 21-mile length where houses come up to the track is in Reepham where the Richmond Rise estate and the houses along Cawston Road come up to the track; it is intended to plant trees to soften this view. Generally there are some excellent views from Marriott’s Way compared to other similar walks, particularly the local views from the embankments beyond Whitwell Station looking towards Reepham, at Kerdiston looking towards Pettywell and on the line beyond Orchard Lane looking towards Cawston. Since the closure, a range of wildlife has colonised the line. Trees and shrubs are the main colonists, including oak, field maple, thorns, apple and the rarer spindle with its distinctive coral-pink berries. The track bed and some sections of the banks have remained open, developing an interesting dry chalk grassland flora of a type that has become increasingly rare. Sections can include attractive flowering species such as wild strawberry, hare’s-foot clover, great mullein and primrose. Nature conservation work will be encouraged in a number of areas, particularly the cuttings which are good habitat for all manner of wildlife; a good example is Blackwater just southeast of Whitwell Station. Cuttings often support both a wide variety of plants and good ranges of insects, particularly nectar-feeding butterflies and moths. In some places the track verges are wetter and species such as marsh marigold, meadowsweet, common or Norfolk reed and horsetail. Horsetails are non-flowering fern relatives, which are of particular interest as they come from a very ancient family that has survived almost unchanged for over 40 million years. The most frequent animals that will be encountered are insects and birds; bird species include jay, magpie, goldfinch, wren and green woodpecker (which is noticeable when flying because of its loud, laughing song). One aspect relating to wildlife that will not meet with everyone’s approval is the control of rabbits; this work is not only essential but is also a statutory obligation under the 1953 Rabbit Act. While many walkers will have enjoyed watching the rabbits that live in the embankments near the meadows off Back Lane beyond �Broomhill, they will, I’m sure, appreciate that the large numbers that can be seen must be controlled. With the purchase of the line the necessity of this control has now passed to the county council. The walk is now officially open; it passes through some lovely Norfolk countryside and is there not just to be used by mainly to be enjoyed. The closure of the railways may have been regretted but now the old routes have been opened up they can be appreciated at a pace that is probably comparable with the speed of the steam engines that for 70 years plied their way backwards and forwards through this countryside. One point will, however, never be fully accepted; the name Marriott’s Way. The Themelthorpe–Norwich length is the route of the M&GN railway while the Themelthorpe–Aylsham length was originally run by the GER. The two companies ran in competition for many years, competition which was at times fierce and which fuelled solid loyalties among its employees. While the two companies were amalgamated with the nationalisation in 1948 and the two lines were physically joined in 1960, many people will never agree that an area of GER line should be known as Marriott’s Way. From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991 �J17 No. 5567. “Trains you could set your watch by” – changed into LNER livery the 3.52 pm to Norwich approaches Whitwell in May 1949. E4 No. 2780. The 2.33 pm from Wroxham to Dereham, about to enter Reepham Station in April 1949. �J15 No. 5478. The 12 noon from Dereham at Reepham in August 1948. � 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 Marriott's Way Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2401101045 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 6 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991 Description An account of the resource History of the Marriott's Way, a 26-mile footpath, bridleway and cycle route that follows the routes of two disused railway lines, running between Aylsham and Norwich, which officially opened on 1 May 1991. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher GER Railway M&GN Railway Marriots Way Railways https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/b19986fc628bd5311aa66fb90988b1ff.jpg a0cbae34cfcf6104cc7f543336ddf9fd Photograph-digital Any photograph for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The photograph 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 photograph 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 Scouts Inspection Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2401081500 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1913 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1913 Description An account of the resource Inspection of Hackford House Troop of Boy Scouts by Col. Barclay on 6th August 1913. This took place in the garden of the Brewery House. <em>(Chimneys on the Ollands estate can be seen in the background.)</em> https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/93143607036cc88cb462848a8b5b3134.jpg ba3dfa6da0ee75d3790a959d89bf6ce2 Photograph-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 George & Dragon Conversion Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2004071017 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Colour photograph 150 x 100 mm Streets & Buildings/Public Houses [File 17, Archive Box 117] Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource December 1997 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1997 Description An account of the resource Conversion of the old George and Dragon Public House to two dwellings, carried on at the same time as the re-development of Malthouse Yard. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Betts 2019 1997 George & Dragon https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/190bf600cd7def502205ef22dd8aa096.pdf 0c631e5123d691d908d2f08e07a14a92 PDF Text Text If there are ghosts, they should be here on the old M&GN The railway lines around Reepham were built well after the railway mania which swept through early mid Victorian England. Their working life was from the late 1880s until the passenger closures in the 1950s although goods traffic carried on for a few more years. Today the line remains and has found a new life in offering a route to walkers and horse riders, its past use remains in the empty cuttings and archless bridges all built by hand more than 100 years ago. The line was built by navvies who used tipping trolleys and hand tools as they dug, blasted and drank their way through the Norfolk countryside, many of them lived too far away to return home at night, so they slept in barns or among stacked up sleepers covered with tarpaulins. Many of the workmen employed on the line were ex-farm labourers from the surrounding areas who were attracted by the 50% increase over the normal wage which navvying offered and during the summer months particularly, the possibility of overtime gave them the chance to earn even more. The gangs were made up of colourful characters such as Sam Shirt who apparently was not impeded in the quality of his work by having only one arm; Lumpy Ling, Spitting Joe the Diddekoi and Loo Dye, the latter of whom was famous or notorious, for his breakneck style of engine driving. The men often had to get or make their own meals. They cut wood for fires and would cook their food in communal coppers, which often included anything they could get by poaching. But mostly they would exist on the staple diet of bread and cheese and vegetables often taken from the local farmers’ fields. These vegetables were cooked in the coppers along with the famous Norfolk dumplings made from bread dough. Water for the coppers often had to be carried long distances and to ensure that none of it was wasted any left over after the vegetables and dumplings had been cooked in it was used for making tea. The gangs dug cuttings and used the soil to construct the embankments and they built culverts, bridges, level crossings and stations with most of the materials being sent by rail from Melton Constable as the line moved relentlessly on towards Norwich. On some occasions it was necessary to use locally made bricks from sand and clay dug from nearby pits and then fired in local brick