8 20 1030 https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/3d36fc339cefba661b12dc606adbc93e.pdf e2554806eece371b40048c99a4cd580e PDF Text Text Tony Ivins on Whitwell − Part 1 Tony Ivins was a founder member, and remains the President, of the Reepham Society for his lifetime. 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 well-known 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 particular, 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. The earliest history of the parish can be traced back to Roman times with the presence of the Roman Road which runs from Billingford and Bawdeswell, through Booton and on to Caister-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 Green to Bawdeswell along Common Lane.1 Possibly that old Roman Road, after the Romans 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 a summer, with a group of friends, excavating there. They found the footings of medieval brick walls, quite a number of them. Underneath those she found staining in the soil that could indicate a possible Saxon settlement. The last mention of that village that we know of 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 few, possibly empty, cottages were pulled down so that the owner of Whitwell at that time could enlarge his park. 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. 1 �At the southern end of the hall grounds, getting towards the south-eastern corner, there is a site which we think may have been the first Whitwell Hall, probably an old timber-built 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 springs I mentioned earlier on, so it would have had a good water supply . Getting away from Whitwell Hall and back to the parish, there is a 17th century map, of which I have a copy, which shows the Whitwell Field with its cultivated strips. That 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”. The other piece of common ground in the village is still there. Whitwell Low Common, some 40 acres of rather wet common 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 19th 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 Nicholas 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 Nicholas. 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 corn 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 19th century, the principal landowners then were the Leamons of Whitwell Hall. They came to Whitwell in the early 19th century and left �by the end of that century, three generations of them. They had a tannery. The Leeds of Whitwell Green Tannery were tannery owners and farmers, too, while the Collyers of Hackford Hall also owned quite a lot of land in Whitwell.2 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, I was given a bit of a noticeboard 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 effect 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 I was 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 1,500 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 1,500 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 10 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. 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. 2 �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.3 Peter Wilkin, his acreage is not recorded. 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, those buildings near Whitwell Common, just beyond the White House. That was Leeds Tannery which, incidentally, finished work about 1903. As a tanner he also employed 10 men, three boys, three carpenters and a blacksmith. Thomas Dunger farmed 332 acres up by Jordan 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 Secker 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 10 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 1,500 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 innkeeper. That happened quite often, I found, especially with the 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.] 3 �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 innkeeper 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 10 of them living in Whitwell, not necessarily all working there. One of them, Thomas Sawyer − good name for a carpenter − was also a wheelwright. Now, cattle dealers and shopkeepers − four of those. Three of them seem to be related − they are all named Neil; and then dealers in fish − two of them − William Guymer and Peter Wilkin, both born 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 dressmakers were Jane Ware, Franklins, Galimer, Roland, Vile, Vone and Secker. There was one washerwoman, Elizabeth Hunt, and one charwoman, Deborah Wilson. In the parish there were two grooms. They would probably have worked either at the White House on the common or at the hall. Shoemakers − again you see no buying of the ready-made things. Three shoemakers 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 I imagine he would be drying the turf for burning, possibly turf gathered on Whitwell Common. �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. Henry Rudd was aged 73, born 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 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 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 19th century. I think that there is one really significant 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 practically none, in this particular census, were born 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 me, 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. Whitwell Hall when it was opened before the last war as the Forest School. �This map of “Whitwell Field” was probably used in the 18th century to establish to which church tithes should be paid. It is almost certainly copied from on 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 of the tannery pits. �Whitwell Low Common is Ihe only piece of registered common left in the modern parish of Reepham. It is no longer used as grazing land but is an important area for wildlife. From the Reepham Society Magazine, Millennium Edition, April 2001 � 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 Tony Ivins on Whitwell - Part 1 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2410301020 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF 9 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001 Description An account of the resource Based on a talk on the history of Whitwell parish given to the Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Tony Ivins Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From the Reepham Society Magazine, Millennium Edition, April 2001 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher Ivins Whitwell Whitwell Hall https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/ec851dd058a2e4c2ef6f0c1f1b9af348.pdf 33ba0bf369a78f012ffae73866b548a7 PDF Text Text 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 on Open University degree. While 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. Reproduction drawing of All Saints Church, Hackford, made in 1784 before most of the ruins were pulled down. All that now remains is a fragment of one wall. �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 suggest, would have been called Reepham. The Anglo-Saxon “ham” ending is generally thought to be earlier than “ton” and other suffixes. The question then arises as to where the original settlement 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. 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. 2. 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. 3. The soil in this area is a good medium loam, easily worked and well drained, with a sandy subsoil 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 from. 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 were 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, apparently 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 what 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 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 foundations 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 does 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 1 With the development of metal detectors and increasing interest in historical research, further evidence is slowly emerging of early settlements 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? �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 settlement 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 façade, 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. 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. �Kerdiston appears to have had two centres, one connected with the “Giant’s Moat” near the Old Hall and one with Kerdiston House, a farmhouse now demolished at the other end of the parish. The population was, apparently, never very large and there was never a public house or shop, though there was a blacksmith within the last 50 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, was 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 preConquest documentary 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. View across the moat into the Kerdiston moated site known locally as the Giant’s Moat. The moat itself is now surrounded by trees, but the remains of on old well can be seen inside the moat. From the Reepham Society Magazine, Millennium Edition, April 2001 � 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 Why Reepham? Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2410231030 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF 5 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001 Description An account of the resource Speculation on the origins of Reepham, including why does Reepham stand where it does? Why is it so different from the surrounding parishes? Why did its churchyard contain three churches? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wesley Piercy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From the Reepham Society Magazine, Millennium Edition, April 2001 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Hackford Kerdiston Pettywell Salle Whitwell https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/5425b90fdd1f7429d8d1dcff13bbab08.jpg ed9c24843b00a7eefd476d451ec6e7a6 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 Fairway Garage Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2410201500 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Streets & Buildings/Cawston 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 Cawston Road Description An account of the resource View towards Reepham on the Cawston Road showing Fairway Garage and the water tower that stood near the junction with Orchard Lane. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource EW 2013 Cawston Road Fairway Garage RL Calendar 2015 https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/57134afd936640dd490622fdeecf04c3.jpg eaf81c4f418c80d3ccd91ab90bff95b8 https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/e3ed98b506f8aaadb8d67b633764d18a.pdf 7f6b772a715dd4d2efedb05ee7c06e09 PDF Text Text REEPHAM'S THREE CHURCHES M. J. Sayer, B.A. (Oxon) 1972 GB/REE/2410091050 ��������������� 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's Three Churches Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2410091050 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A5 32pp booklet Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1972 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Reepham Description An account of the resource Detailed descriptions of Reepham's three churches, including memorial inscriptions & parish registers, plus secular historic details of the three parishes. A second edition was published in 1977. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource M. J. Sayer Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society All Saints Sayer St Mary's St Michael's https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/70033e1774b1db8aa26c9886827b993b.pdf 49f117264ee6df7bdbb718063444b13a PDF Text Text 2r f • THE REEPHAM SOCIETY Affiliated to the Council for the Protection a/ Rural England Newsletter - January 1999 (Follows September 1998 Issue) At this time of year, as our voluntary collectors go round asking for your subscriptions, we generally include in the newsletter a reminder of the Society's aims and activities. The society operates as a loca1 amenity society within the parishes of Reepham, Booton, Hackford, Kerdiston, Salle, and Whitwell. It is a registered charity affiliated to the Council for the Protection of Rural England and is non-political and nonsectarian. The Society is also non·profit making and financed entirely by members' subscriptions, voluntary donations, and fund raising activities. Membership is open to all who are interested in the area covered. Objects are to:- I. 2. 3. stimulate public interest in the area~ promote high standards of planning and architecture~ secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement offeatures of historical or public interest. In addition to its own activities to promote these objects, the society cooperates and co-ordinates with other bodies such as the Parish Council, clubs and youth groops. The society also keeps a watch on activities and developments outside Reepham that are likely to affect the town. Planning As an Amenity Society, we are entitled to be notified about and comment on aU planning applications in Reepham. These are scrutinized by our Planning sub-Committee, of which Jan Henry is now Chairman and Jolyon Booth is Secretary. In 1998 the sub-ccmmittee commented on 28 applications. Broadland District Council subsequently refused 2 of them and approved 24 leaving 2 outstanding at the time of going to print. The most significant refusal was for two pig buildings at Wood Fann Kerdiston as reported in the September 98 newsletter. The most significant proposal since then is to convert Riches House (The old Happy Shopper) into a shop and four flats. We have not opposed this but BDC have yet to decide on it. Highways Members wil~ no doub~ be pleased to learn tha~ at a Parish Council Meeting on 25~ Nov, there had been a constructive exchange of views with two County Council Highways Officers on a range of highways topics. The Officers accepted that long vehicles should be discouraged from coming through Reepham. As soon as possible they would put notices on the BI145 at Bawdeswell, Aylsham and Fir Covert Road advising drivers that the road was unsuitable for long vehicles. The effect ofthese advisory notices would be monitored to assess the likely value of framing a restrictive regulation. They would also change the direction sign off the A1067 at Bawdeswell so it showed Reepham rather than Aylsham, as at present. They thought various other ideas about changing road priorities, protective kerbs and a chicane were not feasible though they believed Reepham was near the top of the queue for traffic calming. They would come and look at our parking problems outside Spar and along Norwjch Road. There was a possibility of extending the 30 limit beyond Booton Beck. RS Garden Competition In order to keep a unified theme for the evening, a new fonnat was tried for the presentation of the Reepham Society'S 1998 garden competition prizes. So, after they had very fully and carefully explained who was getting the awards and why, the judges fonned themselves into a gardeners' question time panel. The audience challenged them with a wide variety of questions, which they fi elded most expertly and Newsletter Jan 99 �/ • Page2 adroitly. All three of them found something to say about almost every question - there was no repetition and only the faintest hint of disagreement - altogether a fascinating evening. We are most grateful to the judges, for the time and effort they contributed. Between them they visited 80 gardens twice over. Winners, in order - lsi., 2nd, 3m, and Highly Commended - were as follows. The Stimpson Cup (Large Gardens). Mr. & Mrs. R Kemp; Mr. & Mrs. R D Harding; Mrs. A Wyand. Judge Mike Allen. The Ewing Cup (Intennediate Gardens) Mr. & Mrs. R W FrankJin; Mr. & Mrs. JR Lamhert; Mr. & Mrs. H W Raffell; Mr. & Mrs. B Simpson Judge Laurie Riches. The Margaret Cameron Cup (Small Gardens) Mrs. Pat Waterworth; Mr. & Mrs. IW McGilvray Mr. & Mrs. DW Everett; Mr. & Mrs. J Lay. Judge Brian Norbury. The Chairman's Cup (Vegetable gardens) Mr. W Roberts; Miss Dorothy Burton; Mr. HN Egmore; Mrs. NA linkerson; Mr. W J Tubby; Mr. S Tebbutt; Special Award /0: Mr. P Walker: Mr. & Mrs. D Leonard Judge Mr. EG Geater. Programme of events You will see from the list below and on your membership card. that this summer we have combined the "outdoor" event with the presentation of the Marjorie Gibbs Rose Bowl (hanging basket) awards. Last year it was the social aspect of both these events that members seemed to enjoy most and we plan to lay on some (gentle) live music as well as food and drink to oil the wheels. 1999 Programme FEBRUARY II The Knight on the Bed of Stone. (Like the Kerdiston tomb to St.Mary's Church.) lIIustrated talk by Kate Nightingale (Reepham Society) MARCH II Victorian Cooking: Rich & Poor. Talk and display by Lyn Gash (Norwich Museum) APRIL 29 AGM Election of Officers & Committee for 1999-2000, followed by Medieval Norfolk from the Air. llIustrated talk by Derek Edwards (Norrolk Landscape Archaeologist, Gressenhall) MAY 13 Unusual Britain Illustrated talk by Belen Paterson (Fonnerly of English Heritage) JUNE We hope to arrange an outing. (Memhers' suggestions would he welcome.) JULY 17 Society Summer Soiree & Presentation of Awards for Banging Basket Competition at Moor House, by kind permission of Mr. & Mrs. Leonard. SEI'IEMBER 9 The Sinking of the Titallic_Dlustcated talk by John Balls (Relative ofa passenger) 14 Saints Alive (Unusual church dedications in Norrolk & stories of their saints)-Illustrated talk by Philip Skeyte (Enthusiast) ocroBER NOVEMBER II 7:30 PM START The Society's Garden Awards followed by Gardeners' Question Time Norfolk Amenities Group AGM Members will be interested to learn that we are hosting this year's Group AGM ( 16 April at the Pavilion, Stimpson's Piece) where we hope to put on an exhibition of the Societies activities. Please notify Jolyon Booth if you wish to participate. Literature Festival Reepharn 's fame as an intellectual power-house has spread as fur as Norrolk County Council who have chosen the town as the location for a Literature Festival (though they want to call it something else!) to be run in conjunction with the District Council on 2 1, 2200, 23rd October. A Festival activity that the Reepham Society particularly wishes to help promote is <reminiscence gathering'. The memories of some of the Newsletter Jan 99 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Newsletters Description An account of the resource A comprehensive collection of newsletters published by the Reepham Society. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed and digital Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Magazines Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1983-2000 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Text-digital Any text item for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The text can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a text owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Newsletter January 1999 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2409041005 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4, 2 pages (incomplete - last 2 pages missing) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource January 1999 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned by Geoff Fisher Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Reepham Society https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/127073d235cfe48d24158062518b1728.pdf 03f15121d11e2b93b9e1f05131fa235a PDF Text Text 20 THE REEPHAM SOCIETY Affiliated 10 the Council for the Protection of Rural Englalld Newsletter - January 1998 (Follows July 1997 Issue) Introduction This newsletter continues the Executive COlIunittee's commitment to keep members informed about the Society's activities ruKi proJX'sed future events. The newsletter will be distributed by collectors at the same time as 1998 membership cards when calling upon members for their 1998 subscriptions. which we have managed to keep at the same level as last year - £4 per household or £3 if any member of the household is a senior citizen. General A<; a reminder and for new members. The society operates as a local amenity society within the parishes of Reepham, Booton. Hackford. Kerdiston, Salle, and WhitwelL It is a registered charity affiliated to the CowlCil for the Protection of Rural England and is non-political and non-sectarian. The Society is also non-profit making and financed entirely by members' subscriptions, voluntary donations, and fund raising activities. Membership is open to aU who are interested in the area covered. Objects are to:1. 2. 3. stimulate public interest in the area: promotc high standards of planning and architecture; secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement of features of historical or public interest. In addition to its own activities to promote these objects, the society cooperates and co~ordjnates with other oodies such as the Parish Council, clubs and youth groups. The society also keeps a watch on activities and deve lopments outside Reepham that are likely to affect the to .....'11. Planning After years of expert sterling service, M,u-garet Hemmings has stepped down as Chairman & Secretary of the Planning sub-Committee. Jan Henry is now Chairman and Jolyon Booth is Secretary. In 1997 the sub-committee commented on 36 applications. Broadland District Council subsequently rcliJsed 3 of them and approved 26 leaving 7 outstanding at the tin,e of going to print. The refusals were applications to set up businesses - a Pizza takeaway in Townsend Court and two successive applications to set up a Hair Salon in a house in New Road. Amongst the approved proposals wa<; the conversion, to residential use, of stables at the Kings Arms with consequent improvement of a blank wall in Back Street by reinstatement of old windows. Further development ofthe Randall's yard site was approved to allow conversion of the old George and Dragon to two dwellings and addition of two more houses 10 U1e terrace on Norwich Road. The fate of the old wall at the bottom ofMaithouse Lane is currently under negotiation. Outstanding applications include the development of the old granary site in Stony Lane. Outline pennission for 9 houses was granted in April but a specific application has now been made for 7 houses. An L-shaped belt of trees around this site is now protected. Also outstanding is an application to keep horses on a patch of growld next to Whitwell Common, which we opposed because we doubted its suitability for grazing and feared pollution risks to the Site ofSpeciai Scientific lintercst. Since last January's newsletter the restoration and repainting of the old Spar shop to become Echo Antiques and the conversion of TIle Chimes into Motts Chemi:-,1s have both reen completed with results that we hope Joost people will fmd attractive. The modifications to the Broadland Local District Plan. have reached the final stage. They make very few changes in Reepham most ly to match the designated use of certain areas to their actual use and to preserve some patches of green, Nev"sleller Jan 98 �• • Page 2 Footpaths The Parish Council have sub-contracted to us the responsibility for the twice yearly survey of footpaths within the parish. Volunteer members shared the work between them and completed the first survey in November. 1be fee of £150 is a helpful addition to our finances. The next survey is due in May additional volunteers please contact the secretary. TheCPRE We continue to support the CPRE through its County Branch, the Norfolk Society both by our corporate subscription and by participating in CPRE activities. In October we mounted a display and helped at the Norfolk Society's Silver Jubilee exhibition at the Assembly House, Norwich and we have sent representatives to the Society's General Advisory Conunittee and to its award ceremony at County Hall. We look forward to Martin Walton's t.."lIk about these awards at our meeting on 121h February. Ralph Cox has completed an extensive planning research project, on our behalf, fur the Broad.land District Committee of the CPRE. We understand that the County Branch has now adopted Ralph's work as a model for use by other district committees. The CPRE has now discontinued its product marketing but we shall still ofter our remaining items at our general meetings. RS Garden Competition The Reepham Society's 1997 gardcn competition easily maintained standards set in carlier years, with the number of entries again topping 80. The awards ceremony on this occasion al,lowed time for each judge to explain how prize-winners were selected, and to make a few general remarks aoout gardening features which appealed to them. We were most interested to learn of the variations in approach by each judge. Unfortlll1ately several prize-winners did not attend. Wirmcrs, in order - lSi, 200. 3m, and Highly Commended - were as follows. The Stimpson Cup (Large Gardens). Mr. & Mrs. NT Wood; Mr. & Mrs. M WoodnUl; Mr. & Mrs. DW Jones; Mrs. A Wyand. Judge Laurie Riches. The Ewing Cup (lntennediate Gardens) Mr. & Mrs. HW Raffell; Mr. & Mrs. JR Lambert; Mrs. RM Attridge; Mr. & Mrs. RW Franklin. Judge Brian Norbury. The Margaret Cameron Cup (Small Gardens) Mr. & Mrs. DW Everett; Mr. & Mrs. IW McGilvray; Mrs. E Plant; Mr. & Mrs. J Lay. Judge Mike Allen. The Chairman's Cup (Vegetable gardens) Mr. W Roberts; Mr. WJ Tubby; Mr. HN Egmore; Mrs. NA Jinkerson; Miss. 0 Burton; Mr. S Tebbutt; Mr. M Jozefiak. Judge Mr. EG Geater. The 1998 award ceremony will be further expanded by agreement with the judges so as to provide a period for questions from the audience along the lines of Radio 4's "Gardeners' Question Time". We extend a warm welcome to any interested gardeners, particularly members of the Reepham and District Gardening Club. Other Support Activities As already reported in the July 97 newsletter we continue to sUpfXJrt the activities of various other Reepham organisations such as the Scouts Extravag~ Charter Day and the Victorian Day. at which last we raised on the cake stall a record £50 tor Ray's Hall. Once more our thanks go to Pat Large and her team of helpers who have provided cakes for stalls, refreshments and other assistance on our behalf Newsletter Jan 98 �• Page 3 Rcepham Society Archive. Over the past twelve months many new photographs have been added to the Society's archive. This was increased by a number of items from a member of the Beaver family who resided at Beaver House in Norwich Road. Some :further items of memorabilia from the G ibbs fam ily have now been included. One item of particular interest is a copy of a journal by J.P. Leeds who resided at lbe Oaks Farm, Kerdiston, and which gives a wonderfill account of the day to day running of a furm and the lifestyle ofhis family and associates from 1823 to 1828. J.P. Leeds was a relative of Stephen Leeds who ran tlJe Tannery at Whitwell. The archivist has been able to help famil ies who have been to Reepham during the past year with information on older relatives and ha'i been able in many instances to provide copies of photographs of places where they lived. Six families have been assisted during the past year. We were able to help with information to the Television Company who made a film of the problems of adopted children who wi.<;hed to trace their natural parents. This was broadcast on one of the "Matter of Fact" programmes which was seen late last year. Another family was helped in tracing their natural mother. This concluded in a happy reunion for all concerned. To pre!\erve good things and create better ones, it is vital to understand the pa<rt .md learn from it. The archive is an important resource for everyone in Reepham and we are most grateful for the care and skill that Brian Hardiment has put in over a number o f ye.:m to collect and organise it all. From time to time he mounts displays of special selections of our material which members and others find fascinating and informative. He is always looking fur more. so if you have any photos, docwnents or other items of historical interest that you are willing to share please let him know. Finance In view of our heahhy balance of around £2500, we feel we could accept a possible excess of expenditure over income in 1998 and have decided not to increase the subscription. The footpath survey fees (mentioned earlier) a lso improve our finance s and there is always a possibility of some fimd raising event during the year. Membership Additions and depletion.') have a lmost exactly balanced to keep numbers at roughly 250 households. This makes us one of the largest amenity societies, a fact that recently led the Aylsham Association to ask our committee's advice on how we had managed it! The truth must, we hope, have something to do with what we oITer to our members. lfindecd we are getting things right then, to make sure we continue doing so, we need to know what our members want. As a step toward that end we are planning to offer tea and biscuits after the AGM, which we hope wiU e ncourage members to stay behind and, amongst other sociable activity. have a "filII and frank exchange of views" with committee members. We would welcome any offers of help with these refreshments so that the providers are not so busy they are left out of the talk. If we were to extend this practice to other meetings we should then have to make a small admission charge to cover costs rather than rely on a begging rowl at the door. Please tell us what you think. Programme ofeveots The events for 1998 are Hsted on your membership card but this went to press too early fo r some events to be included. In particular we are hoping to arrange some outdoor event in the summer and would like to do something to draw in both new members and some of those existing members who don't come to our o rdinary indoor meetings. Any committee member wouJd be delighted to hear suggestions. In particular Newsletter Jan 98 �. - Page 4 the Secretary (Jolyon Booth) can be found at SO Bircharn Road, Reepham, NORWICH, NRIO 4NQ Tel: 871181 Fax: 8711111 email: Jolyon.Bootb@btinternet.com The Magazine Members have expressed a wish for fill1her issues of a magazine. We do have something in mind, which we hope to print during the year hut our regular researcher and writer, Michael B lack. has found it increasingly difficult to make the time for this work.. Any offers of help in this area from members would be most welcome. Otber Help Needed and Gratefully Received Eileen Plant, who has been finding ~lJe3k.ers for our meetings for some years now, has expressed the wish that someone else should take on this role. Any offers please? It is long past time to thm1k Harry Bibby and Geoff Hemmings for their regular perfunnance of the chore of setting out chairs for our meetings. Members mayor may not know that some years ago the society published a postcard showing All Saint's church Hackford - one of the three churches in Reepham churchyard - before it was demolished. A few copies of the card are still available in St Mary's but the society is in the process ofreprinting and hope to have copies of the new version available soon. The illustration alongside is to give an impression only and cannot match the quality of reproduction of the new cards. We should like to take this opportunity to thank all our distributors and collectors and wish all our members a Happy 1998. Don't miss the first meeting on 12tb February - 8pm in St Michael's. Newsletter Jan 98 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Newsletters Description An account of the resource A comprehensive collection of newsletters published by the Reepham Society. