11 20 1030 https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/9cf677354ce51414d9f64cecd9784ca1.jpg 0d128ff8dd8e693f8ed92c7cc7ed1ac7 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 Self Plumber & Decorator Description An account of the resource Dwelling house with sign board proclaiming G. Self Plumber & Decorator Paperhanger Glazier Pumps fixed & repaired Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1610281634 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource B&W photograph 245 x 195mm Streets & Buildings/Station Road [File 17, Archive Box 117] Families & Businesses/Self [File 6] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society RS Database 279 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Station Road, Reepham 1930s decorator glazier plumber RL Calendar 2022 Self https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/36da20907cdedde5da25b0bf9145c0ff.jpg 40293ce923bb24c00f35b629545dc19f 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 Victoria House as TV shop Description An account of the resource Photo from SW shows front door on corner under sign bracket but no sign, Display windows on Norwich Road and Birchams Yard, Signs "ALPHA TELEVISION" & "NORMAN ...... . " Lean-to portion in Birchams Yard. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1611261231 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 B&W photographs 240 x 190mm Streets & Buildings/Norwich Road [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 1960s Norwich Road, Reepham Norwich Road Victoria House https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/0add458015c5310c24f16085d9186135.jpg de383a7ce3ffadd9b45f0f18fbdb45f1 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 Meals on Wheels Description An account of the resource Mrs. Ben Stimpson, Mr & Mrs Harold Rump and Mr & Mrs W.J. (Jack) Lawn loading lunches into the delivery car for the Meals on Wheels Service run by Reepham's Red Cross group. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1966 Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1701070947 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource B&W photograph 210 x 165 mm Mounted Uniformed Services/ British Red Cross [File 20, Box 120] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Bircham Centre Archive 1966 Lawn Red Cross Rump Stimpson https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/8f5576c6c1c7f4222921bc424edcd683.jpg ea3ce36543536ac53def85d7934680d2 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 Presentation to Reepham Ambulance Depot Description An account of the resource Presentation by Sir Bartle Frere to Reepham Ambulance Depot, winners of EDP Challenge Cup 1942.<em><br /><br />Civil Defence First Aid Party:</em> <br />W J Lawn, Mrs G.F. Lawn<br />E. Reynolds, R Lambert snr, J Lambert<br /><br /><em>Ambulance Team:</em><br />E. Symonds,&nbsp; First Aid Attendant<br />F. Walker, Driver Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1942 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1701071151 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource B&W photograph 212 x 155 mm Mounted Uniformed Services/Ambulance [File 20, Archive Box 120] Box 40 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Bircham Centre Archive Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Eastern Daily Press 1942 ambulance EDP Lambert Lawn Reynolds Symonds Walker https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/87f5528f5b21f00a04e44cb47673f598.jpg c7b5e881ca75317c4ad5c60e9d051529 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 National Blood Transfusion Service Description An account of the resource Regular sessions were held in the Old Brewery House Hotel during the 1960s - 1990s. Mrs. Lawn in uniform. June Barrett is the donor in the foreground. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1966 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1966 Old Brewery House Hotel, Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1701111251 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource B&W photograph 165 x 225 mm Uniformed Services/ British Red Cross [File 20, Box 120] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Bircham Centre Archive 1966 Brewery House Red Cross https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/5a6c5d124bcffb6b12fbc2484e334d7a.jpg 20406075a27d5a52ec37a2344dcf8320 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 Victorian Evening Description An account of the resource Canon Gordon and Mrs Pat Dodson in fancy dress for the Victorian Evening in Reepham in 1991. This was a charity event held to raise funds for the RAYS Hall. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 6 December 1991 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1701120935 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Reepham Photographic Club Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Events/1991 {File 5, Archive Box 105] Families & Businesses/D/Dodson [File 6] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Bircham Centre Archive Originally received as a framed photograph Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1991 Reepham 1991 Dodson RAYS Hall Victorian Evening https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/692c9a3c687b50ed72db78866f095f70.jpg e44ce0688f37ddd81d537fe71b726b65 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 British Legion Womens Section Certificate : 1971 Description An account of the resource Certificate awarded to the Reepham Branch formed on 22 February 1946 in recognition of 25 years continuous good work. British Legion Womens Section formed in Reepham in 1946 and closed in 2016. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1971 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1971 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1701120957 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Coloured certificate 305 x 235mm On board Originally framed Uniformed Services/British Legion [File 20, Archive Box 120] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Bircham Centre Archive 1971 British Legion https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/570ad506c0475fd4759869f71e6d83c7.jpg ce0823ada64c7df850ee145275174276 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 Royal British Legion Womens Section, Lady Gwyneth Cook Cup Description An account of the resource Certificate of Merit awarded to the Reepham Branch 1973-1974 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1701121142 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource British Legion Womens Section Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Certificate printed on cardboard 240 x 282mm Originally received framed Uniformed Services/British Legion [File 20, Box 120] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Bircham Centre Archive Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1973 Reepham 1973 British Legion https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/65f2ec7dc4c697bfbdc09ed01bfda374.pdf 3e2b7e915ce83f3cfd99494c61cd0a14 PDF Text Text Reepham Society Fifteen Locals A pub crawl through history by Joyce Cox The Foldgate, Whitwell Common circa 1960 The Kings Arms The Old Brewery House Hotel The Crown �Pub groupings (in census years) determined by reference to entries in Books of Recognisance* < = 1801 1811 1821 1831 Black Lion No change No change No change 1841 1851 1861 1871 PLUS Duke of York Farriers Arms Lamb No change PLUS Crown PLUS Swan 1881 1891 1901 1911 No change No change No change LESS Farriers Arms Lamb Nelson Swan 1921 1931 1951 1961 No change No change LESS Kings Head Star LESS Black Lion Duke of York Greyhound 1971 1981 1991 LESS Foldgate George & Dragon PLUS Old Brewery House Hotel LESS Sun REMAINING Crown Old Brewery House Hotel Foldgate George & Dragon Greyhound Kings Arms Kings Head Nelson Star Sun Kings Arms * “Books of Recognisance” are the official record of licences granted and withdrawn etc (available from 1789). 1 �REEPHAM PUBLIC HOUSES: A SURVEY Please note: in this survey “Reepham” means “Reepham with Kerdiston, Hackford & Whitwell”. These parishes were united in 1935 to form the new parish of Reepham. In 1853 Lord Palmerston wrote “The words ‘licensed to be drunk on the premises’ are by the people interpreted as applicable to the customers as well as the liquor”. (Peter Haydon, The English Pub: A History). Reepham was typical in being almost awash with ale drinkers in the latter half of the nineteenth century when 14 pubs were opening their doors. The Duke of Wellington Beer Act of 1830 had abolished all duty on beer in an effort to reduce gin drinking. Any householder was allowed to sell beer upon purchase of a 2-guinea licence from the Excise, subject to a £20 fine for selling wine and spirits. Illicit alehouses came out of the woodwork and traded legally. In addition to large numbers of thirsty agricultural workers in this area, one of the chief reasons for the downing of so much beer was the building of the two railways by navvies who "dug, blasted and drank their way through the Norfolk countryside.” (See the Reepham Society magazine, “Railway” edition.). One can imagine the popularity of such situation friendly pubs as The Crown and The Star when work began in the late 1870’s. In his book The Railway Navvies, Terry Coleman refers to an average daily consumption of five quarts of ale. Coleman also notes that navvies were paid monthly, usually in a pub and for days afterwards they "drank their pay, and sold their shovels for beer." A different effect of the coming of the railways to this area was the end of the local Bircham Brewery monopoly. (The Brewery, situated on the site of The Old Brewery Hotel, provided beer for 52 pubs.) Fierce competition resulted in its sale by auction in 1879. Drink also flowed freely at the June annual fair and weekly market when visitors from gypsies to businessmen made good use of pubs. Reepham: public houses and male population by census year (Note: no census in 1941) 1200 16 14 1000 12 800 10 Male 600 Population Pubs 8 400 6 200 4 0 2 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2 Population Pubs �The chart shows a comparison between the number of public houses and beer houses in Reepham and the male population at dates of national censuses, 1801 – 1991. (Data provided by the Office of National Censuses.) Local population figures between 1831 and 1881 were higher than at any other time prior to 1981. The small upward movement in population, climaxing in 1881, may be connected with the building of the railways, when four pubs lodged navvies. On the down side three pubs closed in 1909; The Nelson, The Swan and the Farrier's Arms. The previous year had seen a hotly disputed parliamentary act, which proposed halving pub licences in rural areas from 1 per 200 population to 1 per 400. The Bill passed the Commons, which had seen an influx of new Labour MPs including many committed teetotallers, but was rejected by the Lords. Doubtless news of this debate had given publicans much to think about and in some cases they thought it best to close down, particularly as compensation for lost licences had recently been introduced. Other pubs closed in the 1950s when the novelty of television was an inducement to stay at home. By the early 1970s only the Kings Arms, The Crown and The Sun remained. The last named closed in the early 1980s, ten years after the opening of The Old Brewery House Hotel (see last page). BLACK LION (corner of New Road and The Moor) During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Moor was a prosperous commercial area and up to 200 people lived there. Hence it was a good site for a pub. (See Reepham Society magazine Spring 1990 edition). The original The Black Lion was built in 1830 in the grounds of what was later to become Moor House. In 1953 Henry Hawes, whose father Thomas, had been Parish Clerk for 49 years, wrote his recollections of Reepham since 1868. He describes The Black Lion as "a thatch-roofed building with small farm premises, including a barn, stable, piggeries, yard and skittle alley. On the gable was fixed a long board about 9 feet long with a lion painted on it." When Samuel Bircham built the present Moor House, he bought the pub premises, demolished them, and in 1888 funded the building of a new pub on the present site across the road. John Hever & Son built the replacement and had the road moved - hence the name New Road. The then landlord, Henry Mumford, drove passengers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays to Norwich, departing 8am, returning 5pm. The name The Black Lion is said to be a little unusual. There are lots of ‘Red Lions’ but not many Black. Local builder and brick maker, Arthur Collison was landlord at the end of the 19th century. His builder's yard was nearby. The landlord in the 1920s was John Marsh followed by Tom Horne. It closed in 1952 and was bought for residential purposes by Mr. and Mrs. Claxton, on their departure from the Duke of York. CROWN (Station Plain) (See front cover for picture) The Crown originally used only one of the three 19th Century cottages, that nearest to Ollands Road, and incorporated land running down to Mill Road. It later extended into the other two. The 1854 Directory lists as landlord Edward Page who was also a carrier. Only three landlords ran this pub over the next 100 years. It was popular because of its proximity to Reepham Station and the roads leading buyers and sellers from Holt, Cawston, Aylsham and Wood 3 �Dalling to the auctions. Open all day Wednesday business picked up after lunch as return journeys began. The Reepham Society magazine Market Place edition reports "Memories still exist locally of some of the Briston dealers who regularly made their way home in an intoxicated and fighting state and who would stop and have 'one for the road'. Some local businesses were indeed cautious and Hunts Stores on Station Plain would often lock their shop doors until these particular dealers had passed by". Business was brisk attracting customers from the nearby Collison’s brickyard, from the businesses in the Station area and also from the annual fair which after WW2 moved to Crown Meadow until 1980. Mr. and Mrs. Bob Smith (now living in Bawdeswell) took over in the early 1950s when there were bare floorboards, sawdust on the floor and even old unused spit pans. A wall separated the bar from the meeting room and cellar. The present front door led to a sitting room with kitchen behind. There was a men’s outdoor toilet and a stable. In 1978 the stable, which had once brought in an income of 6d a day when a horse was stabled there, was used to fit electric coolers to the beer pumps – a first for Reepham. When the Old Brewery House Hotel opened in 1972 Mrs. Smith provided bed and breakfast for any overflow and also provided hot meals if ordered. In those times pubs usually provided only sandwiches. Another difference was the rarity of women in pubs. For those who did visit The Crown there was a sitting room where drinks could be served. A very popular Summer Darts League, involving 10 teams including those from Coltishall and Buxton led to one of the Smith’s daughters, Sandra (Greatbatch) playing for Wales and twice becoming Ladies’ World Champion. Sandra’s son now plays for England. Then, as now, The Crown benefited the local community, particularly the elderly, in its fund-raising activities, one of which was a swear box- a penny a swear word - which, with annual interest added, earned a tidy sum! Mr. Smith photocopied for me an article from The Sunday Telegraph, 18/06/1978, written by a journalist reporting on the commercialisation of public houses. He referred to an interview with Mr. Smith and the latter’s refusal “to have a juke box” preferring to attract younger customers through his Darts League. Mr Smith was also quoted as saying, “There weren’t such things as Bacardi when I started here 25 years ago. Beer, whisky, gin, brandy, port, sherry, lemonade and ginger beer – that was just about it”. The Smiths left after 28 years. DUKE OF YORK (Church Street) The Duke of York, a Grade II listed building, originating in the 17th century, stands in three parishes, Hackford, Reepham and Whitwell. All the walls were rebuilt in brick when rear extensions were added around 1800. An outbuilding in the yard was once a skittle alley. It was one of several pubs in or near Back Street and Church Street, originally Reepham’s main thoroughfare. Between 1836-54 White’s Directory mentions a Mr. Brett of Back Street as having a beer house. The 1864 Directory lists a Mr. Dyball and from 1868 it was known as Tom Dyball’s Tap. Its classification as a beer house continued i.e. no spirit licence. Tom was one of a family who had a large horse training business in the town. Before the last war, the Trunch brewery owned it. When Trunch closed, Morgan's brewery of Norwich took over. This was their first pub in Reepham. 4 �The landlord from 1916-1933 was Tom Bacon, quite a character, and a publican who never drank beer. As well as having the pub he also farmed a little land and looked after poultry at the sale ground on market days, but his chief job was as night soil collector and dustbin emptier for Hackford parish. Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Claxton took over in 1933 until 1952 when the Claxtons bought The Black Lion on its closure as a pub. Their daughter, Gwen (now Hardesty) has told me how she helped wash the glasses, clean the red brick floor and scrub the bar and cellar. The large grounds, including stables and sheds (see picture), accommodated horses and carts, large lorries during WW2, even tanks, and a local car salesman, while in the Navy, left 6 cars for garaging. (The left-hand picture shows Mr. Claxton (on the right). His brother is standing in the bar entrance.) Nearby billeting in the Town Hall and Moor House brought additional business. Three dances a week were held in Reepham, music provided by locals. The Claxtons also had an evacuee family from London. In 1974 Mrs. Claxton (righthand picture) with her husband and daughter Gwen) organised the repainting and gilding of the Church clock as a memorial to her late husband. The last landlord was James McCarter who was a leader in a move to get the railway from Reepham to Norwich reopened for passengers, unfortunately without success. The pub closed in 1959 and is now known as York House. FARRIERS ARMS (Ollands Road - previously known as Hall Road) Sometimes known as the Three Horseshoes doubtless due to its blacksmith business, the Farriers Arms was classified as a beer house and situated on the site of the present Spar shop. Part of a centuries old timber framed building, some of the walls were of clay. First officially mentioned in 1836 under a Thomas Grand, its tenancy passed, on his death in 1851, to local blacksmith Robert Parker Gooch whose business included the sale of beer. He was also listed as a vet in White's Norfolk directory, kept cows and sold milk. Customers brought their horses for shoeing and drank beer while they waited, a common enough combination at the time. (The National Statistics Office records 2490 blacksmiths in Norfolk in 1851). The pub closed in 1909. The blacksmith's business expanded into agricultural engineering and descended to Mr. Gooch's grandson, Sidney Parker Eglington. In 1931 Messrs. F. Randell Ltd. bought the business. Mr. R. Randell, the last owner of the business assisted in shoeing the last horse in 1962. The business finally closed in 1991. 5 �FOLDGATE (Whitwell Common) (See front cover for picture.) The Foldgate or Falgate, one of the oldest pubs, is listed in the 1836 Directory under a John West, "victualler and shopkeeper." A picturesque thatched house, possibly 16th century, it was even more old-fashioned than The Star. The last tenants were Reepham residents Norman and Joan Egmore. As was common then, when pub tenancies were not profitable concerns, the wife ran the pub and the husband continued with his normal employment. Beer was sold from kegs standing on stools. The ceiling was very low with lots of oak beams, which made things rather difficult for dart players. It had the old settles round the walls, one of which contained a hole into which old George III pennies had to be rolled. Singing just for fun, with no payment involved was very popular. Cycle teams competed on an outside track. With the exception of crisps and later chocolate, which Joan introduced, no food was sold but customers could eat their own sandwiches over a drink. Bottled beer was very popular. Only one bottle of spirit was bought per month. The Foldgate closed in 1969. Joan has provided a detailed account of her 13 years’ tenancy. This account is with the Reepham Society archives. The present owners, Mr. and Mrs. Viall, are making enquiries as to whether they are connected with Samuel and Hannah Viall, listed in the 1845 Directory, who ran the pub for over thirty years. GEORGE AND DRAGON (corner of Church Hill and Norwich Road) The top picture shows the George and Dragon (on the right-hand side of Norwich Road). The original building was replaced in the 19th century. Sidney Eglington, owner of the nearby agricultural business (see Farriers Arms) was a loyal customer. In 1930 Amos Hessman took over from George Goward and his wife. Mr. Hessman had been a farmer but had to give up due to very severe arthritis. He was a member of the Reepham Rifle Corps. The Hessmans stayed until 1949. In June 1950 Reepham held a “shopping week”. The finals of a darts competition that had attracted more than 300 entries, were held here. Miss Reepham and her two attendants presented prizes. Various licensees followed for short periods in the 50's. The George and Dragon closed in 1962 when Athol Davis was licensee. The Reepham Supplement (the Deanery of Sparham magazine) dated October 1974 mentions the death of a Mrs. Wink (nee Dunn) aged 93 who was born in the pub in 1881. The building is now a private house. GREYHOUND (Back Street) Another Grade II listed building The Greyhound has been much altered since its origins in the 17th century. Partitions, screens, doorways and details remain intact. Henry Hawes refers to the landlord Dick Badcock, one of three brothers running Reepham pubs in the 1860s and 70s. Dick was a carrier to Norwich three times a week. His quarters in Norwich were in the Moon and Stars, Duke Street. Starting from Reepham at 8am with two horses and van, he left Norwich at 4.30pm in winter and 5.00pm in summer, calling at Booton, Alderford, Attle6 �bridge, Taverham and Drayton. For the next two decades the landlord, William King, a blacksmith, also ran a forge opposite. He later moved to the Kings Arms. Norwich brewer, Young’s, Crawshay and Young’s bought the pub and adjoining five cottages in 1901, having previously paid an annual rental for the pub and yard. This was the first pub in Reepham to belong to a Norwich brewer. By 1910 large brewers had acquired control of sales in 90% of pubs nationally. Wesley Piercy’s memories are mainly of the Medlers who took over in 1929. Arthur Medler had previously emigrated to Canada, served in the Canadian army in WW1 but returned to England after the war and married. His wife was used to the licensed trade, as her father was landlord of Haveringland's Kings Head. The Medlers left in 1944. Their son, John, visited The Greyhound and related to the present owners, Canon Page and his wife, a very poignant story. When a young lad during the war he was given a half crown on his birthday by an American airman visiting the pub, and promised a proper present the next day. Unfortunately the airman died on his next mission. Writing about The Greyhound in his book about the Reepham Home Guard, Alec Rowe refers to it as being "like the London Windmill Theatre - it never closed." The Home Guard waited there to go on guard duty at 2 or 4am. "Many has been the time when I would have to go and fetch them from the pub to go on guard”. The Greyhound closed in 1956 and is now a private house. KINGS ARMS (Market Place) (See front cover for picture) The listed building description of the Kings Arms, a former Inn, refers to 16th century brickwork and a south service wing of 17th century brickwork with a "flint wall at the centre and incorporating earlier building". This seems to refer to the east gable wall seen in Pudding Pie Alley and the attached south eastern extension. The former stables are 19th century. Many alterations have obscured its original form. On 7 October 1794 the diarist, Parson Woodforde of Weston Longville, attended a confirmation in Reepham after which he and others had planned to dine at the Kings Arms. However, a last minute change of plan resulted in the landlord, Joseph Bell, being compensated with a shilling from each expected guest. Before the courthouse was built next to the Police Station, the Eynesford Petty Sessions were held here on alternate Mondays. (Also mentioned in The Diary of a Country Parson 1758-1802). During the Swing riots in 1830 the Rev. Collyer of Hackford Hall, a parson magistrate, stood at a window and managed to quieten angry labourers gathered outside. It is said that on one occasion the future Edward VII, perhaps on his way to Haveringland Hall from Sandringham, stopped in the Market Place. William Bircham, owner and local brewer, hurried across with a glass of his best beer, called Old Velvet. The Reepham Society magazine Market Place edition quotes Marjorie Gibbs daughter of a local trader and a founder member of the Society, recalling early 20th century memories "At 6am the people living there were often awakened by the arrival of the mail cart and its noisy driver. The cart was like an ordinary heavy trap, with a covered-in portion behind for the bags 7 �of mail, and was red. The horse was given a nosebag while the driver knocked up the postmaster. He came every day including Sunday." The pub hired horses and carts, used by people such as commercial travellers staying there to tour the area. Henry Hawes refers to John Badcock, publican of the Kings Arms in the 1870’s. "He ran a coach and four horses to Norwich, Saturdays only, starting from the Market Place at 9am with Bugle behind, he kept better time than his brother Dick (see The Greyhound) and came home early." Henry Hawes describes an upstairs clubroom "all along the front”. In 1857 the Loyal Eynesford Lodge of Oddfellows was formed and held its monthly meetings there as did the Foresters. In 1882 a dinner was given to celebrate the opening of the railway line. Marjorie Gibbs recalled weekly dancing classes culminating in an annual dance. Wesley Piercy's earliest memory of the Kings Arms is in 1921 when he was invited to a Christmas Party given by the Hubbard family. George Hubbard, the landlord, had three children who were at school with Wesley A small shop was kept underneath the clubroom by various traders. This part of The Kings Arms (now Bonhams) was sold off in the 1970s. There was no front bar, and only one entrance, that in the corner on the left. A Bowling Green was laid in Dereham Road, or Pound Road, as it was then known. It survived for very many years and was well supported by Market Place residents. Wednesdays were busy days for the Kings Arms, which opened all day “for the convenience of persons attending the public market.” The annual Christmas sale and fat stock show ended in a sumptuous dinner for up to 100 in the clubroom sometimes followed by “entertainment with recitals or monologues performed by the more musical or artistic members of the local community.” These dinners ended at the start of WW2. Most of the farmers, butchers and dealers came by horse and cart, parking their carts on the Market Place. The wife of Mr. Devlin, landlord in 1938 and 1939, had achieved some fame in her youth as the author of a book "The Young Visitors" published under her maiden name of Daisy Ashford. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop (see photograph on left) followed until 1948 when on Mr. Bishop's retirement Mr. J. Haggerty, former landlord of The Foldgate, took over. The Haggerty family continued as landlords until 1990. In 1987 the then landlady, Pat Chipperfield, daughter of Mr. Haggerty (see photographs on right) accepted a Reepham Society biennial award "for the successful restoration both internally and externally which had in no way changed the appealing features of the Kings Arms. The financial efforts that the brewery owners had injected into the building and the flowering enhancement that Mrs. Chipperfield had introduced were greatly appreciated." Pat has vividly described to me her long years as landlady, her introduction of home cooked meals, bed and breakfast for local construction builders in the eight large bedrooms and frenzied Wednesday market days. 8 �KINGS HEAD (Booton) Listed as an alehouse in the 1789 Book of Recognisance under a John Bircham, the Kings Head was owned by the brewers Chapman Ives of Coltishall. A Mary Coxford and Francis Bircham occupied the two cottages that in 1900 were developed into one building. By 1832 the cottages had been transferred to local landowner Samuel Sewell; the John Bircham mentioned above still living there. The last landlord was Reginald Gray. His wife Mabel gave hunt dinners and receptions. During WW2 she sold home-baked food to American airmen and RAF personnel stationed at Haveringland. The pub closed towards the end of WW2 and is now a private house. (Photograph, looking towards Reepham from Booton, showing pub sign.) LAMB (Lamb Hill, Hackford Vale) The Lamb on Lamb Hill was a beer house that White's 1836 Directory associates with Mr. John Neale. The 1864, 68 and 76 Directories link it with Mrs. Springall, whom Henry Hawes also mentions as occupier. The 1881 census records The Lamb taking boarders including five navvies. Conveyances in the early 1900’s refer to a “dwelling house formerly a public house”. A cellar complete with delivery hatch to the road, room above with settle bench and serving hatch into the lounge were revealed in redecoration. It closed by 1902 and is now a private house. NELSON (Back Street) A listed early 18th century building, The Nelson in Back Street was originally called The Nelsons Head. An attached blacksmith's shop was later demolished. The original building had a thatched roof and was very old. Henry Hawes remembered it when occupied by landlord Sam Howes in the 1860s and 70s. It was Mr. Hawes who stripped off the thatch, re roofed and tiled it and coloured the walls. The Nelson closed in 1909 and is now in private occupation as two cottages. STAR (Whitwell Street) The Star, once known as The Cock, was very oldfashioned with sand on the floor. There was no bar counter; all drinks had to be brought up from the cellar. It was also well known for selling vinegar. The last landlord, William Morris, had been a "clicker" (he hand-cut shoes) in a Norwich shoe factory. Henry Hawes writes of its Whitsuntide Tuesday sports. Whitwell Street was used for races and a small field belonging to the pub for a ploughing match. The Star closed in 1935 and is now a private house known as The Old Star - but no longer permitted by its deeds to sell vinegar! 9 �SUN (corner of School Road and Market Place) Positioned in the Market Place The Sun, known as an Inn, was an extremely popular venue for traders and sometimes referred to as "the posh pub" popular with drinking schools. The 1854 Directory referred to "The Hero" omnibus leaving for Norwich on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 8am. Carts were hired in pre-railway days. Wesley's great grandfather, James Piercy, after working on a farm as a horseman and later as a steward ended his working life as ostler at The Sun. Among his duties was driving young Sam Eglington (son of a local landowner and businessman) to school in Norwich. Mr. Eglington, then over eighty related this to Wesley in 1950. Marjorie Gibbs wrote, "My very early recollection of the Sun Inn ...was of 'Charlie Colling', the dog, so named because Mr. Colling was the landlord. I think someone else followed him for a short time, but then came Mr. and Mrs. Fred Watson (see picture above taken 1920) and they were landlords there for a number of years. Mr. Watson was a most efficient painter and decorator and worked for Mr. John Wright who lived in Norwich Road. Mr. Watson continued with his work for some years but later gave it up to work entirely in The Sun. Mrs. Watson was a woman of great character, and very much respected by all her customers. She was a kind, motherly soul and during the War(WW1) was known to the forces as "ma". She was extremely good to all service men, whether Army, Navy or Air Force, especially if they were home sick or lonely." Extensive alterations were made in the 1920s or early 30s, including the demolition of the old stables. New ones were built opposite on School Road, but due to the advent of cars, not used for long. The stables were converted to a hall, which was used for functions where various organisations such as The Bowls Club and the Fire Brigade held their excellent annual dinners, catered for by Violet Watson. Violet and her husband Clifford, son of Frank, took over in 1922 and were landlords until Violet’s death in 1964. Irelands the auctioneers favoured The Sun. They had purchased the orchard in Station Road from William Bircham who owned the Reepham Brewery (now the Old Brewery House Hotel). This site became the Reepham Auction Market (or Stock Market) finally closing in 1972. In 1924 permission was granted to sell intoxicating liquors between 2.30-5pm on Wednesdays. This was for the benefit of those involved in cattle market trading. A board had to be displayed on the outside of the premises indicating this particular licence. During WW2 The Sun was popular with American servicemen stationed at Whitwell Hall and nearby airfields People who remember the Watsons describe them as “perfect landlords”. Ben Stimpson affectionately referred to Violet as a “disciplinarian”. She was captain of the Reepham Women’s Bowls Club which played on The Sun bowling green next to the Sun Hall. Four of its players represented Norfolk. The photograph shows Violet holding the runners up trophy in the ladies National English Bowls Association final, the first time a national trophy had come to Norfolk. The green now belongs to the Reepham Society, in use by Reepham Bowls Club. 10 �At the beginning of the 1980s Watneys decided to close down either The Crown or The Sun. The closure of the weekly cattle market in 1972 had reduced trade and as then tenants Mr. and Mrs. Barnes wished to retire the choice was easily made. SWAN (Corner of Dereham Road and Smuggler's Lane) Records of The Swan, a beer house, are few. The 1868 Directory links it with a Henry Russell, watchmaker, whom Henry Hawes also mentions as occupier at that time. The Swan closed in 1909 when the licensee, Arthur Palmer, forfeited his licence. The owner at that time was a Mrs. Robert George of Bawdeswell who also owned other property in Reepham. Her daughter Kathleen married Sam Eglington in 1925. It is now a private house, known as Cob House. Recent redecoration by present owners Mr. and Mrs. Clive Elgar has revealed a bar with hooks above used for the hanging of glasses, also a staircase leading to what would have been the cellar for storage of beer barrels. THE OLD BREWERY HOUSE HOTEL (Market Place) (See front cover for picture) The Old Brewery House hotel is included in this report for completeness although, because its establishment as a public house / hotel was comparatively recent, it has not been researched. The following is derived from the hotel’s own literature. The listed Georgian building was built in 1729 and originally named the "Dial House" because of a large sun dial over the front door. This can be seen as a white square in the photograph on the front cover. In 1972 the house was converted to a commercial hotel and renamed The Old Brewery House Hotel to recognise its previous rôle as residence of the Bircham family that, for generations, had run a brewery in Reepham, and because one of the hotel's principal rooms used to be the brewery. Acknowledgements My thanks to Wesley Piercy for his invaluable help and to Ralph Cox for technical advice. Also to several local residents for their time, friendly co-operation and use of photographs. Published by the Reepham Society, charity number 270398 Printed by DoorStep Print (Hellesdon) telephone 01603 402310 Copyright Joyce Cox 2001 ISBN 0-9539858-1-4 See map on back cover for sites of pubs. 11 �Index 1 Black Lion 4 Farriers Arms 7 Greyhound 10 Lamb 13 Sun 2 Crown 5 Foldgate 8 Kings Arms 11 Nelson 14 Swan 3 Duke of York 6 George & Dragon 9 Kings Head 12 Star 15 Old Brewery House Hotel � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Publications Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Publications Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Reepham Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 to 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed documents Box *** Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976 to 2014 Reepham Description An account of the resource Reepham Society Publications Text - printed Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Fifteen Locals Description An account of the resource A pub crawl through history by Joyce Cox describing Reepham public houses. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 2001 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1801-1991 Reepham, Whitwell Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1703171307 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Joyce Cox Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 13pp A4 Box 51 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society RS Database 691 & 430 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Joyce Cox 2001 Black Lion Crown Inn Dial House Duke of York Farriers Arms Fifteen Locals Foldgate George & Dragon Greyhound Kings Arms Lamb Inn Nelson public house Star Sun Inn Swan https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/378b415af60b8f24b89d2c33b3f62675.pdf a84f456c39ac28a9ecce809f75d2c4ee PDF Text Text A Hero of Crecy? Reepham is one of those parishes, mostly to be found in East Anglia, which has more than one church in its churchyard. Reepham is unique in originally having held three churches in the one churchyard. Anyone who wants to follow up the 'shared churchyard' phenomenon is referred to an unpublished thesis by Nick Groves held in the Centre of East Anglian Studies, University of East Anglia1. This article was intended to be written about the shared churchyard but the subject has been thoroughly explored by Nick Groves in recent years and anything I wrote would be largely based on his work. Reepham is unique in having not just two but three churches in one churchyard. Such sharing has led to legends about shared inheritances and sisters who did not get on but the real reason for the sharing of the churchyard by Whitwell, Hackford and Kerdiston-with-Reepham is buried in the complex development of both lay and clerical aspects of the parishes. In Reepham's case this may be even more complex as it is possible that there were other churches or chapels in one or more of the three parishes. Grove's view is that Reepham's parochial development may be unique. He suggests that the concentration of churches in one churchyard may be the result of the coalescence of four separate parishes once tenurial holdings had become splintered and intercalated. There may, of course, originally have been something very special, perhaps sacred, about the site which focused the spiritual life of the parishes in this way for so long a period of time. Another distinction which St. Mary's church, Reepham, enjoys is the presence on the north side of the chancel of a magnificent decorated Gothic box-tomb, said to be of Sir Roger de Kerdeston who died in 1337. On the floor of the chancel is the brass of his grandson, Sir William (d. 1391). But, is it the tomb of Sir Roger? The identification of the occupant of the tomb seems to have been made some time ago by Blomefield2 or Stothard3 and has been accepted in local literature ever since. Certainly, this is the generally held 1 Anyone wishing to follow up this fascinating topic is recommended to Nick Grave's unpublished thesis; Two Sisters: Two Churches which is held in the department of East Anglian Studies at UEA. 2 Blomefield, F & Parkin, C. An essay towards a topographical history of Norfolk (London: 1805) 3 Stothard,C A. The Monumental Effigies of Great Britain (London: 1817) �belief in Reepham and the information published in the church leaflets despite at least one primary source and three learned secondary sources which suggested a different occupant of the tomb. My attention was drawn to the identity of the occupant of this tomb by a chapter in Curry and Hughes' Arms, Armour and Fortifications of the Hundred Years War4. Kemp's chapter on church monuments of the time reviews the characteristics of monuments of this period and concludes that, judging by both the architectural style of the tomb and the style of armour which the effigy is wearing, the tomb is too late to be the tomb of Sir Roger. Indeed, the year of his death, 1337, was the year when Edward III fully committed himself to the first campaign of the Hundred Years War. Kemp's source for the identification of the box tomb is an article by Martindale (1989)5 which compares three tombs of similar and unique style, the knights lying uncomfortably, with arms and legs crossed, on a bed of stones. He suggests that the model for the tombs may be a classical statue in Rome which was mistakenly thought, throughout the Middle Ages, to represent Mars. Mars would have been seen as an appropriate inspiration for the tombs of heroes of the French Wars such as Sir Oliver Ingham, Seneschal of Gascony, and Sir William de Kerdeston who fought at Crecy in 1346. The third tomb in the group is at Burrough Green, Cambs. and is much more difficult to identify as it has been moved and greatly altered. The Reepham tomb is the best preserved of the three, though the Perpendicular canopy is badly damaged and the tomb is now recessed into the wall. All of these tombs, though displaying quality workmanship, had a considerable degree of painting rather than carving, much of which has now disappeared. The back panel of Sir Oliver's tomb at Ingham has been described by Stothard (1817) as still showing the remains of a hunting scene on the back panel whilst the de Kerdeston tomb still held vestiges of light blue and scarlet paint on the inside of the canopy at the time. Unfortunately, the colouring of the heraldic shields has also disappeared. Other characteristic features of the time which appear on the tomb of this hero, again comparable with features of the Ingham tomb; are the weepers along the side of the tomb chest and the angel high up in the west side, holding a shield, and the elaborate spires of the canopy, now somewhat damaged. Angels began to appear towards the end of the fourteenth century and, in this instance, the angel is intended to represent the transport of the soul of the deceased to heaven. All these monumental details date the tomb to the transitional period between the Decorated and Perpendicular Gothic periods, confirming the suggestion that this tomb is more likely to be that of the Sir William who died in 4 Kemp, B. English Church Monuments during the Period of the Hundred Years War in: Curry, A & Hughes, M (eds) Arms, Armies and Fortifications in the Hundred Years War. (Woodbridge: Boydeil Press 1994). 5 Martindale, A. The Knights and the Bed of Stones: A Learned Confusion of the Fourteenth Century , J. Brit. Arch. Assoc CXLII (1989):64-73 �1361 than the earlier Sir Roger. The final piece of evidence is documentary and much stronger. The Complete Peerage is a gold-mine for anyone wishing to trace old family histories and contains information on the de Kerdeston family for just this period. It should be pointed out that the family owned lands elsewhere, including at Claxton and others brought into the family by marriage. The entry for Sir Roger tells us that he was born circa 1273 and fought in the Scottish wars, being knighted with Edward II after a muster in Berwick (1301). In 1324 he attended the Great Council in Westminster as a Knight of the Shire for Norfolk. He acted as a Commissioner of Array, and in 1331/2 was Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk and Keeper of Norwich Castle and from 1333 was one of the custodians of the coast. (The 'Auld Alliance' was now in existence and there would be enemy ships passing between France and Scotland.) He was summoned once more to attend the King in the north and before his death appears to have been made Lord of Kerdeston. In 1337 he died and, here we have it, was buried in Langley Abbey. The Annals of Langley read as follows: Anno domini mcccxxxvii obiit dominus Rogerus de Kerdeston' miles et sepelitur in ecelesia Abbatie de Langley juxta matrem suam et ex parte australi eiusdem ecclesie. Sir William, his son, was born in 1307 and joined Edward III on both of his early campaigns in France and the Low Countries. He was present at the first battle of the Hundred Years War, the naval clash at Sluys in 1340. Two years later he joined the King's next expedition to France with 10 men-at-arms and 10 archers. In 1346 he fought as a banneret at Crecy and was present at the famous siege of Calais at which Queen Phillipa begged for the lives of the burghers of Calais. William was married three times and died in 1361 leaving no legitimate son. He had a number of children from the three marriages but, strangely, only Maud, born in 1324, was born in wedlock. Maud married John de Burghersh and from hereon the legitimate branch of the family moved to Essex. This appears to be the man who is buried in the elaborate box-tomb in Reepham church. He was certainly a hero of the wars and it appears that Norfolk would be all too aware of the war as demands to support both naval and land forces were made on the county. Norfolk churches contain a number of tombs of the leaders who fought in this early successful stage of the war when some of the battles best known in England were won. These two lords of Kerdeston would be the most likely members of their family to receive a local accolade for their services in the French and Scottish wars and the evidence for Sir William has already been explored. If we accept that the occupant of the box-tomb is Sir William, we then have to identify the knight and his wife represented on the brass in the chancel floor. It is generally accepted at present that the brass is of Sir William de Kerdeston who �inherited the Kerdeston estate from his father despite his illegitimacy. The son of Maud, another John de Burghesh, had been excluded from the Kerdeston lands by his grandfather's will because John had other lands in Essex and Lincoln and his grandfather obviously wished to provide for his other children. John's father died young and he became the King's ward. It was, perhaps, this which led the Burghesh family to continue to claim the Kerdeston lands. They were finally settled on William de Kerdeston's family in 1372. The brass, putatively dated to 1369, possibly belongs to this illegitimate Sir William. Unfortunately, the 'Complete Peerage' gives us very little on his career except for the details of the inheritance dispute which dragged on into the fifteenth century before the lands were finally settled on the de la Pole family. There is also the possibility that the brass may represent John de Burghesh who fought in France though he appears to have been buried at Hatfield Peverel in Essex. So far the evidence points to the box-tomb's occupant being Sir William (d. 1361) but whether the brass is that of the second Sir William has not yet been proven. More research is needed. The complications of inheritance through the female line and of second marriages by widows have confused the picture. The documents in the case, however, show some interesting links with well-known families (see also genealogical table). Maud's granddaughter married Thomas, son of a certain Geoffrey Chaucer. Their child, Alice, married William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk. Once the Poles retained the manor of Kerdeston, their tenant until 1498 was Sir Terry Robsart who had married an Elizabeth Kerdeston, great grandson of the Hero of Crecy. His granddaughter was Amy Robsart. Kerdeston may be a Norfolk backwater now but it was on the edge of great affairs five hundred years ago. Kate Nightingale January 1998 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Publications Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Publications Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Reepham Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 to 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed documents Box *** Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976 to 2014 Reepham Description An account of the resource Reepham Society Publications Text-digital Any text item for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The text can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a text owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Hero of Crecy? Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource January 1998 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1337 - 1498 Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1705061129 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource K Nightingale Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Verbatim CD-R (585) Digital PDF document Local History/K Nightingale [File 10] Description An account of the resource An account of the box tomb located in St Mary's Church, Reepham Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights Reserved Crecy Pre-1500 St Mary's https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/4f7550d673538954cbb417ca8e15cd98.pdf 84021371046455644dd288e95e2eedd9 PDF Text Text Poems from Reepham �2 Poems from Reepham These poems are selected from the large number of poems submitted to a poetry competition which was part of the Reepham Literature Festival in 1999. The winning poems in the various categories were widely publicised in the town. However, so many of the poems were of such high standard that it was felt that they should all see the light of day and be read by as many people as possible. The collection also forms a fitting contribution to all the events and activities of Millennium Year 2000. Included in this little book are the winning poems from all categories and many more poems from the Adult category. There were so many poems from schools in the area that we simply do not have space to publish them. Some of them were clever, charming or whimsical but, as they were read at school with their teachers and seen by others in this way, we felt justified in leaving them out of this collection. We are grateful to all the poets for their permission to print their work. There is great variety of style, imagery and content in the poems. Enjoy! 2 �3 Part 1 This first section contains all the poems that were deemed to have won their category in the 1999 Reepham Literature Festival and gives you some idea of the variety of poems contained in the book. 3 �4 Sparrowhawks Sparrowhawks are birds of Prey. Sometimes they fly And they hunt sparrows, Raid blue-tits and Rob them. Often fly high in the air Wild birds! High in the sky And in the woods, With sharp talons, long yellow legs, Kill other birds Guy Jackson Reepham County Primary School The Flower Flower like a jellyfish, Middle like bright lights. Bud like a fish swimming in the sea. Straight stem like a rocket Going up to the moon. Oscar Denyer Lyng V C Primary School 4 �5 Sleek Black Cat The cat burglar sneaks through the cat flap, She is a sleek graceful prancer. She is a wave of black light. Her eyes are Christmas lights glowing in the darkness. Her tail is a sleek black blur. She is thinking "Where shall I sleep? Where is the most comfortable spot?" Settles down and goes to sleep. In the morning she does not wake up. No sneaking through the cat flap, being graceful Her eyes are no longer glowing No black blur; no thinking. She sleeps forever Sarah Warren Reepham County Primary School 5 �6 My Dad. How would you feel if your Dad can tickle You and a few days later, he can't? When you fall over and he cuddles you And a few days later he can't? When you run and he chases you And a few days later, he can't When he picks you up from school And a little later, he can't. When he sings you songs, washes your hair, Cooks your tea, reads a story, goes snow sledging, Dances with you and swims with you And, suddenly, he can't do all these things And I know I still love him. Rebecca Vick Reepham County Primary School 6 �7 The Dove A dove is like leaves being blown around. A storm is a dove violently fluttering its wings. The wind twists and curls like the dove hunting for its food. A sleeping dove is a gentle breeze. The thumping thunder is the dove's heartbeat. The dove hops like small stones being lifted in the wind, The dove rests like a calm, shivery breeze, silent. The wind whistles like the doves' calls to one another. A baby dove is warm, like the air on a hot day. The dove sits in the tree like lingering air. The dove violently ruffles its feathers like a dying tornado. A dove looking for food is the storm hovering over the land, The dust and sand being lifted is the dove pecking and having a sand bath. A silent breeze is the dove flying through the air A dove is the wind, strong yet peaceful. A dove can be temperamental like the brewing storm. A dove flies like a fluffy white cloud in the sky, A dove is a peaceful whistling wind. Doves' eyes are the piercing winds on a cold winter morning. Katie Atkins Reepham High School 7 �8 Feelings. Blood rushing and rushing, Muscles tensing and flexing, Head racing and racing. It's amazing! Excitement, that's what it's called. Eyes gushing and gushing, Happiness fading and fading, Body slow and weakening. It's horrible. Depression, that's what it's called Heart beating and pounding, Joints slowing and freezing, Breath racing and racing. It's scary! Fear, that's what it's called. Mouth rising and falling, Face crinkling and scrunching, Tears sliding and falling. It's great. Happiness, that's what it's called Every day is exciting and thrilling. Nothing's depressing or boring, Tiring or jarring. It's wonderful. Love, that's what it's called. David Lambert Reepham High School 8 �9 Chops Look at this man chopping up the rhythm, Cutting into the song like the butcher to the bone. Hacking out the meat, throwing it to the hungry. He pulls on the sinews of the song, Tightening them to breaking point, Lets them go. Saws along the length of the bones, Splinters them into skinny chords, Plays on the hunger, Stretches out the notes to breaking point Then pounds them into chunks, Feeding them to the starving, piece by piece, To suit himself, Bit by bit. Leaves them wanting more. Kay Riggs Wood Dalling 9 �10 The Beginning My friend , lover, blue-eyed Adonis, Straight-backed and proud. Atlas, with the world of towers and tomorrows on your shoulders, Ice-cold and cruel. Your frigidity melts when I smile for your warmth. Tonight I want you, To cleave sublimity from your arms, To lie with my hair against your cheek, To drink in the sensuality of this chill April evening. I could say I love you But I would whisper those words silently, Lest my heart, full-blown with happiness, Would break into tiny slivers And pierce this solitude For I cannot spoil the feeling or closeness of this moment. Though Elysian illusion masks the reality of sight, Tonight, dream-child, you shall be my lover And, tomorrow, on the edge of our shadowland Reality awaits. Stephanie Harris Billingford 10 �11 Cow Talk Mummy cow and Baby cow were going for a walk. "Mummy cow," said Baby cow "How did you learn to talk?" "I learnt it from the milking maid when it was milking time, But, because she read me poetry, I can only speak in rhyme." Jackson Family poem The Fox Fur My eyes were wide and bright For seeing in the night. My teeth were sharp for hunting, Panting in the forest. My ears were pointed, my tail Bushy and furry. My feet were silent as the moon. Now I am old and sad, Scruffy, in a box Under the bed and forgotten. Mrs Yerby's class Reepham County Primary School. 