kilns. After the line was built, life for those in the permanent employment of the company was geared to the arrival and departure of the trains. For a short while this part of the working day was one of hurried business and in between it could be confined boredom, particularly during the wet and colder weather, but languid enjoyment during the spring and summer months. This intermittent workstyle affected all the station staff but particularly the signalmen and the crossing keepers. Many a �signalman has wandered off to fish in nearby pits or streams whilst waiting for the next train. At the turn of the century railway regulations stated that gate-houses, such as the one at Themelthorpe, could only be occupied by married couples, and the husband had to be a railway employee. This meant that during the day (when most of the trains passed through) the operation of the gates was left to the wife. With the house so close to the line when the trains went past, they would shake the doors and window panes and rattle the pictures on the walls and move the ornaments on the mantelshelf. Level crossings were a prominent feature of the M&GN. They usually had a small crossing-keeper’s cottage, perhaps built of concrete blocks made at the Melton works, alongside. Originally it was intended to build a cottage at all but the smallest crossings, provide it with a plot of land, and then offer it rent free with a modest wage to anyone who would undertake to handle the gates as required. The wages offered varied according to the traffic and in a very minor lane just after the last war it would be a couple of pounds a week and this sort of sinecure job was much sought after. When Reepham Station was built the navvies were fortunate in that the site was used as a main base by the contractors and a bakery was completed and available to make bread and dough for the workers who made their way back to Reepham each night. The line is now overgrown and has become a wilderness for wildlife such as seen in very few other places today. It offers a rural enchantment in its slumbering beauty and you can feel a wistfulness and nostalgia for a railway that has now gone forever. Under the bridges you can still see the blackened remains of old train smoke high above on the brickwork. The cuttings are steeply pitched and up to 18ft high. In the summer, many areas are ablaze with hawthorn and particularly the dog rose. Later in the year they are heavy with hips and haws – a berry-red harvest of crimson and scarlet. When the railway was in use the sides of the line were kept free of undergrowth and were used for hay. This was scythed and the tonnage was sent to London where it was used by the horses of the Great Eastern Railway. This scything of the high grass was a practice which also helped to prevent fire along the banks from the sparks of passing engines. The policy of keeping the undergrowth down meant that windborne sparks sometimes did not stop until they had landed in and subsequently set alight to nearby cornfields. �Along the walk if you look carefully you can find the few remaining examples of the railway and its staff; the odd sleeper covered in undergrowth which will in time rot away; the few rails which were never taken away when the line was ripped up and which will no doubt permanently remain, offering a metal gravestone honouring the life of the railway; whilst their surface bears no inscription they will remain for many years, their very presence speaking volumes of the seventy years that the line formed the backbone of the industrial and social life of this area. The line will now become a reserve for nature and a place of peace and solitude for the walker but it will also become a time capsule of ghosts and memories: before the last war there were a number of passenger trains every day travelling along the two lines either side of Reepham. They were slow but punctual and many a farm worker would stop and check their pocket watches or would time the routine of their day with the sound of the whistles or the sight of the trains. In this hurried age we can now only look back and consider these thoughts with nostalgia but wouldn’t we like to travel back in time and ride on these trains again… if only we could! From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991. D 15 No. 62528. The winter sun in February 1949 brightens the 10.31 am to Norwich City as it approaches Whitwell Station. �The M&GN crossing keeper’s cottage at Themelthorpe. “The Last Sleepers” on the old track bed at Reepham Station. � 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 If there are ghosts, they should be here on the old M&GN Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2312081040 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 4 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991 Description An account of the resource An account of the history of the railway line around Reepham. It refers to the Midland & Great Northern railway line although this was the Wroxham to County School branch of the Great Eastern Railway line. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/9403e0f910d417c62f0ac05861a07ff6.pdf 9fec1558c0ddc43148b976b0b8540478 PDF Text Text The Last Passenger Train The branch railway line between Wroxham and County School (North Elmham) was open to passenger traffic for the last time on Saturday 13th September 1952, after that date the line remained open for freight trains until it finally closed on the 31st October 1967. The closure of the line to passenger traffic was an economy measure by British Railways. On the night of 13th September the last passenger train steamed westwards from Wroxham to County School and various ceremonies had been arranged at intermediate stations along the route to mark the ending of a service which had been in existence for over 70 years and which had served so well the rural communities of this area of Norfolk. The following detail is taken from the newspaper report of the time and it portrays the affection and regret expressed by the local people at the closure of this much loved railway line. “Among the many hundreds of people who gathered at the stations to watch the train arrive and then depart into the night, there were several who regarded the occasion with lightness of heart. But there were many more who looked upon the passing of the service – which had been a great boon not only to them, but also their parents, their grandparents and, in some cases, their great-grandparents – with real and sincere regret. “In big and little groups all along the platforms people could be heard recalling that the line had been kept open in far more difficult times than the present and pointing out that for many residents in the area the action of British Railways would cause real hardship and inconvenience. “One man, for instance, declared that if he decides to use the bus service that will operate in place of the railway service, he will be forced to hang about for 80 minutes after leaving off work before he can begin his homeward journey every night. Further along people were speaking of mothers with young children living in the villages who used the train to visit the shopping centres along the line. With the train, they said, these women could take their toddlers and their prams or pushchairs in comfort; now that they would have to travel by bus, they would be obliged to carry their children in their arms all the way and all the time. “At Aylsham (North) Station, the black and white crepe paper round and between the pillars supporting the roof of the main platform probably reflected the views of most of the 300 or so citizens who gathered there, and Chopin’s Funeral March, played over public address equipment as the train steamed in from Buxton, seemed �to harmonise with the general feelings. The ‘bang-bang-bang’ of exploding detonators as the train drew to a standstill appeared to strike an incongruous note. “It must be assumed that when Mr J B Postle, president of the Chamber of Commerce, handed the driver and firemen cigars and bottles of beer, complete with clean tumblers, he was not trying to be light-hearted, but anxious to offer the men tokens of appreciation of their services on the branch line, for, with the help of an assistant, Mr C Skoyles, who, like Mr Postle, wore a top hat and a dark overcoat, he also clambered up a ladder to the top of the engine and hung