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed and digital Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Magazines Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1983-2000 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Text-digital Any text item for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The text can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a text owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Newsletter January 1998 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2409041000 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4, 4 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource January 1998 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned by Geoff Fisher Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Reepham Society https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/12996b152c40b126eeb2e0c64dbbbf63.pdf 9914dab8c369164babd0c119fffa74f0 PDF Text Text THE REEPHAM SOCIETY Magazine �THE REEPHAM SOCIETY is a local amenity society affiliated to the Council for the Protection of Rural England and its County Branch, The Norfolk Society. It was inaugurated in 1975 by a group of local residents who were concerned that the character of the town was under threat. They were worried about the possible loss of features of historic or public interest and the ri sks from overdevelopment unsympathetic to this rural environment. The Society's area of influence covers Reepham, Booton , Hackford, Kerdiston, Salle and Whitwell. The Society co-operates with the Parish and District Councils in monitoring approved new developments and encouraging good standards of architectural design; ensuring that materials suitable to their location are used and features of the landscape protected. Society affairs are managed by an Executive Committee of twelve members who are elected annually. In 1995 membership of the Society had reached over 400. Open meetings are held in eight months of the year, with speakers on a wide range of subjects; non-members are welcome. A magazine is produced periodically (at least once a year) by a Society member, Michael Black; this has customarily contained items of historic rather than current interest; current matters are reported in occasional Newsletters distributed to all members. © THE REEPHAM SOCIETY 1996 No part of this publicatioll should be reproduced ill allY form or by any means wit/lOut the prior consent of The Reepham Society �WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27,1939 Reepbam CATTLE MARKET J sAJ..ES BY AUCTlON T ION - I bJ t.e 5& Co.) A, ~ NORWICH 'Pnooe fOI .5oCJ~ UQ mana&ed / 6tn .\~ .... - IYLETT o'dock.. .D SToo<. iEX"l' nUl' lRY a.t and Te\e~bOoe l~.U COOK. AHO HOUSEKEEPER. ~ In JaDuary .,OOK.GENERAL wa~t.Q:: B:~Ite; w.re~: tor una.. mud.rDIU~lc.. · uSl,la' ouUn'~"tD'17 llilIUlY .~~~~·~·r~;:"· Nor ..... ,,"" aile' ac:cordtol to J13· oK GENERAl- req,l.nud, W Cattale KOSPltal. ly Matron . experlence.-APP . td or C CO - T and bathroom w~~'C~co:- Tornbland. ~orwtcl\.. FAT CATTLE SALE THE COUNT't A .' NORTH W ALSs~~ 01' THE SEASON HO HOUSEOPENINGJANUARY 1940 PARLOURr.lAIOB A TffiIRSDA Y. 4tb • PARLOURr.lAIOS RMAID EVERY THtJRSDA~. IRELANDS' NORTH WALSHAM STOCK SALEALVES. ~NLING CALVES. "'am. MART NOTICE d der 401. 'II . • REEPHAM ~UCT~~Ns~12. o·clock. Wt!6~KlNG C.-R.-KE.EPfa~.\.U~wn sltt~ni-r~~) Times of Sale: Cdm.Sh~~~ n 1 o'cloclt. Watton '2; lents In sider one wltn c and M.ART COWS SITUATIONS VACANT poultt)'. Beasts an ::JRY . ,nd B1JLI.S. nce}. IRELANDS' HILL AUCTION TlUS OA~ • E. NORWICH Classified Advertisements 01' SATURDAY NEXT Beuta LO o·clock. Store [Imd of Sal.. Fat U ~ o'clock. Bea&ta 12.30. 'fat Sheep . purpOsa all IRELANoa NORWICH ~ FAT PIGS (by Lu:t:llc. PJULTRY. C;GGS. and ~~ll; ;TOCK. Sale !,O commen;~ ~~~5~°E'~~! Pll' and. kC~V:HOW. 'Phone U. a\ 11.15. Fat at 1 O'docL Dead SLOe ~~~~~R~'?l~~T~~C~lg~K ~::i N .. ory,;.,cl't' .. , £36. A. ~~~~7;~~~~~~·Al!r~af~~'~~n. N'cll. OJLLlNS'~ •• HOUSE. KITCHEH AHO SCULLERYr.lAIDS , 6rst weelt In not u,nde KlTr~~~Y~ exp~rienC~a~~;~SS:~a: retetcOa L 17 )'ean.-Wrlte., :i,e~rn Abbey, Norfolk. Lad)' Gurney. Wa. iolni 'M ID ReQUlred. tor nus lateness has not been due to one major failure but to a number of minor and sometimes annoying problems all of which have combined to hold up the completion of the main article and in tum the overall publication. There is however one problem which cannot in any sense be regarded as minor and in some quarters is now regarded as disastrous. This was the fire last August which so tragicalJy reduced much of the contents of the Norwich Central Library to a charred mess. Anyone in Norfolk who has carried out even limited studies or researches into local history wiLl know that one of the first and possibly the only place to call was the local studies section of that building. If further study was required then a walk to the basement floor to the Colman and Rye was necessary, A lot of my researches in the past have involved time in the Central Library and the loss of this fine facility is ~) ~!ntroduction and Acknowledgements I must admit that the production of this magazine is late and for that [ apologise. There is an unwritten requirement from the Society for the magazine to be produced on an annual basis. I could argue that Ihere was one in 1994 and now this one in t 995 but I wouldn't want to answer a direct questi on as to how many months there have been in between. 1 �greatly regretted, let us hope this facility will soon be available again. The main article in this magazine about the 'Reepham Auction Mart' would have been developed from sources available within the Central Library but with its aspects of Reepham that show or illustrate life in previous generations. We all like to look back to the immediate past (hence our attitude to the collection of antiques and memorabilia) with the recent social history venture at Reepham Station being a particularly good example. An old unavailability this infonnation has had to be obtained from elsewhere. I therefore gratefully acknowledge the help photograph can for example, be greatly enhanced by the offered by the library of Eastern Counties Newspapers and recollections of an elderly resident, their words relating to a long lost event are often worth far more than the picture the scrapbooks of Reepham owned by Mr. W. Freestone. There are surprisingly few photographs relating to the saleground and most of those included have been taken from the newspaper cuttings owned by Mr. Freestone. As the original negatives are no longer available prints have been taken from these cuttings. Other help with photographs has come from Mr. William Green of Warham can show. The camera may capture but the spoken word brings it to life. Marjorie Gibbs had a prodigious memory. which recalled the details of Reepham life and events going back to the early part of this century. Our oldest residents now recall events which perhaps go back to the end of the First World Mr. Robert Howes of Kerdiston and also sources of the War and in ten years time the years of the Roaring Twenties Reepham Society. I wish to thank also the Daily Express Newspapers for and the Depression will be the furthest point of local recollection. Peoples memories will always have value in the future and this has never been more relevant than today when we consider the monumental changes that have taken their kind pennission in aJIowing me to reproduce a Giles cartoon and for general references I am indebted to the writings of George Ewart Evans, to the 'People's War' by Angus Calder and 'I Remember' by Marjorie Gibbs. place during the lifetime of people who were born during or immediately after the last war. The last fifty years has seen the tenns of existence change more than in the previous thousand and we should in the future be able to canvass the vivid accounts of the social conditions and rural techniques which can illuminate the accumulated documentation. Provided of course the future My particular thanks are for the recollections that have contributed to the greater part of this magazine and I feel with this particular issue the contributions are sufficient witness to the worth of the infonnation provided. I hope that these memories will give as much pleasure to you the reader as they have given me in listening. recording and in Local Studies section of the proposed Central Library is transcribing them. The people I thank are Mrs. Queenie Ewing. Mr. Robert Howes, Mr. John Williams, Mr. Ben Stimpson, various members of staff at lrelands (past and present) and in particular Mr. Hubert Sheringham. fitted with emergency water sprinklers!! The detail available from memories is of immense interest and all that is usually required is an hour or two of conversation to hear and record this. Whilst many people would regard this as a relatively innocuous task they would I'm sure be surprised at the number who either immediately turn down such requests or who agree to talk and then decide against it. sometimes at the last moment. John Ricketts is currently recording the memories of some of our older residents , a record which will be invaluable in years A first draft of the saleground article was offered to Ben Stimpson for his perusal; a subsequent long conversation with him one evening meant the addition of material as well as numerous relevant changes. Whatever there is of enlightenment in the article the basis of it was greatly enhanced by Ben. FinaUy, I would express my gratitude to John Watton who offers me help as both publisher and to come. The people of Reepham that both John and I have spoken to are, I'm sure, only a small number who have such recollections. Information that should be recorded. printer and brings together all my efforts into a magazine that always end up far better than I initiaUy envisage. Many of the articles for the Reepham Society magazine that have been written by myself or other people during the past ten years have been based partly on references to preserved documents and partly on oral transmission. I would therefore ask that if anyone feels they would like to talk about life in Reepham as it used to be, 40 or more years ago. then please get in touch with us. J would ILke the next magazine to be dedicated to fanning in and around Reepham with a particular emphasis on the days when horses and not tractors did most of the work. If you feel you can make a contribution or if you have any photographs or items of interest then please give me a ring, the Reepham Society would be interested and grateful. Whilst it is felt that this oral tradition is in decline due to the large scale techniques of storing relevant documents there will always be a place for the historian or sociologist, amateur or not to seek details of what life was like years ago. Whilst documentation can present us with the clinical or statistical details, there will always be room for the physical details of the I saB' if, I was there or I knew him or Michael Black her type of evidence. Organisations like the Reepham 'H' 01603 870936 Society are to be commended for their efforts in preserving 2 Middlemarch Broomhill Lane Reepham �It was an annual occasion that was greatly looked forward Reepham Fair to. it brought life and vibrancy to the town and temporarily increased the takings of many of the local businesses particularly the public houses. In these present times our children clamour for a trip to a theme park but in those past days the thrill, entertainment and overall fun of the fair made its way to Reepham and doubtless this once a year event was appreciated, enjoyed and remembered far more than the expensive outings of today. The fair was held on the Market Place up to the outbreak of the Second World War. From 1939 the limitations imposed on the fair people by the War made such events impossible. Although visits by fair people resumed in the late 1940's and continued until the 1960's they were on a Edward I 1272 -1307 Conquered Wales, 1277 - 83, and attempted the conquest o[Scotland 1291-1307. much smaller scale and the stalls and rides were moved from the Market Place to a field on the outskirts of the town. The size and grandeur of the fairs of these earlier years had gone forever. Whilst this annual fair gave Reepham a week or more of local supremacy the dominance of a market in this area of Norfolk was for many Reepham Market was founded in 1277 when Sir John de Vaux, whose lordship of Hackford extended into the parish of Reepham, obtained a charter from Edward 1 for a weekly market on Saturday and a fair on ' the eve of day and years with the neighbouring town of Foulsham. Around 1300 Foulsham was the metropolis of the Eynsford Hundred and for at least the next three centuries the Reepham market was not to be compared with that of its neighbour. morrow' of the feasts of Saint Peter and Paul - the 29th June. This fair was for many centuries one of the highlights of the year to people living in and around Reepham. At the tum of this century the Market Place would be invaded by travellers vans. roundabouts , coconut shies, shooting galleries and stalls selling all manner of sweets, rock, souvenirs and general cheapjack items. Such a large Market Day gathering of fair people lasted longer than the original charter condition of an evening and a day and usually they were here for at least a week with some of the last to leave taking up to three weeks. Although the fair offered a time of great delight and excitement to the children the adult part of the population was glad when they went owing to the noise, the Norwich fairground families for the supply of a quantity of paint so that the 'cakewalk' could be repainted whilst it However. the size and status of Foulsham slowly declined whilst at the same time Reepham steadily prospered and during the 18th and 19th centuries established itself as a typical market town. With a population of about 1000 in 1845 it had acquired, apart from its Market Place, a number of activities which distinguished it from a 'village'. These would have included a bank, several inns, a brewery, clock and watch maker, chemist, grocer and draper, coach builder was at Reepham. The fair moved on, the bill was not settled and stone mason. and for years afterwards the annual visit of the fair meant an attempt by Mr. Gibbs to obtain his money. It is said that he For generations, until it fmally closed in the early 1970's, the farmers of the neighbourhood looked to Reepham to provide a weekly market for their products. The original market was set up in mediaeval times and this allowed a convergence on Reepham of all manner of people who wanted to buy, sell or barter and the market would also have disruption and general inconvenience that was caused. Mr. Edward Gibbs, the ironmonger. once gave credit to one of never was successful in receiving payment. This annual fair occupied the whole area of the Market Place; the vans (or homes) of the fair people were drawn up side by side outside the Kings Anns with the horses being put our to grass on a meadow near the outskirts of the town. The various rides were placed on the remainder of the area and at night the whole scene would come alive with a blaze offered a type of 'employment bureau' where arrangements could be made to hire a craftsman's skills. For instance a carpenter would have lived in the town or he may have come in and set up a stall from which he would take orders or arrange work. He would then go to carry out the arranged work in the house of the person who wanted furniture of sound, light and colour. There was a large and majestic steam engine which provided the power to run the roundabouts, the organ with its wide repertoire of tunes and to provide lighting for some of the stalls. All the stalls were gaily or gaudily decorated and those not lit from the steam engine were illuminated by paraffin flares. made. This type of service would have been the same for many other trades such as bricklayers or builders, dressmakers and tailors. 3 �With the large innux of people for this particular day the town would have had to make specific arrangements, water had 10 be available and the requirements were probably satisfied by communal wells or by the town pond which was situated where the Fire Station stands today. The stalls would have been organised into fixed lines with passages between and market latrines would have been dug; in the winter cut reeds or old straw would have been spread about on the roadways to soak up the mud and rain. Special beer was often brewed and bread would have been baked for the refreshment of those attending. Market Day in those times would have been a diffi cult experience for the many who attended. The main street (now Back Street) would have been narrow and hold-ups would inevitably be caused by the traffic passing through. This moved at different speeds - there were riders on horseback, singly or in groups, horse drawn carts of different sizes and probably slow, solid bullock carts, swaying and moving at a walking pace or less. There would have been piles of stinking street rubbish to negotiate . children playing, stray animals and many a drunk unintentionally sleeping in the gutter. Park.ing of animals and carts was a problem and the length of parking time was much di sputed. Although this was probably the manner of Market Day in Reepham for centuries it became somewhat more organised in later years and particularly during the 19th century. By this time the fami lia r layout of the centre of Reepham that we have today had been built. The Back Street was no longer the main thoroughfare and the roads leading into the town would have allowed a much easier passage for for those wishing to travel through on Market Day. In 1845 Reepham is recorded as having a hiring fair, this was one of the many customs associated with the farming year which had prevailed for centuries but which like so many others died out during the early part of the 20th century. Towards the end of September the hiring fair would have been held and those agricultural workers who wanted to 'break fresh ground' would gather in the Market Place wearing a piece of coloured ribbon or cord in their buttonhole. This was a sign that they were seeking a new situation. When the labourer had agreed terms with a farmer he would accept a shilling (usually) and this would bind him to serve his new employer for a year. Whilst St. Michaelmas day is officially the 29th September; in this area the payment of all due rents and the various necessary farm movements would become effective on the 11 th October. New farm engagements would commence on this date and should the labourer have defaulted then the farmer was entitled to sue him. Although considering the wages offered and the limited possessions of the labourer this was not much of an option to the farmer. It is further recorded in 1845 that Reepham had a weekly market, which sold stock from within a wide catchment area. What isn't known is the 4 BACKSTREET date when the day of the weekly market changed from Satu rday to Wednesday although it had been held on Wednesdays since at least the earl y 1800's. It was wi th the coming of the ra ilways in the mid 19th century that the movement to market for both man and beast became easier. \Vh.ilst this transport change initially benefited Reepham the drawing power of the great market in Norwi ch, with its need to feed a large population, gradually stifled all the smaller markets who offered competition. Although competition with Norwich was never something that was parti cularl y appropriate from the much smaller local markets like Reepham it was a major element that contri buted towards the eventual closure of the Reepham saleground in March 1972. Until the setting up of the new market saleground by Irelands in 1877 the Wednesday market is recorded as being a com and can Ie market with the 29th June as the annual fair for stock and horses. Linle is recorded of the com market and it was probably a small affair compared to the much larger ones held elsewhere in the County. The indoor facilities ofthe Com Hall in Exchange Street, Norwich (now the home of Jarrolds Department Store) were palatial indeed compared to the open Market Place at Reepham which su bjected the buyers and sellers to the vagaries of the weather. �Corn and Cattle The com market would commence in the Autumn once the grain to be sold became available on the local fanns. With harvest over and the barns full the threshing would begin; in the 19th century this was a boring. arduous task. carried out by four or five men at a time who would use a flail, the tool that was like a wooden jointed whip which when used in a steady rhythmic way would shake out the individual grains of com. After threshing was completed, the 'winnowing' or 'dressing' of the com, would be carried out and the remaining grain was scooped up into "bushels" - the standard measure, levelled off and tipped into sacks. Grain would be taken straight to the mills after dressing or samples would be taken to the market so that it could be sold. "Stock and staple" were the tenns given to the types of com sales. "staple", or "sample"'was when the farmer would bring samples of his com and book the order, he wou ld then arrange delivery where and when required and then collect payment. This would save cartage in bad weather. an important consideration on the bad winter roads prevalent EARMARKED - A Red Lincoln steer receives his ear mark, necessary under the fat stock subsidy scheme, at Reepham cattle market. The "operation" is being performed by Mr. L. Blythe. - July 1954 5 �in this agricultural area at that time. "Stock", was when the farmer took the com in sacks to sell direct. collecting payment at once. This method of sale often favoured {he buyer as he would try and beat down the price, knowing the fanner would let all go cheaply, rather thaol have to cart the corn home again. During the 1880's there was obviously a good demand for grain in this area and a number of local businesses were actively involved in the buying and selling. There was Bircham and Sons who purchased for their brewery, William Hannant and George Wright both com dealers, SquirreU and Utting com and cake merchants, 5 & 5 W Leeds com and seed merchants and Coller and Sons coal and com merchants. llrree of these businesses were established at Reepham Station and the coming of the railway to Reepham at this time boosted the local com market, albeit only for a few years. There was an initial spirit of optimism as the following letter placed in the local press in November 1882 indicates: The reopening of this market took place on the 4th October 1882 and has continued every fortnight since with remarkable success quite beyond the most sanguine expectations. The next Market will be held on Wednesday at half past two (instead of half past three as therefore) at which time a train will arrive at Reepham Station (Great Eastern Railway) and those coming from Norwich and elsewhere will find a conveyance ready to take them into the Market. The principal buyers have consented to find sacks and do all they can to make the delivery to sellers of corn bought at this market as easy for the farmers as possible at the railway station nearest. Seeing there is every facility and good prospect of making a good corn market for the neighbourhood, the farmers are solicited to support this project in every way they possibly can. We are expecting a full attendance at the next market. I Reepham Auction Mart I Messrs. Irelands saleyard - an area that was to become an integral part of Reephams prosperity was originally an orchard. It was the property of Mr. William Bircham who owned the Reepham Brewery (now the Old Brewery House Hotel), various areas of land in and around Reepham and a number of public houses, including the Kings Arms. The orchard, which for a number of years had been let to the landlord of this establishment, was tri.angular in shape and is recorded in the subsequent Bircham Estate sale catalogue as occupying an area of 2 rods and 13 perches. It was obtained from Michaelmas 1878 on a 30 year lease by Messrs. Irelands, at an annual rental of £5 . The orchard also contained a small bam with a yard and sheds and these continued to be let to the Kings Arms at the annual rental of £7.IOs.Dd. The orchard had been leased for development as a canle saleyard and it was subsequently advertised by Irelands as the 'Reepham Auction Mart'. In the Summec of 1883 the Bircham Estate was put up for sal.e by public auction and Ihe sixteen lots were sold at the Norfolk Hotel in Norwich. Lot 12. comprising the Auction Mart and the bam were purchased outright by Irelands. N£SS~i SP£iHJ4N 118j . In 1883 canle were still being sold on the Market Place although Irelands fortnightly sale is recorded as a "large stock sale". A notice in the Eastern Daily Press for a fortnightly sale in Jul y 1883 infonned interested parties: Messrs Ire lands offer for sale at Reepham Auction Mart PRIME FAT BULLOCKS, COWS. HEIFERS. STORE STOCK, FAT SHEEP. HOGGETS. FAT AND STORE PIGS and OTHER EFFECTS. Commencing at 12.30 P.M. Your Obedient servant, It is unclear as to whether local competition was prevalent between buyers and sellers in the Market Place and the new saleyard but Irelands would appear to have established the major level of business. R, p, GOOCH. 6 �THIS picture, a study in expressions. was taken during Messrs. Ireland's sale at Reepham, on Wednesday 22nd March 1950 stock to provide the army with the means to haul the artillery and above all for transport. Although the weekly market continued this loss was the cause of great inconvenience to many farmers who relied upon horses as their only mode of transport. With bad harvests in 1915 and 1916 and with the continued success of the German V-boat campaign the Government acted and set up a Food Production Department which had wide powers to purchase domestic produce and agricultural products. Many items which wou ld have been disposed of through the system of the local markets prior to the War were now purchased direct and the market as a vital element of the local economy began to decline. This decline was compounded further when, after another difficult harvest in 1917, rationing of food was introduced. The fanming industry was able overall to make a positive contribution to the war effort and fanmers did rather weU from August 1917 when an Act was passed which was initially to guarantee minimum cereal War and Depression At the outbreak of the First World War the selling of cattle still continued on the Market Place, Irelands had become a weekly sale with the annual fair still taking place from 29th June. The 1914-18 War and the resulting period of depression which greatly affected agricu lture in this area severely altered these arrangements and by 1925 the annual fair was no longer recorded. Wi th one or two notable exceptions all market and sale activities had been moved to Irelands saleyard and they rook place on a weekly basis. The outbreak of War in 1914 did not immed iately change the pattern of agricultural life in this area with the harvest of th at year being brought in before fann workers of military age began to trickle away to join the "great adventure". The greatest threat was the requisitioning of farm horses by govenunent agents with many a local fanner losing good prices for the next six years and also introduced a minimum wage for fanm workers. This however was repealed in 1921 and prices and wages feU sharply. 7 �The 1920's is recalled as being the most depressing period for farming, a depression which in tum affected those areas of business which relied heavily upon it. Market prices that had been high during the War years plummeted, the price of cereals fell so sharply that profits could only be gained by farmers who worked the best land and could produce a high yield. The introduction in 1919 of death duties on large estates meant that a great deal of land was placed on the market. Land values were still high and during this postwar period there were huge sales. It was estimated that by 1921 more than one-quarter of all local farm acreage had changed hands. The auctioneers suddenly found a short term boom for their services in dealing with the many land sales that occurred. These high prices failed to last and from the early 1920's the state of farming generally went into a sharp decline, farm prices fell sharply and farmers dismissed their workers and tried to make ends meet by using family labour, machinery or by reducing standards and grassing over previously arable land. Many farms were sold as the owners went bankrupt and landlords of large acreages found the land could not be let at any price. The wages of farm workers which had reached 46/- a week in 1918 had now been eroded down to 19/- a week, there was no alternative to these labourers but to work at the low rates as many men were already out of work due to the high number of farm closures. The period from a farm workers strike at the Easter time of 1923 until the General Strike in 1926 is seen as the lowest _ . t .. _ ...