11 �12 Part 2. Now follows a complete change of mood. The residents of Reepham have long been noted for being proud of their town! Yes, it is a town, not a village – and has had a market for seven hundred years. I think these poems tell you that we are still proud of our town. The poems were written by residents of Reepham and other villages in this part of Norfolk to express their feelings about the area in which they live. As you will see ,this is a great place in which to be at home! 12 �13 Arrival at Reepham We fled the city many years ago To seek a more congenial dwelling place, With fresher air to breathe, Where kids might learn to grow In harmony with Nature’s gentler pace. Once free of London’s manic pace, We drove by peaceful country ways Towards our promised land – the EastWhere we might quietly end our days. We gazed on hedgerows pink with ‘May’, Wondered at unknown flowers in the wayside grass. This was a paradise where we could stay “Quick! Fetch the map we will not pass!” But now the light began to fade. Our thoughts had turned to food and bed When through the trees we heard a church bell sound. “Hurrah a village welcomes us.” we said. “Perhaps we’ll make it Home.” Lov Lieberman 13 �14 Reepham: Spring Sunday Sunday at last! A curious hush Enthralls the sleeping town. Only an early morning thrush Reveille calls, with cheerful song. He has no seven-day calendar. All days alike he greets with praise, While we take Sunday to recover From six long tedious working days. But sleeping Reepham’s soon awake Resolving to make holiday. Each to himself a promise makes . . . To do his ‘thing’ in his own way. So some will potter round the home And some will read or snooze all day. Some will wait in for friends to come, But we’ll be cycling – far away. Lov Lieberman 14 �15 Reepham Rainbow town, A rich palette, When heady drowse swoons over sleepy Reepham. Azure sea of deepest blue delphiniums Breaks vividly on mouldy crisp white stone Bronze finished leaves shudder down When toadstools burst forth from rotten wood. Blue-grey bonfire smoke curls. A Russian cat Wears the berry choker of scarlet beads. Odd bleak days of monochrome, When plastic cones wear dark mourning crosses. Black clouds gather. Circling black rooks cry out Funeral songs to tear apart a white sky. Christmas light, of jewelled hue, When homemade candles wink in paper bags. Twin church windows that smoulder, hot Melting colours against the bitter cold. Leonard Spencer-Steed 15 �16 Booton Church Look there – Stop the car - ! Those towers, two rising high. Pinnacles and piers in profusion Absurd ! Look now ! From distant fields merged into one space Move and again become two, pierced by long windows Looking through to sky. Booton’s lofty one More Gothic than Gothic ! Crockets and crosses and corners embroidered. Lorna Gray 16 �17 Thoughts after seeing Reepham Brass The past is ever present here, Not that I do fear But rather wonder what the years Have seen that make it such a place With prayer folded hands content Ghosts about the house have spent Eternity in solemn thought, bent In thin clear lines of brass. The crispness of their many falling folds Have never altered place, but hold A soundless rustle as though cold With frosty nights spent staring. You armoured one hang meekly there Beside your wife, who does wear A stubborn mouth and both do glare, Hiding your thoughts from me. Lorna Gray 17 �18 Living in Reepham Run to the top of Pudding Pie Alley And stand in the Market Square Spread out before you in all of its glory, The essentials of life are all there. An unusual church, a chemist and hardware, Pianos and fridges galore, Antiques and health foods, and Johnny-come-lately, A superior Bridal store. We're provided with clock-mender, bus stop and library, Cafes and beauty shop too. The King's Arms delights us with jazz in the summer, And there's Bonhams of London to view. A stately hotel, two butchers, a fish van, And to add to all of those The. greengrocer's shop is the best-named in Norfolk, 'Meloncaulie Rose'. We arrived and were conquered by North Norfolk's beauty, Sea, country and villages, too. Mid-way between coast line and grandeur of Norwich, We really think Reepham will do! Betty H. Brooks 18 �19 Festival Here we come Round Reepham We are going to have fun. Literature and reading will be leading Churches and Schools, Multi-Arts pools! Adventure in the Bircham Centre. Music and Dance in the Kings Arms! Collections. displays. photographic ways: Gardening on the trail to Booton. Guestwick. Salle. Dorothy Hindon 19 �20 Golden Autumn An elderly lady from Corpusty No longer fetched her pension From Saxthorpe For the post office had closed. She cycled to Wood Dalling then, To the post office there. There she met old George Who was collecting his pension. And they live happily now In the old lady's cottage, Cycling together to Wood Dalling In the golden autumn of their lives. Adrian Taylor 20 �21 Weekend Walk Hat, coat, scarf round your throat, Sturdy shoes and bring the brolly; Rev the car, forget the supper Saturday's here and we must be jolly! Where shall we go to? What shall we see? Too much choice, so it's up to me. Weybourne's windy and Cromer's crabby, So Cley, just Cley - that's the place for me. Lofty church and grassy green, Smokery, Pottery oh! what a scene! Windmill, cobbles, and road to the sea, Fishermen, twitchers and birds flying free. Prawns at the pub, and the Delicatessen, Aches in the legs which take ages to lessen; Gallery, tea-room and windswept marsh; Cover your ears 'cos the wind is harsh. Cley, Cley, pie in the sky, Glinty, flinty, strange and free, Desolate, pebbly, stays in the memory, Cley's the place where I want to be. Betty H. Brooks 21 �22 Part 3 Once again a change of mood. This long section contains love poems and other poems which express emotion or are reflective in mood. 22 �23 Thoughts for the Millennium Strive not to chase the dreams that sparkle brightest, They may be those that break and fall like dust. Rather seek to peer beyond your line of vision, For joys and wealth and riches more robust. Stand still and look at all that is around you, Let not the scene distort and lose its form. Whilst climbing to the top may promise heaven, The view from lofty towers is oft forlorn. Money doesn't always bring all it may promise, It can court the most unsavoury of friends. And yachts and sprawling mansions' gold and silver, Are no comfort when the dark on us descends. You cannot buy a family or a friend, Though neither of them cost a penny piece. Yet may you be a rich man with a fortune, You're a poor man if your soul is not at peace. So invest rewards of friendship very wisely, Feast ever on the fruits of humble birth. Bank daily all that nature lays before us, And you'll be amongst the richest men on earth. Patricia Barnes. 23 �24 Of Consequence Do not mask your light to the dreams that edge reality Or feign to show your heart to vulnerability For yesterday and tomorrow could shroud today’s improbability. Yet tomorrow may never come. You were young when I caught your heart And love fell like a plump, ripe apple into my lap. I watch your smile that teases and lingers too long Before you sweep me up into your arms. Do not be cynical of my love tonight, Although you can catch the night air with your hands And hold its sharp cutting edge close to my cheek, Stinging my eyes with your touch. For there is something as intangible as fire When I hold you buried deep in my warmth. And if you can love me without cynism of thought Then we can see today, tomorrow and yesterday as one. Stephanie Harris 24 �25 December 1999 The tide has gone out of my life Leaving sharp rocks, Scattering shells like so many memories. Your sudden death froze my tears Until the day I threw your gardening gloves away And, waiting to be darned, I found your socks In my needlework box. And the tide came in and covered up the rocks And I must go on. But, however, long I stay My love for you will never go away. E K Olney 25 �26 Words I said it But how could I mean it? What prompted the words That long ago night? He said it, and meant it just then, But only just then. For on reflection I knew it never was As we saw it then. He took my words And threw them back. Back and forth, back and forth They went, those words. My words, his words, Never meant words. But words. Cooed the dove to the blackbird Sing your happy song Sang the blackbird to the dove Coo your plaintive one, my love. Elsa Munn 26 �27 Summer Love Take my hand in yours as we wander past the golden fields of high summer corn. Kiss my lips, and tell me that you do not feel forlorn; I love you more than words can say ... I love you dearly, today. Now the corn has been harvested, and from the womb of Summer, autumn is born. Today is not so warm. Burnished leaves on the ground now lay. I loved you dearly, yesterday. Philippa Wilton-Pattison. 27 �28 I ask not ... I ask not for roses, Nor diamonds, Nor pearls. I ask not for garlands To entwine In my curls. I like to see sunsets That redden the sky And dewdrops that compare With the tears in my eyes. I am restless Yet I ask for nothing more Than loving warmth And a tender look That can say so much. But as I reach out And try to touch The depths of you My heart is churned and tossed Like a wave on the sea For though you look You do not see . . . me. Philippa Wilton-Pattison 28 �29 Adams's Apple “Take the apple.” Adam said to Eve Smiling gently. The sunlight dappled golden through the leaves In that beautiful place. He held it cupped in loving hands, Eyes intent upon her face Expectant. Watching. Yet she stood still hesitant Unsure about the “commitment thing” And needing- more This wasn’t enough. He handed her the core. Diane Lambert 29 �30 The Helpline Call 'She listened and hardly spoke at all, while I ran on and on. The first time I had ever spoken of it, my words pouring like a mudslide. She listened as I released my pain, and I believe she cared, as the shame and bitterness spewed from me. She was faceless and could not see mine. The vacuum between us was my security. Her listening was my lifeboat.' Rosemary Birks 30 �31 The Piper of Dreams (based on a picture by Estella Canziani) What is that, deep in the forest? A little snatch of music Like water over sand! What is that, soft in the distance? Sweet cascading droplets Make music in my mind. I must find that music, pursue its magic spell. I need to find the player And tell him how I feel. Is it you, golden dusk, the bluebells surrounding, Wispy, floating goblins Darting here and there? Is it you, scented earth, your roots all entwining, Giving out your secrets Of an ancient alchemy? Is it you solid tree, centre of the picture? You've been there a long time, The elfin you see. Is it you early spring, with your brand new clothes on Bursting through the earth With a flourish of joy? Is it you, sky and sunshine, breaking through the branches Playing heaven’s music As I listen here? No, it's you little man, with your hobnail boots on A feather in your hat And a Robin on your toe! 31 �32 It's you tiny fellow, with a cheap penny whistle, A stanza of stardust And fairies in the air! It's you, earthling pixie, with flowers on your doorstep, A squirrel looking on And a mouse as well! You capture the song you hear in the woodland And then distil its essence Deep within your heart. It's all in the lovesong, with aching reminders Of apples in the autumn And winter in the snow. There's music in the air, with hobnail boots on, A feather in his hat And a robin on his toe. Rosemary Birks 32 �33 The Field As I walk through the swathes of shimmering corn I can feel myself reborn. The worries of life just ebb away As I walk through the fields on a summer’s day. In the autumn, there’s fresh chill in the air. Mists rise from the earth, now bare. The farmer has gathered that corn to store And all that hard work is done once more. In winter’s grip the creatures are hiding I walk on the frost, slipping and sliding, Home to a fire and thaw out my feet, To look through my window at the snow and sleet. In spring, the land wakes from its long sleeping, Buds and blossom and new life peeping. The scars of winter have all been healed. Another new miracle begins in the field. Diane Smith 33 �34 The City Dusty pigeons, Heat haze particulate, Arab voices on the Romford road, Slaves of the computer escalate to Mordor. Time rules the city, Schedules and train times, Microchips and Vodophones. The lover stumbles, his love Turned to nanoseconds. B. Somerville 34 �35 Portia Striped killer, white fanged, Gorged on the blood red carcass of A purr-loined strawberry. Frank Steed Kestrels Kestrels are birds of prey Easy to spot Soaring up high They pounce on their victims Ready to tear flesh Eat small mammals Live wild and free. D. Jackson 35 �36 Tether’s End The house at Tether's End is framed of wood Rooted in basalt. At one metre from the ground Granite walls end and serve as a base for cob, Clay and straw that could have made brick But preferred not to kill trees in the baking. The roof of slate, split with careful, skilled hands, Stretches like drip tips. Even the bats are welcome. And then the tall man came along, Rubbery lips and watery eyes, And smashed the house down. So far below him it was. A window sighed as it shivered. A door splinterd and shrieked. Quick as that, One! two! three! He built another house Of Lego bricks. Breaking bits off and twisting and pulling To fit them together. A metal stairway stretches and tips. Suddenly it has no banister And the walls have gone; It is suspended in air And only balance can support your steps. Provided that the one below is still there. Dinah Thompson 36 �37 Trees They stand erect, steadfast onlookers Of the passing years; The eyes and ears of centuries, Silent witnesses of love and war. Shyly they begin to clothe themselves To dazzle us with robes of lilac, Pink and white, prelude to Summer's verdant capes. Autumn then bedecks them With bewitching hues, Prior to costing them off To reveal their shapely limbs and torsos. Meanwhile, the evergreen In proud dissent Stays cosily clad From year start to end. Seeking comfort, some reach out To hold hands, forming canopies Of shade and secrecy From the inquisitive sun and sky. Others stand alone, guarding their solitude, Gazing down from their majestic height Upon those lesser souls Reaching upward with truncated limbs. Joyce Cox 37 �38 Rapunzel Poem inspired by a photograph of Benham's Place, Hampstead. My name's Rapunzel But I'm short-haired and fat No temptress am I One look and men fly. Trapped in this tower Bereft of all hope, My own silly fault Feel entombed in a vault. Climbed up the stairs Squeezed through the door Puffing and blowing Sweat freely flowing. Door slammed tight shut Guttering's cracked Window’s too small No hope at all! No hope of a rescue No braids to cast down No long queues to ascend Can't telephone a friend. But life's good for the figure It's stopped getting bigger Hair's growing longer And longer and stronger. My name's Rapunzel Now long-haired and slim. When I cast my hair down They can't wait to climb in. Joyce Cox 38 �39 A Quiet Corner of England Early morning, daylight begins Thro’ shuttered windows - a new day brings Perhaps some sun, perhaps some rain. Thank God each day is not the same! So rising early, my hens to feed Out they rush - no grace, just greed. I watch them search and scratch for corn Thank you God for a new day horn And so I lean upon my gate And view the world laid at my feet. How beautiful each season seems Oh, England, place of many dreams But for this moment I'll be content. My quiet reflective moment spent Now to return to make cups of tea. Just another ten minutes in bed for me! So a final word that must be said Before I rise again from bed And, gazing out upon the land, I thank you God - it looks just grand. Ruth Charville 39 �40 Anger I’ll take my spade down from the nail And dig awhile – A row and maybe back again. Another row. I’ll thrust into the tilth my mood And turn it up again Upon the blade and spread it out To worry it. Then, as I dig my spade will burn And I will cool – To breathe the air that blew my doubts away And see my labour Turn from hate to love along the row. Lorna Grey 40 �41 Seasons. When in the blustery showers the dead leaves whirl, And scudding clouds sweep clean a leaden sky, When swaying boughs bend to the west wind's will, Then lively Autumn heads for Winter's chill. When blue tits search beneath the sheltered sills, And thrushes cock their heads and stamp for worms, When raucous starlings joust for morsels rare, Then steadfast Winter yields to Spring's fond care. When snowdrops push their heads above the moss, And violets bloom beneath a shelt’ring bush. When hedgerows' leaves and blossoms poise to burst, Then lithesome Spring gives way to Summer's thirst. When weighted boughs with apples are well hung, And blackberries punctuate the hedgerows' green, When chestnuts pop out from their prickly case, Then Summer melts in Autumn's wide embrace. Anthony C Martin 41 �42 Three Short Verses Conker red against the wall, Polished by sun and rain. Layered leaves herald the Fall, First bright signs of Autumn come. *** Bib and Brace, a smile on his face A saucy twinkle in his eye. His name is Len, the stoutest of men, Fearless, bold and canny. *** A dragging brake, yet we made it, A "fag" at the end of the line. A pint of the best Then half a night's rest And tomorrow we'll start just fine. Elsa Munn 42 �43 Country Patterns. Azure blue the distant skyline, Brown, the winter trees stand high, Mingling with the fields' green furrows; High above, the plovers fly. Ugly grey and loathsome pylons Thrust their bony sinews out. 'Phone wires stretch their charcoal tendrils, Casting shadows all about. A tractor crawls into the distance, Turns to corduroy its wake. Undulating roads and hedgerows Rural patterns help to make. Rays of golden sunlight filter Through the low dark clouds' array, Showing earth's reflected glory Into which life's fancies stray. Anthony C. Martin 43 �44 Ghosts Lines written at a Village Cricket Ground, at dusk, when everyone else had left. Through the closed and dark Pavilion Shades of Cricket's past parade; Munroe, Orbel, Mead and Stillion Motion with the willow blade. Quiet now the clicking scoreboard That in the past great feats displayed. Ghostly shadows pace the greensward Though they know the game is played. Glories of the past recaptured, Failures now must play no part, For the noble game is chaptered By exponents of the art. Though the ball is but a vision And the stumps are just a wraith, Leather, willow make collision, Calls, appeals, just acts of faith. Once cheered 'Greats' pass into shadow, Days of cheer return no more, Moonbeams flit across the meadow, Life is gone - Death's turn to score. Anthony C Martin 44 �45 Ode to a Birthday What does it mean? This feverish mood That brings joy And anticipation? Perhaps it’s someone’s birthday. Two thousand years is a long time With troubles and trials, Good times and bad. But everyone’s smiling, friendly and glad. It has to be someone’s birthday. The flags are flying, Bad times behind us, Friendships mended, Quarrels forgotten. It must be someone’s birthday. Bells are ringing, children singing, Everyone’s having fun. But the reason is clear At the end of this year It’s a very special birthday! Olive Curtis 45 �46 Part 4 The poems in this section could be described as humourous , or perhaps whimsical would be more appropriate for some of them. 46 �47 Puddles Splish! Splash! Splosh! Puddles are fun. Puddles come on rainy days, Puddles vanish in the sun. Splash! Splosh! Splish! Puddles are nice. Puddles can be very cold, Puddles can be ice. Splosh! Splish! Splash! Puddles are great. Puddles are for jumping in, Puddles saturate. Splish! Splash! Splosh! Puddles are fun. Puddles come on rainy days, Puddles vanish in the sun. Grania Ward- Brown 47 �48 Car Boot Sale What rubbish some stalls offer! And you wonder how they dare Offer their goods as fare. But, on the other hand, Such bargains can be found When touts don’t understand The value of goods at hand. A tape measure is surely a must, Otherwise you have to trust And, often, when at home, The goods tried on make you moan. Furniture is my forte And hunted high and low for. Makes you wonder how big Some car boots are. On a good day I understand it’s so worthwhile To clear the cupboards and pitch for a while. When rain comes visiting, such drudgery, it seems, Can’t make up for all the schemes. Sylvia Bailey 48 �49 The Gospel according to . . . Hello, Doris. This is Ella. Have you heard about the fella Going out with Joan? So I hear. Between you and me, my biggest fear Is that Brian will find out very soon And that will certainly be his ruin. Although the story goes he’s seeing Jane. I find that woman such a pain! Keep it to yourself. Now I’ve got to go! I don’t like to gossip, as well you know! But I’m going to Pam’s. I’m in such a rush. She’s drinking again. She’s such a lush! Her daughter’s pregnant, no surprise! Just looks at a man with those limpid eyes. She told me in confidence, so don’t repeat it! The father’s supposedly Colin. He’s never been fit. I must go now! I’ll see you soon. Keep this quiet. I know I can rely on you. Hello, Elizabeth. Doris here . . . B D Barker. 49 �50 Hair’s our Work At 9 o’clock our work begins, our column full of sets and trims As ladies arrive we greet them with smiles, give them a seat and show them some styles We’ve washed their hair with plenty of bubbles, we fetched them a coffee and help with their troubles. In front of the mirror at our work station, with scissors in hand we start our creation. Whilst chatting and trimming, rolling and pinning. Broad smile on her face - we know we are winning! After finishing their looks with gel, wax and spray, our ladies then are Happy” to pay. As one lady says “Bye” another comes in. We give her A seat and start over again. Clare Hannant & Karen Davies 50 �51 Apathy I'm Ms Apathy, I don't care, Said quite glibly and without flare. I'm not involved in any way "Disconnected" some might say. When asked to help - I disappear, That isn't really quite my sphere! I really do not want to know If I could help a project grow. I have no feelings, I just don't care, About my face, my shape, my hair. Men look at me - they don’t ignite, And I, quite frankly, don t excite. Stock markets up or stock markets down, Will cause me neither smile nor frown. Conservatives in and Labour out... Or p'r'aps the other way about. I have no convictions to bother me, I think you'd call that apathy! Grania Ward Brown 51 �52 Friends Harry is a little boy Who's got a special friend, Someone who makes life a joy On whom he can depend. A friend who's always faithful, A friend who's always sure, A friend who's always truthful, A friend who will endure. A friend who's always loving, A friend who's always there, A friend who's understanding. The friend's his teddy bear. Teddy takes him hand in paw, Says "That's what teddy bears are for". Grania Ward Brown 52 �53 Questions from my son, aged 6. "Why are things different, Mum, and why are they the same? Why do fish swim in water, and why aren't tigers tame? Why is Laa Laa yellow and why is Postman Pat called Pat? Why do we live in Reepham, why can't we have a cat? Why do people grow older, why don't they grow young? Why is earth a planet and why have I a tongue? Why aren't dinosaurs mammals and why are they all dead? Why are flowers called flowers?"… …"BECAUSE THEY ARE!" I said. Wendy Jackson 53 �54 The Foxglove Pink Petals like a trumpet hanging their heads, The inside spotty like lots of little bubbles. Petals getting bigger like a child growing up. The stalk as tall as a beanstalk. Leaves blowing gently in the wind, With holes … Caterpillars lunch? by Mrs Tebbutt's and Mrs Crisp's class Lyng V.C Primary School 54 �55 Part 5 We are going to end this collection of poems with a group of much harder edged poems. Many, but not all , are poems about war and the effects of war. 55 �56 Easter Chair. It's sweet and sturdy, of good elm or beech, a model for us all, humble, strong in shape, well made, a hard place for a chapel or school, for creaking and polished floors, the syllabus in the cupboard and prayers. Underneath the seat is an iron clamp, through which was passed a wooden bar, from chair to chair, holding them all rigid. In this way the teacher or priest would be sure that no-one could move out of alignment, shuffle forward, join another row, or to put it another way, that all seated were safe, in the same place at the end as at the beginning, of hymns, lessons, pictures of a grown-up world. Here people live for ever, sitting up straght, until they die, passing away, fading like bromide prints into the afterlife; except for soldiers, who fall, rolling into holes from which they climb, at ease together, when the bugle blows. It's a monument to our lives, this straight backed chair, like shiny shoes or long Remembrance Sundays, poppies. Give this chair wings to match the look in your eyes, reclaim this chair, cover it with cloth, repair the back and, sink or swim, it will always know who it is, each little bar, each little bone. Ian Starsmore. 