a large wreath of dahlias, held by a wire round the funnel, over the front of it. “Attached to the wreath was a card bearing the words ‘To the memory of another limb of private enterprise which was amputated during the scourge of nationalisation – 1881–1952’. “Then Mr Postle and others having jumped on board to take part in the ceremony at Reepham Station, the train moved slowly off, exploding more detonators as it did so. As the red lamp at the rear of the last carriage faded into darkness, the big crowd slowly melted away. The public address equipment came to life again with a modern dance tune in a brave attempt to cheer the gloom, but the emptiness of the waiting rooms had a more telling effect. Then the doors were closed and locked and the porter wondered – would he never see the platform filled with people again? “Four of Cawston’s oldest inhabitants, whose total ages were 344 years, had been taken by cars to Wroxham so they might travel back to Cawston on the last up train. “On arrival at Cawston they were presented with their rail tickets as souvenirs of the ride by the station master, Mr J Burgess. They were taken by car to the King’s Head Inn where light refreshments were served. “At 9 pm, when the last down train reached Cawston, about 100 villagers and friends were collected on the platform to say, ‘hail and farewell’. “Detonators normally used as fog signals were placed on the track and as the train drew into the station, their flashes and explosions added to the tenseness of the scene. “A wreath was hung on the engine and ‘Auld Lang Syne’ was sung by those present, then for the last time the train left the station and a large Union Jack at half-mast waved it on its way. “The train steamed on its way covering the short journey to Reepham. “As soon as the ‘Pink Uns’ had been collected the trek of pedestrians to Reepham Station started and the platform was thronging with spectators a good 20 minutes before the scheduled time of arrival of the last train into the station, whilst the �station yard assumed the activity and proportions of a car park. Never before have there been so many motor cars assembled there. An event, which during the previous week had been dubbed ‘a lot of squit’, gradually gathered interest and in its final denouement was clearly proved to have captured the public imagination. “Yet there was never evidence of any sense of ‘rag’ although the modest ceremony devised by Reepham Chamber of Trade and Commerce quickly bore the stamp of an ‘occasion’ of some importance with the general public not lacking in initiative. “Quite 300 people were gathered on the platform, as above their hum of animated conversation the strains of the Reepham Band were heard. With unexpected nearpunctuality the long train from Cawston signed its approach at the railway bridge and slid with the noiseless efficiency and grace of an express of a more aristocratic line into the station where the Chamber’s guests, Mr Edward Gibbs and Mr H E Hawes, were engulfed with the spectators, and the other 35 or so passengers from Cawston disembarked. “The former should have been welcomed by the Chamber, but in view of the length of the train, which almost measured that of the platform, and the surge of the crowd, it is not possible accurately to state what happened to this part of the programme. It is understood that a few of the Cawston passengers made the return journey home on foot. “Then public initiative took command, as Mrs Matthews offered bouquets as a spontaneous gesture of appreciation to the engine driver and fireman. To make the occasion the more impressive, press photographers hoisted her on to the footplate and in the flash of their camera bulbs the public had a better view of what was happening. “In the meantime, the District Passenger Superintendent, Mr D S Lewis, his Chief Staff Clerk, Mr Birkett, and the Reepham Stationmaster, Mr S B Bass, were being welcomed and entertained in the station waiting room by Mr Ben Stimpson, chairman, and members of the Management Committee of the Reepham Chamber of Commerce. “So amidst the strains of Auld Lang Syne from the band, in which the crowd joined, the waving of handkerchiefs in sad farewell, the train mounted steam to roll outward into the darkness for the last time. As it gathered speed, rockets (another unofficial addition to the programme) mingled with the scurrying smoke in tribute. “The final scenes took place in the waiting room, where Mr Stimpson thanked the general public for their grand support, the band for their great help and Mr Postle and the Aylsham Chamber of Trade and Commerce for their friendly co-operation and association. Mr Postle thanked the Reepham Chamber for their hospitality and �Mr R C Seals replied for the band in which he thanked Mr Skoyles of the Aylsham Band for taking the trouble to come over and conduct the Reepham Band on that occasion. They were proud of the honour he had accorded them.” So a service that had existed for 70 years came to an end; it was poignant that a number of the older spectators at Reepham included some who had been marched by Mr W Pitcher from the school to the station bridge to watch the first train into Reepham Station. From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991. With a “funeral oration” from the footplate and wreaths to bedeck the engine, there was a suitable farewell at Reepham Station on Saturday night for the last passenger train on the Wroxham – County School line. �Mr J B Postle, president of Aylsham Chamber of Commerce, placing a wreath on the train when it arrived at Aylsham on its return journey. � 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 The Last Passenger Train Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2311291025 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 5 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991 Description An account of the resource An account of the last passenger train on the railway line between Wroxham and County School on 13 September 1952, based on a newspaper report in the Norfolk News, 19 September 1952. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher Cawston Station railway Reepham Chamber of Trade and Commerce Reepham Station https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/cf0e5c5183d484a193c24e00fa318a5d.pdf 44c6a50b6caa7336b25f9f9f431a18ac PDF Text Text Reepham Station – The Stimpson Connection As the railway builders moved on their relentless course from Cawston to Reepham and on to Foulsham during 1880 and 1881 the site of Reepham Station became an important point for the company building the line. The site occupied a large area which today is bounded by Stony Lane and Wood DaIling Road and it was developed not only to house the station, associated buildings and various areas of lines to be used for marshalling goods traffic but also included areas and facilities that at the time were vital to the railway building. There was a carpenters’ shop, where level crossing gates were built and materials prepared to build the signal boxes. There was a blacksmiths’ shop where the metal work for gates and buildings was forged and there were areas used for storing the sleepers, rails and the mass of other items that were brought in by rail to assist in the building of the line onto Foulsham and beyond. The site even included a bakery which was built to produce bread for the gangs who worked on the railway, many of whom came back at night and slept in and around the station area. To encourage its usage the owners of the railway had to introduce and sustain goods traffic; they couldn’t rely entirely on passengers to produce their profit and so the area round the station became a site of Victorian business development. Businesses were to be encouraged into the station area and hopefully would profit and expand from the regular delivery to the station by the daily goods trains. The obvious business role was one that would satisfy the supply and demand of the agricultural needs of the areas and also to provide bulk goods for the business and domestic needs of the residents in and around Reepham. The area to the south of the station buildings and the main up and down lines was developed as the business area; the railway built a large granary (approximately 200 feet x 50 feet), there was an area known as the coal grounds and a group of cattle pens all served by a series of sidings. In the first