__ • 8 point in these bad times but after this date things began to slowly pick up. Ouring the War the Governmen t had introduced the new crop of sugar beet, ironically as Germany had supplied 80% of Britain's pre-war demand for this crop. From the mid-1920's the Government gave the farming industry a much greater financial backing by offering a contract price for growing this root crop. [t helped to get the farmers back to a healthier state by giving a level of fmancial security coupled with a crop that assisted crop rotation. Previously fanners had grown mangolds, swedes and turnips which were a root crop to feed cattle with. The import of cheap beef particularly from the Americas undercut the market price of cattle rai sed in this country. Farmers could not afford to keep them and in tum they no longer grew the root crops required as fodder. The lack of animals (0 sell meant a severe reduction in trade for [he local markets and the auctioneers. The introduction of subsidies on wheat and also on slag and lime greatly helped. Many lields in this area had become sour and under productive. They needed liming 10 increase yields, basic slag (which is a phosphatic fertilizer) was sent from the coalfields by train to Reepham. It was delivered to the nearby farms and spread onto the fields. Among th ose who survived the depression were farmers who were able to rear or support a flock of sheep and 10 many farmers the yearly cheque for lambs was the largest single item in their annual income. Whilst many locally raised sheep were sen( (Q the large sa les in Norfolk such as the June lamb sale at Diss (the largest in East Anglia), there �was still a large number sold in Reepham. An annual Spring lamb sale was held by Irelands at Bnston, an event which This mode of transport slowly began to change as more and more farmers started to use the competitive cattle coincided with the local fair. However this sale. like the sale were prepared to pay higher prices than those that could be lorries of the hauliers for their market transport. The old order of the fanners. the local markets and the cattle drovers all reliant upon each other for so long were to be so radically changed in just a few years by the transport changes that accelerated during the second half of the 20th expected in Reepham. There was a wholesale improvement in fanning from 1936 onwards, but the results of [he worst times were felt right century. The canle lorries took the trade from the rail ways and the trade went to the larger markets or direct to the abattoir. The up to the outbreak of war in 1939 and it was generally felt that the land fit for the re~Jming heroes of the First World War did not materialise under the wide Norfolk sky. cattle drover had all but disappeared by the 1940·s. the of sheep at Reepham. did not have the pulling power and higher prices of markets like Diss. Sheep driven to the fair at Diss attracted buyers from far afield and these buyers railways closed during the nex.t twenty years and many of the smaller and more local markets had gone by the mid 1970·s. Reepham Stock Mart (as it was originally known) reached its peak during the years 1900-1914, when it was ilmong the best in the County, with local people adamant that it was only inferior to the larger markets on Norwich Castle Hill and at King's Lynn. It served faithfully and well a wide Animals have always been sent to market; the buying and selling of beasts and fowls has always been an integral part of fanning life. and profit and fortune were only to be had if a farmer was able to raise his stock to a standard which commanded a good price. Until the latter part of the last century many aninnals would have been driven to the local inland agricultural community - with the nearest opposition market although some were often driven longer distances to the larger or seasonal markets as bener prices could be markets and the annual sheep sa les at selected towns as far distant as Dereham. Fakenham. Holt. North Walsham and Norwich - and weekly entries of 200 cattle in addi tion to plentiful supplies of sheep. pigs and poUltry were of quite throughout the County would mean long days for the common occurrence. obtained . The demand of the Norwich and Kings Lynn drovers who were entrusted to take care of the animals being sold or bought. However the time and effort taken by the local faomers and the hired drovers would generally be well rewarded by the higher prices obtained. First the Railways then the Cattle Floats Beasts and Drovers Reepham had for many centuries enjoyed a standard rural catclunent for those who attended its weekly market. the numbers attending as with most rural areas was limited to the daily journey made possible by horse and cart, a distance of some four or five miles (or a ten mile round trip) . Initially Reepham gained a shift in importance with the coming of the railways. with two lines and two stations positioned at the north and south of the Town . Famlers from a wider area were able to buy and sell stock and for a number of years. particularly up to the First World War, the market prospered. Animals would be brought in by a mixture of boys. fann labourers and drovers . The former two would have driven aninnals from the local farms or from the two railway stations whilst the drovers would have come from some distance where it was impractical to use rail transport . The driven aninnals would low and bellow as they had al ways done, mostly moved in slow but seemingly organised groups. Occasionally an animal would bolt from the herd or flock but this would quickly gain the attention of the from the 1920's this prosperity. brought to drovers dog~ which would increase the noise level as they Reepham by the railways. declined as more and more trade was switched to the more lucrative Norwich Saturday market with the loading of mostly cattle onto the early trains from Whitwell and Reepham stations and then being unloaded at the Trowse and City stations in NOT\vich and driven through the streets to the Castle Hill market. drovers could exercise tight control with their charges this was not always so with the groups of animals that were being led. even short distances. by some of the local lads. On shorter journeys that were not worth the bother for a drover the fanners would sometimes get their labourers to However barked and chased the aninnal back into place. Whilst the 9 �drive animals to market. Some farmers were reluc(ant to do this as they felt that the labourers were having a morning out at their expense, so they paid some of the local lads a few pence to do this particular job. A decision not popular with the labourers but the fanners felt it was money well spent. Whilst this offered a financial1y prudent arrangement to the fanner he tended to tum a blind eye to the difficulties that the lads often encountered or unwitting ly caused. A small herd of young pigs would want to go in every direction except forwards and certainly not on the most direct route to the sale pen. A sudden noise wou ld send the frightened animals scurrying in all directions, if an open garden gate or a gap in the hedge was discovered many a Reepham resident ended the day with an upturned flower bed or a vegetable crop dug up earlier than was intended. After the market it was a similar story but in reverse, if a fanner had bought animals and wanted them taken home by an experienced hand he would seek out one of the drover brethren and arrange for 'limma' with his '01 dorg' to go across and take the animals to their destination. If a shorter journey was involved 'the Ideal boys wou ld still be willing, despite their early morning problems. A local drover was Sidney Frost who lived in Whitwell Street, a man who was renowned for his large size and his infrequent change of clothing - although this was blamed on rus droving which often meant many days at a time away from home . With his dog trailing beside him he would be at the Ade marshes by 4 am to receive cattle which were then walked back to be in Reepham by sundown ready for delivery to the saleground for the following day's market. During the latter part o'f the 19th century and the early years of this century large numbers of Irish catt le were sent over to be sold initially at Norwich market. The cattle were landed on the west coast and then sent by rail to Norw ich. Local drovers were employed to receive and if necessary to look after the cattle for a few days and then to bring them to the market for sale. Irish cattle were very popular at Norwich because they were ideally suited for the lush coastal marshes. They would be sold and then sent to the marshes for fattening up, the rich grazing ensured they were ready for sale again after about three months. The cattle would be brought off the marshes by the marshmen ready to meet drovers like Sidney Frost who then had the slow but steady task of walking them to a local market. The Irish cattle were often in a bad state when they arrived in Norwich. They had li ved very poorly in Ireland and some of them were in a wild state. often the drives to the marshes were very difficult for the drovers and a great test for their skills. Once this difficult task had been achieved the cattle thrived quickly and the long return journey to markets like Reepham was much easier with a bunch of fat and contented beasts. After the First World War the work of the drover was gradually but irretrievably taken over by the motorised 10 cattle float; although in the early years the size of the vehicles was small and the number of animals that could be carried was limited they were obviously much quicker and the services of the drover and his dog. who had been part of the local agricultural life for so long, soon became obsolete. In later years the cattle floats would be brought into the saleyard, reversed up to the pens and the animals would be loaded up for a journey to their new home or on their fmal journey to the abattoir. The animals wiih a degree of initial re luctance, would anxiously climb the boards with the lorry driver and yard helpers banging empty pails on the sides of the lorry to encourage the hesitating beasts along. The shrill yap-yap-yap of the drovers dog had now been replaced by the sounds of grinding gears and labouring engines. The old order of centuries had changed . Although most of the drovers stuck to their known trade some of them would buy and sell for dealers and butchers and eventually some moved fully into the dealing business when the old order changed Some animals would be brought in by other means. One or two norses would be harnessed to pull a cattle float which would hold two beasts, pigs would be put into the back of a tumbril and then covered over with a net and nearly all the poultry was put into crates which were conveyed in the back of a fanners trap or driving cart. Billy Easton. landlord of the Ratcatchers public house at Cawston, was typical of many at that time who dabbled in the ways of the market by buying and selling poultry and small stock. He would journey into Reepham every Wednesday with his horse and cart and would have two or three crates of chickens and perhaps some rabbits to sell. After a day at the saleground he would go home with some other poultry, which had been bought at an advantageous price, ready to sell at a higher price a week or two later. In those days everyone in this rural area kept chickens, mostly for the eggs but also for the kitchen pot. When the birds had fmished laying they would be disposed of. There were no household freezers for the birds to go to so they would be sent to the local market and sold. There were large numbers of poUltry sold at Reepham each week with most of the purchasing carried out by specialist poultry dealers. A number of dealers came each week from Brislon, Hevingham and Norw ich but there was also the regular attendance of buyers from further afield and particularly those who purchased for the meat trade in the Jewish areas of East London. After having been sold the birds destined for the dinner tables of Bethnal Green and Shored itch would be put into crates and pushed on a hand cart up to Reepham Station; they were then packed in the guards van and sent to Norwich ready to catch a late afternoon train to London. Local Advertisments from past years . .. �Market Day and the Public Houses There were a diverse number of people who regularly attended Reepham Market Day. Local buyers and butchers were joined by many from Norwich and other East Anglian towns. There were also Midland buyers and some coming from as far north as Manchester. These long distance buyers would travel to a number of local markets until they had purchased all their requirements. Attendance at Reepham on Wednesdays would be followed by a journey to Acle on the following day. Added to these were the drovers who have already been mentioned and of course the farmers, butchers and dealers, who reached the town in a variety of carts, traps and even occasionally the elegant gig. The horses were taken our of the shafts and stabled under the watchful control of "Duckety" Rudd at the Kings Arms or Billy Hall at the Sun and these two hostelries in the Market Place did a thriving business while bargains were driven and settlements made. Some farmers preferred the lesser hostelries such as the Lord Nelson, Gre yhound, Duke of York or George and Dragon. In this pre-motor car era, the caring for the horses a'il<iSloring of carts gave much opportunity to the rival ostlers, whose frequent encroachment beyond their own bounds upon [he frontages of residences and Q(her business establ ishments oftengrew to dimensions which presented quite a problem. Another popular place was the Crown. mainly due to ir's proximity to Reepham Station and the roads leading buyers I FOR ,\ QUIET DRIN'IN PLEASANT SLRROUNDINGS and sellers in from Holt. Cawston, Aylsham and Wood Dalling. This particular public house was open all day and would pick up a lot of business during the afternoon as farmers. butchers and various other traders made their way up to catch a train home or were journeying past by horse and trap or on foot. During this later part of the day many had already imbibed at the public houses in the town and were often a little worse for drink. 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' at the Crown, 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. In the centre of the town fanners would congregate and talk to each orher, exchange news and gossip and bargain with the merchants to sell their com or go to the bank for wages. They would take Ihe opportunity to carry out necessary fann shopping with visits to the ironmongers or the agricultural engineer. Their wives would come too and would make their way around the shops, market traders and cheapjacks drawn in by the one day of the week when everyone came to buy and sell. A horse drawn Sainsburys van was a regular feature before the First World War, it would be based in the Market Place and would buy eggs brought in by the farnlers wives, these women also brought in and sold farm made butter to the local shopkeepers. Many of those attending would return to the hostelry of their choice to invest some of their profit in the liquid refreshment available. The local public houses were open from 10 am to 10 pm and both the Sun and the Kings Arms enjoyed considerable trade. There were the early drinkers who had taken advantage of the relaxed market day times, the farm hands who had brought in or were to take home THE Loolun I at your watneys local vl~jl KiJl~fs REEPHAM I IlJe ..:-\rIDSj TRUNCH :U.\UKI:T I'LACE . nl:l:l'".'\':\1 --_. FINE ALES & STOUT - ALWAYS A WELCOME AT TIlE SlJ1V nEEPILUI RITA and BILL IIll/h' t"l /JlolllcrI old ,urd BREWEO 8Y Steward & Patteson TItUNCH BREWERY LIMITED llt'llT!:D TRUNCH PocktAorpe Brewery NORWICH 1It'1I" 11 _ NORTH WALSHAM _ NORFOUC: �animals and then there were the farmers. butchers, dealers and other traders. Later in the day after all trading had been concluded the auctioneers and their staff would arrive. They all came to eat, drink, strike deals, catch up on the gossip and converse with their friends and acquaintances. The bars would be full and the beer would flow and many would contend that although Market Day was primarily business the best part was undoubtedly the socialising which took place after the organised buying and selling had been completed. The day would conclude with many people heading home in a befuddled but contented state. The market thrived during the pre-War years but with the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 and its subsequent restrictions it entered upon a general decline from which it never recovered. The heights of the sales during the Edwardian era were never again achieved and the slow decline continued during the next 60 years. There were periods of reestablishment. notably in the late 1930's - when the Hitler War cried a halt - and again in the early/mid 1950's after the limitations of the Second World War were finally lifted. Until the introduction towards the second half of this century of the larger and monopolistic abattoirs all killing of animals was carried out by butchers at local slaughter houses. Reepham butchers like Pratt. Utting and Spriggs all bought animals at the market, kept them until required and then carried out the slaughtering. Mondays was the quiet day of the week for the local butchery trade so the fateful animals were dispatched on this day. . ~ ~ ~I] '-1lNlsrJtr OP FOOD ~ N-\.TIOl'( Re ~ 29 AI. RATION '':;-Y/::tUCT,O"S N°Ol9762 B OOK (D). Food Rationing aiid other Controls The market continued during the years of the Second World War but the sale of the majority of the animals was strictly controlled by the Government. After the introduction and general success of the scheme of rationing in the First World War the Government felt that this would be an essential element of their war prograrrune. It was decided in the first week of War in September 1939 that food rationing would inevitably come, but for the time being food production was · to be controlled so that food supplies available would be well looked after and evenly distributed. 1bis early control was an attempt to prevent anything like profiteering and to avoid a dislocation of food stocks. Controls were introduced on Wednesday 13th September 1939 with an order made for fixing maximum prices for fat cattle, calves and sheep primarily destined for slaughter. Whilst it was possible to sell poultry and young pigs to the highest market bidder it meant overall that the sale of animals had to be carried out through the local livestock market and direct sales from the farm were prohibited. A dealer and the fanner agree a sale - this type of agreement on the/ann disappeared with the advent of the Second World War, and all animals had to be sold through the local market. 12 �The controls, in various forms of intensity, lasted for the ne.,t IS years although the first few months of the 'phoney war' caused the Government to ljft the restrictions in December and for a short time the market reverted back to a normal state. However with the initial introduction of the controls many farmers had assumed that with a market of fixed prices it would not pay for them to retain beasts for fattening and many beasts had been disposed of at control prices during the previous three months. Though the shortage pushed up Christmas prices that year it was a simple fact that local farmers had received no encouragement to hold on to their animals as they usually did for the Christmas trade and the relaxation of controls was short lived. strictly rationed. This coupled with the subsidised ploughup policy caused many animals to be sold and slaughtered during the autumn and winter of 1940/41. This resulted in a severe decrease in the keeping of animals and particularly of pOUltry and pigs which gave little back to the soil in return for what they ate and by 1943 the output of eggs had fallen by half, and that of pigmeat by two-thirds below the pre-War level. During the early years of the War there was pressure from the Government to put as much extra land as possible Whilst this had an initial drastic effect on livestock there was a need to maintain a balance as British fanning at that time was essentially mixed. It was appreciated that to 'under the plough'. Millions of extra acres were planted with cereals and although this compensated the levels of foodstuffs that could no longer be imported it had an initial production and there was an effort to retain fat canle and fat pigs, prices would be guaranteed and the production and and drastic effect on fanners who kept livestock. There was tremendous propaganda pressure from the Ministry of Food (who seemed to have an insatiable bias for more potatoes) , The camera catches the atmosphere of the market as the crowds gather around the auctioneers . .. some to bid and buy . .. some just to watch and listen. reduce too much would affect the level of meat and milk sale would be strictly controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture. After 1940 all purchases of livestock for slaughter were made on the Government account, farmers acre of average arable crops fed far more of the population than one acre of average grassland. It was widely promoted were asked to maintain orderly marketing of stock in the normal quantities through the appointed market and to cooperate with the various stages of control as they were that an acre of average wheat saved at least as much introduced through the war years. shipping space as seven acres of the best grass in England. Farmers who had kept livestock before the War had relied increasingly on cheap imported feeding stuffs, these were no longer available and those locally produced were all Reepham was nominated as a Market that could grade canle and pigs and for the next few years, until the regulations were fmally decontrolled if 1954, the regular Wednesday sale day continued. to plough up more land and there was an argument that one 13 �Grading When the animals were sent to market they were no longer sold by auction. The stock would be sent in by the local farmers and inspectors from the Ministry of Agriculture would grade the animals. Although in the early part of the War some of the grading was often carried out by experienced local butchers and farmers like Thomas Hudson of Bawdeswell. The animals would be weighed and checked and the decision of the grading fixed by means of an ear tag. The resulting grade would determine (he price the famler received. The controls would also determine the particular butcher or slaughter house to which the animals were to be sent. Grading at Reepham would start at lOam and would usually take up to three hours to complete. Whilst the animals were sent to market it was a very controlled procedure and somewhat alien to many farmers who had always been used to the ways of a more open sale environment and to those who had been used to selling animals direct from the farm to local dealers and butchers. A reminder that Christmas is only 12 weeks away is provided here. Seen (top right) is Mr W. G. Ewing, offering some of the 1000 turkeys that were penned. September 1950 14 There was also a level of resentment to the Ministry officials who would sometimes grade animals to a lower price than that expected by an individual fanner. However much the system of control was disliked it allowed Reepham Market to remain open during these dark years even though it had become no more than a local point for the control of basic food production. The number of people, panicularly farmers, who attended the market declined during these war years. Unless a farmer had animals to buy or sell he didn't go - times were hard, fuel was rationed, there was much to do and few people to do it and no time for standing about socialising in Reepham saleyard. Thoughts Turn to Christmas �.-I · J A BIRD IN HAND ... Prospective buyers Mr G. Childerhouse and Mr F. E. Falmer, inspecting geese at the Christmas poultry sale. Tuesday 14th December 1965 Dealers An essential element contributing to the local mark.et system was the role of the dealer. They were men who were mainly farmers or who had access to land upon which they would graze or store can Ie until such time as the animals could be profitably sold. These men wou ld travel around the various daily markets in Norfolk and beyond, buying and selling animals although they dealt primarily in cattle. The buying and selling would not however always be carried out at the saleground. In Reepham the various dealers would be found in their usual seat at a favoured hostelry and many a deal was struck berween them and their customers without the help of the auctioneers. One of these exceptions was "Latcher" Woodhouse, a cattle dealer who lived near Aylsham. He would never sell through Irelands market but always sold his animals privately so as to avoid having to pay commission to the middle-man. He would drive over to Reepham in a pony and trap and the 15-20 cattle that he had for sale would be brought in by a local drover. He would position himself (and the animals) near the outside railings of the Brewery House and from here conduct his business; a manner of sale that he continued throughout the inter-war years. Edward de Grey Seaman had extensive fanning interests locally at Foulsham, Kerdiston and further afield at Kings Lynn. He would always sit in the Kings Arms and conduct his business with the aid of a pot of tea which was constantly refilled during the dealing berween him and his customers. John Perowne, who farmed at Brandiston, could always be found in the Sun and Fords the bakers in the Market Place was the usual haunt of Sam Pye who had butchers shops at Cawston and Swaffham. Deals here were often concluded over a cup of tea and a hot meat pie or a plate of 'hollow' biscuits. 15 �During the depressed years of the 20's and 30's many farmers lacked the fmance to buy cattle but had the land to graze them on, so they would come to an arrangement with a dealer. Young cattle would be bought by the dealer and then fattened and looked after by the farmer; when ready the dealer would sell the cattle and a financial settlement from the profit would be shared between the two of them. Many small fanners during this period had no alternative but to seek out the dealers on Market Day and to try and set up such an arrangement. A deal that would give the farmer a small but greatly needed level of income. There were also buyers like Fred Wright who purchased for the Norwich Co-op Society and Billy Brooks of Horsford and Hubert Large of Swanton Morley who bought for slaughter houses who in tum supplied the butchery trade. There were many local butchers who bought for their own shops; Sam Pye from Cawston has already been mentioned but other regulars included Chris Payne from Foulsham and Charlie Howard from Lenwade. The relationship of dealers, butchers, farmers and the weekly market was a structure that sustained for many years but was broken with the advent of the Second World War when all sales were strictly controlled through the nominated markets by the Govenunent. The Christmas Sale and Fat Stock Show In the early part of this century Messrs Irelands in conjunction with many of the local shopkeepers, introduced a Christmas Sale and Fat Stock Show. The local traders contributed to the prizes for the many classes and there were cups and rosenes provided by Irelands. The groups of animals and fowls including pigs. sheep. cattle. domestic birds and turkeys were divided into many classes and the showing. judging and selling was a great social draw for many people in Reepham and from further afield. Like all stock shows the animals were the main attraction. they won the prizes and then suffered the unfortunate dignity of being sold to the highest bidder for slaughter for the Christmas trade. This annual sale and show began early and finished late and it ran with considerable success fo r some ten years until 1914. h anracred large entries in all sections and was a very popular event for exhibitors. buyers and the residents of Reepham generally. Competition among the exhibitors ·was al ways keen. and very high standards were reached. Among prominent Reepham exhibitors at that time were the farming brothers John. Ernest and Tom Sharpin while others included John Perowne from Brandiston and Billy Payne from Cawston. Rivalry among butchers was even keener and when a Reepham butcher was fortunate enough to obtain a prize beef, the carcase was early displayed prominently and proudly in his shop with its prize rosette. Needless to add, its delicately marbled fat in its appetising red meat was eagerly sought by his patrons. while its suet was a prize indeed. There was many a proud head of the household in Reepham in those days who brandished the carving knife above the roast beef of his Christmas diMer knowing that he could offer his family nothing fmer. The Christmas Fat Stock Sale and Show of 13th December 1911 was a good example of Reepham Market at its most successful. In the week before the local press had carried the market notices which indicated that the following number of animals had been provisionally entered. ... the outside railings of the Brewery House 16 �------ - -- - ------ - ---- - ----- - ----, 85 Grand Over Yeared Fat Polled Angus. Shorthorned Oxen and Heifers .£32 lOs. €Iud £J1 5s. 250 Half Bred and Black Faced Sheep 12 Heavy Suffolk Fat Shearlings 100 Fat Pigs 1000 Fowls (including Turkeys. Fat Ducks. Geese and Chicken) Order of Sale On the day. all those preliminary expectations were exceeded and Irelands dealt with possibly the biggest sale ever held at Reepham. The following report from the Eastern Daily Press of the next day tells it all. REEPHAM. A SUCGEStl}<'UL SROW. The market tm't\1l ()f Heephaln yesterday was crowded with fal'mers, but.ehnl's, ~wd d-eal(~ l";:;, 011 th~ occasiull of 1I-h..-;.-:;I·;:j. ll'e lumh:;' <-lllllu;:d ChJ'jstlU<lti show '0 1' LIt .stuck. 'l'hi:; yeal ' pl'tl\·ed I.!J bo olle of the Oe~ t yet heJd . both in. CjlllHltity .and qlwl·ity. The filt cattlH (;ompl: i~, e{1 UO IJl'iille over-yeul'ed box- lHI UoelL~. llli.lll.Y or gTeat weIght and. t:i 11 ven-v I' qUi.dHj' . 'J 5el'e w-u::; ~l.J-!::iU a. laJ ·~er H~l'..\' CHowe SJU-:f'P, hULl -UrN! h o ;..::.;d.'-i. '.n.w good, the llJghP.:st, ill J. cwt. l!\"ll \\"(!Ig·ht b.iH,,: K-blet!U illld traUe· for be.uf wa,::; vel""Y tact, fol' ~e\'el'<.Li yeal":S~ }etchlllg froID 4')-'s. tu 4 7:::;. l\-Iuttoll trade W.i.Hj <l.bo very lUueh hetter. ...:\ppeode-ct are a lit5t of the I> r jz~ WlnUtH'S for cupt; pl'eseulcu. by ~· entJ·y awl trali.er:;tue.n uf t l l l j di~t.('i~t:. l~est fat beast, I')ilver cup, valu-e .£5 [>ti.-Won by 11il". G. 1<' • .tloddy of bolw'l ck with a blaek polled homebred, wCJghing- 14 cwt. ~ qr~. :!lbs., and pUl'chased by Ml'. ;J.'homas Stimp.-:;on, Jj(>:-l'eham. fOl" £;'H 1(),;. Mr. Hoddy W'"'. however. dis- qnalified iu <':OJH:)f-'qll~n('e of the radins of bix milefi. \'....<L~ Best j'"t bullock fed by tenant farmer, presented bv Reepbam tradecmen silver cup, value .£5 5r;.-j\tf r. George Seaman, of Oulton,. W~ clwarded the prize with a black Angus, weIghing 16 cwt." 3 q"'i .