56 �57 A Shed at Night. Red clay tiles undulate along the roof, the walls bulge from the plumbline leaning into the shape of a prow. The doorway of square cut wood is stained and phosphorescent, the posts rotting at the base as though washed by the sea every day, each time the tide leaving more colour, transmuting timber into blue-green. Nearby, protruding wires and bolts, there are some parts of an old car, headlamps, a bonnet, a running board, worn red leather seats. I sit down; feet on the engine, watch its oil still spreading on the floor. There's a dashboard, wood veneer, outlined in cream, a radio. Idly I turn the knob, travel the dial and hear silence. Against the end wall are drainpipes of odd sizes like telescopes of different focal lengths, or containers of small black holes; and next to them, stacks of glass, smoky as dusk in the sky or photographic plates of the movement of stars. Their bright dark leaks into the oil and lies in pools of night on the floor and on the ceiling, where it leaks again to outside, into gaps in the lathes and plaster, creeping between the tiles where the ivy pushes through, seaping and rising, becoming the Great Bear or Andromeda, infinity. A new moon leans in the corner, a crack or tear 57 �58 at edge of the wall, pouring light on old newspapers, on pictures of walking figures in bright and ragged clothes, their stories once important, as they pass each other on the pavement, high on the bridge between here and there, above and below, then and now. When I leave, from somewhere across the garden comes a trace of song, and the curling sound weaves like the wind through the holes in the door, follows me as I walk back up the path to the house. Ian Starsmore. 58 �59 Making it Back As we stood , shivering, sweating, full of fight, All the men thinking will we make it back tonight, The sergeant stands behind us, all big and bold, Pistol at the ready in case we fold. The whistle shrieks out like a bird in the night. As we climb the ladders; enemy star Shooting , putting up light Running faster, faster. Men going down both left and right. BANG! As the bullet hit me, I fell screaming to the ground. The men with stretchers came all night. One patted me on the shoulder And said “You’ll be allright.” Ernest Adams 59 �60 The Blitz We sat there through the raid that night, and the Warden cried "Put Out That Light!" The ack ack guns sounded long and loud, But can they really hit Jerry in the cloud? Searchlights criss crossed in the sky, And I heard my young brother start to cry. The bombs came screaming, whistling to the ground. Will we ever forget that awful deafening sound, The sound of horror, the sight of death? We witnessed devastation and held our breath, And as we ran to the shelter weary and tired, Without shame, we admitted we were petrified. To us it all began to seem, that to sleep in a bed Was a bygone dream, For we woke each day feeling tired and sore, After trying to sleep on the shelter floor. Then at last the war came to an end, But we'll continue to pray there'll be no more fighting, No more dying, and no more broken hearts to mend. Instead we'll pray to our dear Lord above, To teach us to keep the peace. Spread our friendship and everlasting love. If the whole world prayed together With all their heart and soul, For peace to reign forever, We may achieve this priceless goal. Pat Harrison 60 �61 A Kosovan Mother. It is the mud That I shall remember. Not the sound of my child Screaming with terror of the unimagined; Not the cold, naked fear in the eyes of my man As he was led away with the rest; Not the cold haunted slit of the mouth Of the young lad with the gun. I may forget the stench of the smoke As my neat home went up in flames; And the jerky, rumbling journey, And the sting of the wind and the silent travellers When dignity and self respect were lost. All this will pass into visiting dreams. But what I will remember is the mud And the hope that was lost; The hope that was buried in the stinking mud That greeted us as we arrived in Macedonia. And some of these are Christians too. Sue Page 61 �62 Geography Lesson. The war was fought inside these heads. Here, propaganda slithered in beside them, figments murdering them in their beds and, safe above the heads, practised planes and plans, far above the heads in which they fought this war and the sounds from them became normal. I recall a pilot, you could see his face, looking from his visor at me digging, in the garden digging, where I found the head of Miss Pepper, ceramic, dimpled, bodyless. Over there are those other heads, faces caught on trees, blown into the ruts of fields, like Miss Pepper, but softer, jawless, and the war was fought inside these heads. Ian Starsmore 62 �63 Business as usual in Dubrovnik (on seeing a photo of Dubrovnik taken in 1993) The Foreign Office travel advice states Croatia is safe; Dubrovnik is not Belgrade. Its people walk in sunshine down crowded marbled streets, stand in doorways, dawdle under shades or stride with purpose home to families and friends, pursuing Wednesday's journey along narrow-gauge gutters, down pavement platforms, moving like shoe-shod engines running on familiar tracks, neither loving nor hating their neighbours. The tenements grand, square-shouldered, wear Greco-Roman smiles, hang round doorways, hover over arches and climb up three flights to pantiled dormered rooves, un-telling Thursday's story of bomb-blast smithered doorways and blasted-open shutters, the spoil of ethnic cleansing, mothers' sons and daughters, smashed or violated, men hating their neighbours. Dubrovnik is not involved in the Kosovon conflict Dubrovnik is not Belgrade -- today. Terry Phillips 63 �64 Author Index Ernest Adams Katie Atkins Sylvia Bailey B. D. Barker Patricia Barnes Rosemary Birks Betty H. Brooks Ruth Charville Joyse Cox Olive Curtis Karen Davies Oscar Denyer Lorna Gray Clare Hannant Pat Harrison Stephanie Harris Dorothy Hindon Guy Jackson D. Jackson Wendy Jackson Jackson Family David Lambert Diane Lambert Lov Lieberman Anthony C. Martin Elsa Munn E. K. Olney Sue Page Terry Phillips Kay Riggs Diane Smith B. Somerville Leonard Spencer-Steed Frank Steed Ian Starsmore Adrien Taylor Mrs. Tebbett’s & Mrs. Crisp’s class Dinah Thompson Rebecca Vick Grania Ward-Brown Sarah Warren Philipa Wilton-Pattison Mrs. Yerby’s class 64 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Publications Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Publications Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Reepham Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 to 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed documents Box *** Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976 to 2014 Reepham Description An account of the resource Reepham Society Publications Text - printed Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Poems from Reepham Description An account of the resource These poems are selected from a large number of poems submitted to a poetry competition which was part of the Reepham Literature Festival in 1999 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1999 Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1707191608 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Reepham Society Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A5 booklet Reepham Society Literature Festival 1999 [File 15, Archive Box 115] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Publications Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Some of these poems have already been published elsewhere, The authors, who have retained copyright, have given us permission to reproduce them here. 1999 Adams Barker Barnes Cox Crisp Curtis Gray Hannant Harrison Lambert Page poem Smith Taylor Thompson https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/bfe0a8c46b1405c60e08815c773a7962.pdf 3d76faaca5ee4c1b4b5d2efe608303e8 PDF Text Text �������������������������������� https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/f506f7e078c91f52398264bae3da016e.pdf 613918267d00c9c8d51294fa5abc4d20 PDF Text Text Reepham Society Magazine Millennium Edition April 2001 �SJP J SOLICITORS Hunstanton & Guestwick DIVORCE WILLS LANDLORD AND TENANT ( PRIVATE OR BUSINESS ) COMMERCIAL LEASE PROBATE EMPLOYMENT CO-HABITATION CONVEYANCING PERSONAL INJURY DEBT CIVIL LITIGATION Legal Services Commission Franchised Firm So Public Funding may be axmilable FREE HALF HOUR Office Hours Tel. 01485 532662 After 5.30pm Fax 01485 534802 T el 01362 68423 I IL T LB a m Residential Care Home, Church Lane, Sparham, Norfolk T el. 01362 688702 email: ronny.hillbarn@virgin.net Hill Barn is an attractive family-run H om e for the elderly, offering an informal and homely atmosphere. It stands in attractively landscaped gardens with open views across the countryside. The proprietors have over 20 years experience in elderly care, and with their daughter Nicola Bryant, RGN, Dip M CS and a team o f highlydedicated and N V Q trained staff provide 24 hour care tailored to the needs o f the individual. Various hobbies are catered for and a wide range o f entertainment is regularly offered. There is also a visiting hairdresser, chiropodist, optician, mobile library and shop. All meals are home-cooked and special diets are catered for. The H om e has held a G ood Food Hygiene Award from Breckland Council since 1997. All rooms have call bells and TV points. Accommodation is ground floor with mainly en-suite facilities. For further information or to arrange to visit the H om e please contact the proprietor Mrs. Ronny Hawtrey-Eastwood or the manager Mrs. Bryant at the above address. �Contents Editorial Editorial 3 Why Reepham? 4 Public Access and Right of Way Tony Ivins on Whitwell 6 9 Hackford through the Last Millennium Childhood memories of Reepham A Thousand Years of Salle 13 20 22 Reepham Personalities and Institutions 26 The Reepham Society is established for the public benefit in the area comprising Reepham, Hackford, Whitwell, Kerdiston, Salle and Booton. The aims of the Society are: 1. To stimulate public interest in the area. 2. To promote high standards of planning and architecture in the area 3. To secure the protection, preservation, development and improvement of features of historical or public interest in the area Front coven Jolyon Booth, Chairman of the Parish Council, with the competent help of the local Fire Brigade, erecting the banner advertising Celebration 2000 which marked the turn of the Millennium in January 2000. Typeset by CRB Associates, Reepham Printed by Norwich Colour Print, Drayton We have to mark the Millennium Year in some way. The Reepham Society nearly let it pass but, seizing on the fact that arguments have been made for both 2000 and 2001 as the definitive Millennium Year, we have just about squeaked in with a Millennium Edition of the Magazine. Not before time, did I hear someone say? Well, it is true that the last magazine went to print in ... well, quite a time ago. As a result we do have quite a lot of material to draw on. To mark the Millennium, we want to look back at the history of Reepham and our group of parishes. We have included articles on the history of Reepham, Whitwell and Hackford because that is what this magazine has always focused on but we also thought it appropriate to celebrate some of the well-known people who have contributed so much to the work of the Society and to the community. We had intended to bring out new publications and hold a History Exhibition to mark the Millennium in 2000 but the renovations carried out on St. Michael's and St. Mary's churches made that impractical. Doesn't the tower of St. Michael's look splendid after its renovation? The work on St. Mary's is mostly internal so do go inside and take a look. There is more to come. However, we have decided to bestride the two Millennium years by publishing this maga­ zine and another book, Poems from Reepham and by holding the History Exhibition in May 2001. A preview for Reepham Society members will be held on May 10th, and the exhibi­ tion will be open to the public on May 11th, 12th and 13th. You may even have bought your copy of this magazine there. If you have not heard of Poems from Reepham, let me tell you that this is a charming collection of poems entered by local people for the Reepham Literature Festival in 1999. They were too good not to have a larger readership than the six judges of the competition so the Reepham Society has published them - with an ISBN number so that a copy will be retained in the British Library and Reepham will have made one more permanent mark on British history! 'Poems' is on sale in Very Nice Things and Echo Antiques. The Reepham Society is not, however, solely concerned with the past. We are a member of the Norfolk Society (CPRE), we have links with other Amenity Societies in the county and we are also consulted on planning for our area. This is a time of great and rapid change so we must look forward as well as back. Within the limits of our constitu­ tion we in the Society are concerned with preserving, protecting, improving and developing features of historical and public interest in our area. We have already embarked on the promotion of environmental awareness in relation to safe and effective waste disposal. These issues affect all of us at a time when we can no longer go on ignoring our individual responsibility for keeping our increasingly crowded planet a safe place in which to live and bring up children. What better time to look forward constructively than during the first year of a new millennium. Oh, in case you were wondering what Reepham did to mark the Millennium, we should remind you that Celebration 2000 was held in St. Mary's in January 2000. This was a really effective event in which over 200 children and a smaller number of grow-ups joined together to look back at the last 2000 years - not to mention parents and others from the town who formed their audience on three occasions. This was a very moving event and drew people together in a very appropriate way. �Why Reepham? Wesley Piercy One of the older and better known Reepham residents is Wesley Piercy. Now in his eighties, he has lived all his life in Reepham and has always taken an intense interest in the history of the town. He completed the local history course run here by Chris Barringer in the 1970s and', later, went on to receive an Open University degree. Whilst completing his history course he wrote this speculation on the origins of Reepham. Why does Reepham stand where it does? Why is it so different from the surrounding parishes? Perhaps most puzzling of all, why did its churchyard contain three churches, now reduced by fire to two. Read on if you want to know some very believable theories of the origins of this town. 'Reepham is a small market town which extends into four parishes'. So says the White's Norfolk Directory of 1845. Why these four parishes, Reepham St. Mary, Kerdiston, Hackford and Whitwell, should collectively be known as Reepham when Reepham St. Mary is the smallest and least important is a puzzle. People are puzzled, too, by the fact that three of these parishes had churches in the same churchyard, which is said to be unique. This paper is an attempt to give possible answers to some of these questions. If one looks at the district, either on a map or on the ground, the four parishes, with the addition of Salle, form a compact whole with boundaries following streams for most of the way. Salle has to be included as the boundary with Reepham is so complicated that it seems that they must originally have been one. It seems possible that these parishes formed one large pre-Conquest estate. This, I Reproduction drawing of All Saints Church, Hackford m ade in 1784 before most o f the ruins were pulled down. All that now remains is a fragment of one wall. suggest, would have been called Reepham. The AngloSaxon 'ham' ending is generally thought to be earlier than 'ton' and other suffixes. The question then arises as to where the original settle­ ment was likely to have been. This, I suggest, was somewhere in the vicinity of the market-place and churches. If we try to put ourselves in the minds of a party of immigrant farmers looking for a place to settle, this area seems to be the one they would be most likely to pick for the following reasons: 1. 2. 3. It is high enough and far enough from the River Eyn (Booton Beck) to be in no danger of flooding and yet is not so exposed to the wind as other parts of the parish. With an underground stream running through, it is easy to sink wells to give an adequate water supply, wells being the only water supply until very recently. The soil in this area is a good medium loam, easily worked and well drained, with a sandy sub-soil under much of it, whereas much of the outer area is stiff clay. A good deal of this land was grazing land and was not ploughed until very recent times. It can only be surmised where these early settlers came horn. Had they come directly from the continent or from a previously settled part of Norfolk? If the former is correct, it is possible that they landed at Caister-by-Yarmouth and followed the Roman road that led inland from Caister and crossed the Eyn at some point in the Reepham area before continuing on towards Bawdeswell. If this was so, they would have passed through many miles of heath and woodland with very poor soil. The same applies if they came from the Norwich direction where much of the ground between Norwich and Reepham grew nothing but bracken until a few years ago. For people approaching from either of these directions, the fertile valley of the River Eyn would have appeared very attractive. If, as we suppose, Reepham was an early Anglo-Saxon settlement, the original inhabitants would have been pagans. Though no pagan cemetery has been found, it seems possible that the present churches stand on what was originally a site of pagan worship.1 This we can only surmise but the site does appear to be very old if the height of the churchyard, several feet above the roadway, is anything to go by. It is a fact that when sewer pipes were laid in Church Street a great many human bones, appar­ ently very old and crumbling, were dug up. This seems to indicate that the original churchyard was much larger than now and that the churchyard was originally on the level of the street. If this is so, it may be supposed that the early burial ground must have been associated with a church. That would mean that there was a church on the site at a very early period, any remains of which would be many feet below the present churches. Who knows wrhat might be found if they could be excavated. The floor levels of the existing churches, being only a little below the level of the churchyard, seem to indicate that the churchyard was a considerable height above the street level even in the fourteenth century. These must be indicators of a very ancient site.2 1 With the development of metal detectors and increasing interest in historical research, further evidence is slowly emerging of early settle­ ments in and around the Reepham area. [Ed.] 2 It is interesting to note also that instead of stepping up into the chancel of St. Mary’ s there is a step down to a lower level. Was this the original site of a church? �This was the opinion of the late Rev. H.G.B. Follard, Rector of Bawdeswell and Foxley, who had studied Norfolk churches for many years. A similar situation was discovered at Bawdeswell during the building of the present church there. The previous church was destroyed during the last war when an aeroplane crashed onto it. Under the founda­ tions of the old church were found the base of a Norman tower of flint and the foundations of the body of the church which was apparently built of timber or wattle and daub. There would have been plenty of timber available which, being less durable than flint, may explain why so few Saxon churches remain in Norfolk. The first church in Reepham, then, was probably also of timber and not replaced until, perhaps, the thirteenth century. This docs not, however, explain why there came to be three medieval churches in one churchyard. If, as was suggested above, Reepham was a large Anglo-Saxon estate consisting of the four parishes of present-day Reepham and Salle, and the original settlement was in the present church and market area, it is possible that the other parishes were off-shoots of Reepham. This may explain why four or five parishes are still collectively known as Reepham. Reepham itself was known as Reepham St. Mary with Kerdiston. If these names came into general use for the separate manors, as in similar cases elsewhere in the county, it would be simpler to explain why they are still, and apparently always have been, called Reepham. Salle, of course, is not called Reepham. If, as suggested, it was part of an original large estate, it may have become a separate parish with its own church at an early date. Hackford and Whitwell, which could have become Reepham All Saints and Reepham St. Michael's, but did not, evidently take their names from topographical features. In the case of Hackford (the ford at the bend), it must be from the ford in Hackford Vale where the bridge now is. This is also the only ford in Hackford. It may seem logical to suppose, then, that this was the original settle­ ment in Hackford. There is another small hamlet in Hackford which is known as Pettywell, another name from a physical feature. This is probably a later date than Hackford, otherwise this could have been the name for the parish.3 However, Hackford extends into the town itself and includes the whole of the Market Place which must have been part of the original settlement of Reepham. There do seem to be some good grounds for assuming that these settlements were extensions of Reepham by people seeking new land as the population grew.4 For Whitwell, the details are rather similar to Hackford. It joins Reepham and Hackford near the churches. The parish boundaries have been arranged so that they meet at a point in the churchyard with each church standing in its own parish. The former Duke of York public house is said to stand in all three parishes. Bar Lane, the former Gracious Street, leads from the church into Whitwell parish. Whitwell Street could be the original Whitwell settlement but a more likely spot seems to be near Whitwell Hall where excavations have revealed traces of an ancient settlement. There is another group of houses on Whitwell Common and the White House, though now showing a Georgian facade, has been identified as on the site of an older manor house. Another small settlement on the outskirts of the parish, Jordan's Green, was probably fairly late as it has grown up on very stiff clay. Kerdiston appears to have had twTo centres, one connected with the 'Giant's Moat' near the Old Hall and one with Kerdiston House, a farmhouse now demolished at View across the moat into the Kerdiston m oated site known locally as the Giant's Moat. The m oat itself is now surrounded by trees, but the remains o f an old well can be seen inside the moat. the other end of the parish. The population was, appar­ ently, never very large and there wfas never a public house or shop, though there w'as a blacksmith within the last fifty years and, formerly, a brick and tile works. Much of the parish, it seems was wooded until fairly late. The last remnant of ancient forest, the 26 acres of Haw Wood, wfas only cleared and ploughed after the Second World War. Much of Kerdiston is also heavy clay and a good proportion of the present arable was grazing ground until the 1940s. The question remains, why three churches? And stranger, why are they all in the same churchyard? The old story of three warring sisters is nothing but a legend though it may contain a grain of truth. It is natural, when the original manor split, that each lord should wish to have a church on his manor or estate. Unless some pre-Conquest docu­ mentary evidence turns up we shall never know the truth. If, as seems likely, there was already a church on what may have been an ancient sacred site, what can be more likely than that all the daughter settlements should wish to worship on the same site as their forefathers, and be buried there, leaving us with the puzzle of our three churches. 3 Apparently the original name was Petter's Well which seems to include a name, perhaps of the owner. 