year or so after the opening of the line Garrett Taylor, Sharpins and Collers all set up business in the station area, although Taylors was taken over in 1886 by the SaIl Coal Company. Coal, animal feedstuffs and grain were the main business of Sharpins and Sall Coal whilst Collers mainly concentrated on the supply of coal. The three companies continued in competition until 1927 when Sharpins closed down and their business area in the station yard and granary was taken over by the other two, although by this time the Sall Coal Company had changed its name to Stimpson and Hurn. Collers moved their Reepham area base to Aylsham in the early 1960s and the whole station site was then taken over by Stimpsons. �Mr Benjamin Stimpson was a farmer at Morton and Great Witchingham who purchased farm land at Sall in the early 1880s when Garrett Taylor had to sell up; Mr Stimpson also took over their Reepham Station business setting up the SaIl Coal Company in 1886; the business continued during the next 100 years and the site is still used today by Pertwees for the distribution of seed corn, agricultural chemicals and fertilisers. During the past 100 years the following name changes have occurred. From 1886 to approximately 1914 there was the Sall Coal Company, Ben Stimpson and E Stimpson; from 1914 to 1932 it was Stimpson and Hurn; from 1933 to 1965, E Stimpson and Son and then E Stimpson and Son Limited; from 1965 to 1980, Stimpson and Partners and Stimpson and Pertwee Limited, and from 1980 (and probably not finally) Pertwees. Benjamin Stimpson (who was the grandfather of the present Mr Ben Stimpson) set up the Sall Coal Company, an agricultural merchants’ business which dealt in animal feedstuffs, grain and artificial fertilisers; these were bought and sold throughout the local farming community and they also bought in coal which was then sold to business premises and householders in Reepham and the neighbouring villages. The station coal grounds were served by two lines along which the trucks were brought to be unloaded; the coal was often stored in piles at the station and unless the coal could be directly shovelled out from the trucks then men were employed who would shovel the coal into skeps which were then carried away from the tracks and hand tipped into prepared wooden bays. The coal would be distributed in various sized lots mainly to the more affluent households of the district who could purchase and store the coal in such bulk. The big houses in the area would order coal by the truck load and many a long working day had to be endured by the employees who were responsible for delivering the regular truckload ordered by the owners of such places as Haveringland Hall and Great Witchingham Hall. When steam engines were used to thresh the corn, the farmer would arrange for a suitable amount of steam coal to be delivered to the farms and this would be supplied in bulk by Stimpsons and Collers, the deliveries being made to arrive in advance at the respective farms as the threshing contractor with his machinery made his way from one site to another. Some farmers would buy a truckload of steam coal for use in the house as well as for threshing. The coal was also bagged and weighed up in small lots which was then sold by a delivery roundsman who toured the local area. Stimpsons had their main rounds in Wood Dalling, Kerdiston, Whitwell and Sparham with most of the Reepham area being covered by Collers. The coal (as with �all other deliveries) was made by horse and cart from the 1880s until after the 1940s although the first motor truck entered service with Stimpsons in 1925. The coal was usually bought through a factor such as Mellonie and Golder of Ipswich, Bessey and Palmers of Great Yarmouth or Vintners of Cambridge and was mostly obtained from the Nottinghamshire pits. A Stimpson inventory of 1887 shows that they were stocking best coals, kitchen coals, brick burning coals, smithy nuts, cobbles, screenings, coke, natural seconds, steam coal and household nuts. In the early 1960s Collers moved to Aylsham and continued with their coal rounds but by this time there was a general decline in the demand for coal; the requests for bulk deliveries had all but gone and the introduction of oil-fired central heating had reduced the household demand. The closure of the goods traffic in the 1960s and the subsequent difficulties that would ensue in the delivery by road signalled the end, in 1965, of Stimpsons as coal merchants. Most of the work at the station concerned with coal was carried on outside in the yard area, the granary was rented and used for the other sides of the business: the feedstuffs and grain and the artificial fertilisers. The company bought in general feedstuffs which were sold to the local farming community and it bought from the farmers their cereal crops which were then sold or stored depending upon the market demands at the time. The grain was sold at the Norwich Corn Hall in Exchange Street (now the home of Jarrolds department store). A balance sheet from the end of the last century shows that the following feedstuffs were being sold to local farmers: bran, barley meal, cotton cake (square and long), decorticated cake, supers, linseed cake, maize (flat and round), malt culms, lamb food, black oats, rice meal, tares, porridge meal, fowls wheat, bullock food, beans and white peas. They also sold bar, land and rock salt. At that time there was a small demand for artificial fertilisers and Stimpsons were buying in and selling on nitrate soda, phosphates, superphosphate, lime, bone manure and sulphate of ammonia. Much of it seemed to be recorded as manure: this would appear to have been a generic term to describe the product irrespective of whether it came from animals, chemical firms or as a by-product from the mining areas (basic slag was high phosphate). Stimpsons were responsible locally for their pioneering approach to the manufacture of feedstuffs: whilst there may not have been a specific demand from farmers for animal farm compounds, Stimpsons recognised that balanced feedstuffs were much more beneficial (and cost effective) than single feeds and they developed products which were then sold direct to local farmers. In the early 1930s they started preparing mixed pig and poultry feeds and this soon developed into a wide range of similar products. In those early days all the feeds were mixed by hand shovel but as �the demand increased a mechanical mixer, hammer mill and oat crusher were all purchased and installed in the granary. The early development with artificial fertilisers led to the setting up of an agency with ICI in 1930; sales increased during the 1930s and during the Second World War the business was almost wholly concentrated on it. There was a great need for the country to become as near to self-sufficient as was possible and at the same time Stimpsons had to sustain a decrease in their workforce as more and more staff left to take their place in the Forces. With less staff available and with a growing demand for crop production Stimpsons concentrated on artificial fertilisers and decreased their activities with feedstuffs and grains. Coal was freely available during the early years of the war but a decline in the number of men in the pits coupled with a particularly long and bitter spell in January 1942 caused the rationing of coal to be brought in later that year. Stimpsons had continued with their coal rounds, although the supply to them had been erratic, particularly during the winter months when the transport of coal by rail would sometimes break down completely. When rationing was introduced, the deliveries continued during the rest of the war but it was of specific amounts and to regular customers. After the war some areas of business slowly declined and in 1965 (the year the coal sales finished) they merged with Pertwees: eventually the feedstuffs demised and today the whole business concentrates on artificial fertilisers, agrochemicals and seed corn. For many years, the business relied heavily on horses for their delivery work and also for use in the yard to shunt the trucks into the granary ready for unloading. The station yard diagram shows two lines of track, one which goes behind the granary, this was known as the “back road”, and another which goes in one end of the granary and out the other end, this was known as the “shed road”. Two horses would be used