• "nd sold to Mr. B. E. Smith. Bunwell. fOI" ,£41. t.he top price of tbe day. Best pell uf five cross-bred hoggets-~~n by Mr. John Green., a.nd sold to lvir. D ICKerson (N "rwieh) at 595 ench. Best pen of black·faced 6lu",p-\V()U by Mr. ,J o hn Perowlle. and bought by Mr. W. Ba.yfield (Doreham) at 6&. Pigs at II o'clock sharp Fowls at 12 Beasts at 1.30 Sheep at 2.30 l$ uppJy 01 B<'St pail" of fat beasts. fed by t enant farm,ers1J'his was won by .Mr. J-ohn !:'el'owne, uf (]'uton llall. WIth a pair nf Scotch bullock" •. bought by M·p.ssl't-;. Ii'. il';;lyfielri and Rub~rt Stlmpsou tOt" Th~re w&re b-everaI other very good hoggets shown. whieh realised much better prices than of late. Twel Vi) choice Suffolk. 6hearlings l'ealised 69s .. 71}; .• and 69s. each; they were th., property of Mr. George S-eaman. . . Mr. ]<;d ward Stimpson of Sail won both priZes in th" swine dass, th·e bE'6t pen of ·three fat piad and the b£'8t 6uloje pig. They were Gold at°a'n avel'i:l.g"e of .£8 e,-~h tu 1ft.. It·UUlP. Ree-pham. :Mr. Purdy of Cuwston touk the cott.age.rs' prjz.e fOl" the be6t p~g. ~r he betit pa.ir of tUl'keY6 wen t to 1{r. W . .T. C-omer of 'V-f':stOlL. J\tll'. Bartle took the seco-ud pl'lze. The best pail' of fat 'geese ~vere sent hy Ur. H.. Daw>;on, and the second paIr by M.r. U. BmwIl. For the best pair of fat ducks Me&irs. Lowe Bros .• Guestwick. were award"'"' the prize. with Messrs. Gibbs Br06., Guestwick, secolld. Fat chi-ckens,· fir~t pnze ~:f.r. Lock, 6econd prize M· €t:;t:jl'~ . .Gibb:5 Jjros . " . 1."he pigs included SOUle vel'Y heavy w.el-ghts. ,,\lHI trarl·e ruled Tn.ther better than r-ecent Pl'l-c€S sev-eral m"-1.king from £5 56. to .£8 lOs. each. ' The poultry show include<l.an· ""ceptionally large supp'.y. from 150U to 2000 h",d being penned. Turkeys made up to 23.5. each, ducks 4.<. 3d. each, geese 7s. each. chicken.s &s. 9d. to 4.< . each.· The attendance wa:-; ver~Y lal'ge. and buyers attended from all parts of Norfolk, a large number of Norwich butchers. as well as the principal bubehers from Fakenha.m. Derehrull, Holt Sheringham. Cromer. OVBrlStrand. North Wal;hll.lll. Aylsham . Foulshmn. and Ileighbourin ff villages. In ,t he eVEillirfg several of the co;npan:v Gat dmvn t.o dinner, the chair being occupied by Mr. Aubrey Radway, during which the cups wer-e presented to th(3 nrize-winnel"&" hiti farm exceeding M J'. George Seamau t.hen·for e awarcl-f'd the eup for a black Ang-Ut:l we-Ig-ll i ng- 16 cwt: 3 qrs ., anti pUl'chased by 1\.11'. 1;'. Jj-ay11.-el.d, It'oU1:ShaIll, for £;59 IUs. Best butcher's hullock. fed by tenant far mer, t-.ilvel' ~llp-'l ·he win.ner was Ml'. John Pel'OWlle. uf Gut-on Hall, WiUl a red shorthorn, weighing; ]" cwt. !! qr¢;., and Bold tu Mr. Charles Dig~ellbi ui Holt fOJ' £37 lo.;. 17 �I . . .. Dinner in the Kings Arms club room The conclusion of the press report mentions the dinner he ld in the evening. From the early years the bustle and enjoyment of the Show was concluded (and some would say enhanced) with a dinner in the Kings Arms club room: although in the latter years up to the Second World War it was held in the Sun Hall. Mr. Hubbard was the publican at the Kings Anns and he was responsible for the decoration of the room and the preparation of the meal. It was wholesome fare. greatly appreciated and hungrily consumed to replenish the sturdy frames of the dealers. fanners. auctioneers and other men who attended. Men who had spent the day in the business of showing. judging, buying and selling. Though no doubt they had found it necessary to replenish their energies with a draught or two of ale and a hastily eaten pie their stomachs hungrily awaited the evening repast. Th ~ meal offe red copious amounts of beef and pork (generously supplied by Bayfields of Dereham) with the plates further tilled wi th ample supplies of vegetables. This was followed by trille or a fruit tart and custard and cheese was available for anyone who felt he had a space left to fill. All of this would be washed down with draught beer and whisky chasers. The meal was followed by speeches and the presentation of the Show cups. In some years the parrons enjoyed enlertainmenl with recitals or monologues performed by the more musical or artistic members of the local community. The Hall would hold up to 100 diners and it was strictly an all ticket affair. TIle tickets were keenly sought after and would be sold out long before the day of the Dinner. Some of the diners wou ld stay in Reepham for the night but the locals who attended would fmd their way home, late but happy and many a horse rerurned to its stable with a rider or driver obli vious to the world and encapsulated in a fug of sleep and alcohol. The Christmas Sale suffered mixed fortunes, particularly from the effects of the two World Wars and it took a long while before it returned after 1945. At the first post war Christmas sale in 1954 the Reepham and District Chamber 18 of Trade challenge cup was won by a Hereford steer exhibited by Mr. Simmons of Witchingham and the beast was bought by Mr. F. Sunon of Acle. There were many other classes to be judged for canle and pigs. There was a heavy entry of cattle for this particular show sale although the entry of more than 450 pigs is reputed as being down on the previous week. Although the Christmas Sale and Show was revived the DiJUler was not and something that had figured prominently on the Reepham calendar for so many years had disappeared. The largest post-war Christmas poultry show ever recorded, when over 800 lots changed hands, had been held the previous year in December 1953 when loading and dispersals were maintained by the aid of torches long after dark. There was a fine show of turkeys with some birds realising up to 6/- (30p) a pound. Apart from the turkeys that year the sale offered a wide range of poUltry to grace the Christmas dinners tables of the local area, this included caponised chickens, coloured birds. beSt quality hens. cross breeds and a number labelled as 'inferior fowls'. There were geese and ducks and for those who didn't want poultry they could have purchased a rabbit - wild or tame. Although it was Edward VB who made the eating of turkey at Christmas fashionable, the present popularity of the rurkey is very recent. The high price paid at the market in 1953 was for the purchase of a bird that was (at that time) considered a lUXUry. Goose and chicken were routinely eaten on Christmas Day until the late 1950's when the turkey - with the help of a certain Mr. Matthews - began to dominate. More than 10 million are now sold every year at Christmas. The sa leground (now occupied by the Station Road car park) was not large compared to the size of other markets in Norfolk. It was of a triangular shape with two large entrances; one siruated where the present car park entrance is and the other further down the hill towards Towns End Comer. There were also a small pedestrian entrance into Chapel Walk (often called Saleground Alley). There was no pavement alongside the area as there is today and the sale ground went right up to the edge of Station Road. Along the east side were the uncove red sheep and cattle pens. On the opposite side along Station Road was an area covered in corrugated sheets used for the penning of pigs and cal ves and next to this was a small brick and tiled bam. This had been built originally as part of a small group of buildings when the land had been part of a farm; when the area was bought outright by Irelands in 1883 it was still being used for the winter storage of cattle. The west wall of the bam fronted directly onto Station Road and is remembered by many people for the profusion of bills and notices that were plastered over the lower brickwo rk . The bam was used as a storage and display area for the limited amount of deadstock sent for sale. Anything not sold would be slored here until the following week and �- '- A nice white turkey among those presented for sale at the first of the Christmas 1968 poultry auctions, has an anxious look in her eye, as though aware time is getting short. Holding the bird is Mr. J. Haggerty. in particularly cold weather calves to be sold would be put in the bam away from the icy draughts of the open barred cattle pens. Next to the bam were the toilets and this area was also occupied by a stall which sold cockles, mussels and other shellfish to those attending the market. The market was small yet busy and the close proximity of the animals, the emuent generated by both men and beasts which was dealt with by limited drainage and the smell of shellfish must ha ve offered a rare cocktail of heady yet rustic smells. Indeed one abiding memory offered was the trail (and odour) of animal urine that found its natural way from the saleground pens and downhill towards the street drains at Towns End Comer. In the centre of the saleyard was a row. of poultry pens which individually held up to ten birds. The pens were made of netting and the whole section was covered with a pitched roof to keep off the rain. Also in the centre was the wooden office used by Irelands on sale days and the weigh bridge. The site originally contained at the northern end a tall American prairie style windpump, used to raise the water required by the saleground. In later years a motorised pump was installed in a small shed situated over the bore pipe and the tower was removed. In recollections of the saleground this tall wind pump was remembered clearly by many people. In the early part of this century there were few houses along Station Road and the tower was clearly visible as people approached Reepham from Kerdiston, Wood Dalling and Cawston. 19 • �/ These Market years are connected with the names of many people who had a direct and indirect association with the saleyard. Ernie Lines, 'Ikey' Wright, and Les Blyth who did the portering, Tom Bacon who looked after the poultry, Herbert Vardigans who used to help wash down the yard and take away the days accumulation of straw and manure, Billy Freestone who unlocked and locked the saleyard and carried out the geneml caretakering duties and Tom Hall who helped with the clearing up. There was Fords the bakers in the Market Place who supplied the bread and meat pies which fed many of those anending and Clifford and The Saleground Owners Irelands was founded by Anthony and Henry Ireland who had extensive fanning interests in Guestwick and Wood Oalling. They opened offices in Guestwick and Foulsham from which they conducted business as land agents and auctioneers and were well established when they purchased Violet Watson who between them were licensees of The the orchard in Station Road which was to become the Reepham saleground, or Reepham Auction Mart as it was advertised in the local press of the time. Henry's son Edwin took over the fum in the early part of this century and continued with its expansion particularly in selling at the large and lucmtive market at Castle Hill, Norwich. By the 1930's Irelands had become a large and active organisation in the farming and general agricultural life in Norwich and North Norfolk. At this time their main office was based in Norwich and they were holding regular sales and auctions at Norwich Castle Hill, North Walsham and Holt as well as Reepham. During the 50 years, until his death in 1953 .t the age of 92, there were few members of the farming fmternity in Norfolk who had not had dealings with E B Ireland. Hubert Sheringham started work with Irelands in 1946 as an articled pupil and he had to pay the fum a premium of £100 a year to work there and learn the trade of .auctioneer and estate agent. Thankfully this form of apprenticeship lasted for a relatively short time and within two years he had become qualified and remained with Irelands for the next 40 years until he retired as a senior partner in 1986. During his time with Irelands Hubert was a regular auctioneer at Reepham. Immediately after the Second World War the rural areas of Norfolk still relied heavily upon the established system of markets to buy and sell and the many local markets held on different days of the week provided employment to a number of company auctioneers and other staff who would attend and carry out their particular tasks. Other well known auctioneers at Reepham included Alfred King from Trunch, Brian Boning and Arthur Gibbs from Norwich and more locally William (Billy) Ewing who had been employed by Irelands until he was called up for war service in 1940. During the War he would help out at local markets when on leave and when de mobbed in 1946 he was reemployed b y Irelands and continued to sell at Reepham until its fmal closure. The saleground was often a bustle of activity, there would be three auctioneers working at the same time - selling poultry, pigs and canle and assisting them would be the porters, helpers and clerks all going about their business in this relatively small area. Sun, the local public house favoured by Irelands for 42 years until Violet retired in 1964. Chartered Auctioneers, Estate Agents and Surveyors VAL UATIO NS und ertak en for REAL ESTATE, PROBATE, INCOME TAX Etc. IRELANDS WEEKLY MARKETS REEPHAM (Wednesday) NORTH WAlSHAM (Thursday) HOLT (Friday) NORWICH Hill (Saturday) OffiCES: Barclays Bank Chambers Norwich Telephone 20)45 North Walsham Market Place 20 Telephone 19 �effects", and "Capital Holdings", "Live and Dead Stock", "Agricultural Carriages", "Choice In-calf and heifers", "Pedigree pigs and poultry and useful working horses". There were many of these sales but much more went under the hammer than the items in the catalogues. In many cases the fann sale was not simply a sale but the disintegration of a way of life for a fanning family and for some the break up of a wider fanning community. Irelands Meadow Mrs Violet Watson Ire lands also held Spring and Michaelmas deadstock sales. These sales were held on the meadow (known as [relands meadow) which was bounded by the Kerdiston Road and Smugglers Lane - an area which in the last 20 years has been built on and is no w covered with houses and lrelands carried out a number of local fann sales and in the depressed inter-war years the appropriate page in the Eastern Daily Press would carry the bungalows. Before it was sold for development the meadow was used in later years for the parking of cattle auctioneers advertisements for "excellent pair of brick and tile farm cottages". "desirable lots of household furniture and 21 Early days of Irelands - centre seated is Henry John Ireland of Wood Dalling, Standing on the left is Alfred George Gibbs, �I MARKET DAY SQUEALS December 1954 With a squealing and a shooing, Mr W. Cook's pigs tumble helter-skelter out of the lorry to Reepham Wednesday Market. floats and other vehicles but twice a year and for a few hours only it came alive with the bustle of Irelands Spring and Michaelmas Sales. Apart from the limited use every Wednesday in connection with saleground parking the field was used as a general recreation ground and particularly by the Band of Hope football team who played here during the 1920's. These two annual sales consisted of all manner and classes of agricultural machinery and miscellaneous dead stock that farmers wanted to dispose of. The sales would be held on Wednesday and would start at lOam so that the majority of items could be sold before the sale of beasts and poultry commenced at the saleground nearby. The Michaelmas sale in October 1949 was typical of many successful sales held in these post war years, the car park is recorded as having handled 54 cars and six lorries and a fme Autumn day brought out a large number of people , some buying, some selling .. others who were interested to buy if a bargain came their way and the majority who just came for a morning out. More than 350 lots were offered and many were cleared at keen prices. it was probably not a day for the bargain humer. The more important items sold on the day included a Fordson Major Perkins diesel tractor £475, chicken houses to £31, Morris 8 van £60, tumbril £29, Deep Digger Plough £30 and pitch pole harrows £32. 22 On such days a large number of people would attend and the Market Place would be full of parked vehicles. Wednesday was the one busy day of the week for the local Police with a constable controlling the influx of people and traffic by standing on point duty at Towns End Comer. Parking Problems In the days of horse drawn travel parking had never been regarded as a nuisance but the increasing numbers of motorised vehicles caused the residents of Reepham to consider from the early 1920's that it was a problem and after much public agitation the use of the Market Place as a car park was brought about by the former St. Faiths and Aylsham R.D.C. The Council purchased the property from the then Lady of the Manor (a member of the Eglington family) for £400 in 1937. The ancient market was bought by the District Council on the urgings of the Parish Council who had been concerned for a number of years at way the Market Place had been managed, after being let to a lessee of the Lord of the Manor. �The End of an Era The Market fmally closed on the 8th March 1972. During the previous week the Eastern Daily Press had carried a notice from Ire lands which stated; The annual Christmas Show had been held in December 1971, the animals were prepared, shown and judged as they had been for the previous 100 years but the day was tempered with an element of regret and the knowledge that this was probably the last one. The market was held in the early weeks of 1972 and then on Wednesday 8th March Irelands fmally called it a day. Without ceremony and fuss the 32 fat pigs and sows that had been entered on that day were sold and loaded up for their various destinations. The dead stock was auctioned and the few traders. dealers, farmers and local people who attended drifted away in the early afternoon. The straw and manure was cleared away. the yard swept and washed down and in the failing late winter gloom the few electric lights were switched off, the gates closed and an area that had served Reepham and its rural catchment so well for nearly a century settled down to await its furure. A brief report appeared in the Eastern Daily Press on Friday 10th March but it was linked in with the closure problems of the Dereham Auction Mart. The few words offered about Reepham were a small. yet unfitting The Auctioneers wish to announce that the weekly market for live and dead stock will be discontinued after 8th March 1972. periodic sales of Household furniture and effects will be held in future and the first of these will take place on Tuesday 28th March. Like many other local markets it had suffered a severe decline in trade by the early 1970's and it was inevitable that a market that was small compared to others in the County was no longer fmancially viable. Irelands decided to concentrate their interests on the much larger and more lucrative Norwich market. Keys weekly market at Aylsharn had been established in 1954 and as Reepham dwindled so Aylsharn succeeded with a lot of the people involved in the general market business preferring the Aylsharn saleground with its much larger range of pens and cages (much of it under cover) and easier parking on the actual site. There had been a drastic decline in the num ber of animals being sold; fat cattle and calves were no longer being sold here and the market relied entirely on the sale of pigs. rabbits. poultry and dead stock and the occasional sale of furniture and household effects. The Spring and Michaelmas sales went when Irelands meadow on the Kerdiston Road was sold. The number of fat pigs and sows sold each week fluctuated greatly, sometimes it reached 150 animals but the weekly trade was often much lower and far too often the numbers sold were less than 50. The heady times of the early 1950's had gone forever; market days' when record entries of more than 500 pigs. up to 200 cattle and on one particular occasion in September 1952 when more than 2500 head of poultry were auctioned, would epitaph to the death of a market that has once stood with the best that could be found in Norfolk. The traffic problems in Reepham had been viewed with growing apprehension for a number of years and the closure gave Broadland District Council the opportunity to purchase the site from Irelands and in 1978 to open the area as a car park. The preparatory work and subsequent landscaping to achieve this has been very thorough and all trace and vestige of its former use has disappeared. As surely as Irelands Auction Mart buried all traces of Mr Bircham's orchard more than 100 years ago so the asphalt. bricks and ground covering shrubs has removed all traces of the saleground. We can only speculate as to what the next 100 years will bring to this area!! never again return to Reepham. 23 �REEPHAM SHOPPING WEEK was held in June 1950. It was Oliginally planned as the Reepham Shopping Days and these were scheduled for June 14th, 15th and 't6th, but the overall event was predeterrllined a success and events took place throughout the whole week. It was planned by members of the newly fonned Reepham and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce and the Shopping Week Committee was chaired by Mr. S. Curtis. The purpose of the week was not for the individual gain of a few tradespeople but was intended for the benefit of the Town of Reepham as a whole. It was hoped at the time that this would be the first of many such occasions which would advertise Reepham as 'a shopping centre and by degrees to increase the overall prosperity of the town. Further Shopping Weeks with varied success were held in the following years. The success of the nrst one in 1950 assisted the Parish Council the following year in deciding that they would not support the festivities for the Festival of Britain but would offer their support instead to the Reepham Shopping Week. The prospect of the new decade of the 1950's meant so much to the people at that time, the previous decade had contained the dark years of War and the period of post war austerity. This had now passed (even though some rationing was to continue until 1954) and the transition from war to peace by the Labour Govemment elected with a landslide made their way into the town for most if not all of their shopping needs. A trip to Norwich was an irregular or perhaps even an annual visit and this for most people could only be made by train and not by car; transport for most people was by bicycle or else they had tp walk. Larger orders placed with the local shops would be delivered by the shopkeeper's van or by a delivery boyan his tradebike. Bacon rashers were freshly sliced by hand for each customer, sugar was scooped out of a drawer by means of a handled measure and was weighed into thick, dark blue paper bags and thick rinded cheese was sliced by hand. Shopping was a necess ity that for many women fanned a regular part of their daily routine, meat safes were essential and refri gerators were a luxury. Stabilisers and preservarives in food were yet to be introduced and if you wanted to keep food for any length of time it had to be bottled, pickled or preserved at home. The vegetable patch formed an indespensible part of every household and chickens and rabbits were kept for their ultimate value as a pie filling. Much of the area had not been connected to the electricity supply and nor was mains water fully available. The flush toilet was still considered a luxury and for many the al ternative was a little hut at the bottom of the garden, serviced on a weekly basis by the horse drawn "Night Cart". Everybody knew exactly who everyone was, mechanised farming and household conveniences were unheard of. the abundance of vehicles on the roads had yet to appear and J. victory in 1945 had in a few years achieved conspicuou s success and the hopes of the people were that this trend would continut:. Memories were still very clear in Sainsbury was a town grocer indistinguishable from recollecting the harshness and deprivation of the War and .the post-War discomfort when in 1947 the heavy snowfalls and extreme cold gripped the country for several weeks was determined that this Summer event giving the worst winter in living memory. For so many years the basic foods and other household items had been thousands of others. The tum of the year in 1950 signified hope and everyone would bring pleasure and profit and would be repeated in future years. The first part of this hope indeed came true, as the local press reported after the Week was over "it was a thoroughly sound job that has been well done" . Whether or not it brought in the continued material success that the local unobtainable or rationed, simple pleasures became luxuries and routine travel had been tedious and time consuming. These times of deprivation and inconvenience, which traders hoped for was uncertain at the time but the fact would be forever associated with the 1940's had however remained passed and 1950 was seen as a cornerstone. A decade viewed with hope and optimism and people were convinced that the worst was over and social conditions and life people into the town to enjoy the events and Reepham was placed well and truly on the map. The programme of events started on the Tuesday with the Grand Eve of Opening Dance which was held in the Reepham Band Hall when Gerald Amies and his Orchestra played from 8pm to lam. During the Interval the result of the ballot for "Miss Reepham" was announced. It had been agreed that "Miss Reepham" could be any lady above the age of 18 from within a radius of five miles and Miss Daphne Barrow was elected by the vote of the audience. generally could only get better. In 1950 Reepham was very much a local centre for the surrounding area. Agriculture was probably the largest overall employer and farm life was still greatly dictated by the walking pace of the carthorse. Reepham was a focal point for the rural population who lived within a walking or cycling distance and a large number of people regularly 24 that the occasion brought a large number of �The following day saw the highlight of the "Week", the grand parade on the Wednesday afternoon of Light, Heavy, Riding and Saddle Horses and Vehicies, which came from many local fanns and trades and a gathering at the same time of the North Norfolk Harriers This parade congregated in the Market Place and despite some adverse weather a large number of people watched as the turnout was judged and the various rosettes and other prizes were distributed. It .,-as prev iously announced that two "mystery persons" (a lady and a gentleman) would lOur the main streets between 2 and 3 pm and if they were successfully challenged by someone who was also able to produce a Shopping Week programme they could claim a prize of 10/-. Miss Peggy ~{jUe r was the only person to successfully challenge . and she secured the prize. was a First Prize of 3 guineas and the event was greatly appreciated by the many people who au ended and particularly by those who went home with a prize. Friday evening was an exceptionally busy time with many people coming into the town for the Knock-Our Bowls Competition and a Darts Contest. The bowls was organised by Mr. C. Plume and played on the Sun Inn and Kings Anns bowling greens with the winne rs Messrs. A. Carman, H. Bell and H. F. Laskey winning by 9 shols to 3. The darts competition was organised by Mr. G. Bunn, and this attracted more than 300 entries. The finals were played at the "George and Dragon" with winners coming from Caw stan, Lenwade, Plumstead as well as Reepham. "Miss Reepham" with her attendants, Miss Joy Jones and Miss Jean Tubby presented the prizes In the evening the massed bands of Fakenham Town, The "Week" was an unqualified success, it brought many CawslOn and Reepham played in the Markel Place from 7.30 - 9pm and this was followed by an open-air dance with the mus ic being provided by Mr. Birds radiogram. From the early morning bustle of the weekly livestock people into the town and whilst this may not have raised a sustained level of trade for the local shopkeepers it certainly achieved its objectives in the short term. A opportunity was market to the enjoyment of the late evening dancing the derived which allowed the local tradespeople to fully display their merchandise and Iheir efforts were initially .. hole town participated in a level of enjoyment that had rewarded. The committee responsible for the organisati on DOl been experienced for many years. On the following day a mammoth whist drive with 35 tables was held at the Band Hall. Mr. H. Gibbons acted as Master of Ceremonies; there been thoroughly well done and the foundation was laid for a similar successful event to be held the following year. were rewarded 100 with the knowledge that a good job had �Daily Express, Oec. 9th, 1947 .. I wish someone'd hurry up and pinch this - bird if they're going to." Austerity, Food Rationing and with a general shortage of poultry, the Christmas Lunch/or 1947 demanded more than a little attention! Printed by REEPHAM PRINTING SERVICES Church Street, Reepham Tel. 01603 871102 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Newsletters Description An account of the resource A comprehensive collection of newsletters published by the Reepham Society. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed and digital Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Magazines Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1983-2000 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Text-digital Any text item for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The text can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a text owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Magazine 1996 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2408201710 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 28 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned by Geoff Fisher Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Reepham Society https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/2a933f58637e586ac91157cee4370c48.pdf 4e1930766b89dc44e967e9a089adcd3a PDF Text Text THE REEPHAM SOCIETY Magazine �THE REEPHAM SOCIETY is a local amenity society affiliated to the Council for the Protection of Rural England and its County Branch, The Norfolk Society. It was inaugurated in 1975 by 8 group of local residents design; ensuring that materials suitable to thei r location are used and features of the landscape protected. Society affairs are managed by an Executive Committee of twelve members who are elected annually. In 1993 membership of the Society had reached over 400. Open meetings are held in eight months of the year, with speakers on a wide range of subjects; non-members are welcome. A Magazine is produced periodically (at least once a year) by a Society member, Michael Black; this has customarily contained items of historic rather than current interest; current matters are reported in occasional Newsletters distributed to all members. who were concerned that the character of the town was under threat. They were worried about the possible loss of features of historic or public interest and the risks from over-development unsympathetic to this rual environment. The Society's area of influence covers Reepham, Booton, Hackford, Kerdiston, Salle and Whitwell. The Society co-operates with the Parish and District Councils in monitoring approved new developments and encouraging good standards of architectural Contents 1 Introduction Briekmaking in Reepham 2 Moor House - Glasshouse 8 13 Whitwell Hall 23 The Cawston Duel 25 In an Austin Seven No part of this publica tion should be reproduced in any '().or by any means without the prior consent 0' The Reepham Society 11 �Introduction The magazine will hopefully offer the reader articles of varying interest. although they are not all specifically about Reepharn. The area of benefit for the Society includes the four Reepham parishes. Salle and Booton but occasionally I feel it is wonh including something of a specific or historical narure from one of the nearhy villages. In this issue I have therefore included an article about the duel stone at Cawswn; many motorists on their way from Norwich to Holt or beyond will have sped past this memorial without even noticing its existence. In 1698 a duel took place which tragically resulted in the death of Sir Henry Hobart. A stone memorial was erected some years later to commemorate this and today the site is looked after by the National Trust. It is situated about 100 yards to the south of the Woodrow Garage. Until it closed down in me 1960's me Woodrow Inn was a popular stopping place for motorists on the road to and from Holt and the North Norfolk coast. It was a pleasant country Inn surrounded by trees and in those days had me added attraction to the traveller of the duel stone in its grounds. The area was spoilt when the Inn closed and many of the trees were felled to enable a garage to be built there although the National Benzole Company which owned the site presented a small area around the duel stone to the National Trust. It is sad that roday's commercialisation has brought "Jet" petrol to a site which is of such local and historical interest. Unfortunately our priority these days is to help the traveller quickly on his way rather man to encourage him to linger and give some moments of his journey to a stone commemorating an event that happened 300 years ago. I have little doubt though, that in 300 years time the site of the duel will still be remembered but will that future generation still be using (or if not, at least remembering) "Jet" petrol! The other articles are all Reepham based, I have gone back to the Moor House. Not to the House itself but into the kitchen garden to consider and enthuse about the glasshouse. This doyen of the Victorian age which at the Moor House has been so painstakingly rebuilt by the Leonard family and in particular by Mr. David Wright whose labours over the past two years have so transformed the grounds of this property. The area had been subject to neglect and disrepair for so many years and it is heartening that in a relatively short period the enthusiastic and sometimes quite seemingly brutal work carried out, has transformed the gardens back to a semblance of their fonner self. Collison Bros. built many hou ses in Reepham with the largest number contained along the Wood Dalling and Cawston Roads'. AU the bricks (and many of the tiles) used in the building of these properties were made on a site near Orchard Lane. The clay was dug on site, it was moulded into shape. fired in the kiln and the bricks were stacked ncarby until ready for use. Nothing remains today of the brickyard but the legacy of brickmaking in Reepham is seen all around with numerous buildings displaying the many and varied styles, shapes, size and colour of these basic but essential items. A large house that was certainly not built of local materials was Whitwell Hall, although the earlier Hall (much of which remains today) Obviously was. The Hall built in the 1840's for Robert Leamon is of a handsome white brick roofed in slate, a sty le lhat made the House completely different to any other in the area. At that time few people in this area would have had the wealth to buy in for example, slate for the roof but Robert was to become a man of wealth and property and ostentation is the best way of describing his particular requirements. During the course of more than 60 years from 1821 onwards Roben Leamon was to increase seven·fold the size of his Whitwell estate; his wealth increased also but the family fortunes were to reverse in the 1880's and with such drastic consequences. Like the Moor House though, Whitwell Hall is today in the state it was over 100 years ago and these two dwellings (along with Hackford Hall) display to our present generation the taste and grandeur of the families who were rich enough to build them. However. none of these families, the Birchams, Learnons and Collyers, could have foreseen that in the passage of time the Houses would remain as a lasting memorial long after they had gone. Finally my introduction must include some spec ific acknowledgements, whilst man y local residents have assisted me with oral and written material which has allowed me to write the enclosed articles my thanks in particular go to Tony Ivins, the Leonard family, David Wright and Reginald Rudd. Also to the 1898 publication of "An Account of the Church and Parish of Cawston" by Walter Rye which offered detail about the Cawston Duel. It is unknown as to whether or not the bricks used in the building of the Moor House came from a local source but if they did they would have undoubtedly been supplied from a local brickmaker and probably from the kilns situated only a few yards up the road on Crown meadow. Tel. Norwich (0603) 870936 1 Michael Black Middlemarch Broomhill Lane Reepham �Brickmaking in Reepham Like many of its neighbouring towns and villages in Notfolk, Reephum has through the centuries inherited a richness of buildings many of which survive today and hopefully with the benefit of the Reepham Conservation Area they will stand for generations to come. They may not stand out so majestically as the two churches or some of the larger buildings such as Whitwell Hall or Hackfard Hall but they are now regarded with the same level of import<Ulce and rightly so. They have an individuality of their own and as such they fann a very natural part of OUf Town. This ind ividuality is probably due to [he fact that nothing but local materials were used . In previous times transport (0 move the required items other than short local distances was extremely limi ted. Unlike recent years when a great variety of building maleriais has been brought into Reepham by the easy availi bility or lnms;:xm. However has this choice and the large number of 3adl{wrnl properties built; added or detracted from the overall chann d living in this rural market town? Most people would f!!el that lhe sol id use for so long of local ma(erials and the reC{.I!t lise of a much wider range have jointly helped develop Rcephwn into a place of some character. Wnilsl brick is generally considered to be the main building materiaj in Norfolk the three traditional materials of clay, flint and carstone have been extensively used and these along with a number of minor ones have all played their part in the cenruries old construction of buildings in Norfolk. They have all given their own individual character to the houses in which they were used . Not all these materials were used in this area as there was none locally available, notably carstone. The re are examples in the Reepham area of the use of materials which are no longer in favour as suitable for bu ilding. Weatherboarding is the style of finishing off wood framed buildings externally with horizontal courses of boarding, with one board being lapped an inch or so over the one beneath and originally they were finished with a coat of tar. This style of building found liule favour in Norfolk except in farm buildings where it was frequently used. It was a quick and efficient way of erecting buildings and whilst it deteriorates if not looked after there are a number of examples to be found in farms around the Reepham area. Weatherboarding is to be found on the east facing wall of the house on the comer of Ollands Road/Church Hill and on the renovated buildings in Reepham Moor just further up from the old Black Lion public house. Homes of half-timber work were built extensively from the Middle Ages and this method of building was reliant upon a 2 good supply of timber and craftsman who were well acguainted with this particular work. There are still a number of barns in this area which display in their roofs the art of piMing together huge wooden beams and trusses but there are very few houses left which display this particular building art. Probably the best example in Reepham is a house in Back Street. This is a two storey house which is timber framed and plastered to the street side and brick to the-rear, the main building dates from the 16lh century. At this period in Reepham's history the Back Street was either the main road through Reepham or was the edge of a medieval market place which was probably much bigger than the present one. It is likely that most if not all the original houses along here were constructed in this half-timber work. Most people associate Norfolk with flint and it is used extensively for building particularly in the south-west and along the north and north-east of the County. it was not easily obtainable il~ the Reepham area although it is seen in a number of specific places in the Town, notably the retaining wall built around the eastern edge of the Moor House and the wall on the southern end of OlJands Road (recently restored with the financial help of (he Reepham Society). The buildings with the greatest amount of flint are of course the two churches of Reepham St.Mary and Whitwell St.Michael and the lower pan of the churchyard wall along Back Street. Own individual character. �strength, often renowned for their capacity to consume large amounts of liquid to appease the thirst that this work brought, particularly in the Summer months. Excavations were carried out in the grounds of Whitwell Hall in 1973 and some fine examples of medieval flint walling were uncovered, walls which were Obviously part of a dwelling of some importance. To make clay lump the clay would have been spread out in a thick layer and all stones which were larger than a walnut would have betn removed. The clay would then have been watered and short straw, dried grass or sedge to act as a binding agent would have been spread over it and trodden in. This process was known as 'pudd li ng'. A horse or the labourers in their bare feet would have carried ou[ the 'pudd ling', which broke up the natural fracture lines in the clay and so reduced its proneness to break-up by weathering. There are two main materials left to consider and these were the most extensively used in this area; clay and brick. Originally clay was used in a process known as wattle and daub and this was the main way of building the walls. It consisted of a timber framing with wattle slicks laced vertically and horizontally in between which fanned a key for clay mortar to be stuck on. The whole of the framing was generally plastered both inside and out and buildings of this construction have almost the same appearance as those built of clay lump. The clay was then put into wooden moulds or frames to fornl a block which was generally eighteen inches long by nille inches wide by six inches deep, these would have been used for the external walls. Blocks were made to the same length and depth but only six incht:s wide for the in lernal walls. The blocks were set on level ground for a few days and when sufficiently dry were tumed up on end and taken to a platform where they were left to finally dry out. Depending upon the time of year this could take a month or Iwo and often the blocks were fanned throughout the Winter for use the following Spring. Clay lump was first used in Norfolk about 350 to 400 years ago anc was still used as a housebuilding material by local bui lders up until 50 to 60 years ago. There are some good examples at Kerdiston which were built for the District Council in the 1920's, An old say ing 'Give it a good hat and a stout pair of boots and il will lasl hundreds of years' is attributed to a clay lump house. The 'hal' is the huge ove r-hanging eaves and the "boots' being the solid base of brick or flint , the base usually being tarred for additional protection. Sometimes the houses were built with a dripboard about halfway down the side walls which would divert rainwater away from the 'boots'. The clay lumps would then be built on a plinth of brickwork or flint-work by se tling the lumps into clay mortar. The finished walls were then finished with a coal of clay slurry, topped with tar, then sanded and coloured. In other parts of Norfolk (particularly in the south) different colours were ofren used but in this area the houses were mainly white. The finishing coat had to be applied as quickly as possible after the wall was built as it was essemial not to lei water ger into the clay lump as it would disintegrate very easily. On fam bui ld ings (and sometimes on labourers cottages) the clay was often tarred. This made for a long lasting water tight building but asthetically it was not very pleasing; could anything have been gloomier to a poor faml labourer trudging back in the falling lighl than to go back to a black house. Clay was used because it was extensively available in this area, it only had to be dug out of the ground. There are many pits scattered around which testify to years of activity in extracting this material.The best example being the clay pits at Booton; these water filled pits have a reputation for being very deep which indicate to the large amount of clay that was taken over a long period of rime. This would have all been hand dug, loaded into sma ll carts and then transported to the required site, Anyone who has experienced digging ou t clay will appreciate how difficult the task was and these labourers were men of great Bricks, Pantiles and Weatherboarding. 3 �areas of brickmaking in Reepham. 'ON . ,~ , ,. ,.e.., . .. . ..... :..: ........•.~." • •~;o;,.. ". lSll P'j-. " Covering the solid clay-lump building would have been a roof of The O.S. map of 1886 shows the area in Kerdiston which had been used for at least 200 years, it closed down at the end of the 19th century. pantiles or thatch. Pantiles would have been laid on Norfolk reed and hair mortar. Thatch always seems the best covering for plaster walls and in this area good thatching straw and not reed would have been used. The second map shows the Cawston Road area from just before the Second World War; all the houses Finally. we come to brick, the material that was used most extensively for building houses and fann buildings in this area. Brickwork was introduced into this country in Roman times but the an of brickmaking ceased after they left and it was not reintroduced until the Middle Ages when brickmaking was brought to East Anglia by the many Flemish weavers who settled here at this time . were built from bricks made at Collisons brickyard (marked on the map as Kiln Chy.). Kilns were originally situated in the field just to the north east of the Crown P.H. - bricks made and fired here were used to build Newland Villas in Station Road. .. '~-89S . " 4 �Collison bought the area of land between the new railway line and the Cawston Road and during the late 1880's he built a new and large kiln at the eastern end bounded by Orchard Lane. Collisons were able to utilise the clay resources on this site to produce the bricks which during the 1920's and 30's built most of the houses that stand today on LIle Cawston Road , Wood Dalling Road and in Labumham Grove (an area orig inally called The Mountfield Estate) and the houses on New Road built for the fomler St. Faiths and Aylsham R.D.C. This area with its large pockets of suitable clay must have proved of great benefit to these immigrants who soon made and used bricks, a use that paralleled in growth with their increased prosperity. Bricks are made out of clay dug au( of the ground and allowed to weather, it is moulded into shapes and then baked. The brick earth contains sand and clay and other ingredients including oxide of iron and lime; these two are the main colouring agents with the maximum amount of iron producing a dark rich red. This is the natural colour of bricks made from clay from this area. Reginald Rudd who lives in Richmond Rise remembers working in the brickyard during the 1930's when he was apprenticed to Collison Bros. Reepham has a richness in buildings built of brick not just in the older areas of the Market Place, Back Street and The Moor but in most other areas of the Town .where the choice and use of brick reflects the now past industry of brick making in Reepham. In the past most villages had a clamp or kiln, usually situated next to a ready source of clay, from which bricks were produced. Marshall Howard a builder in Cawston operated a large kiln on the outskirts of the village until after the Second World War and brickrnaking was practised in Foulsham until the early part of this century "The brickyard was entered from the Cawston Road near the junction with Orchard Lane. It was a triangular shaped site and it ran along the railway line at the back of the houses on the south of the Cawston Road." When the houses were first built they had relatively small gardens but with the closure of the brickyard the gardens were extended over the old site and down to the railway line. Today nothing remains, the site is now entirely covered by houses ~nd the pits from where the clay was dug have long been filled in and grassed over. Even the pit which gave the site a continuous supply of water has completely disappeared. Reepham seems to have had two main places of brickmaking, the first one in Kerdiston. It is known that there was a thriving brick building business here throughout the nineteenth century and probably throughout the previous century also. There is a fann here called Brick Kiln Fann and the field directly opposite is shown on the 1846 tithe map as 'Brick Kiln Pightle'. It also shows the outline of a number of buildings which on the first O.S. map of the area in 1886 are shown as the kilns, a number of pits fr<?m where the clay was dug are also detailed. When the map was revised in 1906 the brick kilns were described as "disused' although some buildings including a smithy remained. John Eglington of Kerdiston is listed in Kellys Directory of 1846 and 1853 as a brickmaker as is Freeman Eglington in 1865 and 1875 .There is no such mention in later directories and it is assumed that brickmaking ceased here towards the end of that century. "The pit from where th~ clay was dug was situated al the bottom near the railway line; digging clay was a hard lask but made easier by having a bucket of water standing ncarby, this was used to wet the spade each time before it was put into the clay. The clay Slipped off easier with the spade wet but it was very different if the spade was dry, the clay would stick and each shovelful had to be scraped off. The clay was then taken to a large tank about 10' in diameter, known as a pugging mill, here it was mixed with water piped up from a nearby pit. The tank had a central spindle into which was fixed a bar, this extended across the top of the tank and five downward spikes were fitted to each side of the bar. It resembled a large spiked comb. A donkey or pony was harnessed up to the spind le and then walked round and round the tank so that the spikes thoroughly mixed the clay and water. Initially this was hard work for the animal but it became easier as the water was worked into the clay and a thick paste created." A great deal of energy was needed to pound and pummel the clay to the requi red consistency; it is difficult to believe that before horsepower was used this task was carried out manually - hard work indeed! NOthing remains today but if you look carefully you can find pieces of deep red brick in the ground around the kiln area. If you stand here and look eastwards towards Reepham, the field in front of you (brick kiln pightie) shows severe undulations and some very high banks. evidence of where the brick clay was dug for so many decades. \ Towards the end of the 1870's, Newland Villas, the row of houses in Station Road were built by Arthur Collison; who was in business as a publican (the Black Lion P.H.)and a builder and he used bricks from a nearby site. Brickrnaking had been carried out for many years on the area bounded by the Cawston Road and New Road. In 1846 the two small fields here were named as Clamp Close (situated just north of The Crown P.H.) and Brick Kiln Close (the area today on which the houses in New Road are being built). Brick making was carried out here although it suffered certain difficulties in 1881 when the line of the new railway was laid directly through the site. It seems that Arthur l I, "Towards j the end of the brickyard life the pugging mill was replaced by a crusher which was driven by a little petrol engine. It mixed the clay thoroughly and was also able to crush the stone and other impurities which previously had to be removed by hand. Whilst this process was faster than using a donkey or pony it was not so reliable and would often breakdown. When the clay had been thoroughly mixed into an almost plastic state the excess water was drained off (back into the pit from where it first came), the large stones would be removed and the wet clay would be dug out and barrowed up to the brickmaker. 5 �He would rake a double handful of wet clay and throw it into a mould, the clay would be tamped down, the top skimmed off and the wet brick shape turned out into a nearby barrow.The mould was always placed onto a small wooden pad which had the letter 'C' moulded onto it and this letter would be impressed into the clay when the brick was turned out. could result in a high proportion of 'throw outs'. If the heat was built up too quickly the clay would dry out too soon and the bricks would crack. This particular kiln seems in Mr. Rudd's recollection to have been soundly built to a specific design and the firing of bricks had a high degree of success. The kiln would be fired three or four times a year and each firing would produce about 5000 bricks There was one person permanently employed to run the site although when extra help was required other men from Collisons would be brought in and sometimes up to six would be employed on the site. The house on the Cawston Road known as 'Crows Nest'was built for the brickmaker. When Harry Collison was told that the first brickmaker to live here was going to be a Mr. Rook. he said "well the house must be called 'Crows Nest' " ~ and so it was. The last brickmaker for Collisons was Alan Jeffries who continued living here after the brickmaking ceased. A typical Collison Brick - made in tens of thousands during a period of more than fifty years, they were used to build many houses in Reepham, most notably around the Cawston Road. This area was originally called the Mountfield Estate. "Once the kiln had been lit the brickmaker would be responsible for bringing the fire up to temperature and keeping it going until the bricks had been baked. He would build the fire up gradually until a heat haze could be seen coming out of the top outlets,this showed the heat was going through all the kiln. He would then keep the fires going until the baking process was completed. This would take three to four weeks and during this period he would also be making more wet bricks ready for the next firing. The secret of achieving good shape was to accurately throw an adequate amount of clay with the right force, if this happened air pockets would not form and [he clay would properly fill the mould. When it was adjudged that the bricks had been fired, the fires were left to die down and the kiln allowed to cool. It would take about a week for the fire to go completely out and a further 10 days or so for the kiln to cool down. The entrances would be knocked down and the bricks removed. They were very hot when taken out and it was hard work which required a thick pair of gloves; once outside the bricks would quickly cool. The day bricks would then be moved to the drying shed where they were carefully stacked.This long narrow shed had a flat roof, slightly sloped to let the rain run off and with old sacks hanging down the sides to give further protection to the outside bricks against excessive wet. The elements, particularly the wind and sun would then partially dry them out; this process would vary depending upon the time of year and it could take several weeks. The bricks were then barrowed into the kiln and stacked from the outer edge working into the centre. The kiln was a long semi~circular brick building built partly under ground level, with doorways at either end. It was constructed with an inner oven area where the bricks were placed and an outer brick skin which conta ined a lower level where the fires burned. The fire level was reached from the outside by a number of openings at the ground level which allowed the coal to be shovelled downwards directly onto the fire. The smoke and heat went upwards over the curved inner area and out through a number of top outlets. When the kiln had been filled the entrances would be sealed up using clay and old bricks, then the fires would be lit. " The empty kiln would be checked in case any repairs were necessary to the structure and when ready the next lot of bricks would be barrowed in and the process started again. There was a considerable colour difference in the bricks, those nearest the fire were burnt almost black with the colour changing to a light red for the bricks stacked in the centre of the kiln. The black bricks were very hard and if knocked would shatter into pieces whereas the light red bricks were soft and could be easily cut and shaped with a bricklayers trowel." During the 1940's the ciay on the site had been worked out and Collisons were buying in clay from Cawston. The brickmaking process was very labour intensive, with the clay having to be bought and with competition from the increasing availability of cheaper bricks transported from the Bedford and Peterborough brickfields it was no longer a paying proposition and the yard was closed. The temperature and time needed to fire bricks in a kiln was a bit rough and ready by the standards of today but these brickmakers acquired a skill in controlling the required temperature and were able to raise the fire to something like 1000 degrees centigrade and then to hold it for the required period.lf the correct temperature was not acheived or maintained it would mean a wide range of quality in the bricks fired and The brickyard was in use for some 60 years and when it closed it fmished a manufacture that had been earned out in Reepham for hundreds of years. All traces of these brickyards and their kilns have gone but their legacy remains in the houses and other buildings that we regard as such an essential part of the character of Reepham. 6 �seventeenth and eighteenth centuries can be seen in a number of later properties. Close inspection in some areas of brickwork will show the Common English and Flemish brick bonds and the later Stretcher bond which was normally used when the structure included a cavity wall. Other less common brick bonds are also to be found here. Ordinary bricks were used for decoration, usually this was acheived by creating patterns in profile or by the bricklayer integrating different types of bonding. Decoration by using coloured bricks is nor noticable. Decoration on the end of buildings was often achieved in the chimney breasts or more particularly on the gable ends. The Dutch gable is often considered as a highlight of the bricklayers craft, whilst a number of good examples can be found in the nearby villages of Cawston and Foulsham; they do not appear to exist in Reepham. Different size bricks can oflen be found in older buildings; until the end of the eighteenth century most bricks were made two inches deep but the introduction of the brick tax in 1784 caused the size to increase with a three inch brick becoming the common size thereafter. It is not uncommon (0 find bricks larger than the three inch size; it usually depended upon the personal size nominated by the local brickmaker. One of the houses siruared along Reepham Moor; whilst architectural derails dating from the sixteenth century can be seen at Moor Farm later details of interest from both the COLLISON BROS. - Reepham Brickmallers and Builders Left to right: Horace (Horry) Collison, together with Herbert (Witty) Witred, Stanley Alford and Harold Alford. 