4 We should not forget, however, that there is also a suggestion that Reepham Moor was the site of the original settlement which could offer another explanation for the development of the town. 5 �Public Access and Right o f Way Kate Nightingale Reepham has many footpaths and lokes in the centre of the town which are public rights of way. There are also many other footpaths and green lanes around the town which have been there; as they say; 'for time out of mind'. Having a public right of way on your doorstep makes you wonder what the phrase; Tight of way' actually means. It also gives you some insight into why some landowners should be so keen to resist the use of rights of way by the general public! After all, the general public does include some people you might prefer not to walk over, through or along the side of your property for a number of reasons. Having started this article; I was going to wait until the new Access to the Countryside Bill had passed through Parliament but, having waited some months, I decided that we could not afford to hold back a new edition of the Reepham Society Magazine any longer. As a result I must remind readers that some legal details on access and rights of way may have changed by the time they read this article. What is a right of way? It is one of those phrases which people use freely without really understanding what it means. When rights of way were first granted, they were granted by owners of land to others in their own local community who wished to cross their land, perhaps to access their own land or to work in the fields. They knew the people who would use this access, personally, and both the community' and the landowner, however large or small their holdings, respected each others' rights. Respecting others' rights was taken for granted in a small community where everyone knew everyone else. After all, living in community depends on mutual give and take. In our modern world, as communities grow in size, we do not all know each other. Different groups have different values and aspirations. It is much easier to infringe other's rights and liberties if you do not know them or have some lack of respect for those who belong to different social groups or are in a different age group from yourself, even if you do not mean to do so. There is also a tendency, in these days of consumerism, to put more emphasis on rights and rather less on those responsibilities which are the other face of rights. One reason that there has always been such contention over access and right of way over open land is due lo the fact that the public right of 'way' across land and the rights of those who own the land on and around a road or path are not the same. You can only expect your right of way to be respected if you act responsibly in respecting the rights of the owner or owners of land and property around the road. Some people will know of the celebrated case in the 1930s when the Manchester Ramblers made a mass trespass onto the grouse moors of the Duke of Devonshire in Derbyshire. Seventy years later, a modus viveruli has been worked out between those wishing for access to beautiful areas of countryside and large landowners. Not least was the initiat­ ive of the National Trust in buying up large areas of land to allow public access. However, we should remember that it is the preservation of moors and coverts for game by landowners which has preserved much of the countryside now available for access by the public. It seems only fair, in the circumstances, to respect the landowners' rights to close areas when needed to prevent disturbance to game or stock. It is this care and seclusion which keeps the land un­ disturbed for other wildlife and, we have to admit, not all members of the public exercise their responsibilities effectively. At the other end of the scale we could consider those rights of way in a small market town such as Reepham. Those who live on lokes and narrow paths and roads are all too aware of how intrusive the passage of others can be. People passing late at night, despite the lack of street lighting, chat loudly under bedroom windows. (You would be amazed at what can be overheard!) We will not embar­ rass them by recounting some o f the late-night activities or describing the debris left behind. During the day people look over fences into gardens; a young man stops to smoke an illicit cigarette whose smoke drifts into garden or sitting room, passing dogs make resident dogs bark or leave less pleasant evidence of their passing! Others sometimes park blocking the road, usually when a resident is late for an appointment or when there are several cars behind as you want to drive in. In this context It is also apprupiiate to mention the new European legislation on Human Rights which states that a person has the right to 'peaceful enjoyment of his personal property'. That would also include noise being created outside someone's property on any right of way, including a metalled road. This can include thoughtless noise and litter created by children who often have no idea of how disruptive to others their play can be. All of this makes you have some sympathy with farmers and landowners who discourage walkers from using rights of way on their land, especially when a path goes right across a growing crop. Is it too much of a disadvantage to walk round the edge of the field? It is far more difficult for the farmer to keep that path clear when he is sowing the crop. He did not cover the path with malice aforethought and the law makes allowances for this as the farmer does have a duty to indicate and clear the course of a right of way, even if it does go across the middle of a field. I, for one, can never understand why anyone wants to walk across the middle of a field with a standing crop just because there is an old right of way there. Why wilfully damage a crop? And if you are looking for interesting wildlife it is going to be in the hedge, not in the middle of the field. Another aspect of this issue is that of 'common rights'. Until very recently, land always belonged to somebody, ultimately, of course, to the Crown. In feudal times anyone who owmed land held it of someone else. Although the feudal system and its associated communal agriculture was replaced by money rents for tenancies and personal ownership of farms and land, the question of common land and rights of access has taken much longer to resolve. In the manorial system common rights did not mean that common land was open to all and sundry. A common belonged to the 'commoners', a group of specific­ ally designated people who held specific rights, in common, to a piece of ground. Those rights of access w'ere for prescribed purposes which may originally have been to graze beasts, gather kindling, dig turves and so on. The 'fen tigers' were particularly notorious for their riotous defence of their common rights when Charles I enclosed and sold off tracts of the Fens to outside landlords. This led to drainage and loss of their common rights on that fenland. �Commons were the last flicker of the age-old style of communal farming and were retained for the very purpose of ensuring that villagers did retain a place to graze their beasts and to gather wood for their fires. In this area they comprised the heathland and marshy land along the streams. Much common land has, of course, been sold off or enclosed. By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries some comm on land became 'poor allotments', which were used either directly or indirectly to provide for the poor, and other commons have been opened to public access by a variety of means. During the last two hundred years the concept of a common has changed and commons have been defined under a series of parliamentary acts. The Commons Registration Act 1965 defined a common as follows: over our countryside. The Countryside Access Charter defines both rights and responsibilities in relation to rights of way: Countryside Access Charter 1. You have a right of way on: a] footpaths - on foot only b] bridleways - on foot, horseback and pedal cycle c] byways - on public roads designated as byways (see also below). NB. Public rights of way are marked as such on Ordnance Survey maps. Public rights of way have been closed in the past around reservoirs or if land was sold to the Forestry Commission though many of these paths are now being opened up again. Land which has been allotted under any Act for the exercise or recreation of inhabitants of any locality or on which the inhabitants ... have a customary right to indulge in lawful sports or pastimes ... or have indulged for not less than twenty years.5 This demonstrates very clearly how attitudes to and ideas about common land have changed since enclosure of c o m m o n s and the d e m i s e of communal farming practices. The only registered common in the Reepham area is Whitwell Low Common though there are other remnants of former common land indicated on old maps. Since 1981 Public Rights of Way in the County of Norfolk, as elsewhere, have been defined under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Any changes had to be obtained under a Modification Order from the surveying authority, the County Council. This involved taking evidence that included a description of the path or road and local state­ ments of the traditional use of the right of way before the Modification Order could be confirmed, published and marked on the map. Local authorities have a duty to protect rights of way and must record them. They also hold a register of commons and village greens. It is to them that you should report any problems. In the 1990s, 'green' elements in the population have been much more insistent on the rights of access to the countryside for all. At time of writing (March 2001) the new Act confirming unlimited access rights to specified areas of open land is to become law. My own feeling is that there is already considerable access to open country and to extend this will mean disturbing land which not only needs to be undisturbed for farming but to protect the way of life of the animals and plants which live there. One aspect of unlimited access that is only now becoming clear is that farmers and landowners will have the right to close areas temporarily if necessary and that areas with unlimited access will be mapped. The Act will not be effective until the maps are complete and this could take one or two years However, in 1992, the Countryside Commission published the Countryside Access Charter which defined rights of way but also gave information on the respons­ ibilities of those making use of rights of way over land belonging to others. This is particularly relevant for town dwellers (and some country dwellers) who may have limited understanding of the disturbances, not only to farmland and farm animals but to wildlife, from the irresponsible exercise of any rights to roam uncontrolled 5 I am indebted to Sara Birtles for the information on comm ons in 'The impact of commons registration: a Norfolk study', 'Landscape History and 'Common land, poor relief and enclosure'. Past & Present, No. 165. November 1999. On a Right of Way you are allowed to: a] take a pram or pushchair or wheelchair (if practicable) b] take a dog on a lead or under close control (this means within ten feet of you) c] circumvent or remove an obstacle sufficiently to allow you to pass. 2. You have a right for recreation on: a] public parks and open spaces - on foot! b] most commons near older towns and cities - on foot, sometimes on horseback c] private land if the owner has a formal agreement with the local authority. 3. Some areas are open to the public by custom or consent. a| open mountain, tell or moorland and coastline. (Much of this belongs to the National Trust whose aim was to open the countryside for general recrea­ tional and aesthetic use, especially to town dwellers.) b] most commons c] some woods and forests (This includes those owned by the Forestry Com ­ mission.) d] country parks and picnic sites e] most beaches f] towpaths on canals and rivers. In addition: • Land being rested from agricultural use may be tempor­ arily open to public access - notices will display the fact. This may include use by horses and pedal cycles. • Some private tracks and paths may be opened to the public by the owner on a concessionary basis. This means you can use the footpath as normal but that the owner is reserving his rights to close the footpath, usually in response to some abuse by users. We have to remember that it is those who live and who have lived in and used the countryside who maintain it. It is they who have made the English landscape the beautiful place it is. This is not a natural, totally unspoiled environ­ ment. It is because it has been managed and developed over centuries by farmers and other landowners, great and small, that the countryside is as we see it today. If it is made uneconomic for them to continue their way of life, the land will lapse back, not to its previous state, but to over­ grown scrub. Without our protection and sympathetic use of our rights of access to our fragile countryside it will be �irrevocably damaged. This is a particular risk at a time such as this when farming is depressed and there is little money to spare for conservation, even as more and more people come into the countryside. You should always remember that the OS map that you are using could be out of date. Surveys are only done at lengthy intervals and reprints have, in the past, been based on surveys which could have been carried out some time previously. In this age of IT the whole process is being speeded up and the national map is available on-line. This allows the sale of up-to-date maps through authorised agents. These maps can be centred on your own home or other specified site and you obviously have to pay the agent to cover the copyright fee. Needless to say, Norfolk has been one of the last areas to be computerised in this wav. Further information about rights of way and countryside access can be obtained from: Countryside Commission Postal Sales PO Box 124 Wa Igrave, Northampton, NN6 9TL For a Rights of Way Action Pack (CCP 375P) please contact: Countryside Commission Publications Printworks Lane Levenshulme. Manchester M l 9 3IP The Country Code In return for your right to enter or cross someone else's land you have responsibilities that the Countryside Commission has enshrined in the Country Code: 1. Apart from main roads, motor vehicles are only allowed on byways and roads used as public paths (RUPP), which were indicated on the OS map. RUPPs are, however, in the process of being re-categorised as bridleways. 2. Respect the work and life of those whose living is earned from the land. 3. Close all gates and do not damage locks and catches on them. 4. Guard against all risk of fire. This is a very real risk as global warming results in hotter summers with tinder dry grass and undergrowth - even quite early in the year. 5. Keep dogs under control, especially in lambing time. In sheep farming areas the farmers can shoot a dog seen in the field and off the lead, however well behaved or just having fun. And there may be young birds and animals or pheasant poults in the undergrowth in any part of the country. Untrained dogs can do much damage quite unintentionally. 6. Do keep to the public paths, especially in farmland. Not all paths are open to the public. You can check this on the OS map. 7. Always use stiles and gates to cross fences, walls and hedges. 8. Never interfere w ith crops, farm machinery or livestock. Protect wildlife - plants, animals and birds. 9. Keep water clean. 10. Take your litter home with you. 11. Take care on country roads. The road may be empty but there is no pavement, the road is narrow and what is round the next bend? 12. Make no unnecessary noise! �Tony Ivins on Whitwell Part 7 Tony Ivins was a founder member; and remains the President of the Reepham Society for his life-time. This article is based on a recorded talk on the history of the parish of Whitwell, where he lived for many years. Unfortunately, the beginning of the transcript had some damage but I think we have recovered most of it. The talk began by acknowledging a debt to two wellknown local historians, Chris Barringer and David Yaxley, both of whom have, in the past, carried out a great deal of research in the area. At least two tapes of the original presentation are held in the Reepham Society Archives. Anyone who wishes to listen to or copy the tape should contact the Chairman or Secretary of the Society. A good place to begin the history of this parish is to consider its name. Whitwell is said to mean 'clear spring'. There are a number of live springs in Whitwell. In particu­ lar, there is a good clear spring near the southern boundary of the park of Whitwell Hall. This was embanked in 1842 to provide the water supply for the Hall itself. It has never failed and, coming from deep underground, it maintains a constant temperature for its population of frogs, toads and small fishes. Possibly, that old Roman Road, after the Roman's went home, was an access route for various Saxon groups who came looking for land to settle in. That really brings us to the earliest Whitwell village records. In the north-eastern corner of Whitwell Hall there are the remains of an old village. We knew through oral tradition that there was a village there but it was not until the early 1970s that an archaeologist came along called Helen Supermeister. Sadly, she is no longer with us but she spent that summer, with a group of friends, excavating there. They found the footings of medieval brick walls, quite a number of them. Under­ neath those she found staining in the soil that could indicate a possible Saxon settlement. The last mention of that village that we know7of is on Fayden's 1797 map of Norfolk and on the site of this village he has marked 'Whitwell demolished'. And we think that the last few7, possibly empty, cottages w7ere pulled down so that the owner of Whitwell at that time could enlarge his park. At the southern end of the hall grounds, getting towards the south-eastern corner, there's a site which we think may have been the first Whitwell Hall, probably an old timberbuilt Saxon Hall. There is a little clearing, still clear, strangely enough, surrounded by what our man called 'bottomless ditches', in other words very soft muddy ditches. An archaeologist friend who came to look at the site some years ago thought these ditches indicated a moat, possibly a drainage moat around the old hall. Of course, it would have had the advantage of being quite close to the Whitwell Hall when it was opened before the last war as the Forest School. The earliest history of the parish can be traced back to Roman times w7ith the presence of the Roman Road w7hich runs from Billingford and Bawdeswell, through Booton and on to Caistor-by-Yarmouth. The actual route of the road is not clear across Whitwell but in Whitwell Hall grounds it can be seen as a sort of small curved embankment. It goes on through Jordan's Green to Bawdeswell along Common Lane.6 6 One indication of the site of a Roman road is the use of the term ’ Street' in a village name. We should remember this when considering the route of the road through Whitwell even though the OS map marks it differently and the word 'Street' is common in Norfolk villages with no evidence of Roman presence. springs I mentioned earlier on so it would have had a good w7ater supply. Getting aw7ay from Whitwell Hall and back to the parish, there is a seventeenth century map, of which I have a copy, which shows the Whitwell Field with its cultivated strips. That Whitwell field lay between the present Whitwell Street and what is now called Whitwell Road, with Mill Road in the middle. That made quite a big cultivated field, one of the common fields of the Whitwell village. This map seems to be a copy of an earlier map, copied later to show which of the strips paid tithes to which of the three churches in Reepham because the various strips are marked 'W', 'R' or 'H\ 9 �This map of 'Whitwell Field' was probably used in the eighteenth century to establish to which church tithes should be paid. It is almost certainly copied from an earlier map as it still shows all three churches. The railway line now cuts across the west end of the field. The buildings of Leeds Farm are dilapidated today but they occupy the site of the Leeds Tannery. In the field behind here it is possible to see the remains of at least one o f the tannery pits. The other piece of common ground in the village is still there. Whitwell Low Common, some 40 acres of rather wet comm on has no ownership as far as the Commons Commissioners know. Their feeling is that it was a piece of manorial waste but, among the early Enclosure Awards, is an early nineteenth century one that says that this bit of ground should be set aside for the poor of Whitwell to gather fuel and, possibly, to dig peat as well. Such rights are known as the rights of turbary. One little bit of medieval history that is quite interesting is that there has been a long tradition of a chapel of St. Nicolas in Whitwell. We think this may have been sited on the Whitwell Hall grounds, just south of what we call the New Wood because there is an acre of ground there which, until 1880, belonged to the Dean and Chapter of Norwich Cathedral. This might possibly indicate that this was the site of the chapel of St. Nicolas. However, there have been no excavations there but we should note the site as a possible site of interest for the future. There was also, near the village, an old water mill that worked from the little stream that rises near Themelthorpe and runs through the Hall Farm grounds and then through Whitwell Hall grounds, eventually running into the Blackwater River and, thence, to the Wensum. This mill possibly ground the com for the old Whitwell village. After the village became derelict, the mill itself was probably abandoned but was rebuilt in the 1830s to break up the tan bark for the Whitwell tannery, of which I will say a bit more later and it did that sort of work until the 1870s when it was replaced by a steam engine. �Coming right along now to the nineteenth century, the principal landowners then were the Leamons of Whitwell Hall. They came to Whitwell in the early nineteenth century and left by the end of that century, three genera­ tions of them. They had a tannery. The Leeds of Whitwell Green Tannery were tan owners and farmers, too, whilst the Collyers of Hackford Hall also owned quite a lot of land in Whitwell.' There is a map of 1824 that shows interesting road changes in the parish. It shows how the first Robert Leamon, like many another landowner of the time, pushed the road away from the Hall because he felt it ran too near his house so he had it moved about 50 yards farther to the north. Several other little tracks were cleared out and a riding alley was opened - that is the little lane and a bit of footpath that runs between Whitwell Street and Mill Lane, crossing Mill Road and through to the Whitwell Road. It is still called Riding Alley. Fiddlers Alley runs from the top road above the Hall down to the bottom road through Whitwell. Bar Lane is an interesting road that runs out from Back Street in Reepham as a little footpath but until 1816 it was a cart road. A good many years ago now, 1 was given a bit of a notice board that had been used as a shelf in a cottage when one of the corners was cut off. It was a white painted board, and on it in black lettering were words to the affect that this road had been shut up 'By Order' at a certain session. The date was 1816. As it was found in a cottage on the corner of Bar Lane we are pretty sure it referred to the shutting up of Bar Lane. Another interesting little fact that one of my local friends told me is that when Bar Lane was open as a cart road it was called Gracious Street. I cannot tell you any more about how it should get that name but that is how it was. Nineteenth century people Some years ago 1was able to get a copy of the census returns for Norfolk and I thought it might be interesting to look at what Whitwell parish looked like, the people who lived and worked there, what sort of work they did and how many of them there were. And it goes rather like this. The biggest group of people was those whom the census called 'agricultural labourers'. Whitwell parish comprises just over 1500 acres so it is about the area of a reasonably sized modern farm. In this parish the Whitwell farmers employed 69 men, 30 boys and four women on 1500 acres. Now, those of you who farm or have connections with farming will contrast that with what happens today perhaps at the most half-a-dozen chaps. There were ten farmers. Interestingly, eight men and two women were farming then. Most of the farms were fairly small. I will go through them because quite a lot of the names keep going over the years and are still known now. Mark Eglington farmed 270 acres and employed nine men and five boys. John Billham - now that's interesting because a number of people will know that at the end of Whitwell Street is an area known as Billham's Hill and that is where he farmed. He only farmed 22 acres, but to do that he had three men and a boy.8 Peter Wilkin, his acreage is not recorded.7 7 Most villages used to tan the hides of their own beasts in the past so it is possible that these tanneries are on much older sites. h He is also named as a 'machine owner" in one census so he probably had a horse-drawn threshing machine which would be hired out to others. [Ed.] Sarah Barrett farmed 40 acres and she employed one man to help her. Stephen Leeds I mentioned earlier on he was one of the principal landowners in Whitwell, farmed 880 acres and employed 30 men and 16 boys. He also had his tan yard, t h o s e b u il d in g s near W h itw e ll Common, just b e y o n d the White House. That was Leeds Tannery which, incidentally, finished work about 1903. As a tanner he also employed ten men, three boys, three carpenters and a blacksmith. Thomas Dunger farmed 332 acres up by Jordans Green and he had seven men and three boys to do the work of that. Elizabeth Neil farmed 50 acres with 'one man and two sons', whether they were hers or the man's it doesn't say. Marianne Seeker we would really call a smallholder now. She farmed an acre and a quarter. Robert Leamon of Whitwell Hall farmed 340 acres on which he employed 21 men and ten boys. As I said earlier, he was also a tanner employing 17 men and five boys. John Bacon farmed 22 acres. I don't know where he farmed. if you have added up all those acreages, you will find that it comes to a lot more than the 1500 acres in Whitwell parish. The answer to that is that Stephen Leeds, who farmed that 880 acres, had a lot of land in other parishes. In total there were 89 farm workers, men and women. I will not list all those, although, here again, you find names that have persisted through to the present. There were three pages of farm workers then we come to the blacksmiths there were two blacksmiths in the parish. John Smith, who was a qualified tradesman, aged 46, and John Rudd. Rudd must have just come out of his apprenticeship because he was aged 16, born in Reepham as a journeyman blacksmith. The name of Rudd goes on in Reepham today. There was one brewer - Mark Brett, a man who combined the job of being a bricklayer and an inn-keeper. That happened quite often, I found, especially with the little beer houses. Very often the man followed a trade and his wife looked after the beer house. William Springell kept the pub called the Cock Inn which was in Whitwell Street and is now the house called 'The Old Star'. There was another inn-keeper at the Foldgate on Whitwell Common - Samuel Vile. A high proportion of these villagers were born in Whitwell, Reepham or the surrounding parishes. Hardly anyone comes from very far away. Well, one chap came from Cawston - that's a long journey. He was one of the three bricklayers. In a lot of Norfolk villages there was a brickmaker and bricks were made. I don't think bricks were ever made in Whitwell, but I suspect he worked at the Reepham brickyard which is just up where the road turns sharp right by Reepham Station. Now carpenters - there were lot of those. It is interesting to reflect for a minute that in these early records one never finds the term 'builder' - they're all of a named trade. If you wanted a job done you didn't send for a building firm, you sent for the tradesman you wanted to do the job carpenter, bricklayer, mason if it was stone work, and so on. As a result, you never find 'builder' listed. As for carpenters, I see there were a lot, about ten of them living in Whitwell, not necessarily all working there. One of them, Thomas Sawyer - good name for a carpenter - was also a wheel­ wright. 