and they moved the trucks around in the sidings until the ones to be unloaded were in position, they would then be pulled by the horse to the south door of the granary. There were two mixed goods trains a day which passed through the station and every afternoon if trucks arrived for unloading then the trains would leave them in the area to the west of the station site. There was a gradient up through the coal grounds, until it reached the granary door; there it levelled out. If the trucks required unloading in the coal area or other outside sidings or in the granary then they were pulled into position by two horses. One was fitted with a special harness and pulled nearest the truck and the other outer horse was fitted with an ordinary trace. �Both horses would walk on the right-hand side (not between the rails) and they would pull the trucks on the long haul up from the dip to the granary doors. Once they reached the doors the gradient levelled off and by now there was sufficient motion for the trucks to run on inside the granary (the horses having by now been released) or if the trucks had stopped, they would be pushed or “pinched” along by hand by means of a long pinch bar. There was a gradient up to the granary; once unloaded (and with the downward gradient out) the trucks could be pushed manually down into the sidings. Stimpsons had horses available for the coal delivery and each day, for six days a week, one of these would be out on a round in the morning and then back to shunt the trucks in the afternoon. As the shunting was really a task for the GER, they paid Stimpsons for the facility of the horses doing the work of a train. In 1890 there was an income of nearly £90 a year from the GER for this work. (The GER also gave a first class return ticket to London which was invariably made use of by Mr Stimpson.) The amount of work must have been extensive when you consider that the average wage of a labourer of the time would be little more than £25 per year. The daily shunting was physically hard even for the horses and they did not last too long on this work; it was a necessary task which had to be carried out. If the trucks were not unloaded within three days, then the buyer would be charged “demurrage” by the GER. Another problem, particularly during the colder months, was that the grease on the truck wheels would begin to harden and this made their movement a lot harder, particularly for the poor horses pulling them uphill. In the late 1920s a horse named “Smut” was regularly used on this work and it cost Stimpsons £1 2s 0d a week to supply this service; it cost 10/- a week for oats, bran and cut hay to feed Smut and a labourer cost 1/- an hour for two hours a day, six days a week. If none of the horses were available to shunt the wagons, then a horse from one of Stimpsons’ nearby farms would be brought in. The shunting with horses started in the early 1880s and carried on until the mid 1930s when the operation was then taken over by trains. Throughout the country the railway companies used many horses as an alternative to trains to shunt goods trucks and in the larger stations they were also used for the delivery of goods. Grass alongside the rural lines was cut and dried and sent as fodder to the horses based in the urban areas, notably London. The companies employed inspectors who would travel around their areas and inspect the horses on a six-monthly basis. If horses had not been available at Reepham from Stimpsons then it is reasonable to assume that the GER would have had to supply and look after them. �When the line was being laid a carpenters’ shop was built at Reepham which carried out most of the specialised woodwork requirements of the line as it progressed towards Foulsham. After its short but vital working period the building was left vacant and was eventually hired by Stimpsons for them to stable their horses in; it held up to six. Collers also had horses and they were stabled in the area now occupied by the new industrial units in Collers Way. The stables used by Stimpsons horses are still there today; it is the dilapidated wooden building on the north side of Stony Lane. Any visit to it should be taken with care as the building is leaning badly and will probably collapse in the not too distant future. However, a visual inspection shows its history: the floor is laid in a number of places with small square stable bricks, part of the floor has been laid with old redundant sleepers, possibly the only ones that can now be found in the station area, and under the present roof you can still find remains of the felt covering that was put on by the railways builders in the early 1880s A great deal of other work was carried out at Reepham; there was the seasonal need for the loading and movement of sugar beet to Cantley and large consignments of grain, fruit and vegetables were sent out from the station, all of these were manually loaded and unloaded for many years by the local farm labourers. The station had the use of a group of cattle pens and these were used for cattle going to and from the local Reepham Wednesday Market. Cattle sent from the Reepham area to the main livestock market in Norwich were invariably sent from Whitwell, the journey from Whitwell to Norwich was much quicker than the journey from Reepham Station which would deliver the cattle to Trowse Station whereas the Whitwell line ended at the City Station which was then a much shorter drive (up Westwick Street and St Andrews) to the market held each Saturday morning in the area around Norwich Castle. The imbalance in the business for transporting cattle was partly offset in the warmer months of the year when large numbers of local cattle were sent to Reepham Station for the journey to Acle marshes where they were grazed during the summer. On the edge of the main platform there was a loading dock with a small manually operated crane which was used to lift farm machinery on and off trucks, machinery that was bought and sold by Eglingtons and Randells, the main agricultural machinery merchants in the area. The loading dock was also used by the loading and unloading of horses; these animals whether for hunting or for working on the farms or to work with local business people were highly valued and could not be driven and packed into trucks like cattle. The M&GN supplied special covered wagons (which contained seats for grooms and other workers who rode with the horses) and these had large sides �which would drop down onto the loading dock and down which the horses could be led. It was common practice for horses travelling to and from local hunts and race meetings to be loaded and unloaded in this manner, although such events never happened in Reepham. The GER had a parcels office (the small building next to the station) which was used for small parcels and they also had an area in the granary which was used for storing or holding the larger items. Reepham was the epitome of a country station which served a small but busy market town, acting as a centre to the surrounding rural area. The area was wholly agriculturally based and the station and its five-acre site adequately served Reepham’s needs during the seventy years life of the railways. The GER Reepham station was always in competition with the M&GN at Whitwell but there was little doubt as to which one was the more successful. Reepham was always full of people, horses, traffic and generally displayed an air of business; Whitwell was the one which won prizes for its flower beds and settled into a rural quietness between trains and which dealt with goods on an intermittent rather than a regular basis, with the exception of the animal trade on Saturdays. We miss them both and although Whitwell has deteriorated to a state of dereliction, the buildings at Reepham in their soft cream brown brick remain and as a permanent reminder of their former glory. The station master’s house with the attached booking office and waiting rooms, the small parcels office and the large granary are all in current use. No doubt whilst they remain as working buildings they will be preserved in good order and will act as a living reminder of their contribution to the history of Reepham and its area. From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991. �Reepham Station as it was built and laid out in the 1880s. The only items that remain today are the granary, the station buildings