7 �Moor House - Glasshouse architect's drawing board so that a number of 'desirable Tudorbethan residences' could be drawn in around the mature yet protected trees. Reepham already has a Moor House Close and many people would agree that we were not yet ready for a Moor House Park Estate also! We are only too aware that even with an organisation like the Reepham Society it is often difficult to protect the buildings and general landscape of the Reepham area. Government initiatives gave us a local Town plan which in tum produced a conservation area. This protected area includes much of Reepham but even with this level of protection it is still possible for structures that have stood as part of our heritage for so many years, to disappear. Often quickly and sometimes without reasonable opposition or protest. The Moor House was to be retained and planning consent was given for a number of different uses, whilst one of these was for residential purposes it was unexpected but extremely acceptable when the House was bought with the purchaser's intention of turning it into a family home. A decision which has now turned to fruition. It is even more gratifying to know that not just the House but the grounds and outbuildings also are receiving attention by the owners and eventually it is hoped to return it all to the state in which it was originally built and subsequently enjoyed over 100 years ago. In recent years we have all lamented the loss of large areas like the original Ollands Estate, or buildings like the bam on School Road or even the brick wall along Bar Lane. They could have been saved and the structures put to an alternative use; admittedly the wall along Bar Lane would have been expensive to repair and in parts to rebuild and some would argue that its costly retention would have been of little value, other than aesthetic to future generations. However, if we can consider saving the wall at the southern end of Ollands Road then the Bar Lane wall should have merited a better fate than it ultimately received from the contractors bulldozer. I'm sure many readers will have noticed and appreciated the labours of Mr. David Wright and Kirby Leonard, the owner's son. which has brought such a dramatic change in the gardens and grounds around the House. Many hours have been sP'!nt in cutting. planting and mowing these areas. Sometimes with a necessary ruthlessness and at other times with a required tenderness to ensure that a semblance of order and balance is returned to what was once an area of Victorian splendour set out in the fonnal and required manner of that age. The statutory planning controls and conditions that we have all had to consider or confront at some time or other, coupled with the media interest and subsequent regret often expressed when an old building is demolished, has given us a greater awareness of the need to retain our past even if the structu res saved have to be adapted to an alternative and more accep[able use to suit today's requirements. In receO[ years Reepham has achieved more successes than failures in retaining buildings rather than condemning them to the labours of the demolition contractors and much of this has been achieved by the local interest and desire in wanting to save buildings rather than lose them.The Reepham Society with its watchful reputation must take credit that the townscape we appreciate in Reepham today is there partly due to their effort. To the north west of the House and behind the wall along New Road was the kitchen garden, an area of starus and immaculateness that was the domain of the head gardener and his staff and which would have been ranked by Samuel Bircham and his family as one of the most important areas in the Moor House grounds. The walled kitchen garden is a form of gardening that was practised for many centuries but it reached its zenith in Victorian times when there was a tremendous demand for this relatively small area to produce a wide range of fruit. vegetables, flowers and plants to meet the constant requirements of the House and its occupants. A continous supply of vegetables for the dining table. fruit for dessert. flowers for decoration and pot plants for the house would be expected and it was the head gardener's job to meet this and for all days of the year. It was therefore to the relief of all interested parties a considerable triumph of common sense and a sense also of local history when it was announced that The Moor House was to remain. It was not going to ignominiously end up as a pile of rubble or that a plan of its grounds would end up on an 8 �However, this legacy of Victorian splendour was time consuming and highly expensive in tenns of labour. As social conditions changed during the earlier decades of this century it became an area of neglect, forgotten and unused by its later owners, a victim of 20th century changes and the mass yet cheap import of fruit and vegetables which had previously only been available to the landowner who had money to spend on heated glasshouses and a large gardening staff. However this garden and the glasshouse in particular. is now pan of a success story of which the owners must be justifiably proud and I'm sure they would like to share this with all those people in Reepham who have cares or feelings that something that could have so easily been forgotten has not just been saved but has been painstakingly, and I've· no doubt expe nsively restored. to it's original condition. There were many reasons for the popUlarity of glasshouses with the Victorians but two in particu lar allowed this era to reach the zenith of its use. Prior to 1845 glasshouses had been common in the very large country hou ses where money to provide and support them had been no object to me rich landowner. rn 1845 the removal of the glass tax meant that glasshouses and the general lUXUry of forced garden produce could be available to most houses of consequence in both town and country. Secondly. Thomas Rivers a well known Victorian nursery man came up with the idea of 'orchard houses' after experimentation in 1848 at his nursery. He found that he could grow peaches. nectarines and apricots with great success if he sheltered plants with a glazed roof and sides and allowed ventilation through openings which could be adjusted so as to maintain a constant temperature. This gave maximum prmection to the fruit trees and it ensured the setting of fruit in Spring and the thorough ripening of next year's fruiting wood during the Autumn. The fruit and vegetable garden at the Moor House became like so many others an item of the past and because it was untended it slowly returned to a natural state. This particular garden however was destined for a revival. The brick boundary wall along New Road reaches 18' in height along its southern end; this was purpose ly built as it was [Q fonn the back wall of the carriage house and the stable block which in tum stood next to the large kitchen garden glasshouse. The precise and orderly Victorian thinking deemed that the glasshouse would face directly south overlooking the garden which would in tum be situated next to the ample and continous supplies of manure generated by the horses stabled next door. Many people in Reepham were aware of this large glass building and most could recall that within their memory it had always been in a sorry state. Some and it is not very many. could remember it from the pre-War days of the 1930's when it was last commercially used. The memory though of most people was of its broken guttering. of the smashed glass panes which had once so majestically covered the wooden frame and of the frame itself. now paintless and in many places rotten. The interior was choked with nettles. brambles and other weeds which along with the few remaining hybrid plants had grown rampant as they all struggled for light and survival. It had become a jungle of untamed growth and it seemed to epitomise the collective neglect and disinterest that had befalIen the House and grounds. He wrote a pamphlet about this called "The Orchard House" which was so popular that it appeared as a book and this ran to many editions during the decades after 1850. It was said that the orchard or large glasshouse became so familiar and essential in a good Victorian garden that no other garden structure up to that time had ever advanced so quickly in popularity. 9 �Initially the orchard house differed from its companion glasshouse as it was primarily to grow fruit in. However it was soon found that a broad range of garden fruit and vegetables could be grown together and the Moor House glasshouse is a good example of a unit that was able to offer this double requirement. The high north wall allowed for trained fruit and the lower south area was ideal for a wide range of other fruit and vegetables which would grace the dining table. Up to the early/mid part of the 19th century there were only a small number of vegetables available for the country house table and during the winter months the variety was very limited indeed. It was said that a turnip. cabbage or leek were often the winter mainstay ahh ough broccoli. cauliflower. peas. seakale and artichoke were becoming popular. As the century progressed gardeners found that by forcing vegetables on hotbeds of fe nnenting manure, in forcing sheds. frames, terracota pots or in warm glasshouses they were able to offer a wider range of vegetables and fruit and for them to make an out-oF-season appearance on the dining table. It was possible to provide fruit from heated glasshouses two months or more earlier than its normal season. A glasshouse the size of the one at the Moor House would have undoubtedly been fitted with a system of iron piping which would have been fed from a small outside boi ler and the heat provided would in tum be used to force on the fruit and vegetables. The Moor House glasshouse presents us however with someth ing of a conundrum because there is no evidence of a boiler house or any fonn of heating, other than natural sunlight, being provided. Miss Ann Bircham whose family owned the House can recall the kitchen garden area during the 1920's but cannot recall the ex istence of any fonn of heating. The internal ironwork of the glasshouse is structured with a large open hole in each support indicating that is was probably designed to take a heating pipe but for some unknown reason they were never installed. It was known that when Samuel Bircham built the House his wife was never happy to live here and in consequence the time spent here was on a limited basis. Perhaps Samuel felt that the cost of installing a boiler and then running this for an irregular household use was an expense [hat could be avoided. It seems therefore that from the time it was built and until the tenancy of Mr. Ernest Hudson (1903 to 1931), the glasshouse was used in a fairly fannal gardening way but was still able to provide a wide range of fruit such as peaches, nectarines. figs, early vegetables for the winter table, summer salads including tomatoes and cucumbers and no doubt melons. a particular Victorian favourite. Gooseberries, raspberries and currants could also be potted-up and brought on in such a house. When Ernest Hudson rented the Moor House in 1903 he introduced a more regular use to the glasshouse - he turned it into a commercial peach house. The house provided a cool shelter to several peach trees which would have been trained to fan shapes. This meant th at in January the dead wood (which had borne fruit the previous season) would be cut off and the young shoots fonned the last Summer would be tied-in to wires which were nailed into the nonh wall. This pruning and tieing-in would have been carried out to a high standard, if not the work would be undone and would be painstakingly re-tied to the head gardener's satisfaction. The peaches that were grown were picked and sent for sale to Covent Garden in London; during the earlier part of this century fresh sem i-exoti c fruit commanded good prices and there was little competition from the Mediteranean countries. The fruit would be picked one or two days in advance and laid out to dry so that the skin would lose the effects of humidity which would have built up in the glasshouse. The peaches would then be wrapped in tissue paper or in a thin layer of cotton wool and the wrapped peaches were then placed in boxes (which usually held twelve frui t) and these small boxes would be stacked into returnable fruit hampers. 10 �The glasshouse today is a wonderful structure, the triumph of a desire to return a useful and well built example from the the Victorian age back to a pristine state and for the building to be used once more for its original purpose. Whilst we, the readers, are probably coment with our lO'x6' or t 2'x8' green hou ses After the fruit had been firmly yet securely packed it would be taken to Reepham Station and from here start its journey to London. It arrived after only a few hours and would enable the fruit picked in Reepham to arrive perfectly ripe and ready for immediate dinner table consumption. ,. When Ernest Hudson died in 1931 the House remained empty for a number of years until it was used for military purposes during the Second World War, In these few years up to 1940 the Bircham family retained the services of a gardener who continued to work and look after the kitchen garden and the glasshouse. It is fair to say that from the War onwards the use of the glasshouse declined and it subsequently fell into the state of dilapidation that became familiar for so many years to those people using New Road. _ _-...,:c_ . -,,-i:::~~' .--~-.. . _ ......o:... :.;...,_~'- -- :J~~l~:::-_ ~-=:- _.__ Care and expense though has now been lavished on [he glasshouse and today it resembles closely the state in which it would have been see n over 100 years ago; but what efforts it has taken. More than 1500 panes of glass were purchased and installed, considerable carpentry time has been spent on repairing and replacing the damaged woodwork particularly the lower opening window frames. All the original Victorian ironwork supports have been retained although they were in good need of cleaning and repaiming. The strucrure however proved to be remarkably sound and what is seen today is all original. Even the hand pump on the eastern end has ~en restored to working order. There is an underground tank at thi s end which collects rainwater from the glass roof, the tank is not overlarge for such a building of this size and David Wright feels that in some long past hot Summer the tank would almost certainly have been completely emptied. bought in an easily erectable state, we can offer nothing but admiration for a project that has seen the rebui ld ing of a glass structure lOO'x18';d8'. Now that their labours have achieved such a success let us hope that those instrumental in this project will have many years "fruitful" pleasure from it. There is one other fearure from the past that remains in (he building - a large vine. This is one plant that has withstood all the natural turmoil and upheaval of the past 50 years. Hopefully this year it will produce a harvest of grapes, the first for many years to come. Ann Bircham can recall the vine being here in the 1920's; vines were a favourite with the Victorians so is it feasible that here is a surv ivor from the plants installed by Samuel Bircham's gardeners so long ago. 11 �THE MOOR HOUSE GLASSHOUSE - 12 1993 �Whitwell Hall Godolphin was a nobleman who was fond of a good talk and a quiet life and so delighted was he with the Doctor's conversation that he invited him to go and live with him. He also introduced him to all his friends and in due course obtained for him the post of non-resident physician at the Chelsea Hospital. Monsey was able to live at the Earl's house at S1. Jame's in London. I In London this extraordinary Doctor from Norfolk, with his I l I According to the 18th century Norfolk historian, the Rev. Blomefield, the history of the manors of Gamban and Whitwell Symonds (which includes today the areas of Whitwell Hall and Hackford Hall) can be traced back to Anglo Saxon times. The land is listed in the Domesday Book (1086) as being owned by Rolf de Bellofago who was given the land after the Nonnan conquesl. In 1659 Augustine Messenger held the Manors of both Whitwell and Hackford and in 1680 these were inherited by Robert Monsey who became Rector of Bawdeswell in 1683, In 1689 he was obliged to take an oath of allegiance and supremacy to the new King William but he declined to do this and he was subsequently deprived of the living at Bawdeswell. He was more fortunate than many other members of the clergy in that he owned a small but yet comfortable estate and so he retired to Whitwell to live. He was able to indulge in his passion for growing plants paI1icularly oaks and some of the oak trees that he planted at Whitwell during these later years still survive in good order today.lt was here that his son Messenger was born in 1693. It is said that the eighteenth century was rich in "interesting physicians" and one of the most remarkable (and certainly the oddest) was Doctor Messenger Monsey. He is recorded as being uncouth, unwashed, able to del iver the most outrageous remarks and generally to behave in the most unseemly manner, was generally unpopular yet always tolerated on account of his wit and malice. He is mentioned in most of the contemporary records of the time. Messenger spent his fonnative years at Whitwell being educated by his father until 1711 when he entered Pembroke College, Cambridge. He graduated B.A. in 1715 and returned to Norwich to study medicine. He finally settled down to practise at Bury St. Edmund's and might have remained there for the rest of his days had it not been for a fortUnate accident which occurred when the second Earl of GodoJphin was taken ill at Bury, on his way LO his house at Newmarket. Monsey was summoned to attend and the patient made a swift recovery although history does not record whether the recovery was fully or partly due to the professional ability of Messenger. appalling manners and scathing tongue was a novelty and became an instam success in the broad social circle of friends of the Earl of Godolphin. He became a great friend of Sir Roben Walpole (who was the first person to hold the office of Prime Minister) and it is reputed that Messenger was the only man who dared to contradict him and to beat him at billiards. The Doctor had a prodigious output of general verse and literature but his celebrity owed linle to the pen but everything to his conversation and hi s habits. He never did anything in a common manner, when one of his teeth ached, he would tie it by a length of catgut to a perforated bullet and fire the bullet from a pistol: he claimed this method of dentistry to be painless and urged all his friends to remove their painful teeth in the same manner. He never said anything unless it was unexpected or outwgeous, his talk was vigorous and incessant. anecdotal, highly flavoured and crowded (like his letters) with classical quotations and deplorable puns. He was also reknowned as a teller of scurrilous after dinner stories once the ladies had retired and ldt the gentlemen to their port Lord Godolphin died in 1766 and none of Messenger's other patrons could quite endure the possibility of having him as a pennanent resident in their houses. He had married when he lived at Bury but his wife was dead and his only child, Charlotte, was married to a linen-draper in London and was preoccupied with her large family. The idea of retirin.g and moving back to Whitwell was the very last thing he wanted to do so he had to leave 5t. Jame's and retire to apartments in Chelsea Hospital. He continued to maintain his contacts and his remarks were as much quoted as ever; but he grew old and soured and intensely di~agreeable, and his dress and general deportment became even more eccentric. He was much disliked at Chelsea particularly by the junior doctors who were eager for his post and salary. Messenger would aggravale them by refusing to give up the position and by saying thar they would all die before him anyway: a statement which he did his best to fulfil by living to the age of ninety-five. He becanle increasingly lonely as the years wore on, for he had by now outlived all his friends, and his scalhing wit and 13 �unpredictable conversation was too strong to be accepted or appreciated by this later era of London society. His daughter spent as much time as she could willI him but this was limited as she had eleven children and a husband who was in business. During these later years he maintained a regular correspondence with William Wiggeu Bulwer of Heydon Hall, William lived only a few miles from the Whitwell estate and generally kept an eye on the place for Messenger. It is known that Messenger and Charlotte would occasionally visit Norfolk but it seems that whilst they would visit Whitwell they would always stay at Heydon, in any case the Hall would have a tenant living there. Travelling from London to Norfolk in the 18th century would have had its limitations and in these later years the old age and failing health of Messenger coupled with the family ties of Charlotte would have made journeys impossible. In 1767 he began these letters to William and they continued with the last one being written only a month before his death in December 1788. 10 20 Chiins )I, mile Whilst outwardly he appeared the same disagreeable and awkward person he had always been, these letters displayed him in a mellower and less savage mood. Amid the wit and general buffoonery there runs a pleasant current of affection and kindness particularly for his daughter and especially for Mr. and Mrs. Bulwer and their daughters Molly and Sally. He wrote of Heydon as the place "where I have always met with so much cordiality, pleasure and hospitality - for I do assure you I have passed no moments of my life with more satisfaction than at Heydon". He died at Chelsea at the age of ninety-five, on the 26th December 1788. His will was wonhy of him. It was nineteen pages long and was extremely detailed and complicated. He insisted, with elaborate and ghastly directions, that his body should be dissected and the remains thrown into the Thames. The recipients or his clothes were detailed down to his 'old shoe buckles'. Many people received sums of money ranging from Five Pounds To Six Hundred and Fifty Pounds but all his propeny and lands 'in the parishes of Whitwell and Hackford in the County of Norfolk' went to his daughter Charlotte. A complicated entail that the Whitwell estate should pass to her female children and to their issue only was included and it seems that Messenger's intention was to exclude the male line of the family from any long tenn inheritance. J. mile ( 440 yotrdsl Whitwell s~c,: H.R .O. e-i.. I/:C:>(co-:...":..:.!!'~~~ The exten t 01 the Whitwell Hall estate is indicated by the shaded fines. rft",p 14 rlg,o �Hall was initially occupied on an annual tenancy by Mr. Matthew Breese Copeman. However it was only eight months later that, in the same newspaper, the following notice appeared on five consecutive Saturdays in February and March 1822. Like her faLher, Charlotte did not appear to have lived at Whitwell Hall during the rest of her lifetime. She had eleven children and a husband who was in trade in London as a linen draper. Their home and business was fimlly rooted in the Capital and there seemed little sense in moving up to a rural estate in Norfolk and so for a few years longer Whitwell Hall and its fanns continued to be let to tenants. Fadens 1790 map of Norfolk marks Lhe Hall as being occupied by a Mr. Thomas Cooke . Charlotte only lived for a few more years and she died in 1798. Her eldest daughter Caroline inherited the Whitwell and Hackford Estates and on the 18th March 1800 she married John Bedingfield Collyer. John was the 2nd son of Daniel Collyer of Wroxham Hall and he and Charlotte moved into Hackford Hall. The Collyer family and their subsequent generations were to live at Hackford until Brigadier-General John Collyer left during the 1930's. The exact date cannot be established but at this time the Whitwell Hall estate was sold by Caroline either just before or j ust after her marriage. In the Land Tax Return of 1801 for the parish of Whitwell the proprietor is shown as Edward John Ellis. The same Edward Ellis is listed in the Momingthorpe Return for 1800 so it is probable that he purchased the estate between April 1800 and March 1801. The Land Tax Return for Whitwell continues to record Edward Ellis as living at Whitwell until his death in February 1821. His subsequent Will shows him to have been a somewhat wealthy man, he left a number of specific cash bequests totalling nearly £3000 with several bequests payable per week or per year fo r the reSl of the life of lhe recipient. The whole of the estate was left to his nephew James Ellis of Hackford with the provision for him to "be kind to his Father Arthur Ellis, if not the estate was to pay him an allowance of 20/· for the rest of his life". Unfortunately history does not record the actual outcome! Also included in the Will was £100 to Robert Leamon the Younger of Fakenham who was also appointed as sole executor and was to be paid expenses and a reasonable allowance for carrying out the necessary executive duties. James Ellis was a harness and collar maker (also the trade of Robert Leamon) who lived with his wife Alice and their eight children in a house on the comer of Reepham Market Place, on the site which was later occupied for so many years by Barclays Bank. James however declined to move into Whitwell and it was left to Robert Leamon as executor to find a tenant for the Hall and its surrounding arabIc and pasture land. The letting was advertised in the Norfolk Chronicle in early June 1821 and the AI '11Ie AII.i!d 11111, Marht Pir/ee, Nonl'icJ, tI';j' dwy 2'IJ Mureh bi'IWI't'li lilt! IwlUs vf J and 5 itl IIII' afll'rl/Oo/l (unlcss SOUlier Jispvsd oj by Pn·vale eMllrml). All Ihat very desirable ESTATE called HI11irweIl Hall, in WllitUleIl, in the COlillty if Norfolk, late rhe residence cf Edward jolHi Ellis, Gefltlemall deceased alld t10W i'l the oC(IIpatioti cf Mr. Matthew Breese Copemall, as tel/ali t from year to year; comprising a capital Matlsioll HOlise will! artached and detached qffices of evel}' descriptiotJ, fit for the resideuce tf a Gellteel Famify atld 130 acres, three roods alld 17 perches by slIn.-ey, of excellelll arable and pas/lire laud, willI hams, stables alld every otller requisite f arm buildiflgs, for the ocwpatiot1 cf the same. Also a Messuage, fl OW used as Cottages atld a COI/Vel/iel/l atld and well plamed Ti.J/I Ya rd, comaillilJg 14 /Jalldlers, 17 vats, six laps wilh tlecessary limes alld grait,ers, convenient dl}'illg shed, mill house, leather hOl/se, bark hams, .Hables alld other outbuildings, requ;sitt'for carryillg 0/1 the Tan/lillg Trade . TIle /vial15iotl H Ol/se comaiflS all elltrallce hall, with keepillg room, dillillg and drawing rOOIllS, six bedrooms, three allies, kitchen, store rootll, good (ellars and otlier domestic offices; it is situated 011 an eminen(e wilh a lawlI ill fro/It surrounded by growing plantatiOfIS, which it1close a trout stream, a greenhouse alld large gardetls, well planted with choice Jruit trees, a capital orchurd eU. The Estate may be viewed UpOIl applica{ion to Ihe tenat1t. Printed particulars and conditions if sale are ready for delivery alld may be had of the Auctioneer alld at the place of Sale atld for price by Privare Cot/tract apply personally or by letter post paid to Mr james Ellis at Reepham or Mr Robert uamon jutlior at Faker/ham. The Auction Sale did not however produce a buyer and Robert Leamon obviously felt the time had come to move up from the status of harness maker to that of country gentleman and so he purchased and duly moved into Whitwell Hall during the summer of 1822. This move was confinned when the following notice appeared in the Norfolk Chronicle in November 1822. Fakenham - To be sold by Auctiot1 all Wednesday 13th N ovember TIle remainill...,! parts if the valuable stock itl trade cf Messrs Leamon alld SOt1, Saddlers, Collar atld Harness Makers. To be sold without reserve 15 �Robert purchased not just the Hall and its surrounding farmland but also one of the two Whitwell tanneries. The tannery had been an essential part of lhe Estate business since the 18th century and it was to remain so throughout the next 50 or more years. Robert's ownership introduced a period of considerable change at Whitwell.He enlarged and modernised the tannery during the 1840's He made sure the estate was properly farmed and also built up a thriving timber business. Robert was obviously a man of some wealth and in 1840 he pulled down most of the old red brick Hall and built in its place the white brick and slale roofed Regency style house that remains to this day. In 1842 he moved the road some 100 yards to the north and built a new carnage drive which ran to the front of the House. ROBERT LEAMON who bought the Whitwell Estate in 1822. On the southern boundary of the present park are some springs, the presence of which no doubt gave the origination of the name 'Whitwell'. The springs flow up from the chalk and if the surface chalk is disturbed the water runs a muddy white. In old English Whitwell means white spring. At the time of the enlargement of Whitwell Hall embankments were constructed to contain the flowing water and so some four hundred yards east of the Hall Robert constructed a reservoir (or spring pond) to supply the Hall with a supply of fresh water. Research has shown that at the eastern end and a few yards below the reservoir a brick lined pit was built to contain a hydraulic ram which was installed in 1842. This machine used a flow of water from the reservoir to pump a smaller quantity along 300 yards of lead piping up to a tank in the Hall. The water was (and still is) very hard and this quickly coated the inside of the pipe which in tum minimised the danger of lead poisoning. The rise from the ram to the tank was about 80 feet and it took ten gallons of flow to pump one gallon of water into the tank at the rate of one gallon each minute. ......... The reservoir, which originally supplied the Hall with all its watervery little of the original ram can be seen today, what is left is situated at a lower level and in the trees at the far left of the picture. 16 �The original installation pumped the water into a large slate tank mounted on brick piers in the boiler room. Water was then piped co the kitchen and from here it was collected by the maids and carried by them to the parts of the Hall that required it. In later years tanks were installed in the anics and these were primarily used to supply the bathrooms and the flush lavatories. The waste flow of water which drove the ram was channelled along the southern boundary of the Park and a dipping place was made with brick steps leading down to the water so that the families living in the Orwell Cottages could come with their pails to get the water they required for their domestic purposes; this was in everyday use until 1939. The reservoir filled from the chalk springs it has always run constantly to overflow and has never been known to freeze over. It maintains a constant temperature of 10 degrees centigrade throughout all times of the year. The ram supply was used for the Hall until 1970 when the increasing use of agricultural sprays in the arable field next to me reservoir was judged likely lO pollute it. Robert's change of status in life to that of country gentleman was acheived by hard work and a shrewd ability to rum all aspects of the Estate into a profitable business. He died on the 7th March 1853 and was succeeded by his eldest son, also named Robert. ROBERT LEAMON (2nd) In his lifetime Robert (2nd) was to greatly enhance his inheritance and also to enjoy a reputation as a considerable personage. He owned an estate of nearly 800 acres and his business interests thrived. He was involved in politics and was the sponsor for Clare Sewell Read, a well known Norfolk MP of the time . He was also secretary to the group of country gentlemen who in 1850, erected by means of public subscription, the large Corinthian column erected as a monument to the memory of Thomas Coke at HoU~ham Hall. He is also known to have had a financially lucrative contract to supply timber to the Government, probably for the Navy and he bought large amount's of oak from other Norfolk estate's such as Felbrigg. He'must have had considerable capital available to be involved in and to sustain such a venrure. Robert had obviously inherited some of his fathers business acumen and he continued to take the Leamon family through a period of financial prosperity. a period that was to eventually decline and end so unhappily a few years after his unfortunate death in 1878. Whilst there were a number of reasons for the decline in the family fortunes they can be initially traced to a disastrous fire which occurred in 1874. The fIre which burned for three days destroyed the many stacks of tan bark which stood in.a yard near to the tannery; some of the tannery buildings were also burnt down. The can bark was not insured and to replace this and also to update the tannery Robert had to borrow capital. Skins for tanning had to be obtained from slaughterhouses and these mainly came from Norwich where most of the completed 17 MARY GILL Wife of Robert Leamon (2nd) �WHITWELL HALL in the 1880's showing some of the notable 192 3'300 changes and additions made by the Leamon family . IB61 2 ' 459~'I ' Hall I? "', : 1. The site of the Tannery. 