11 �Now, cattle dealers and shop-keepers - four of those. Three of them seem to be related - they all named Neil; and then dealers in fish - two of them - William Guymer and Peter Wilkin, both bom at Whitwell. This again shows the big variety in trades and tradesmen. There were seven dressmakers, so it seems quite obvious that no one went and got something ready to wear - you called in someone to make it for you. The seven dress­ makers were Jane Warr, Franklins, Galimer, Roland, Vile, Vone, Seeker. There was one washer-woman, Elizabeth Hunt and one char woman, Deborah Wilson. In the parish there were two grooms. They would probably have worked either at the White House on the comm on or at the hall. Shoemakers - again you see no buying of the ready-made things. Three shoe makers working here - Guymers again and a Rudd. Also a turf maker and fowl dealer. Quite how he made his turf I don't know but 1imagine he would be drying the turf for burning, possibly turf gathered on Whitwell Common. paupers lived with their grown-up children - their families. I didn't find one in Whitwell who was living alone. They were all in their seventies. One man was 84. The census gives the professions of some of them. Rebecca Whur, was formerly a stay maker, Thomas Barker a carpenter, the others were all agricultural labourers. In the parish at that time there were a 106 dwellings occupied and three empty. That includes the two listed as big houses, Whitwell Hall and the White House, but they were mostly cottages or very small farm houses. Listed in the census was a total of 477 people including children, 224 males and 253 females. Of that total, 173 were in jobs, leaving 304 not working. That is what the parish looked like in the middle of the nineteenth century. 1think that there is one really signific­ ant thing. That is how occupations and jobs were very local because they are pretty well all working in the parish or in the neighbouring parishes of Hackford, Reepham and Kerdiston. As I mentioned earlier, their ancestry, too, was local. Most of them were born in Whitwell and I think Finally, there was one wheelwright and then the house servants - nine of them. That is not very many compared with the other parishes. Admittedly, Hackford parish is a lot bigger than Whitwell and Reepham is about the same size. Though there were not many houses in the parish at that time who would keep servants, or keep many of them, there were nine of them living in the parish at the time. The directory- shows another interesting fact about what happened when people got too old to carry on with their job. The only pensioners you find are men who've been in the armed services, and here we had two Chelsea pensioners, Henry Rudd and John Right. Henry7Rudd was aged 73, bom at Whitwell and at the time of the census he was blind. John Right was aged only 45, also born at Whitwell, and he was a pensioner of the 77th Regiment of Foot. Then we turn to the tanners, of course, Robert Leamon and Steven Leeds, plus the number of men working for the tanneries. The two tanneries employed between them 27 men and eight boys. There's one woman listed working in the tannery and she was called the 'bark cleaner' - Lydia Wilson, aged 36, and she was born in Reepham. The other group of people listed are the paupers and, in all the cases I've looked at in the census returns, those practically none, in this particular census, were bom outside Norfolk. The other place I have mentioned is Whitwell Common. We thought that it would be a sensible thing to make it into a local nature reserve because of local interest at the time. This then happened - with a management group made up of a number from the parish council plus myself, as a trustee under the old Parish Commissioners who managed the common from the beginning of this century, and representatives from Nature Conservancy and from the County. Two other people, John Barkham, Environmental Scientist, who advised us on the management of the common and Lyn Garland, who lives in Whitwell and was very enthusiastic about enrolling groups of volunteers to do necessary clearing work on the common, made up the numbers. This article comprises about half of the content of Tony Ivins' presentation to a meeting of the Reepham Society. The second half, which considers some different aspects of Whitwell parish, will be printed in a further Reepham Society Magazine which we hope to publish later in the year. �A Brief History o f Hackford Parish through the Last Millennium Jennifer Roberts Jennifer Roberts lives in Pettywell and has been there now for several years. She is a qualified archaeologist. Though no longer practising that discipline she has a deep interest in local history. She is another of our authors who has completed a local history course under the aegis of Chris Barringer. This article is the result of the research carried out on her course and since. The view from a slightly different standpoint, that of Hackfordgives new details about the history of Reepham and its satellite villages. Hackford-by-Reepham is one of the three parishes sharing the communal churchyard in Reepham. The parish includes most of the town of Reepham and land on either side of the Eyn Brook. It is possible that the boundaries of the parish were determined by the heath and comm on on either side but this is by no means certain. It is possible that the name Hackford was derived from haca, a hook or haecc, a flood or sluice gate. 'Ford' is Anglo-Saxon for river crossing. The name then could either mean a 'ford at the bend of the river', or 'the sluice gate (for catching fish) at the ford'. At the turn of the last millennium, just before the Norman Conquest the principal lordship of Hackforda was held by a freeman called Wither. It is possible that Reepham was at the centre of a large Anglo-Saxon estate. After the Norman Conquest it was given to Earl William de Warrene, just one of the 139 manors he held. Although William de Warrene resided frequently at nearby Castle Acre, at the time of the Domesday survey the manor of Hackford was held by a person called Turold. There were few inhabitants, probably only 17 or 18 families lived in the area. The land was farmed, some was put down as meadow but cereals must have been grown as there was a mill. Honey and wax were important products. Beeswax was used for church candles,9 and it was the tradition for beekeepers to supply their local church. Hackford at that time had five skeps of bees. It had woodland able to support 30 swine. Sheep, rounceys (horses) and cattle were also kept. There was a church supported by 11 acres of land. It was valued at 15 marks. The manor passed through William de Warrene's heirs for the next 200 years. In 1276/7 a Saturday market and annual fair charter was granted to Sir John de Vaux, who owned both the manors of Hackford and Reepham. An unofficial market had existed in the 'cemetery of Reepham' for many years before the Bishop of Norwich, in 1240, ordered the Sheriff of Norfolk to ensure that a new market place was found. The market was held on Saturdays, with a fair on the 'eve, day and morrow' of the feast of SS. Peter and Paul (29th June). The present market-place lies in the parish of Hackford, but it is not known if this was the site decided on in the thirteenth century. By the following century the de Roos family held land in Hackford, probably as tenants of the de Wanenes. A few years later they are mentioned as being the holders of the knight's fees and paying returns to the Duchy of Lancaster. 9 It is interesting to note that a former name for the Cardinal’ s Hat in Back Street was Candle Court. Some of the local inhabitants during medieval times must have been fairly rich for the church of All Saints had a collection of rich vestments, communion ware and church ornaments, including silver chalices, a portable cross and a holy oil vessel. The vestments included some made from woisled, fusleyn (fustian) and velvet and silk. Margaret and Ralph Vernon, Hackford landowners, were possibly some of the major benefactors, during the later part of the fourteenth century. During that century several of the Hackford residents stood surety, along with citizens of other parishes, to locals who were in trouble with the law. Brice of Hackford stood surety when Agnes Renandgo and her sister Emma were released on bail after being arrested for the murder of Richard Brightman at Billingford. A Richard o f Hackford also stood surety in a murder case, when Robert of Holden was accused of robbing and killing Henry o f Clermont. Other fourteenth century crimes include robbery. One night William Rillo had one quarter-and-a-half of barley, worth 5/-, stolen from him. A Roger Willok was charged but acquitted for the offence. Some information about the medieval inhabitants of Reepham and Hackford parish can be gleaned from the old wills. For instance in 1429 Robert Baxter, a citizen of Norwich is mentioned as owning lands in Hackford. Fifty years later Hugh atte Fenn made a will leaving 6/8d. towards the upkeep of the church. He also left money, to be obtained from the sale of his lands and manors in Hackford to help scholars at Cambridge and Oxford as long as they were not wasters and haunters of alehouses. William Cubit, the Rector, in a will dated 1505, gave to the town and the church of Hackford a drinking house with two acres of land to have a yearly obituary kept in the church. He also mentioned that the guilds and 'drinkings' of all the four parishes i.e. Hackford, Whitwell, Reepham and Kerdiston be kept there if they desired it. In a will dated a few years later John Goddying gave 6/8d towards the making of a chapel in the south part of the church if one happened to be erected there. If not, the money was to go to the upkeep of the church. In 1543 a fire burnt down most of All Saints, the parish church of Hackford, along with its church goods, orna­ ments and jewels. The fire also destroyed most of the town. The tower and parts of the west gable were the only parts of the church that survived. They were pulled down in 1790/6. It is, however, possible that a part of the gable can be seen in the tower of St. Michaels. A drawing in 1784 by E.F. Boon shows that the surviving tower had a chequer-board parapet and diagonal buttresses. The south wall of the tower had a square sound hole and the porch an elaborate doorway. As a result of the fire, Hackford parish lost its independ­ ence and was joined with Whitwell. On the 18th April 1544 an agreement was made between Robert Coke, owner of the fee simple of the church of Whitwell, Christopher Lockwode, clerk, parson of Hackford and vicar of Whitwell, and Thomas Bayfield. William Brese, John Blofield parishioners of Hackford, that the church and rectory of Hackford was to be consolidated with Whitwell by William, Bishop of Norwich. According to this indenture all the parties were in agreement. However, some of the parishioners obviously intended that the church should be rebuilt. One, Anthony Sugate, bequeathed 20 marks (1 mark = 13/4d or 66.6p) towards its rebuilding. Some of the surviving church plate was sold in 1547 for £20, probably to stop the ministers of Edward VI getting their hands on it. Some of the church materials were used to 13 �repair roads in the parish and some were used to build the transept in Whitwell church. During the reign of Elizabeth I each parish had to provide a militia. The parish was involved in a muster in 1577. An inventory was taken of 'of all Common Armor, Artelery munition and wcponnc and every ptccular pson shewed' It was found that the town had 'one Corselet, one peke, too Curreors et Dom furnished'(!) Three people were also able to support arms. Vynse Hawude, Thomas Crotche and Roger Hase were able to furnish a few bows and arrows, pikes and helmets between them. The Bishops court had some dealings with local drunks. John Twithney and Henry Bagrave were brought before the Bishops representative on a charge of being common drunks. Henry Bagrave who swore and resisted arrest later confessed to being drunk every day of the week and was ordered to do penance. Around this time the inhabitants were having problems with a person called Robert Kirk. It seems he was extracting money from the people as fines and then keeping it for his own use. The parishioners paid him 61- as payment for a fine for not planting hemp. A Thomas Croche then paid him 2/6d and then swore on 'his book' to make a payment of 5/- yearly. Mr Berte, 'Gent,' also agreed to pay Kirk 5/a year for all years to come. Nathaniel Bacon set up an enquiry into Kirk's misdeeds but the outcome of this appears to be lost. Hackford gained some notoriety during the Common­ wealth when the parish refused to billet a party of troops because the commanding officer referred to the parish as Reepham instead of Hackford. At the same time the parish was paying £3.3s.l0d per month towards the upkeep of troops and the furnishing of ammunition for the Royalist cause. As in Elizabeth's time, the inhabitants were expected to attend musters. Hackford men formed a Foot Militia under Sir W. Doylys, which mustered at Heydon Ollands on September 24th 1661 to be inspected. During the seventeenth century, weavers in Hackford, as in many of the local parishes supplied worsted. During 1657 Henry Juby a local worsted weaver must have been having a period of prosperity. Surviving records show that he took on several apprentices; Matthew Bale, Roger Hammond and John Humfrey were indented for seven years whilst a John Crotch was indented for eight years. The social make-up of the parish changed during the next hundred years. The worsted weavers gradually disappeared, a result of cheap products from Yorkshire, and tanning became important as a local industry. The tanners were wealthy enough as a group to make wills. There was also an increase in the number of shops and professionals in the parish. Grocers, bakers, brewers, a surgeon and an excise officer were all wealthy enough to make wills. The provision of services increased rapidly so by the middle of the next century the inhabitants of Reepham and Hackford were well provided for. The town of Reepham had all the services that would be expected from a local market town. All needs were catered for, ranging from the people supplying the local brewing and malting industry with barrels, to those who made hats and dresses for the local female population. The town was well served by bakers, butchers, grocers, confectioners, cabinetmakers, gardeners and drapers. There was even a hairdresser. The parish was also served by a number of inns and taverns, most in the town but at least one, the Lamb Rppr House, stood in the countryside. Links with Norwich, and thence the outside world, were maintained by a coach and carrier service. Local people believed it was the purity of the water which led to the excellence of the local ales. Although there were several brewers and maltsters in the parish, the Birchams were the major producers, so much so that when they were bought out in 1878 they had fifty associated pubs. In the parish generally though there was very little industrial activity. Like the worsted weavers of previous centuries, tanning also seemed to have disappeared from the parish, although there were tanneries in the local area. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the poor children of Hackford were reported to have been receiving a sufficient education. They attended a mix of Sunday school, evening school and day school. In 1837, however, the Land use in Hackford 1846 (based on the Tithe Apportionment Map). �Rev. Holley established a school in the Old Poor House consisting of a boys' school and a girls' school and a house where the schoolmasters and mistresses could live. By 1844 the rector's daughter had begun to hold a Sunday school in the school building. These were church schools for the children of Hackford and Whitwell. The children of Reepham parish had to wait until 1847 when St. Mary's School was set up. An inspector's report in 1869 said the National School was conducted in a highly satisfactory manner. The Methodists had also set up a schoolroom when they built the chapel in 1817. Mr Goodwin Kilburn had run a day and boarding school in Reepham since 1836, when in 1846 he decided to sell up and emigrate. A Mrs W oolm er also ran a school for girls. The pauper children received an education in the workhouse. The poor Hackford children at this time went to Buxton. Their education must have been a somewhat patchy one for there seems to have been a problem in keeping and finding suitable mistresses. A Poor House had existed in Reepham for the inhabitants of Hackford for many years, but, by the 1840s, the poor of Reepham and Hackford were sent to the Aylsham Union Workhouse,10 which also included the old Gilbert Union workhouses at Buxton and Oulton until the new workhouse was built in 1849. Hackford parish paid around £100 annually towards the cost of housing its paupers. Some of the older inhabitants were receiving outdoor relief, which allowed them to live in their own homes. This came to around 2/6d per week. There were also several charities, which provided relief by paying out money for emigration and for people who had sudden illnesses and accidents. Most of the charity payouts were under the control of William Bircham. REEPHAM To Be Sold By Auction By M r ] VERDON Wed 21 O ct 1846 Neat and m odern Household Furniture and other effects of M r G Kilburn w ho is removing to a distant country. Catalogues had on the premises and of the auctioneer. Great W itchingham . TO SCHOOL MASTERS The house and premises where In April 1846 smallpox made its appearance in Hackford and the workhouse medical officer was asked to vaccinate the inhabitants. They protested. The outbreak continued and by October it had been decided to give extra money so all in the Reepham area could be vaccinated. Life must have been miserable for the poor of Reepham and Hackford, with the majority living in little more than hovels. However, the more able poor and the lowermiddle classes were able to emigrate to a better life in the colonies. Mr Goodwin Kilburn, the schoolmaster, is an example of this trend. He was 36, married with two small children, when he put the above advert in the Norfolk Chronicle. He was not the only local to emigrate between 1836-1842. The St. Stephen's charity had paid for some people in Reepham to go to America and it also paid for a W idow Beales to go to Ireland. In common with the rest of Norfolk, by the nineteenth century Hackford was celebrated for the growth of its barley. Other crops grown included turnips, peas and beans, clover and wheat. A certain amount was kept under grass, especially by the river and stream margins. Stock keeping was also important and provided some local employment in the form of drovers, tanners and cattle dealers. The annual stock fair continued to take place on 29th June. In 1804 William Bircham who farmed 840 acres of the parish was the major landowner. He improved his soil by marling and liming, used a six-year rotation but did not have any of the new threshing or drill machines. By 1846 the major landowners included the Rev. J. Bedingfeld Collyer who owned 182 acres and resided at Hackford Hall, the Rev. J. Humphrey who owned 144 acres and John Sewell who farmed 108 acres. Most of the land seemed to be farmed by small tenant farmers. Hackford escaped the wholesale destruction of machinery and property, which the rest of Norfolk suffered during the Swing Riots. Maybe this was because the small tenant farmers could only afford to farm in the traditional way. By the nineteenth century around 23% of the local population were employed in agriculture on a permanent basis, although many more were employed doing seasonal work. Children were able to earn as much as 5d a day bird scaring, while gangs of women were employed hoeing, planting beans and thinning turnips. Many of the local clergymen were concerned for the morality and welfare of the field-working women especially as the gang masters were 'rough bullying fellows who would bluster and swear'. A number of Hackford women, once the fieldwork was done, earned a few more pence by weaving straw hats. In 1804 a farm labourer would earn l/6d daily rising to 4/6d at harvest. During the last millennium Hackford has been an essen­ tially rural parish dependent on the small market town of Reepham for its infrastructure. This has remained largely unchanged although recent changes in mobility have brought Norwich and the wider world into commuting distance, thereby bringing new sources of money into the parish. a profitable school has been carried on for the last 10 years are now to be let w ith imm ediate possession. Enquire of M r Kilburn on premises. 10 Union Workhouses sewed a 'union' of parishes and these larger workhouses replaced the smaller parish workhouses. �An aerial view of Reepham's three churches. The last remnant o f Hackford church can just be seen at the right of the clump o f yews. The photograph can be dated by som e differences from a present-day view. For instance, York House (top left) can be seen in the process o f restoration in the background. Hackford Hall. In 1846, at the time o f the Tithe Apportionments, this was home to the Venerable John Bedingfield Collyer, Archdeacon of Norwich. 16 �Pettywell Place now lived in by Howard and Margaret Blondford-Boker was formerly owned by the Eglington family. In 1846 it was owned by John Sewell but occupied by Margaret Rodham. This plaque adorns the wall in the yard o f the Old Brewery. It marks the site o f the former Bircham's Brewery erected by William Birchom in 1839. 17 �There was no piped water supply to Reepham until the 1950s. This well which has now been restored, also in the Old Brewery yard, was the source of water for the brewing of Reepham Ale until 1876. �This was the site o f the shop formerly run by Mr and Mrs Ron Gibbs at Towns End Corner. It has now been pulled down and replaced by the new development containing the hairdresser, DIY shop and electrical shop. [ I This model combine harvester was made by Ron Gibbs and was later presented to the Reepham Society. In this photograph it was on display with other agricultural implements at our previous Historical Exhibition. 19 �Childhood Memories o f Reepham Ann Dickinson This account of life in Reepham in the 1920s and 1930s was handed to the Chairman recently. Mrs Ann Dickinson now lives in Hunstanton but she was born in Reephami, a member of the Gibbs family who have contributed so much to the records of the recent past of the town. Ann's parents were married in 1918 and she was born in 1923. She looks back on her childhood in Reepham with great affection. After receiving a copy of the Reepham Society' Magazine from my life-long friend Peggy Hum, I began to reflect on my wealth of memories of Reepham. To begin ... the sermon to end when we could hear the congregation in St. Mary's singing their last hymn. The Rev. Moore, in charge of St. Mary's, invariably finished his service first! With the retirement of the Rev. Moore, and when the Rev. Geake left the parish in the early 1930s, the parishes of Reepham with Kerdiston and Whitwell with Hackford were finally united into one parish. The Rev. B.P.Lipscombe was installed and the present communicating door constructed between St. Mary's vestry and the chancel of St. Michael's. Often 1had to pump the organ for my mother, watching a lead weight rise and fall, paying attention so that it should not fall below a certain mark otherwise the organ let out a tremendous sigh and faded out. Mother had played a church organ from the age of fourteen and she later took over St. Mary's from a Miss Jewel. The Rev. Lipscombe was extremely musical and could coax ability from the least able. Under his jurisdiction my mother became an excellent organist. The Reepham Post Office and postmen in 1913. In those days it occupied what is now Meloncaulie Rose. It is possible to recognise the door into the cafe at Diane's Pantry on the left. At the age of three years, we attended Miss Bull's Kindergarten, situated at the back of the Brewery House. There was me and Peggy and her brother John, Pat Hall, Kenneth Hilton and Joyce Wagg. A year or two later we were attending dancing classes at Miss Holah's at Rookery Farm. The dancing school put on shows for parents and friends at the Town Hall. I remember dancing in The Wedding of the Painted Doll with John Kerridge, son of the bank manager, who was Jumping Jack. Sunday school was conducted by Mr Donald Chapman who, with his sister Olive, ran the Post Office at Iona House.11 Donald ran a flourishing and well-attended Sunday school. We had wonderful outings and prizegivings. Miss Wasey taught the senior children and, when we reached her class, she insisted that we learned the Collect for the coming Sunday off by heart and we had to recite it in turn. I remember her with great affection and appreciation. My mother was organist at St. Michael's when the Rev. Geake was the incumbent at Whitwell Rectory. Both churches were used for Sunday worship then. Frequently, the congregation of St. Michael's would still be waiting for 11 Iona House is in the Market Place and is now 'Diane's Pantry'. The postoffice was where 'Meloncaulie Rose' now trades. We had a fantastic choir tinder his leadership, singing oratorios at special church festivals - the Messiah, Elijah, Olivet to Calvary, to mention just a few. Occasionally we incorporated the voice of Mr Broad from Heydon although Donald Chapman did very well in solos, supported by his fellow tenors, Fred Alford among them. Apart from church music, various members of the choir founded a group to entertain during the year, putting on many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. This group included Donald and Olive Chapman, Elsie Varley, Mabel Utting and Mr Cocking. The latter ran a boot and shoe shop which later became Gwen Hardesty's fruit and vegetable shop and which is now the Bridal Shop. The Market Place was a grandstand for the Reepham Town Silver Band under the baton of Mr Ruffles from Fakenham. When the weather was kind, and it invariably was, they played for the town's entertainment after the evening service at church on Sundays until nine or ten o'clock. Reepham also boasted a fine Salvation Army Band. They shared the Market Place as their meeting place on alternate weeks. I have memories, too, of carol singing with the choir and the hand-bell ringers in the snow. In those days, the seasons seemed more seasonable! In the spring we would pick primroses at Broomhill; snowdrops �Ron Cibbs. He was a man o f energy and imagination who refused to give in to illness. Rev. Ceakes with members of his choir outside the porch o f St. Michael's. grew like a carpet at Catchback and the perfume from the violets at Reepham Moor was unbelievable. Father, who was invalided out of the Navy with tubercu­ losis, put his talents to good effect when he settled in Reepham. My mother loved to tell of when motor cars became the 'in thing'. My father built one around an engine and chassis and, so anxious to try it out was he, that one Sunday afternoon he drove mother and an aunt and uncle to Cromer and back. Father, being the driver, sat on the kitchen chair and his passengers on upturned orange boxes. The sides of the car consisted of chicken wire draped with old curtains but when they reached 10 mph the curtains flapped alarmingly and had to be removed! In between bouts of illness, Father dabbled in photo­ graphy, watch and clock mending, garage and battery charging and, when confined to bed, built models, two of which, a ship and traction engine, drum and elevator (threshing machine) were housed with the Reepham Society.12 Mother started a business making hats, which flourished and this eventually became a fully-fledged drapery, millin­ ery, tobacco and confectionery shop. The garage, erected to sendee the growing car trade, was built at the rear and side of the shop, over an old Baptist immersion pool. This site has now been rebuilt as Lesley Tooley's hairdressers and Reepham DIY. I am sure it needed very little demolishing as it was built chiefly of corrugated iron but the side facing our garden was all glass, consisting of photographic plates of almost every photograph my father ever took. Part of the garage was given over to the engine room where Father had a generator from which he produced electricity and proudly wired our house - the first 12 We still have the threshing machine but does anyone know what has happened to the ship? in Reepham to have electric light. This was in 1928 or thereabouts. He also made me a doll's house and fitted that with battery-powered electric light. Towards the end of my Father's life I remember that the trees in our orchard had to be felled as they were old and barren. They had given shelter to the goats and bantams that we kept there. Mother's ambition of having a tennis court built in the old orchard began to take shape. Father wanted to oversee the project and make sure the ground was quite level. This proved a problem because he was now on constant oxygen. Not to be thwarted, he asked Dick Hatley, who worked with him, to get an inner tube from a car wrheel and inflate it with oxygen, added a piece of rubber tube to connect with the valve and, by slinging the tube over his shoulder with a clip to control the flow of oxygen, he was able to walk up the garden and inspect the new' tennis court for himself, returning before the tube was deflated. We wrere now able to have tennis parties, comprising Donald and Olive Chapman, Jean Hawes, Evan Symonds, Ricky and John Lambert, Ruby Barnes, Len Wilkinson, mother and myself. My great friend, Peggy Hum, and I had other delights in common. Her father, and both of my uncles, Edwrard Gibbs senior and junior, were among the company which formed the 'Black Minstrel Troupe'. We look back with such affection to our childhood in our beloved Reepham. A tennis party at Towns End Corner. Ann C ibbs (now Dickinson) is seated on the right next to her mother. 