and the old carpenters’ shop (later used by Stimpsons for stabling horses); this is the shaded building in the upper centre of this layout. Taken about 1930 it shows Stimpson and Hurn staff with some of their delivery wagons. Mr Thomas Hurn is second right from the centre horse and Mr Ben Stimpson stands to its left. �Mr Ben Stimpson supervising another delivery of artificial fertiliser from ICI in the 1950s. Towards the end – Stimpsons unload another delivery in the 1960s, also artificial fertiliser. �The granary today, little changed in its structure since the 1880s. The goods trucks were pulled into the building through the large doorway on the right-hand side. The original carpenters’ shop, still standing but only just! �On each weekday the 6 pm from Wroxham and the 6.05 pm from Dereham met briefly at Reepham at 6.38 pm. J 17 No. 65534. A train of cattle trucks wait to pull away in April 1950. �Harvest machinery waiting to be unloaded, probably destined for sale by Randells to farmers in the district. Reepham Station, mid 1930s. �The loading gauge, unused now for 30 years and nearly smothered by nature’s unchecked growth. �A present-day view of the station buildings. The parcel building is the small separate unit to the right. The two-storey part of the building was the station master’s house. �� 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 Reepham Station – The Stimpson Connection Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2311290935 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 15 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991 Description An account of the resource A history of businesses and their operations and activity at Reepham Station, focusing on the Stimpsons. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher Coller Garrett Taylor Pertwee Reepham Station Sall Coal Company Sharpin Stimpson Stimpson & Hurn Stimpson Pertwee https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/7f0b3f7614f7f4cb0d565c26a2a24900.pdf b44f141b635e722a814f6f9ce7e81fdd PDF Text Text Memories of the railway The days of man are three score years and ten – but that was certainly not the vision that inspired the building of the “Western Extension of the Great Eastern Railway”, as it was termed, when it was opened in 1882, but 70 years was how long the passenger service lasted until its closure in September 1952. Launched amidst much anticipation (with perhaps not a little trepidation) during the period 1876–79, grandly the project gathered sway from Aylsham to County School, as Cawston, Reepham and finally Foulsham stations arose and the railway tracks completed their easy communication in 1882. All the actors on that stage have now taken their last call and it is no longer possible to converse with anyone who was involved with the building of the line. There are many and varied episodes connected to the building, some are complimentary and many are contradictory. The search for detail can be long, exciting – sometimes exasperating – but always interesting and at last a more or less coherent story can emerge. When the line closed it was still possible to contact people in the Reepham area who could remember the 1880s. While most could remember the line being built, very few worthwhile details could be gathered. The patriotic urge to provide waste paper and reduce the danger of fire from aerial attack early in 1939 doubtless resulted in many old papers being given over for salvage. One lost paper held an account of the dinner given at the King’s Arms, Reepham, to celebrate the opening of the line when the superintendent (Mr R W Kendall), under whom it was built, was chief guest. The high fields bounding Stony Lane and the eastern boundary of the yard to the railway bridge are often a puzzle to people. The navvies who built the railway excavated the site of the Reepham Station yard, leaving the fields high up on either side. The soil that was removed went to build the embankments which lead to the bridges on the Cawston and Kerdiston roads. One old inhabitant, Mr Matt Timbers, recalled the making of the yard, entailing the work of a pick and shovel brigade (“There were no excavators or bulldozers in those day, you know”), and the earth was run down the slope on a specially constructed light track to build the embankments approaching the bridge over the Kerdiston road. Horse-drawn trucks were the motive power, and Mr Walter Wilkin drove the tip horse. Originally the road from Cabbage Court to Cawston New Road (now known as New Road) ran through Crown Meadow, but with the construction of the railway �bridge to the east of the station, it assumed its present curve over the bridge. Incidentally, this bridge is the highest spot in Reepham and served admirably as a lookout post for air raid wardens in the last war. The blaze at Lowestoft in its worst night could be discerned at this vantage point. Victorian ideas as to the Sabbath – and they were not bad ones either – insisted that the sale of many properties through which the line ran was conditional upon there being no Sunday traffic over them and this reservation has been scrupulously observed. The Midland and Great Northern Railway Company had for some time been considering a line which would give a more direct route to the Midlands, which covered much of the area taken in hand so energetically by the Great Eastern. Once the necessary sanction had been given the latter really got on with the task and the speed with which the work was done came as a great shock to those who favoured the nearer route to Norwich from Whitwell Station. Because of the close proximity of the two stations of rival companies the fare to Norwich was the same, notwithstanding that the mileage from Reepham was about double that from Whitwell. The Whitwell line had no Sunday service either. The story of the sheds at Reepham used as blacksmiths’ and iron-workers’ shops, of the turntable in use because the government of those days forbade a train to run with the tender before the engine; the work of Mr H E Hawes, a survivor of those days when he was a carpenter employed in the interior construction of the station’s dwellings at Cawston, Reepham and Foulsham and on the woodwork of the line – are not all these with many another written in the Book of Memory. In the early 1880s a favourite Sunday walk of those days was to the station to see the weekly progress of the line – how many more sleepers had been laid; this walk was alternated with a visit to Booton Church to see how many more bricks had been laid by the Rev. Whitwell Elwin and his team. The line from Reepham to County School was opened on the 1st of May 1882 and two months later the July issue of the Foulsham Parish Magazine proudly printed the first timetable of the East Norfolk Railway with its conglomeration of “Mixed”, “Parliamentary” and “Market” trains. By this it took 43 minutes to travel from Aylsham to Foulsham, the editor for brevity omitting reference to Cawston and Reepham. The journey from London to Foulsham by the “Mixed” train occupied 5 hours 14 minutes while the “Parliamentary” one took 6 hours 29 minutes. Norwich to Foulsham by the same trains were a matter of 1 hour 24 minutes and 1 hour eleven minutes, respectively. There were, however, 11 trains daily from Norwich to Foulsham and 10 from Foulsham to Norwich. All these, of course, passed through Reepham, too. �In 1882 the fastest train of the day did the 17 mile journey from Foulsham to Norwich in 63 minutes. This seems to be the fastest time recorded for this trip in the 70-year history of the line. The building of the line seemed to have been relatively accident free, or else no accidents were ever recorded, but two incidents were recorded. Firstly, the one outstanding incident before the line opened when a steam traction engine used by the contractors blew up near Foulsham while the users were desperately trying to replenish the boiler with water from a nearby stream. Shortly after the line opened the only bad accident occurred when a man named Flatman left Cawston where he had been waiting longer than he thought reasonable so he started walking a short cut home along the railway line. It was late and dark and a train overtook him, cutting him to pieces. The gory evidence of the accident was only revealed when the train stopped at Reepham Station and search parties went out and soon found further evidence to