15S l J ,, 2. The new co urse of the 53 1' , beck (the 'new cut ') which supplied the tannery with water. 157 3. The two cottages (now 'Hillside') let to the Midland and Great Northern Railway Company as homes for the 5 "97' station-master and signalman. Bought by the company in 1919 and turned into one house for lhe station master. 4. The line of trees built to screen the new station from the fron t view of the Hall. 133 l~ 020 5. The reservoir and hydraulic ram installed in 1842 to pump water up to the Hall. 18 �leathers were transported back with much of the trade going directly to the shoe manufacturers. The untreated skins were delivered to Whitwell in relatively small loads by carriers carts and this slow and limited fonn of transport was unable to compete with the new railways. The extension of the Victorian railway system enabled hides to be transported quickly and in bulk. Small country tanneries began therefore to suffer from serious competition at this time from the large urhan tarmeries notably in Bennondsey. Much of the work in the larger tanneries was helped by machinery whilst the local tanneries output was acheived· almost wholly by labour intensive means. Robert realised that his tannery was becoming uncompetitive and with the additional burden of the 1874 flre he decided not to just rebuild and replace his loss but to modernise the overall rannery enterprise. Money for the venture had to be raised and it appears that Robert borrowed from a local group of businessmen known as the Springfield Group of trustees. He greatly extended the Tannery by making additions of other tan pits, drying sheds and by building in 1876-77 an engine house fitted with a steam engine. This was used to grind the bark which was essential to make the tan liquor in which the hides were steeped. The outflow from the sJc.jn washing and particularly when the tan pits were cleansed gave off a dreadful odour, so Roben moved the course of the beck further to the east of the Hall by having a new course dug out. This is still referred to locally as the 'new cut'. Despite all the investment business did not upturn and the local community. and his family. were all greatly shocked at the severe loss when Robert committed suicide in August 1878. He hanged himself in one of the Whitwell Hall bedrooms. He was succeeded by his son Phillip. Phillip was unable to stop the decline and the Leamon fortunes went from bad to worse with the whole enterprise eventually being declared bankrupt in 1883. Phillip went to India to try and recoup the fortune but he didn't succeed; whilst he was away his wife remained at the Hall until 1887 when the Springfield Trustees foreclosed and she and her family were forced to leave. Her six small children were placed in the care of various relatives,and she went to live in Norwich. Sadly the considerable strain these years placed upon her affected her mental condition and she finished her life in an asylum. In retrospect it is ironic that the coming of the railways was the death knell of the country tanneries yet Robert sold some of the Estate land to the Midland and Great Northern Railway to enable Whitwell Station to be built in 1883. When it was sold Robert insisted on the condition that the M and GN plant trees along the new line of the road to screen the sight of the new station from the Hall. The trees subsequently planted were SCotS Pines; they grew quickly and fulfilled the screening condition. Most of them remain standing today. The front of WHITWELL HALL (in the 1880 's) looking towGrds the east; Robert Leamon (1 st) built the Hall in the 1840 's and also constructed a new carriage drive which led to the front of the building. This was closed up in the 1920 's and since then all traffic has used the rear driveway only . t The three generations of the Leamon family who lived at Whitwell all had large families and today their descendems are widely scattered throughout the world. In recent years Tony ivins has enjoyed a correspondence with branches of the family liv ing in Canada, Tasmania and in many pans of this country. The Springfie ld Trust retained the ownership of the Estate for the next 40 years and the Hall was let to various tenants. In December 1921 Mr. C. Banan bought the Estate but by 1925 he 19 �- The property was then sold to Forest School Ltd (1928) Ltd. ( a private company registered as an educational charity) which has owned the Hall to this day. Forest School had outgrown its original premises in the New Forest and they moved to Norfolk in the Spring of 1938. The school remained here until early 1940 when the threat of invasion along the Nonh Norfolk coast caused the children and teaching staff to be evacuated to south Devon. The Army requisitioned the Hall shortly afterwards and they remained here until late 1945. The School did not return but a Forest School Camp was held during the Summer of 1947 and during the next 20 years the Hall was increasingly used for Easter and Summer holiday camps and for staff training courses. In 1965 tented camps and house accommodation was offered to schools during ternl time and this pattern of term time activity and holiday camps continues today as the Whitwell Hall Country Centre. Tony Ivins joined the staff of Forest School when it moved to Whitwell in 1938 and apart from war service with the RAP from 1940 -46 he has been actively engaged with the School to this present day. Suzanne Dammen joined the school staff in the summer of 1939 and Suzanne and Tony were married in 1946 and made Whitwell their home . PHILLIP LEAMON - taken in 1879 a year after he inherited the estate from his father. had sold the 320 acre Hall Fann to Mr. Arthur Stimpson and also sold to CapLE.H.Barclay the Hall and 40 acres of parkland. Capl. Barclay lived at Whitwell with his wife and three daughters until 1937 when he inherited Colney Hall and subsequently moved there. Robert Leamon b.1787 d.1853 Robert Leamon m. Mary Gill b. 1822 d.1878 b. 1819 d. 1883 I I Robert had married Mary Gill in 1847 and like most other Victorian families of this period they had a large family; their first child a son was born in 1849 and ten more children followed during the next twelve years. The first son was called Robert (as had been the first son of the previous three generations). Sadly he died at the age of two and the Estate was in time inherited by the next eldest son Phillip, who was born in 1853. Another son was born into the family in 1854 and he was subsequently christened Raben. I Robert Phillip m. Elizabeth Reed b. 1849 d. 1851 b.1853 b. 1855 d. 1932 d.1924 . I 1 Mary Phillip Muriel Lilian Connie Herbert TIlE LEAMON FAMILY at WhitweU HaIl 1822 - 1887 b.1855 d.1904 b.1862 d.1928 b.1857 d.1954 b.1856 d.1935 Arthur '. Sydney Julia Annie b. 1854 b.1854 d. 1924 d.1895 b.1852 d. 1929 I I Robert + Rosa (Twins) Fanny I Brian and Sue Evans assisted by Paul Mortimer are now responsible for the management of camps and house· parties and also for the Estate. Tony still maintains an active interest as he is chairman of the company directors. Mary Herbert b.1856 d. 1871 b. 1857 d.1933 In the Whitwell Road cemetery there is a large memorial to Robert and his wife Mary and also to their 11 children. On the other side of the cemetery and almost parrallel to this memorial is the family grave of the Collyer family. It is perhaps ironic that the two families who lived and worked as neighbours should end with their final resting places so close together. 20 �JfRS PHILLIP LEAMON with her six children; Mary the eldest/ooks about 8 years old and so the pic ture was taken about 1889 some two years after the fa mily had left Whitwell Hall. The three eldest children with their mother, nurse and Mr Preston the coachman. Taken in 1884 it also includes a lady, at ille back of the trap. whose name is unknown although it is probably one of Mrs Phillip Leamon l; sisters·in-law. 21 �Members of the Whitwell Hall Staff in the late 1870's The large memorial to Robert, Mary and their 11 children in the foreground . .. the family grave of the Collyer family may also be seen almost directly in the background. WHITWELL HALL 1993 The outline of the Conserva tory from the 1880 picture can be seen on the side wall of the main building. 22 �The Cawston Duel Sir Henry Hobart of Blickling Hall was a Norfolk baronet and had been M.P. for Kings Lynn in 1681. He was a strong supporter of the Revolution of 1688 against James II and was later to fight in Ireland with the army of William III and was with him in 1690 at the Battle of the Boyne. He was again M.P. for the County in 1695, but lost his seat in 1698 . There seems little doubt that some election squabble caused the famous Caws ton duel fought in August of that year. Oliver Le Neve, his successful opponent was born about 1663. Although the family name was an old one in the County of Norfolk it was not one of the nobility, in fact his father was an upholsterer who came to London to follow his uade . Oliver benefited in finance and also in position when his kinsman and namesake Oliver Neve of Great Witchingham, who had also been a London tradesman, left him a considerable property. which allowed him to be sent to Oxford to be educated. After leaving Oxford he moved back to Norfolk and lived for some time at Mannington Hall and whilst here he married into two well placed Norfolk families. Firstly to Anne Gawdy (the daughter of Sir John Gawdy) who died in childbirth and secondly, in June 1698, to Jane, the daughter of Sir John Knyvet of Ashwellthorpe. Oliver's honeymoon, therefore, was hardly over when the quarrel which ended so fatally took place. The cause of the dispute seems to have been some remarks which Oliver Le Neve was said to have made that Hobart was a coward and had shown himself to be so when he was fightillg in Ireland. It seems that these remarks were made shortly after Sir Henry Hobart had lost his local seat as an M,P. but at the time Le Neve denied that it was he who had made them ami Le Neve seems to have written denying the trulh of the allegation. Hobart would nOl accept this denial and he went to Reepham and insinuted publicly that Le Neve: wrote the letter to avoid fighting him. Le Neve felt his honour had been sullied and wrote back with a challenge for a duel "Honored Sir, t at Reifham yesterday, when you I am very sorry I was no . h that I might not only gave yorseif the trouble of appeanng tn::e~aying what is reported I have further justified the Trut~d of mYthat I wrote not that Letter to oU did but that I might have to. Yh dit or yor author has confirmd , b t that if t e ere !I hn avoid fighting you; u , d nd desirous to meet you w e you in the beliif of it, I an: rea I yo;herwise, I expect your Author'S and where you please to asslg;I ~a take my satiifaction there; or name in return for thiS I tha from Blickling, and send you a else conclude the Imputacon spr':~l not rest as it is, tho' it cost the time and place; for the matter s a life of Yor Servant, OLIVER NEVE . Aug. ye 20th, '98 23 �The duel was very quickly organised and it took place the next day on Sarurday 21st August 1698 and was no doubt a fierce one, for Hobart ran Le Neve through the arm and Le Neve, who was a left handed fencer, hit Hobart in the belly and seriously wounded him. Henry Hobart died the next day and was buried at Blickling on 26th August. Apparently no monument to his memory was erected at Blickling but a stone memorial was erected on the duel site., The stone was paid for by Mr. W. Wiggett-Bulwer of Wood Dalling Oliver Le Neve died of apoplexy, at the age of 48, in November 1711 having survived the duel thirteen years. A great sportsman and greater drinker, the open-air life of a country gentleman probably kept him alive longer than might have been expected, and remains to this day. Henry Hobart had nine children, one little girl being only two months old at the date of the duel. His wife survived him less than three years, dying of consumption in August, 1701. Le Neve recognising that the County influence of the Hobart family was too great for him, left the country immediately and went to Rotterdam. Ways and means for the fugitive's keep in Holland were raised by a sale of goods by Robert Fisher, who wrote to him on 23rd January 1699, that he could only raise £100. Oliver's newly married wife seems to have stood by him for she sent a message by the same letter that "she will be very kind to you, and desires you would write to her often, and desired to see you safe at Witchingham again". It was suggested through supporters in England that Court influence for an acquittal should be brought to bear, through Lord Rochford who Le Neve was to meet at his country house in Holland. Although this meeting had to wait until The Cawston duel was the last recored duel fought in Norfolk, it was well chronicled and publicised at the time and in particular because there was considerable feeling that Oliver Le Neve was not at fault. Henry Hobart should have accepted the letter of apology - he didn't and this subsequently led to his tragic end. The duel stone was erected on land which eventually became part of the grounds of the fortner Woodrow Inn and in 1964 the stone was given to the National Trust. Lord Rochford found time to visit his foreign estate. In March 1699 the Hobart's were moving against Le Neve for their kinsmans' death and the matter of the duel was considered at the Thetford Assizes. Although no decision was offered by the Coroner to Le Neve's immediate prospects it was accepted that he had "irmumerable friends and supporters in the County". During the next few months Le Neve had to rely heavily on the support given by his friends and family and many items were sent over to him. Bedding and horses were sent to Holland in March and April and in May his friend Robert Fisher sent him 12 dozen "nog", a potent Norfolk ale forwarded to him in hampers. In July Le Neve was living under the name of Mr. Davyes and by now had bought a house in Rotterdam and his wife had joined him there, During the Autumn efforts were made by his friends to get a favourable judgement for him and in December he was advised to surrender himself, for "if the Sheriff forbear proclaiming him it would be too great a favour, and might prejudice him thereafter, as his enemies may challenge the jury on the ground of partiality". Ultimately he came back to England, and was acquitted, to the great joy of his friends, in early April, 1700. 24 �In an Austin Seven The "bus" is waiting -step ins ide! We're off! by Aylsham Road we glide; The sun is bright, the day is dear, Northward our baby car we steer. Blue sky ! fresh breeze! an ideal day ! We'll trip it to Holt and Cromer way. By Horsford's tangled woods we bend, Where dancing light and shadows blend. 'Mid oaks and firs on every hand, Through the green glades of Haveringland; Where scenes of charm and beauty hide, Least known of Norfolk's countryside. Here Cawston Church comes into view, h's square tower bold against the blue, Whi lst Salle above the woodlands high, Points with grey fingers to the sky, So speed we on our coastward way, By lanes new decked with opening may, .And on by rising lands until, These busy folk and windows gay 'Tis Holt Stock sale and market day! No lingering, though to stay we're fain, We petrol up and start again. Sheringham pleads, we fain wou ld stay To watch the rippling wavelets play Along its sunny beach; but no, Cromer's our aim and there we go. Here sweep the strong sea winds and stir The towering larch, the spruce, the fir; Around us, yellow gorse and broom Have graced the heath with scented bloom; There, wide o'er Kelling's trackless ways, Nature her gorgeous robe displays , With all the tims of morning spread, Purple and gold and rosy red. Up by more may-decked roads we wind, Leave Beeston and its cliffs behind; On, by The Runtons, on we speed, And curb at last our fiery steed Just in the midst of Cromer Town, And to a quiet tea sit down. Now the North Sea! some glimpses fine, We mark its far horizon line; And here, beneath our very eyes A scene of matchless beauty lies; By mile on mile, the ferny glade s Dip to a dell of woodland shades, A charming spot, beloved and famed, And "Pretty Comer" aptly named. We mount the steep of Edgefield Hill. • 'ow the fair scene, expanding wide, Deligh ts - at slackened pace we glide. Now eastwards bends our road and we Glide down by woodland ways, to see How the high rhododendrens fair Bloom bright with blended colours rare. Later, a brief stroll up the rise To stretch and view the sUllset skies, That arching o'er the ocean dim Bend down to touch its golden rim. The western light of evening falls On church tower, cliffs, hotels and halls; Cromer, more fair ne'er seemed to be"Set like ajeweJ in the sea". Just a brief spin, one ne'er forgel, And every tum a beauty spot. Norwich, 1931. In the poem the Austin Seven. its driver and passengers didn't quite travel through Reepham, if they had it is obvious that they would have had little inconvenience in the Market Place from other traffic - quite a different situation today though! The motorists of the time seem to have had the benefit of not just the open road but also a policeman who was conveniently placed to guide them safely across or around Towns End Corner. 25 E.li. �--. Printing I & J Watton 1194 Tel. Norwich 871998 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Newsletters Description An account of the resource A comprehensive collection of newsletters published by the Reepham Society. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed and digital Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Magazines Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1983-2000 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Text-digital Any text item for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The text can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a text owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Magazine 1994 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2408201705 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 28 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned by Geoff Fisher Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Reepham Society https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/02e4210ec832ae1d495ab1555d02f8b8.pdf bc7c698110db97034cc2afc000cc1bfb PDF Text Text THE REEPHAM SOCIETY Magazine �, .It ItAJ1!~~~.J.llAltlW· ~dh OUI!... &, CO· Ii"O~, M,E:;,RCl;liAJlIi1;'S, Partners: E. GIBBS, M. GIBBS (Min) This copy of Edward Gibbs and Son invoice heading cannot be appreciated as a black and wh ite copy, It is a wonderful mixture of red, blue and green - few letter or invoice headings today meet this artie tic standard ~ Contents Marjorie Gibbs 1899 ·1992 1 2 Edward Gibbs and Son George William Reeve 8 Reepham Market Place 1902 ·1920 11 The Stately Homes of Reepham 19 The Ollands Estate 20 The Moor House 24 design; ensuring that materials suitable to their location are used and features of the landscape protected. Society affairs are managed by an Executive Committee of twelve members who are elected annually. In 1992 membership of the Society had reached over 400. Open meetings are held in eight months of the year, with speakers on a wide range of subjectsj non-members are welcome. A Magazine is produced periodically (at least once a year) by a Society member, Michael Black; this has customarily contained items of historic rather than current interest; current matters are reported in occasional Newsletters distributed to all members. THE REEPHAM SOCIETY is a local amenity society affiliated to the Council for the Protection of Rural England and its County Branch, The Norfolk Society. It was Inaugurated in 1975 by a group of local residents who were concerned that the character of the town wes under threat. They were worried about the possible loss of features of historic or public interest and the risks from over-development unsympathetic to this rual environment. The Society's area of influence covers Reepham, Booton, Hackford, Kerdl.ton, Salle and Whitwell. The Society c<>-operates with the Parish and District Councils in monitoring approved new developments Bnd encouraging good standards of archi tectural II �of silence, of d us t y roads rutted by horses Hmi cartwheels, a countryside innoce nt of oi l and petrol. A youth spent in the slow a nd ti meless years leading up to the Firs t World War a nd in a sma ll !lHl rl-: ct town which was the central po int of business for the surrounding a rea. A tim e when work was hard a nd long and when many weeks of end less work were intermittently broken on ly by the hi g h days and holidays that the town organised and enjo yed. A t this Vi sit, which so unfortunately turned out to be my last, s he recalled th e Black Diamonds and partic ularly the fe te in the summe r of 1912 at which the troupe gave their firs t and possib ly t heir bes tloved performance. Her memo ry brought back de tails of that day nea rly 80 years ago as thoug h she remembered it from yesterday. How a t 12 vears of age she had helped with the refres hm e nts and how her fathel' had a ll owed her to stay up late and go back for t he eve ning ente r tainment. Marjorie spoke of the fri e nds s he m.::t a nd with whom she enjoyed herself, and her recoll ections of that day vividly descri bed an era of Heepham!s hi s tory that is long past and sadly no lon ge r in the recall of most lo cal people. Marjorie Giobs 1899 1992 MARJORIE GIB BS was a founder and life member of the Reepha m Society and in my earl y days as maga zine secretary she contac t ed me and offered me assistance with whatever de t a il she could supply in connection with prospective articles about Reepham. In recent yea r s I had made a number of vi si t s to in of so Marjorie and had spent many interes ted hours her sitti ng room, listening, discussing and learning the minuti a of Reepham detail that her memory prodigiously recalled. One afternoon in the early s ummer of 199 2 I went to see Marjorie at The Laurels, her home in De reham Road , Reepham as I wanted s ome add itional information about the Black Diamonds, 8 local minstrel troupe which performed in Reepham in the years just before and after the Fi rst World War - a troupe which included her father, who was a founder and subsequently a lead in g member. As usual we sa t a nd talked in her si tting room , a room that could recall a famil y's history and even ts that reflected the past century, a room th at breathed memories and nostalgia. Here was the burea u that Marjorie so often went to, to find some item that contributed to her particular topic of conversa tion. Pho t ographs of her father and his business, old ac count books that clarified a point, somewhere one of the drawers held 'the bones! that her father fashioned and then used when he was one of the four corner men in the Black Diamonds. Her fath e r, Edwa rd Gibbs, who figured greatly for many years in the business, parochial and religious life in Reepham and many words must have passed between the members of his fa mily as to how the town would organise, cope with and enjoy Coronations, Jubilees and other celebrat ions and how the families in this close rural area would cope wit h the tragic unfurling of events of both world wars, particularly the First whi c h was to t a ke the lives of so many young men of the area, many of whom Marjorie know a nd whose names she could so easily recall. Disasters, happin ess, grief and joy - this room could recall them all; the pictures, the carpets, the furniture, some of it decades old, was seeping with this memory. Its very presence recalled clearly to Marjorie her life; a life synonymo us with Reepham. Her childhood spent in Reepham when this area of North Norfolk was still decid edly rural - a ruralness 0603 870939 IVli ddlemarch Broomhi ll La ne Heepham MANY times Marjorie put her memories into the written word wi th articles in local publi cations, ea rn estl y refl ecti ng the oral hi s t or y t hat on ma ny occasions I was pri vileged to enjoy. It is ironic that thi s latest Re epham Society publication contains three ar ti cles which refle c t the abilit y and detail that Marjori e could offer; their in clusion was plann ed long before he r death a nd I ha ve no hesitation in ded icating them to her memo ry. She had a great love for Reepilam , its hi story and its inh ab itants and the town has lost a de a r friend with he r passing; ma y Ma rjorie Gibbs lon g a nd fondly remain in its memory. Michael Black 1 �Edward Gibbs Senior took an active part in the business until he was ninety-four, and he then maintained a daily interest almost until his death in December 1959 at the age of ninety-nine. Edware Gibbs Junior started to work for his fat her immediately after leaving school, and only service in the First World War intervened. A motor cycle accident in 1915 robbed him of his sight but he still carried on working in the shop. At the age of seven tyfour (in 1966) Edward Gibbs Jun ior decided to retire together with his sister, Marjorie, al though bo th r egarded the closing of the business as a I1matter of real regret Ti • Mr Gibbs, after 60 years in the business, decided to retire for two reas ons - firstly, because he wanted t o; and se condly, because of a declining trade. The days of horses in farm work had long since departed; he stocked the equipment the y needed for which there was no longer a demand. It was decided in 1966 to try and sell the business as a going concern but unfortunately the firm was unable to find a buyer. Early in 1967 the stock was Edward Gibbs and Son EDWARD GrESS AND SON, lron mon gers and Seed 1\1erchants, became an institution in Reepham and their shop and general agricultural services to the farming fraternity in and around Reepham is still remembe red with fondness today by many people even though their shop closed many years ago. It was said that the Gibbs! business was famous for two things; firstly , its picturesque premises and the excellent service it gave, and secondly, the late Mr Edward Gibbs, who attended the business daily until he was nine ty- eight. March, 1881. Dear Sir, We beg to infOlID YOIl that we hu.'e cal·dully The premises were large, with many warehouses; each one assigned to one section of the various goods stocked. Two years after Edward Gibbs took over the original business, the grocers shop adjoining became vacant and this was added to the existing s ho(?; There was a dwelling house attached which was enlarged in 1904 to assist with the ex(?ansion of the business. Behind the front buildings there was a· courtyard surrounded by the warehouses and other buildings which made up the complex which for the next 60 years was to become such a vital and ,"veIl respected part of business life in Reepham. It is said that there were ironmongers on this site long before the business was bought by Gibbs, but the exact date of the foundation of this business is not known but in t he churchyard is a tombstone inscribed lIW illiam Samuel George, ironmonger of this parish who died at the age of 69 years in 180 21!. The Geor ge fam ily ran the business until it was purchased by a f ir m called Sand S W Leeds in th e early 1870s who ran it until 1888 when Mr Edward Gibbs took it over. Edward Gibbs was born in 1860 the son of a farmer; he always wanted to be a farmer but during the 1870s farming was in a bad way so he applied for an aprr~nticeship with James Cooper and Son, iron mongers of East Dereham. He was accepted at a premium of £~:O and se rved his five years starting at 2s 6d a week. He stayed with them until 1887 and when he left his weekly wages had been raised to 305. On 11th October 1888 he took over the business of S and S W Leeds and a week after he was married at St Marts Church, Hickling. His two children subsequently became partners; his son Edward in 1920 and in about 1957 his daugher Marjorie took an active partnership. ,;elected , and can now offer GENUINE E1'WLISn (nOME ~l varifliy of OOOWN) AND FOREIGN ~e£~5, $gtimIfuntl which we highly r ccolllU!:wl fur cluulllino.i3, r3.r;) quali ty and reasonable prir:.:s. ,Ve have al so Borne good SEED O.-i.TS, glOwn ill this parish_ MANGOLD, SWEDE and TURNIP SEED at lowest pricCl.!. Your ki nd fuvours are r espectrully salicit(!J by, and 61.uill receive the llroInpt atteluion of Yuur oucdiC:Ilt Sin-vallts, p 8r p. 