21 �A Thousand Years o f Salle During the Millennium Year, Salle village, church and estate celebrated the history of Salle on a beautiful June day. Morning service was attended by most of the villagers, followed by drinks at the hall with Sir John White before everyone joined in a barbeque at the Village Institute. The afternoon was spent in watching a cricket match or climbing the church tower for a glimpse of the splendid view from the top. This was a real traditional village event made all the better by the blessing of good weather. To bring memories of the past into the present, Claire Buxton, Chairman of the Parish Meeting, with help from long-time inhabitants of the village, such as Ben Stimpson, had organised an exhibition in the church. This included archive material and a fascinating display of metal detector finds dating back across most of the last two millennia and collected by Richard Saunders who lives and works in Salle. This article is based on a brief history of Salle which was available as a handout on the day. Origins Salle lies on the top of the Norfolk watershed between the Bure and Wensum rivers. It is, in very many ways, a typical Norfolk village. Its history from before the beginning of this millennium illustrates what was and is happening in many other Norfolk villages. The name 'Salle' is usually taken to derive from sallows, the old name for willows but other suggestions have been put forward. Is it a corruption of 'aul' the old English word for hall? One of the manors in the village was once known as Kingshall which could easily lend itself to shortening as 'Sail'. Or perhaps it is related to an old northern word describing a high, windy place that appears in the Cumberland name - Black Sail Pass. Salle is high and windy - for Norfolk. The land of the village has always belonged to one or other of the manors in the parish. Now, it is almost entirely part of the Salle Farms estate. Before the improvements of recent centuries this would have been regarded as poor soil Salle church from the south on a winter's day in January. This huge and beautiful church dominates the skyline. 22 and used for sheep, much perhaps remaining as common land which was important also for the poorer villagers. In the past, those with common rights not only grazed their animals on the common but also collected wood and kindling and wild fruit. This left their own small plots, or 'pightlcs', to be cultivated to feed the family. As in the rest of the county, enclosure started quite early in Salle to meet the changing needs of the farms. Commons and small pightles and closes have now long been enclosed and those old open fields, themselves, have been changed to meet the needs of modern farming practices. A small landowner in the village is the church but it is the large and beautiful church itself which is the jewel in Salle's crown and perhaps the best known building in this part of Norfolk. Salle church has recently figured in England's Thousand Best Churches by Simon Jenkins (1999). No one should leave the village without making a tour of this unique church. Built on the wealth of the wool grown on the sheep which grazed the local heaths, its presence emphasises the change from stock farming to arable which has taken place over the centuries as the farming families who built it grew wealthier. Heath, pasture and woodland have now largely given place to open arable fields. The building of Salle church by a group of leading sheep farmers in the fifteenth century and its maintenance, since, by leading local families shows how such families have always been important in supporting the life and people of a village and its surroundings. The families and manors of Salle Perhaps the most important historian of Salle is Rev. Walter Parsons who was the parson here for over 30 years. As a former scholar of Pembroke College and Dean of Selwyn College, Cambridge, he took great interest in researching the history of his parish. His book Salle saves all of us much time and effort when researching the early history of the village, the manors and the church. It provides invaluable information on the history of the village and is available from Reepham Library'. Salle also figures in the Paston Letters. One of the Salle manors belonged to the Mauteby family, one of whose daughters married into the Paston family. Although litigious and concerned about keeping a grip on their lands, like so many medieval Norfolk farmers and lords, the letters concerning Salle directly are often concerned with the promotion of a courtship between John Paston and Margery' Brewes. The Pastons remained closely associated with Salle for the next 100 years. Salle itself is mentioned in Doomsday Book when it was said to have four manors. The history of the manors is well testified. Today, Salle Moor Hall and Stinton Manor House probably represent the site of two of the manors whilst a third was probably finally destroyed when Salle Hall was built. Parsons speculates that the fourth manor house was sited on the Wood Dal ling side of Gatehouse Farm near the bridge over the stream. Salle Moor Hall was a Bullen (Boleyn) possession from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. Yes, that is the family of Anne Boleyn! But there is no evidence that she ever lived in Norfolk! More recently in the hands of the Stimpson family, Salle Moor Hall now belongs to Mr Ardisher Naghshineh who is farming this land organically. Ben Stimpson is now the only member of the Stimpson family still living in Salle. Though now past his ninetieth birthday, he remains a forceful member of the community and was, �until very recently, still a churchwarden. His knowledge of the past and present of Salle village and its church and people is unsurpassed. Stinton Manor is the manor which was formerly a royal manor but that was before the Conquest. Doomsday Book tells us that this 'Kings Manor' belonged to Godwin - the father of King Harold. Harold, himself, held Cawston. By the time of Doomsday, both were held by one Ralph who was made Earl of Norfolk. He rebelled, and his lands were given to the new Earl, William de Warenne, one of William's major lords who built Castle Acre. Stinton House, having passed through the hands of the Townsends of Raynham and Bulwer Longs of neighbouring Heydon, is now part of the Salle estate and is, at present, the home of Paol Hovesen, the Salle Farms estate manager who came here from Denmark some 13 years ago. Many other well-known Norfolk families have held land in Salle, the Briggs, Fountaines, Pastons, Townsends and Earles, to name but a few. After Edward Hase created the Park and built the hall in 1765 it passed to the Jodrell family after Richard Paul Jodrell of Lewknor in Oxfordshire married his daughter. She had inherited the right to a baronetcy from her uncle, John Lombe, which now passed to the Jodrelk. The Jodrells were squires here until Major Timothy White, who owned the chain of chemist shops, now absorbed by Boots, bought the estate in 1890. Both these families have done a great deal to both preserve and to develop the estate and parish of Salle. Farms and farmers of Salle One interesting point emerging from early history is a suggestion that this was an area with many 'freemen' in the Middle Ages. Their counterparts, after the sixteenth century, were the yeomen farmers, tenants of the remain­ ing farms in the village, all of which now belong in one capacity or another to the estate. These were the successful men who prospered by buying up and enclosing land after the collapse of the feudal system. A number of their old farmhouses have been sold off as private houses though some remain as part of the estate. A typical example of an old farmhouse is Park Farm, formerly Bog Farm, standing on the edge of old water meadows which lie between Salle and the former royal manor of Cawston. This is now the home of Andrew and Claire Buxton. Andrew farmed with his brothers in Heydon and now works for himself whilst Claire is Chairman of Salle Parish meeting. Park Farm stood empty for some years until it was used as a film set for the television production of M ill on the Floss which was filmed largely on location around mid-Norfolk. Since then, it has been restored with a considerable degree of sympathy to retain much of its original character. The date 1770 can be discerned in the brickwork on the front of the house but the house is older than this. Like many Norfolk houses it has been refurbished or rebuilt repeatedly over the years. Manor Farm, which may have been closely associated with Dorothy Repps, mother-in-law of the builder of Salle Hall, remains an integral part of the estate as the farm office. It probably started life as a common-edge manor house in the Middle Ages. The late eighteenth century estate maps indicate that the area that is now Bluestone Wood was then common land as was an area near the bridge on the way to Cawston. The name 'Brake Pasture' of a field next to the park, also indicates common. A 'brake' was a field cut out of common or heath. The insertion of an older staircase into Manor Farm may have been carried out because Edward Hase lived in Manor Farm after the destruction of the former manor house. The date on Park Farm also seems to link the improvements to these two farms with the creation of the park and building of the hall in the late eighteenth century. Practically next door to Manor Farm lies Cherry Tree Farm. This still belongs to the Bulwer Longs of Heydon and illustrates how closely inter-linked all the villages, manors and farms of this group of villages are. This probably stems from t h e o l d m an orial system when strips of land were held in a variety of open fields, not always close together or even in the same parish. Later, we find farmers owning strips belonging to different manors. This is shown particularly clearly on the 1864 Tithe Map where the few remaining strips still held by individuals show where the old open fields existed. This intermix also affected the parish bound­ aries. Until very recently a long strip of Reepham parish cut right across Salle Park, balanced by a strip of Salle, which reached down to Reepham Moor. The parish boundary has now been changed to adjust this anomaly which had been perpetuated over time, possibly due to old land ownership Manor Farm as it is today when it is in use as the Solie Farms estate office. �boundaries, perhaps to allow a manor or tenant to have a mix of arable land and water meadow. Salle Village The village itself is not large, consisting of a scatter of houses leading down past the cricket pitch from the church. It comprises cottages probably built on the sites of the old 'tofts and crofts', formerly worked by tenants who may also have been craftsmen and whose family would have spun and woven woollen cloth in the time between all their other tasks. Even in the past the number of brick built or stone houses would not have been much more than now. There would, however, have been many more residents, working the land, carrying out their trades in the village or working as servants on the farms. Families were also much larger, and expectations lower, until well into this century, so each house supported more people. The old school house still stands opposite the church. The school was originally a 'non-provided school', that is to say, it belonged to the estate and was administered under an agreement with the Board of Education, as a church school. As owner, the squire was, therefore, Chairman of the Board of Managers and appointed several of them Surviving correspondence in the White family archives gives interesting insights into the running of the school around the turn of the century. Education was already fairly closely controlled and inspected and the school developed over time to include examinations and scholarships as opportunities opened up. The staff consisted of a head­ mistress, most of whom seem to have come from southern counties and were required to have musical skills and to be able to teach physical education as well as the other more usual attributes of any teacher. The headmistress was supported by one assistant teacher and/or a 'monitress' who was a senior pupil of promise. The letters of these women, written when applying for the job, indicate that they had very little money. Shades of Jane Eyre! Before the First World War children would have finished their education by 12 years of age. In such a rural area, holidays were taken to allow the children to help with the harvest and these had to be specifically requested from the Education authorities. Mrs Williamson, the last teacher is buried in the churchyard. Next door is the Lynton White Institute, built by the White family, which provides a home for the Parish Meeting and a site for social events, not least cricket teas, as the Institute stands on the edge of a splendid cricket field. On the other side of the field is the forge, owned by the church and still a fully fitted working forge, though no longer regularly used. The first of the houses in the village is the former 'White Horse' public house now converted to a dwelling house since its closure in the late 1960s. The Street continues down to Gatehouse Farm between two rows of cottages, some of which are occupied by estate workers. There were more cottages around the eastern fringe of the park and a dairy farm in the park but there is very little more than a few bricks left from these buildings. More interesting are the houses in the park itself and the pictur­ esque style lodge cottages at the four entrances to the park. These have one unique feature as lodges; they are on the opposite side of the road from the Hall. Most of them have now been adapted or enlarged by the estate to meet the needs of their inhabitants. The village is, obviously, dominated by its magnificent church but nothing has been included here, as booklets on the history of the church are available in the church. Suffice to say that the church of St. Peter and St. Paul continues to attract visitors to view its architectural splendour and music lovers who wish to take advantage of its excellent acoustics to perform and listen to concerts and to make recordings. Salle Park By far the largest house in the village is Salle House. Edward Hase created the park itself in the late eighteenth century before he built the house. A map, still in existence, shows how Edward Hase bought up small closes and strips to make the park, processes know to historians as 'engrossment' and 'emparkment'. When Edward Hase died he fortunately, left a Memorandum Book which Sir Richard Jodrell continued to use after he succeeded in 1804 so we can date and follow some of the early developments in the park. Gardens and trees were planted, a beautiful walled garden still remains in use and there is an icehouse in the shrubbery. Work continues to maintain house and gardens in their present good order. Pat Dennis, who has now returned to the village of his birth, keeps the gardens in order without the army of under-gardeners and boys of former days. He still lives in the old gardener's house next to the walled garden. Fortunately, pleasure gardens were not fashionable when the house was built and were never planned to be very large though extended across the South Lawn as far as an ornamental ha-ha before 1846. One particularly happy aspect of the park is the number of magnificent trees it contains. Of course, creators of parks, following the ideas of Humphrey Repton (now buried in Aylsham church yard) and Capability Brown, looked for a natural effect in their new parks. Trees were often planted in clumps or as shelter belts but also in 'rows'. One way of achieving a rapid mature effect was to retain the trees which had formerly stood in hedgerows along field boundaries. It is possible to identify these former hedge lines from aerial photographs and old maps even though, in their more mature state, the lines are not always obvious as trees succumb to old age or storms. Many trees have been felled during the 200 years of the park's existence. However, one major oak tree, which must predate the park by some considerable time, still remains. It is now a huge and venerable veteran supporting considerable amounts of wild life. The park trees have always been well cared for and a new avenue of horse chestnut trees is now beginning to grow up along the main drive across the park. New plant­ ings of park trees also include turkey, evergreen, red and English oaks Salle House Salle House was built in 1763. It is a mid-Georgian neo­ classical building influenced by the emerging forces of romanticism. It consists of a two-and-a-half storey central wing of seven bays, built in red brick with a stone Ionic pediment on both north and south elevations and a hipped roof surrounded by a balustrade. The architraves of the principal doors are also of stone. A single-storey wing extends to both east and west where two courts were converted to an orangery on the east and a billiard room on the west in Major White's time. The Victorian upper storey, added over the billiard room, has since been demol­ ished. Beyond the wings, low two-storied buildings extend on either side - to the coach house and stables on the east. The appearance of Salle House is now almost identical to a �Salle village street looking west from the church. The larger house on the left was formerly the White Horse public house. Salle Hall from the southern garden. The park is so thickly planted with trees that there is only one sight line from which the hall can be seen drawing on an estate map of 1807. This, however, is due to work carried out by Sir John White who has now restored the house both inside and outside whilst retaining its original character extremely well. Salle Farms Estate Salle Farms is now entirely arable. Crops include large-scale cultivation of barley, beet, beans, peas and wheat on land which, before the improvements of recent centuries, would have been regarded as poor soil and used for sheep, The estate also remains conscious of its stewardship of the countryside. Successful modern farming is contract farming to meet the needs of large-scale food suppliers. Output is constantly monitored by the use of satellite technology. In addition to the large-scale production of grain, pulses and sugar beet, a recent addition has been the appearance of plantations of Christmas trees which provide work during quieter periods of the year. Areas of set-aside supplement other conservation innovations that are now possible. Attitudes to the countryside have changed in recent years and many who formerly knew little about it are able to get out and about and have demanded access to a countryside which they regard as a common heritage. This can be a twoedged sword. Unlimited access can be disruptive to wildlife habitat, to game birds and to growing crops alike. However, many footpaths and green lanes marked on the OS maps are maintained to provide walks across the estate. Some paths have been diverted round the edges of fields rather than cutting through the middle. Those who wish to quibble at this should remind themselves that walking along the hedge is much more interesting as this is where the greatest variety of flora and fauna is to be seen. In addition to the more conspicuous pheasants and partridges reared on the estate, and the ever-present rabbits, there are less evident denizens of this land. Stoats, weasels and other small mammals are much shyer but are still in abundance where there is a large rabbit population. Though many small birds have disappeared in recent years there are a number of larger birds to be seen. Herons and kestrels are regular hunters in the area. Bam owls are becoming re-established and three are nesting on the estate. Recently, a group of Canada geese have settled near one of the ponds. These birds can be a mixed blessing and have become a nuisance on some farms elsewhere. The more remote part of the estate is hare country and numbers of mad March hares are to be seen every spring. Yes, there are large fields but many new hedges have been planted and old hedges preserved. Other conservation measures are being undertaken. These include the planting of broad-leaf trees along the old railway line near the Cawston boundary and maintenance of existing patches of woodland on the estate. One important conservation measure now being implemented is the scheme whereby 4-metre strips along watercourses are left as permanent set-aside to reduce the risk of contamination of ground water by pesticides and so forth. The watercourse, which crosses the estate from beyond Wood Dalling, winding round past Cawston to Booton, is a case in point. Anyone who walks down the road by the side of Wood Dalling church should note the ditch on the right-hand side which is full of wild flowers, especially primroses and orchids in springtime. This ditch now has a preservation order on it. Yet, it was dug very recently, showing that modern farming activity is not always destructive. Much of the information in this article was obtained from the White papers and Bullen papers now held in the Norfolk Record Office. 25 �Reepham Personalities and Institutions At the beginning of this century Reepham was a small Norfolk market town with long-established families living in a smaller community than today. They all knew each other very well often being related by marriage, mostly working locally in the town or on the surrounding farms and estates. Some of the older families still remain and have contributed immensely to the records of the recent past of Reepham. As Reepham has grown and new houses are constantly built, new people have increasingly moved into the town. Many of them will be unaware of the contributions to the community made by former inhabitants and the origins of some Reepham institutions. Following the long gap since the publication of the last Reepham Society Magazine, this seems an appropriate time to record a little about some of those who have contributed to the life of the town and who have helped to make Reepham the lively and caring community that it is. One message which comes over very strongly, even in these short profiles, is just how much people's lives were disrupted by the effects of the two World Wars of the last century. Miss Jessie Brown MBE Jessie Vera Lawford Brown died on 14th April, 1983 at the age of 95. She had a remarkable career, one achievement being the foundation of the Reepham Housing Trust - eight bungalows for the elderly or disabled known as Sunbarn Walk. 