substantiate the tragedy. No story of the Reepham railway would be complete without some reference to its stationmasters, the first of whom was Mr Richard Sayer, a genial and much-beloved gentleman. It seems he was succeeded for a short while by Mr Frank Rice, who subsequently became stationmaster of Sheringham, to help in its development from a lobster fishing village to a popular North Norfolk watering-place. Probably his successor was Mr Youngman, whose son Harry contributed much to the cultural life of Reepham through the Orchestral Society and Nigger Minstrel Troupe before the 1914–18 war, in which he was killed. Later holders of the office were Mr Wilson, Mr Moore and finally Mr S B Bass whose maternal grandfather was a Mr Hoggar who was the first stationmaster at Foulsham. Mr Bass came from a real railway family who accumulated 390 years of railway service between them. Eleven members of his family were stationmasters. Was the coming of the railway to Reepham a blessing or not? Till the 1880s it certainly was a prosperous, self-contained unit, numbering many influential people among its inhabitants. Whitwell Hall, Hackford Hall, the Brewery House, The Ollands and the Moor House were all the homes of gentry and Reepham was then where magisterial business was transacted and where a well-attended busy market was held each week. The railway gave Reepham a direct communication with neighbouring villages and with towns like Dereham and Norwich, while London was now only five hours travelling time away. To the farm labourer of the time for whom a journey to Norwich was likely to be an annual event the prospect of leaving Reepham at breakfast and to be in the centre of London for lunch must have been difficult to comprehend, although it is unlikely that he would have been able to afford it let alone have the free time to go. �The novelty of a railway journey, though, undoubtedly brought a shrinkage of trade and it is more than possible that the railway started the dispersal from the countryside. The railway came as an engineering marvel which provided unlimited travel to the people of this Victorian era. The service, however, did not change much during the next 70 years and in its latter days it had many faults of infrequent and slow service but the passenger train during its 70 years at Reepham did meet a very real need. Even with its faults there was considerable sadness expressed when its farewell finally became necessary. Reepham is one of those few places that had the benefit of two railway lines, which ran independently for many years and which were unexpectedly linked in 1960: the line through Reepham Station, which closed to passengers in 1952, and the line through Whitwell, which saw its last passengers in February 1959. The railway lines were eventually taken up in the mid 1980s but in the intervening years the lines continued in use until the mid 1970s with regular trains hauling freight, the final goods train from Lenwade made its journey on 4th January 1982. The reason for this continued use was the building of the Themelthorpe curve in 1960. This line starting from Whitwell Station and turning back almost on itself at Themelthorpe returning to Reepham Station makes a pleasant walk which traces the transport line which for 70 years was the backbone of most of the life and goods that came in and out of Reepham. Prior to British Railways amalgamating the lines in 1948 the area was served by the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway which journeyed into Norwich City Station (the area east of Heigham Street now developed as an industrial estate) and the Great Eastern Railway which journeyed into Norwich Thorpe Station. The two Norwich stations were only a mile apart yet there was no direct link and any freight that had to be moved from one station had to be sent northwards via North Walsham, Cromer and Melton Constable and thence back to Norwich. For a distance of one mile direct the actual rail journey was immense, the route was affectionately known as “going-round-the-world”. When the Themelthorpe curve was laid it halved the journey at a stroke From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991 �E 4 No. 2793. The 2.10 pm from Dereham to Wroxham leaves Reepham Station in May 1950 – our local railway memories are encapsulated in pictures like this. K 2 No. 61748 A Gresley K2 passes Themelthorpe, later the site of the British Railways curve, on 10th May 1949. �No. D 5537. Concrete beams on low loader wagons leaving Lenwade in August 1965 and about to make their journey around the Themelthorpe curve. � 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 Memories of the railway Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2311081100 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 6 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991 Description An account of the resource An account of the Western Extension of the Great Eastern Railway and the construction and history of Reepham Station. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher GER Railway railway Reepham Station https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/3411f2175323e90fcba3b61e53ccf6ee.jpg ea7362c97b914b52b1386b0841701935 Photograph-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 Beasts Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2311041131 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 8 colour photographs 150x100mm Churches & Chapels [File 4, Archive Box 104] Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003 Description An account of the resource 8 colour photographs of pew end carvings/finials in St Mary's taken for a Reepham Society exhibition. Four were used as a contribution to the Norfolk Heritage Exploration project. One example given here. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society RS Database 822 a-h St Mary's https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/bfb990c76c68b53d95e3104418e2d014.pdf fe7fe97434e078de1efaea7a43feb3ab PDF Text Text The Reepham Line The East Norfolk Western Extension Railway Before the railways, communications in North East Norfolk were served by the turnpike system which in this area was sparse and followed the main coach routes and by a dense network of country roads, which until the 1870s was extensively served by carriers carts. Essentially all roads in this area seem to lead to and from Norwich. Passenger services on these roads were very poor, the smaller market towns such as Aylsham were well served with passenger coaches twice a day, but Reepham had to make do with a passenger service twice a week. Apart from these services the only alternative was to hire a horse and carriage or to pay for a seat on a carrier’s cart. In the 1860s and 70s the people of Reepham were able to journey to Norwich or have their goods picked up from or delivered to there by the two local carriers. William Leeds, the proprietor of the Sun Inn, ran an omnibus and carrier service from that establishment every Wednesday and Saturday, leaving at 8 am and concluding the journey at the Moon and Stars Public House in Norwich, returning the same day at 4.30 pm in winter and 5 pm in summer, the journey passing through Booton, Alderford, Attlebridge, Taverham and Drayton. William Stimpson-Lewis offered a similar service from Reepham on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, and the Post Office operated a mail cart which left Reepham at 4.30 pm and returned from Norwich at 6 am the following morning. Carriers’ carts rarely took more than a ton of goods and were primarily to transport consumer goods to and from market centres and to supply local shops and businesses. Heavy, low-value goods were less often carried in this way. Farm waggons, droves of animals and walkers formed the rest of road traffic at this time. Footpaths were also intensively used by both locals and foot postmen. Carts were expensive, 8d to 1/- a mile, and more in bad weather and hence were a strong factor in the isolation of the communities in this area. During the mid-nineteenth century in the whole of North East Norfolk less than fifty passengers a day could be carried by public transport and yet there was little call for a more intensive coach service. This dearth of traffic was noted as a fact by the Board of Trade when the rest of the country was gripped by railway mania. North East Norfolk therefore lacked any manufacturing industry and lacked a transport infrastructure capable of supplying any new large industry or resort, the area was totally agriculture based and it was undeniably prosperous for the farmer if not for his labourers. This area was, in the eyes of many an entrepreneur, ripe for the consideration of a profit-making line of communication – the railway! The first railway in Norfolk to be �built was the Yarmouth and Norwich railway conceived in 1841 by the Stephensons as the first link in an east-west trunk railway from Yarmouth to Peterborough; the line was completed in 1844. The second stage of the Stephenson project was the railway from Norwich to Brandon which was duly built and when the line was extended from Brandon it finally allowed Norwich to be linked to London, although it was one of the last major urban centres in England to be so joined. Norfolk was linked to other main centres of trade but the route was often tortuous and the lines badly run but there was no reasonable alternative. In 1850 goods sent from North East Norfolk to Ipswich had to be carried by horse to Norwich and then consigned on the railway via Cambridge and London, a journey of some 200 miles as against 40 by road. This long journey was still quicker and more reliable as the turnpike in winter was invariably half a yard deep in mud. There was then a flood of proposals for railways to fill the gaps in the railway map of the 1840s and 50s in North East Norfolk but for various reasons none were built. In the early 1870s construction began on the line from Whitlingham Junction to North Walsham and after the appropriate Board of Trade inspection it was permitted open to traffic as from the 20th of October 1874. The line ran through Wroxham and it was from here that the east-west extension was planned. The East Norfolk Railway Act of 1864 had originally planned an extension to Aylsham but delays in building other extensions (notably to Cromer) and other financial problems slowed down expansion plans so that the Act to extend the line to Aylsham was not granted until the 16th of April 1876. Tenders for the work were submitted during 1878 and that of the lowest, William Waddell, was accepted and in August 1878 the work commenced. There were a number of initial problems particularly with the weather; bricklaying was stopped in December due to the severe frosts. However in the spring of 1879, with a large increase in the number of men employed and with the assistance of two stationary steam engines and a traction engine, he was able to keep to his contract of “Coltishall by the middle of June” and estimated that he would be at Buxton by the end of June. The Board of Trade inspector declared the line adequate and the first section from Wroxham to Buxton was opened on the 8th of July 1879. The company however was running into financial problems and when shares in the Western Extension (to County School) were offered in September 1879 there was a lack of response and this coupled with proposals for extensions submitted by other railway companies in Norfolk meant that there was little chance of the Wroxham to County School extension becoming a profitable possibility if it ran on its own. It was inevitable that it would only survive if it were �taken over by a larger company; this happened in June 1881 when the East Norfolk Railway was amalgamated with the Great Eastern Railway. During these troubled times, however, the building of the line continued with the extension from Buxton to Aylsham opening on the 1st of January 1880 and from Aylsham to Cawston opening on the 1st of September 1880. At the time of the Great Eastern Railway’s takeover in June 1881 land for the two miles beyond Reepham had already been purchased and work from Cawston was proceeding on schedule. After the amalgamation with the GER, the East Norfolk lines were developed as part of an integrated system but this development favoured the Norwich to the North East Norfolk coast area and this was further enhanced when a line from Mundesley to Cromer was opened in 1906. The western extension of the North East Railway became the poor relation of the system; it proved to be an unpopular and profitless extension which slumbered along into the twentieth century; it epitomised the sleepy rustic branch line that our memories are so fond of. The First World War brough a halt to the extensive holiday traffic to the Cromer/Mundesley area and there was compensation by an increase in military and general farm traffic as maximum production from the land was encouraged. The immediate post-war period continued this revival particularly as farm production stayed high but the first buses started to run scheduled services to Cromer and Aylsham. When the road surfaces improved during the 1920s and bus stops were introduced into the very centre of Norwich, the passengers started to turn away from trains onto the buses. They found they could catch a bus which passed through the village rather than walking up to two miles to a station to catch a train. The Wroxham to Reepham and County School line really suffered in this inter-war period, being an east-west line when most of the traffic was north-south (to the coast and the Broads). Reepham to Norwich was catered for also by the M&GN line from Whitwell (which was 35 minutes quicker) and by buses. Worst of all in the inter-war period was the depression in farming and allied industries. Arable North East Norfolk was depressed more than most areas and with little money available to finance development or initiatives the railways were losing a lot of a decreasing total of traffic. It was not until the approach of the Second World War that traffic began to increase markedly. RAF stations built at Coltishall and Foulsham brought extra traffic to the line, agriculture revived as in the First World War and bus schedules were slashed. A great many people now had to travel and the only services available were the trains. After the war there was a rapid decline in passenger traffic on the line from Aylsham to County School once the buses and private cars returned to the roads. The long �meandering line from County School to Norwich via Aylsham in a slow train pulling dowdy and worn carriages, which were at least 40 years old, were no match for the direct and competitive buses. The passenger services from Wroxham to County School ceased on the 15th of September 1952 and the line from Foulsham to Reepham was closed to goods as well. The line was linked to the M&GN line from Melton Constable to Norwich via Whitwell when the Themelthorpe curve was laid in September 1960 and this allowed concrete production from Lenwade to form much of the traffic for a few years until it finally closed to goods in 1982. The line was last used in the mid 1970s when a small number of passenger trains were organised by the Aylsham and District Rail Action Committee. The journeys from Thorpe Station to Lenwade (and back) via Wroxham, Aylsham, Reepham and Whitwell were packed with passengers but they provided little more than evocative reminders of the slow pace of life of a bygone age, a service which could not be profitably sustained today. Michael Black From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991. �A timetable from the early part of this century; note there is no Sunday service. When land was purchased for the line, many farmers only sold on the condition that the “Lord’s Day” was observed. The station staff take time between trains to pose for the camera – date unknown, but probably the early 1900s. �A busy moment at the station during the inter-war period. The use of the railway declined during these years but was revived for a few years during the Second World War. The last passenger train to stop at Reepham Station – organised by Aylsham and District Rail Action Committee in 1978. � 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 The Reepham Line Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2311010925 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 6 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991 Description An account of the resource A history of Reepham Station and the East Norfolk Western Extension Railway, including road travel before the 1870s. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine, 1991 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher railway Reepham Station Roads transportation