'My hope is that there will be accommodation of this kind in every village in the country/ said Jessie. Jessie was the only daughter among the seven children of Colonel F.D.M. Brown VC. Her early education was directed by a series of governesses but, later, she studied history at the Oxford Home Students, now St. Anne's College. Her academic career was discarded when she joined her friend, Olive Sankey, and answered an appeal from Agnes Hunt,13 the founder of a new hospital at Baschurch in Shropshire, to train as an orthopaedic nurse. After two years, Jessie went on to pass the examination lor the Society of Trained Masseuses, later to become the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists. At the outbreak of war in 1914, Agnes Hunt and Jessie went to France but were very soon frustrated with condi­ tions over there and returned to Baschurch which had then become a military hospital. It soon became obvious that after-care clinics had to be established in the main market towns in Shropshire but transport was a problem. Undaunted, Jessie acquired a second-hand motor bike, learned to ride it and, by 1917, 13 orthopaedic clinics had been established throughout Shropshire. In 1918 Mr G.R. Girlestone asked Jessie to help set up clinics in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. He could offer no salary but arranged a small sum from a special Red Cross fund if a survey of all disabled people could be carried out - just the sort of challenge Jessie enjoyed. In 1924 Sir Robert Jones, the prominent orthopaedic pioneer, received a call from Nepal. Princess Mani, the five-year-old niece of the King of Nepal, was ill with 13 Agnes Brown and Sir Robert Jones, a pioneer orthopaedic surgeon, were responsible for the foundation of the orthopaedic hospital in Oswestry which carries their names and remains one of the leading orthopaedic hospitals in the country. poliomyelitis and it was decided to send Jessie to help. Within three days she had set off by sea to Bombay, then overland to Kathmandu. There was no road from India into Nepal in those days so Jessie was carried or rode on the back of an elephant for the three-day journey. During the next ten years Jessie visited this brave little girl several times and after Mani's death in 1935 a ward was built in the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre as a gift from her grateful parents. Everyone who knew Jessie Brown was constantly reminded of her aims - that every patient must be instilled with the joy of life, irrespective of their handicap and that one must work until each disabled person is as independent as possible and able to contribute to their community7. It became necessary for Jessie to return home to Yateley to look after her ageing mother but she soon had the outbuildings of her home converted to be a unit where physically handi­ capped people could learn hand-block printing. Grace Finch, a patient at the Henley Clinic, was persuaded to go to Yateley to help and, together, they soon had money raised and a training scheme for handicapped girls was launched. New buildings were opened in 1952 and bungalows in 1956. Yateley Industries is a successful residential sheltered industry* and employs more than 40 men and women. Jessie placed little importance on personal possessions and was able to move on without regret, always full of enthusiasm for a new venture. In 1952 her work was recognised by the award of an MBE. But she was always far more interested in the success of her many projects. In 1968 Jessie 'retired' to Reepham. It was during her retirement that she became the inspiration behind the building of the eight bungalows on Sun Barn Walk which formed the core of the Reepham Housing Trust. Today, the Trust is managed as a charity by local trustees, sharing a warden with the Wherry Housing in Ewing Close. Many in the town feel privileged that she touched our lives and hope to pass on her enthusiasm and joy of living to the full. We are grateful to jan Henry for this piece on Jessie Brown. Ben Stimpson Ben Stimpson was born at Salle Moor Farm in 1910, a member of a well-known local family here in Mid-Norfolk. He is a forceful and well-respected character in both Salle and Reepham and has given much service to the two Ben Stimpson �communities both as an active member of a number of organisations and as a benefactor to the communities. The Stimpson family farmed at Salle Moor for several genera­ tions as well as running the family business based in Reepham. It was Ben's grandfather who opened the Salle Coal Company at Reepham Station, a company that contin­ ued in business as a general agricultural merchant under several names until 1980. Some of you will have read the book on 'Salle' written by the Rev. Parsons who was Vicar of Salle from the early 1920s until after the Second World War. It was Rev. Parsons who married Ben and his wife Margaret in 1937. They came to live in Salle House, the house in which they still live and Ben gradually took on the management of the family business as well as his other work in the community. For many years he was chairman of the Salle Parish Meeting and succeeded his father as churchwarden there, a post which he held for over 40 years. Added to his father's tenure of 50 years this gives nearly a century of continuous service to Salle church by the Stimpson family. To this can be added the tireless work of Margaret who was also a member of the PCC. The role of churchwarden was not a sinecure as there have been a number of major problems, including a lightning strike, in keeping up the fabric of Salle church one of the medieval gems of rural Norfolk - as well as the day-to-day routine of the church. It is largely due to Ben's efforts that Salle church has been able to maintain itself so successfully in recent years. A tribute for this work for the church was published in the November 2000 issue of Town and Country when Ben retired as churchwarden and was given a tremendous send-off by the congregation. Needless to say he remains a member of the PCC. During the war Ben played his part in the local Home Guard as well as helping his father with the family busi­ nesses. The activities of the Salle and Reepham platoon are well documented in Standing up to H itle r'14 which tells the tale of the Home Guard in Norfolk. It was Ben Stimpson 14 1997. A. Hoare: Standing up to H itler. The Story of the Norfolk Home Guard. Published by Geo. R. Reeve, Wymondham. ISBN 0 900616 50 4. who provided the comprehensive records of the local units which now form a considerable portion of that book. Ben had led the local platoon since May 1940 but by the latter part of the war the 17th Battalion Norfolk Home Guard was based in Reepham with its HQ at 'The Bays' in Norwich Road, and led by Lt Colonel G.E. Gurney with Ben as his second-in-command. Duties included airfield defence, defence of bridges and liaison with other units backed up by weekly training and regular battle exercises. Stimpson's Piece Perhaps the most memorable mention of the Stimpson name to present-day Reepham residents is in reference to Stimpson's Piece. This piece of land was originally six acres, leased to the parish of Reepham by the Stimpson family for use as a playing field. Following the Second World War a pavilion was built as a war memorial and in thanksgiving for victory. The pavilion has been rebuilt since then but the memorial plaque remains in the present pavilion built in 1995. In 1987 the land was gifted to Reepham and extended by the parish council with a further seven acres to form the present Stimpson's Piece. Despite all he has contributed to Reepham, Salle remains Ben's first love and he has become closely identified with that village and, as you can imagine, he knows a very great deal about Salle, its past, its present and its people. Wesley Piercey Wesley Piercy is the man we all turn to when we want to find some elusive detail of the past of Reepham. Wesley was born in Reepham in 1917, in a farmhouse on Saleyard Hill. For those who are comparitive newcomers to Reepham, this was the old road going up from Town's End Corner towards the old sale yard and curving up behind the cottages which presently look down onto Station Road. Later, the family moved to 'Cabbage Court' - Railway Cottages on the New Road - before moving back to the farm until 1940. After leaving the Hackford and Whitwell School, now the site of Reepham Primary School, Wesley first of all worked in �Wesley has spoken to many organisations in the town over the years. He remains an active member of the Reepham Society - and still the fount of knowledge on the past of the town. Tony Ivins Wesley Piercy Cawston before going as apprentice to Reeder's, the baker in Back Street. The premises were known as 'house and baking office' and are now represented by the house known as The Old Bakery. Although he had moved just before the war to work in Wells, as a member of the Supplementary Reserve, Wesley was called up immediately. He had quite an interesting war! He went out with the British Expeditionary Force to France in 1939. In the confusion of the retreat from France, Wesley was separated from his unit when he had a brief spell in hospital. He was discharged from hospital to the base depot near St. Nazaire which was then being readied for a division of Canadian troops who were, at this stage, the only available unit still fully equipped to fight. However, it became necessary to evacuate all troops following the capitulation of France. Wesley then spent the next six months out in England before embarking for the Middle East and the Western Desert in 1941. His unit was now with an army group later known as the Desert Rats (the Eighth Army) which then crossed to Sicily and fought its way up Italy. In 1944 'time expired' men were replaced by new recruits and Wesley returned to the UK. He then returned to Aldershot where he found that all the bakehouse jobs had been taken over by the women of the ATS. After the end of the war Wesley was demobbed in 1946. As you can imagine, returning to civilian life was some­ what of a culture shock and Wesley left baking for more active jobs. He eventually found his way into the Eastern Electricity Board, for whom he worked for 23 years until he retired in 1982. His love for history and the past of the Reepham area was never lost. A number of historians and archaeologists had an interest in the local history and ran a number of WEA courses in Reepham during the 1970s. Wesley enthusiastically joined to expand his knowledge of the past. Following his retirement in 1982 he was able to follow up his great interest in history. He started an Open University course, wherever possible completing history units, to qualify for his BA. His life also changed in another way around this time when he met his wife Olive on holiday. By this time the Pierceys were living in the bungalow where Wesley and Olive still live in Park Lane. As a result of his encyclopaedic knowledge of Reepham and its people 28 Tony Ivins remains the President of the Reepham Society to this day though increasing age and frailty prevent his active involvement. He was also a founder member and, with Susie his wife, a driving force in the development of the Society. Bom in South London in 1915, Tony gained a diploma in animal husbandry at an agricultural college in the south of England. In the late 1930s, he joined the staff of the Forest School in Hampshire. The school was a progressive co-educational boarding school in the New Forest. Its ethos was to teach children how to respect the countryside and make use of natural resources. In 1938 the school had to move to new premises and an educational trust was set up to enable the purchase of Whitwell Hall and grounds. This is where Tony met Susie Dommen who became the Matron at the new Forest School where Tony was now the bursar. Not long after the move the Second World War broke out, the school was evacuated and the army requisitioned the Hall. Tony Ivins Tony enlisted in the Air Force where he became a navigator. His war years were spent in Africa where his squadron's role was to reinforce the British role by ferrying diplomats and heads of state around that country. From this he acquired an abiding love of Africa and has many albums of photographs from that time, especially aerial views. Meanwhile, Susie joined the Land Army and worked as a farm secretary at Sparham Hall. At the end of the war Tony and Susie were married and returned to Whitwell in 1946. Due to the financial costs involved, a decision was made not to re-open the school. Instead, Tony set up a pig farm at Whitwell Hall which brought in sufficient finance to enable Tony to set up a Country Centre offering schoolchildren an opportunity to enjoy a week under canvas, or in the house, and to experience the country, the wildlife and the natural resources. Tony and Susie's children, Sally and Hugh, were born here and Hugh still lives with his family in one of the cottages which was bought from the estate. �Tony came to love Whitwell as well as the educational trust which had always been dear to his heart. It was his interest in finding out about Whitwell and its past which stimulated Tony's broader interest in history. With Susie's drive and enthusiasm, they not only developed the Coun­ try Centre at Whitwell but gave a great deal to the village and to Reepham. It is largely due to them and several other early members of the Reepham Society that we have been able to develop such comprehensive archives for the Society. Tony's work at Whitwell Hall enabled him to meet numerous well-known Norfolk folk. His friends included Ted Ellis, Dick Joyce and Philip Wayre of the Norfolk Wildlife Centre who shared many of his interests. Tony was also Chairman of the Norfolk Deaf Children's Society and one year he was able to show the Queen Mother round the NDCS stand at the Royal Norfolk Show. As Wardens of Whitwell Hall, Tony and Susie had lived in the Hall itself but when he retired they moved to Hillside Cottage on Whitwell Hill. Tony now became Chairman of the Country Centre and continued his life-long work for Whitwell Hall and its 40-acre estate. Whitwell Hall Educational Trust A great many people are unaware of the existence of Whitwell Hall Country Centre, its unique history and unusual development. We think it is worth telling a little more about one more interesting aspect of the Reepham group of parishes. Whitwell Hall itself was, of course, a private house. The previous history of the hall, park and deserted medieval village has been described elsewhere in earlier Reepham Society magazines, often relying on infor­ mation fro m T o n y Ivins himself. Forest School was started in 1928 near Godshill in the New Forest and consisted of 100 acres of woodland over­ looking the Avon valley in Hampshire. It was bought by Earnest Westlake, the son of a Quaker and wealthy indus­ trialist from Fordingbridge. He became a humanist and educationalist and, as a result, founded the order of W ood­ craft Chivalry - the Woodcraft Folk - where families met together under canvas, later in huts, and learned to live in and appreciate the natural environment. Loosely built on the ideas and culture of the North American Indians, its aim was to enable children to find out about themselves by offering opportunities for development and self-discipline rather than by imposing learning and discipline. Other schools, such as Dartington and Summerhill, developed from similar roots as did organisations like the Guides and Scouts. After the war, it was decided by Tony and Susie and the school secretary, who lived in Cambridge, not to re-open as a school as such a large financial investment would be required to renovate and repair the buildings. Instead, Tony set about earning an income for the trust by utilising his training in animal husbandry and set up the pig farm in the existing outbuildings on the site. Each summer, former pupils of Forest School continued the tradition of camping activities with their families until the late 1950s when the Forest School was set up again to continue elsewhere. A young Tony Ivins working with older boys in the kitchen garden. In the early 1960s contacts were established with teachers and education authorities in Norfolk and Suffolk at a time when such bodies were keen to encourage children to spend time out-of-doors. From this grew a thriving Country Centre which continues to provide opportunities for many groups of children to spend a week or weekend camping in the grounds, or living in dormitories, whilst undertaking country activities which are totally new for some city children. Tony Ivins, the original Warden of Whitwell Hall, was assisted by Susie as House Mother until the 1970s. By this time, it was necessary to take on more staff. Sue and Brian Evans joined the staff and later took over the running of the Centre which they continue to manage down to the present. On his retirement, Tony became Chairman of the trust and worked tirelessly for the Centre, a role which his son, Hugh, has now taken on after him. The CountryCentre is always looking for ways to broaden its activities and a number of local groups and pupils from Reepham High School use the house and grounds for a variety of activities. Any group can contact Brian and Sue Evans to see if the Centre can accommodate their requirements - always bearing in mind that it is limited by its status as an educational trust. Our grateful thanks to Hugh Ivins for his help in preparing this profile of his father and the outline of the development of the Whitwell Hnll Country Centre. 29 �Reepham Society History Exhibition Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11th, 12th & 13th May, 2001 Friday: 10.00 am to 4.00 pm Saturday: 10.00 am to 6.00 pm Sunday: 10.00 am to 12.00 noon Local history of Reepham and the surrounding villages Members preview 7.30 pm Thursday 10th May The editor is very aware that the articles in this magazine talk about footpaths and access to the countryside in some detail. At time of publication the country is ravaged by Foot and Mouth Disease. Fortunately, this part of the country has remained free of infection. We would like to remind visitors to the area to observe footpath restrictions. Whilst this is a largely arable farming area there are numbers of animals in many places. Please only use those footpaths, like the Marriott's Way, which you are sure are open and do not venture into farmland. �Hendry & Sons Funeral D irectors Private C h a p els o f Rest R ic h a r d H e n d r y , DIP. F. D. M e m b e r s o f th e N.A.F.D. Station Road, Foulsham, Dereham Norfolk Tel Foulsham (01362) 683249 MUCK & MAGIC Garden Serviced From on e off solutions, to all-year-round maintenance Whatever your gardening n eed s w e’ ll cov er the ground for you. VEGGIES & GRASS HEDGES & PATHS PONDS & PATIOS GUTS & STRIMS COMPOST & MULCHES PLANTS & SEEDS TURFS & WEEDS I ! ! A FIRST-CLASS SERVICE Call JON PURDY for a quote H o m e 01603 308093 M o b ile 07771 926582 Brantleyj, 10a New Road, Reepbam Reepham Beers Distinctively Different \0orth Seeking Out �BONHAM S {BROOKS Thinking of selling? This small oil on panel by John Moore of Ipswich was sold in our June 2000 sale of East Anglian related Works of Art ‘The East Anglian View’ for £8,500. For valuations for probate, insurance or sale and general enquiries contact: James Glennie, Caro Flower, Angela Ellis Bonhams & Brooks East Anglia Office The Market Place, Reepham, Norwich NR10 4JJ 01603 871443 eastanalia@bonhams.com � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Publications Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Publications Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Reepham Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1976 to 2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed documents Box *** Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976 to 2014 Reepham Description An account of the resource Reepham Society Publications Text - printed Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Magazine Millennium Edition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 2001 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant April 2001 Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1707191706 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Reepham Society Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 booklet Reepham Society Publications {Archive Box 15] Events/2000 {File 5, Archive Box 105] Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Description An account of the resource The Archive holds a stock of about 30 Magazines in 2020. There are some unfortunate errors in this magazine. A photograph of Ron Gibbs appears as Ann Dickenson's father. Her father was Fred. J. Gibbs. GB-REE-1707191706a.pdf is the OCR version of the PDF. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All Rights Reserved 2001 RS Magazine https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/541dd2f4f3af8e7afbc1b7ceb00c0582.jpg 94a52fadf93deadec06f757b3e0b0999 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 WWI Description An account of the resource Information relating to the use of Hackford House & Reepham Town Hall as a Red Cross/VAD Hospital during WWI plus photographs of troops assembling/parading in Reepham Market Place. Many of these images were used in the Reepham Archive Exhibition in 2014. The display boards are shown in the RA Exhibition Collection. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/WWI Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource [File 21, Box 121] 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 Red Cross Hospital Group Description An account of the resource Photograph taken in the churchyard at the side of Reepham Town Hall in 1917 showing officers, staff and patients of the hospital including Sister Stelling, Sister Keeley, Nurse Dewing, Nurse Maddison, Nurse Mortlock and Nurse Langton. Dr. E V Perry was the Medical Officer in Charge, (probably the central male figure), Lady Grace Barry was the Commandant, and Temple Owen, Esq., was Financial Secretary. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1917 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1707261025 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource B&W photograph 132 x 97 mm Faded copy WWI [File 21 + Archive Box 121] 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 Relation A related resource Red Cross Handbook 1917 Reepham Archive WWI Exhibition 2014 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Bircham Centre Archive 1917 Dewing hospital Keeley Langton Maddison Mortlock Perry Red Cross Stelling https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/171e3acec8eab95e5a7951ad417cab3f.jpg af29bd76be99bc6dd7ee799786847461 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 Soldiers and vehicles outside Reepham Red Cross Hospital Description An account of the resource The current town hall was previously called Hackford Parish Hall, and earlier was the school for Hackford & Whitwell children. It was commandeered as a hospital during WWI. Postcard sent from Reepham 11 Sept 1916 addressed to Mr. Frank Mole, Sudbury from Daisy, Mrs Morris Mole. In 2017 DVLA advised Peugot AH 222 is still taxed and insured. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1916 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1916 Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1707261700 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource B&W postcard 145 x 90 mm Families & Businesses/Mole [File 6, Archive Box 106] WWI [File 21, Box 121] Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource J Mole Relation A related resource GB/REE/1907131515 Veteran car with local connection 2018 photograph in correspondence file. 1916 AH 222 Church Street hospital Red Cross RL Calendar 2018 WWI https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/c4fe6437d0d77ae5ca0ef0d33bde2885.jpg ebb274bbc1313b4d3c9fa0d5039c26e1 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 Cricket Team 1900s Description An account of the resource Group of twelve men in cricket whites and blazers in front of an open pavilion. Likely to be a Reepham Cricket Team. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Early 1900s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1900s Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1707291123 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The East Anglian Photographic Coy, Norwich Road, Reepham. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Sepia photograph on board mount 190 x 150 mm Poor condition Groups/Cricket [File 7, Archive Box 107] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Bircham Centre Archive Relation A related resource RS Magazine Spring 1990 1900s cricket https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/1ca58e32fcc4edf5f294e49f8375b0d7.jpg 587af8e3ae170c9958915271c8b71b2d 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 Cricket Team, Reepham Description An account of the resource Group of 13 men, outside an open pavilion, 11 in cricket whites, umpire wearing a hat, man on left possibly a scorer. Written on reverse : Reepham 1921. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1921 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1921 Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1707291205 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Sepia photograph 155 x 110 mm Mounted on card Groups/Cricket [File 7, Archive Box 107] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society 1920s cricket RL Calendar 2018 RS Magazine Spring 1990 https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/310d39599a116c0acc2ff18ca40ad401.jpg 52d86276b94d2508010ddf2a875ad9f8 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 Watts Austin and his wife Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1707311136 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Families and Businesses/A [File 6, Archive Box 106] Description An account of the resource Watts Austin, born around 1830, butcher, with his wife, in about 1904. His father, also Watts Austin, 1802-1877 was a butcher. He married Ann Pye who was listed as a pauper at her death in 1884. Sent to the Reepham Archive by a descendant of Watts Austin in July 2017. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1900s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1904 Reepham Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource D Greaves Austin butcher https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/47bc8f996c575a81648203d3eba18050.jpg 04cebdfcd47e57712c36890b48e7d586 https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/9d37d39255f77d03c5af3a0a115d8933.jpg 26010fb58eab3fa79b94cb94f4649c12 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 Hackford House Scouts Troop 1911 Description An account of the resource Samuel Bircham with the Wood Pigeon and Peewit Patrols and their leaders outside Hackford House. Amy Rump is the 'girl scout' on the horse. Annotated copy included. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1911 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1709041645 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource B&W photograph 230 x 145 mm Groups/Scouts [File 7, Archive Box 107] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society RS Database 385 Hardiment Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1911 Hackford House Bircham RL Calendar 2018 Rump scouts https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/770fe40418d9b54b32b2a23b4a4442c5.jpg 043bc9af892852334a5d8db336562f4e 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 Shopping Week Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1709051242 Description An account of the resource The Grand Parade held on Wednesday afternoon 15 June 1950 of Light, Heavy, Riding and Saddle Horses and Vehicles. These came from many local farms and traders. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource B&W photograph 218 x 165 mm Worn and slightly crumpled Events/1950 [File 5, Box File 105] Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Norfolk Chronicle Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 15 June 1950 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1950 Reepham Market Place 1950 parade RL Calendar 2018 RS Magazine https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/e5007eadfe5e738af38b93beae78bf75.jpg 7a0fb6396f62a5efe680501a1f812b36 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 Robert Eaglen with his father at Hackford Description An account of the resource Robert became a gamekeeper at Hackford Hall and in 1918 moved to Beachamwell near Swaffham. His daughter Fernleigh Eaglen married Alfred Hardiment, grocer in the Market Place, Reepham, in 1932. Robert's father was a shepherd at Hackford. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Early 1900s Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/1709060937 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Families and Businesses [File 6, Archive Box 106] Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Hardiment RS Database 349 1900s Eaglen RL Calendar 2018 shepherd