'f. CO RN, POLLARD, MEAL, ~EEDS, &c. TILES, 1'_1 VEJIESTS ..LVD D!ULV PIFH;-;. AGENTS FOR AGRICULTURAL MACHJNERY~ S & S W Leeds ran the business until it was purchased by Edward Gibbs in 1888. This is a card presented to local farmers by this firm. Such r'epresentations today would be hard to find. 2 �there is little demand for paraffin. It is a similar story for the seed merchants. There are no horses needing hay and so there is no call for hay seed. Bullocks are no longer fattened in yards and so farmers do not grow swedes and mangolds. Much as the passing of these traditional trades may be regrett ed, change is inevitable. lronmongery is just one of the many trades that once flourished in Heepham and is now gone. In 50 years tim e will the comp ut ers that now fill the shop premises of Edward Gibbs evoke as much nostalgia as does the smell of linseed oil and the sight of hazy sunshine pouring through the mixing of clover, rape and trefoil seeds! The closure prompted the following a rticle by Cyril Jolly which appeared in the Eastern Dail y Press in April 1969. Thomas Piercy (on the left) and Edward Gibbs, Senior mixing seer! in the Seed Room The Shop That Mirrored 200 Years of Change The Norfolk Ironmonger's Shop now closed after 200 years of trading revealed on its shelves two centuries of social history and change There are more interesting ways of studying social history than in books. The closing of an iron monger's shop, after two hundred years of trading, has shown me in a fascinating way how the tides of cha nge have ebbed and flowed over rural life. Changes in lighting, cooking, travel, farming, sport and craftsmanship - revealed by goods on the shelves of a picturesque 18th century premises making a corner of Reepham's Market Square. discounted by 5% and this discounting cont inued for the next three months reaching 20% before an auction was held in April 1967 in Irelands saleroom in Reepham (now the site of the car park in Station Road) when the remaining items were sold off. The old fashioned ironmonger's shop is now a thing of the past. Those that have survived have adapted their methods and their stock to meet tOOay's requirements. With no horses on farms there are no blacksmiths requiring iron for horse-shoes and wagon tyres. Nobody has oil lamps any more and This picture was taken in the 1890's a few years after the business was purchased by Edward Gibbs 3 �Edward Gibbs, Senior with 'Monarch' - the horse was stabled at the rear of the premises, the area now known as Merchants Yard. TIThe Square has its own charm, with thatched and Georgian houses, Flemish and crow- step gables, and two parish churches enclosed by the winding wall of one churchyard. The ironmongery is itself a little kingdom, with two double- fronted shops, attics, cellars and a neighbourly medley of store-rooms and granary. Beneath four panes of 'bulls-eye' glass I entered the main shop, which resembled Hampton Court maze with its passages and stairs. One stairway beneath the main counter led to a cellar. I bent double under the counter to enter this Ali Baba's cavern. Instead of oil jars 1 found two large tanks, one for linseed oil and the other for lard oil. The spillings of generations mixed with sawdust caked the floor, and wall racks held paint, turpentine, black harness oil, and preparations only old tradesmen would recognise. A dozen smells also competed for recgonition; linseed oil won easily. In an attic, beneath adze-trimmed beams, were scores of parcels that had slept snug on their dusty shelves for a century. They contained nails (mostly hand-made); nails for carpenters, builders, wagon wheel tyres and strakes; nails for shoeing horses and the bullocks that once worked ploughs· frost nails and caulking nails. Here I tried out a machine that might have eased the drudgery of knife cleaning fifty years ago. 'Tortoise' stoves elbowed door furniture into a corner, some would have graced a mansion and some a coal shed. A tub of gum arabic (used for starching shirt fronts in Edwardian times), scythe blades and plough blades, put back the clock half a century. Climbing up cobwebby stairs to the seed warehouse, I skirted bins labelled clover, rape, trefoil and saw a set of seed riddles and a set of measures made in Dereham by Bradley and Utting and a flailing stool. The operator sat on one end, laid the corn on the other and beat it with a swipe of a hand flail. In the yard was a gunpowder magazine for cartridges were made here. A hundred cases were set up in a frame, filled with powder,shot and waddinp; and the ends rolled in with a treadle machine - now only fit for the scrap heap. The proprietors, Mr E Gibbs and his sister, showed me the main shed with its countless drawers each bearing a sample of the contents nailed to the fron t. What a cavalcade of village life they represented. There were brass plug-taps for wine barrels of halls or public houses, (some had a locking device - and probably needed it). Cattle clippers, pig and bull rings, 'humbugs' for putting in the nostrils of cows when giving a medicinal drink, cheese wire; a key for fitting skates and ancient brass gear for shutters and blinds. Some peculiar needles puzzled me - they were larding needles used to pierce meat on a spit and draw off the grease into a larding tray; I handled lamp glasses of all shapes and curious tools for many crafts made in an age when wearing value mattered more than a glossy finish. In the office was a 'wheelers' round', used by wheelwrights to measure iron for re-tyring cart wheels, and well-thumbed price books going back to Victoria's golden reign, listing nails at IOs.6d. a cwt., a bass broom at two pence, and copper sheet at fifteen pence a pound. My brow furrowed as I picked up a swan-necked object - a stand for goffering irons! There was an ancient machine with a turntable for sharpening horse-clipper blades; unopened boxes of candle snuffers; a whip shOCKer tina unaressed leather for pump clacks. Miss Gibbs recalled, as a girl, selling 'penn'orths' of red ochre for smartening doorsteps, and 'penn'orths' of black gunpowder for cleaning out oven and copper flues. Had I known, in my boyhood, what fun I would have had with mother's wall oven! As a lad, Mr Gibbs first had to collect a fris ky pony from the meadow and then had to take down sixteen shutters for the shop to open at 7 a.m. It closed at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m . on Saturdays. Thursday was halfday - it closed at 4 p.m.! He also remembered a tub containing macassa oil which his father boiled 4 �with beeswax and oil of lavender to make a hair pomade. We looked in vain for some needles used to make up straw and oat flight mattresses. Tu.rning out more drawers we conjectured on the use of 'Rotten Stone' powder, and green copperas (was it used to prevent lime rUbbing off walls'?). There were dozens of other objects, once in common use, now museum pieces. They were facets of bygone rural life; peepholes on to a half-forgotten yesterday. In fact, beneath the many- angled roofs was two hundred years of social history, told in oil lamps, flat irons, tarred twine - and, 1 suppose, 'Rotten Stone'. After Cyril Jolly's article appeared in the Eastern Daily Press, Mr Gibbs received a letter from a reader in Gislingham, Suffolk who had read about the closure but he wondered if it was possible for him to obtain "a pound or so of the 'rotten stone' powder" which so intriqued Mr Jolly. It seems that this powder mixed with certain acids and oils offered the best means of restoring the lustre to ancient copper. The reader had tried with a number of iron mongers and chemists to find some, but to no avail. Miss Gibbs was able to supply the reader with some of the 'rotten stone' and he was able to clean some pieces of antique copper which until then had resisted all the orthodox methods of cleaning. Thomas Piercy worked for Edward Gibbs and Son for more than 50 yea rs and any article which refers to the history of this firm would not be complete without a mention of his time with them. Thomas Piercy was born in 1861 and lived with his parents at Thorney Farm, I<erdiston where hi s father was stewa rd. After leaving school at fourteen he worked on the farm with his father but in 187V he decided that he did not much care for farm work and went to work for Wand S W Leeds the ironmongers and seed merchants. He was employed as a carter at fifteen shillings per week (75p). The two Leeds', uncl e and nephew were both named Stephen, (not to be confused with the Whitwell tanner who was another Stephen Leeds). The elder Leeds' lived at the shop and the younger at Church Hill in the house now occupied by Mr and Mrs Uells. After working for the Leeds' for some years Thomas decided to join the Metropolitan Police but when the Leeds' heard of this they promptly revised hi s wages to one pound per week , quite a good wage a cent ury ago and enough to make him change hi s mind about the police force. The business was sold to Mr E Gibbs in 1888. The elder Mrs Leeds (now a widow) moved from the shop and went to li ve with the other (and younger) The business premises had been enlarged in 1904 and IIOW occupied the whole of the frontage which is contained toda;'1 between Towns End Corner and the former Barclays Ran/>. Apparently the array of hardwood and ironmongery was brought out every morning and taken in again at the enr/ of each day. This shows the premises in the late 1930s 5 �· . with 'Monarch' ready for the day's deliveries. During the First World lVar the Honourable Artillery Company was Reepham based and 'Monarch' had to share his stable with two of their horses. I The lale 1950s ... and Horses 6 �Mrs Leeds at Church Hill. When Mr Gibbs purchased and took over the ironmongers business he lacked experience in the seed trade. Thomas Piercy knew both sides pretty well a nd initially Mr Gibbs depended on his knowledge of the seed side of the business. His eldest son, Fred was taken on to learn the trade of ironmongery from Mr Gibbs, but tragicall y he was killed in an accident in the shop in 1904 aged fo urteen. His place was taken by another son, Wilfrid who se rved for a time and then went to work for a Norwich ironmonger. He was killed in action in France in 1916. Thomas Piercy became a pensione r in 1920 but still went to the shop on a part time basis. When he died in 1930 he had worked fo r more than fifty years in employment with Edward Gibbs and Son. His g randson, Wesley Piercy who lives in Reepham, recalls hi s childhood when as a small boy he would freq uently visit the premises with his grandfather. Whilst a n ironmongers and seed merchants shop may not have been deemed the most interesting of places Wesley always found it fascinating. liThe shop itself had stairs under the counter leadi ng down to a mysterious cellar a nd other stai rs to room s above. Throughout the e ntire pre mi ses there was a indescribable smell of turpentine, lard oil, linseed oil and the smell of a dozen other substances. "Across the yard was the seed room. This was reached by ascending a winding st a ircase to the top flool', at the far end there was a low door wit h MIND YOUR HEAD a sign stating 'Mind Your Head'. Here the various grass and clover seeds were mixed, these would be sown with barley and when grown would be cut for hay. IIOccasionally, I was allowed to accompany my grandfather with the horse and cart delivering bars of iron to blacksmiths in the surroWlding district. One of these was Hardiments of Kerdiston which was where the horse went to be shod. Another was Millets whose smithy was on t he main road to Sparham, in those days the road was often referred to as the turnpike. The most exciting trip was to Barrets at Lyng. In those days this invol ved going t hrough the river. This was in the early 1920s when the present bridge had not been built. TTl also remember goi ng to Weston House, Weston Longville and Heydon Hall to deliver paraffin. I believe these trips for me came to an end when Mr Gibbs replaced the horse and cart with a Ford lorry. Thi s was driven by a man named Henry Rose; my grandfather never learned to drive". On twenty years and wares are no longer displayed in such volume outside the shop. The virginia creeper has by this time nearly covered the whole fron tage . . The premises in the 1950s 7 �George William Reeve The Reeve family circa 1900 at Booton. George is next to his mother, and the other boy is Walter who lived at Hackford Vale and for many years ran a carrier business. He was also a J P and served on the local bench. In the centre is Violet (now Mrs Muddle), in 1984 at the age of 96 she drove up from her home in Kent to visit George. GEORGE REEVE died in May 1984, aged 94, after a very active and eventful life; his return to this area in the late 1940s quickly earned him the apt description of r village lad made good '. He was born in Bawdeswell where his parents kept a public house, in Decpmuer 1890 but after about three years the family moved to a house in Booton Street. He started his education at Booton School, but for some reason he couldn't settle down and it seems that the remainder of his schooling took place a t Lyng where he went to live with his grandmother. An early job, possibly during the school holidays or shortly after he left school was as 'odd job boy' at the Moor House. One task was attending to the pumping of water to a tank situated at the top of the House by a mule driving a pump in the garden. The clearance of undergrowth at the Moor House in the last year or so has uncovered this old pump situated in the corner near The Moor turning, off the Norwich Road; the remains of the machinery are clearly visible to passers by. Little is known about the next few years but in his later teens he worked in London for a corn merchant and even managed to purchase a car, quite an achievement around H:I08, although on his own admission he "had to run it mainly on paraffin to keep expenses down!". While in London he became friendly with some American students who apparently spoke highly of prospects in the United States so George decided to go with them when they returned to their homeland, selling his car to pay for his passage, but being completely broke on arrival. 8 �Throughout his life George short period he enjoyed remarkable employment success, rising to the position of Chief Jnspector by 1918. One of his most treasure red possessions was a silver cup presented to him in 1918 at a dinner given in his honour by his own staff; it was inscribed 'as a token of esteem by his Inspectors and Checkers'. This dinner and presentation was recorded in the local paper at the time - would always find a use for his undoubted talents and making use of his motoring experience he obtained employment as a chauffeur with 8 well-to-do American family. Around 1914 he obtained a job with a Government .. construction firm in Washington (New Jersey) which with the outbreak of war in Europe became engaged almost totally in producing war supplies. He was there for just a few years and during this relatively WASHINGTON PARK (N J) GOVERNMENT MAN HONOURED 18 May 1918 of 35 men inspectors and A party Woodbury and vicinity checkers from t Thursday night gave a theatre per y . ch i et Mr in Phi liadelphia to their George W. Reeve the entlemen were After the theat~e I er ' sg magn i t I cent escorted to rug loaded tab 1 e banquet ha I I where a we lI t of the . ded for aI I the wan s provi inner man. after -dinn e r speec~es Many p l easant W J Cha rlton acting were made. Mr as toastmaster. After the war there was a decline in the type of work that he had been involved with during the past few years and he decided he wanted to make his way so he traded on his own in the business of removals; he built this up and for a number of years was successful and em ployed several drivers to carry out the work. The large influx of immigrants to the USA in the early post- war years meant there was a considerable transient population at this t i me Co Bobb i e Nash of Bill y Watson t •• :~: . at the Casino Thea re, plaYing t and pleased the an honoured gues dotes and stor ies. boys with many anec . d d at the piano I Hill pres! e I' te touch brought Mr Ch ar es. d with hiS de Ica . b an . that i nsp I red the oys forth me I od I es t O u r i n9 the even i n9 p to do the two- s e • h If ot his fel l ow C P Budd on b e a Cap t • d an i nscr i bed cup employees presente ded with a few to Mr Reeve WhO re sPhC:art i I y thank i ng d well-chosen war. s'\ alty and support . everyone tor their oy and George's decision to be his own boss was more then justified. Information about the next few years is hazy. These were the years of the Wall Street crash a nd the Depression which hit America so hard and then spread over most of the major manufacturing countri e~ of the world. During the mid/late 19205 George had some connection with the manufacture and selling of oil burner stoves with the trade name of 'Islander'. 9 �within a f~w years had developed the garden; pedestrians along the Booton end of the Norwich Road were well rewarded as they glanced through the open gateway with a vista of well laid-out flower beds and quasi natural shrubberies. He estahlished a tyre business in a separate building which was situated just inside the gateway and he carried on with this until the mid-1960s although one of the large metal signs remained visible to passers-by until the house was sold. On the domestic side of his life it appears tha t George at some time married a British girl who joined him in America but could not settle to the life there. She returned to this country and they were subsequently divorced; there was one son from the marriage. George later married an American girl and his son from that marriage is still in America. It seems that this marriage was over before he came back to this country in 1936. During the last 10 years of his life George's health declined and he received devoted care from his housekeeper, Mrs Betts, who gave much assistance in the original compiling of the notes that led to this article. For many years there was an ironwork seat which stood on the Moor Corner looking up the Norwich Road towards Booton Street. George placed it there and cemented it in when he heard that the authorities were planning to widen the road by taking in the wide green verge, which he claimed belonged to him. At that time the road was not widened and the seat remained. A number of years later (and after George had died) it was widened and the seat was moved to the opposite side of the road. Sadly little remains to-day of the items that George so profoundly stamped on this corner of Reepham. The house has been replaced and his garden and shubberies were swiftly and sadly removed by mechanical digger. The outbuildings, the metal advertising signs and the ironwork seat are now gone. It is ironic that the only thing that George would recognise to-day is the remains of the muledriven pump in the corner of the Moor House grounds - the one item that was there before all the others! It is not known whether George dealt with the 'Islander' as a sideline to his removal business, whether the manufacture a:nd selling was carried out under licence or whether George actually invented the stove. After a gap of nearly 30 years George returned to England in July 1936 but, as he had acquired American citizenship in the previous years, he was only allowed an Alien Permit to land for six months and with no authority to find or enter into any employment. After a few months he returned to America but came back in 1939 with permission to stay for twelve months. For a time he stayed with his sister, Mrs Muddle, at Lyng and for some time at his parents' house at Booton. In 1940 he stayed at a Hotel in Thetford J which seems to have had something to do with the restrictions on his activities as he was still classified as an alien. He had by then managed to acquire another car and, according to an entry in his passport, was officially 'allowed to use his car in connection with his business', whatever that was at the time. In February 1941 he was exempted from the 'Alien Restriction Order' on such occasions as when called upon for Ambulance Duties, and unconditionally exempted in October 1941. Soon after the end of the war he started building a house on the Norwich Road/Moor Corner in Reepham. This was a house with a character entirely of its own, and built in the American style with a big basement and an off-the-ground verandah which went all round the building. George made the hollow concrete blocks for the walls and he also made individually the concrete and sand red tiles. The house was centrally heated with an automatic burner using diesel oil which was thermostatically controlled with the main unit situated in the basement. In 1946 such a unit in a house in this country was indeed unusual, but his years' manufuacturing the 'Islander' obviously played a great part in the innovation. The unit provided heating for the whole house as well as producing the domestic hot water. George moved into this house, always known as 'New House', Norwich Road thereafter, in 1946 and The 'New House' shortly before it was sold in the late 1980s 10 �Reepham Market Place 1902 1920 The story of Reepham Market Place in the early years of the century as seen by the eyes of a child REEPHAM, having a cattle market, liked to term itself 8 Town. The centre of that Town was indeed the Market Place and so it was the vital centre and always referred to as 'The Town'. Even today the older generation will remark that they are going in to 'the town' to shop, or across 'the town ' if proceeding further or even meeting someone in 'the townl. It has many nostalgic memories for me - indeed I have a very affectionate regard for it. It was the centre of most activities, since the Parish Council (of Hackford only in those days) consisted mostly of residents of the Market Place. It had street lamps of a kind, about four lanterns attached by iron brackets to the walls in various dark corners. These contained oil lamps complete with chimneys and a lamp lighter was employed by the Council. He was responsible · for kee ping the lamps filled, trimmed and he lighted and extinguished them at the appropriate times. They were not used at all during the su mmer months. The only lamp lighter I can remember is rvt r James \\Iasey. Du rin g the First World War the lamps were not lit at all a nd in the dark winter evenings I used to walk to Guides with 8 cycle oil lamp. The social life of the Market Place was al most a community in itself. Messrs Austin (butcher), Fisher (grocer and draper), Hall (saddler and harnessmaker), Peck (general stores), Cocking (shoe sales and repairs), Riches (high class grocer) and Gibbs (iron monger and seed merchant) all had premises in the Ma rket Place. They were all members of the Parish Co uncil and most of them served on various committees that were formed from time to tim e. One of the highlights of the year was the Fair on June 29th and I can remember th e excitement of us youngsters when the Market Place was invaded by vans, roundabouts, coconut shies, shooting galleries and stalls selling home-made rock of many flavours and much stickiness. They usually stayed for a week to the delight of the younger generation, although the adults were glad when they left owing to the noise and ma ny other inconveniences. Stalls were gay and li ghted by paraffin flares. The majestic engine with its sh ining brasswork was adm ired and wondered at by everybod y as it prov ided the power Probably taken in the 1890s - showing the original roof line of Hall's shop (the Saddler and Harness maker) 11 �for wages, and do most of their farm shopping at the local iron monger's and agricultural engineer's. If the sale yard was too full, calves and sheep would be kept there until such time as there was roo m in the saleground. The market place was the central meeting place of everyone. On Sundays the Salvation Army band would hold services in the Market Place afternoon and evening. The band was very good in those days. Two Arm y officers were in charge and the Army had a good cause here. I would always run to the window to see them march by as they paraded to the barracks in Norwich Road via the Back Street - that is, if I was not in Sunday School in the afternoon. The market place set the scene for another 'once a year' occBsion. The Oddfellows held a district church parade, usually on Whit Sunday evening, when men, and in some cases their wives, came in from various lodges, arriving by wagonette, horse brake, horses and traps or bicycle. The men met at 6pm on the market place, looking very impressive in their various coloured sashes, and following a very imposing banner bearing the symbols of the Oddfellows, they would march to church via Back Street. In tnose days the chUrches were not amalgamated, and I think the Oddfellows' service was held alternatively in St Mary's and St Michael's. After the service they would again parade with th e band (usually the Dereham Volunteers' Band, proceeding along Norwich Road, Reepham Moor, and Cabbage Court (now New Road) to Station Plain and back to run the roundabout, the organ with its repertoire of tunes and current for the lighting system. The organ was also a strain on the pockets of the youngsters for pennies, which often had to be supplemented by a visit to their parents two or three times during the evening! The vans were drawn up side by side on the King's Arms plain facing the road and the horses were put to grass on the meadow. We used to visit the 'Fair people' and take them fruit and vegetables, since my mother always remarked "Poor things, they have no gardens!!. One family came year after year and we would be asked in to the van, so spotlessly clean - a wonderful house on wheels and 1 wished I lived in it! People would throng in from the surrounding villages and make it a real frolic. I was told to be home by 9pm for bed, but I would lie awake listening to the organ playing its repertoire of the topical tunes of the day and waiting for God Save the King at llpm. Disturbing the quiet of the week, each Wednesday saw scenes of much activity when market day arrived. Farmers drOve in with their horses and traps, the la tter of various shapes and sizes. The horses were taken out of the shafts and stabled at the King's Arms or The Sun, though some pi'eferred the lesser hostelries such as the Lord Nelson, The Greyhound, Duke of York or George Bnd Dragon. The carts were parked on the Market Place or in the yards of the selected stabling. Farmers used to congregate to talk to each other and exchange views and farm gossip, bargain with the merchants to sell their corn, or go to the bank 12 ., �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 of mail, and was red. The horse was given a nose bag while the driver knocked up the post master. He came every day including Sunday. A t the turn of the century the cottage which is now situated next to Ewings the Estate Agent, was the Parish Reading Room. This was run by a committee most of whom were parish councillors, with Doctor E V Perry as Chairman. Downstairs was a public room with daily newpapers and a number of period icals such as 'Tit- Bits', 'Pearson's WeeklyT and 'Exchange and Mart'. A number of monthly magazines were ava ilable along with the 'Illustrated London News' and 'Punch'. Upstairs was a library which consisted mainly of second- hand books which had been collected from various sources over the years. There was another larger room upstairs which contained a full-sized billiard table; this was mainly patronised by the younger men and boys while their more sedate elders read the papers and smoked in comparative peace downstairs. In 1911 Mr Sam Bircham leased part of Hackford House to the Reading Room committee and all the papers, books, furniture and equipment including the billiard table were removed to these much more suitable premi$es. The old reading room remained empty until the war when it was used as a billet by soldiers based in Reepham. During the War the Town Hall (known in those days as the Old School) was used as a Red Cross to the Market Place via Station Hoad, collecting money en route. They would then disband and repair to either the King's Arms or The Sun to 'whet their whistles'. As a child this was a highlight and my mother would entertain one or two the the wives during the parade and we would keep open house with coffee and cakes for anyone my father or my brother brought in afterwards. It was a 'treat' for me to be allowed to stay up to watch the parade after church. 1 cannot recall the Coronation of Edward VII but to celebrate this 1 believe marquees were erected on the market place and the whole village attended a feast of cold salt beef and pickles (I don't think salads were so f ashionable then), with plum pudding t o follow. As a souvenir every child was given an enamel mug bearing the picture of King Edward and Queen Alexandra. Another feature of life in the market place during t he winter months was the weekly dancing class held ' in the King's Arms club room. I envied my sister and brother who were old enough to attend this very popular pastime. Mosf of the young ladies and young farmers from the district attended (even Mr Peck, though not so young!). The culmination of all this was the annual dance, held in the same place. Miss Boon supplied most of the music on the piano and the dance usually finished by midnight. The King's Ar ms had a flourishing Bowls Club, well supported by the market place residents. Anot her daily event in the the market place comes to my mind. At 6am the people living there were 13 �• '. . r, .~ '" - r, , ~ .. ..-, • REEPHAM MARKET PLACE. SOUTH -" ~..".,q. ~ L:..:2:~:.£~;j,;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~: ~'J. REEPHAM MARKET PLACE BEFORE THE FIRST WORLD WAR 14 �RE £PI-iAM MARKET PLACE , EAST, --~--------~-. - - note some of the businesses remembered by Marjorie Gibbs: Austins, Fisher, Hall, Peck and of course E. Gibbs 15 �• 'The Black Diamonds' in their make -up and finery ready for a performance hospital run by Lady Grace Parry, who headed a team of nurses who lived at Hackford House; with so many young men away the facilities offered by the billiards room were used by convalescing soliders as part of t heir recreational facilities. In 1919 I\-:r Bircham gave Hackford House to the parish as a war memorial and it was re-named The Bircham Insti t ute (now The Bircham Centre). Musically the residents of the Market Place could be an entertainment in themselves. Mr Fisher was organist at the chapel, choirmaster and also conducted Glee Parties. Mr Cocking played the bass fiddle and trombone, Mr Juby the violin, Mr Edward Gibbs junior th e violin, piano or Bny other instrument he could find, and with residents from other parts of the town a string band was formed, not grand enough to be called an orchestra. Local concerts for various charities were given in the old school, Mr Peck singing in his light baritone voice, part-comic, part-sentimental songs that not always succeeded in being f unny. Miss Boon was a willing accompanist and would also sing well-known ballads of the day such as 'Dc)n' t Hurry' and 'The Song that reached my heart', ac companied on the piano by Miss Austin who lived next door and who was also pianist with the string band. Mr Austin had a rich tenor voice and could always be relied on to sing 'Nirvana' or 'Thora'. Mrs Wilton and lastly the Gibbs family would sometimes help. My father was ever popular with repeated rtaqu~sts for one of his six or seven humorous pattCl' songs, for some of which he had never seen the music and for which my brother would invent accompaniments. Since my father had a gift of wit and great humour he could always be relied on to make a racy speech of introduction or pass a vote of thanks. The elder daughter would recite and the son, with that rare gift of improvisation, would play the piano or organ and any instrument that he could find for his collection. He even invented an attachment tor the piano which was like organ pedals and produced music from bells, each pedal playing one bell. The younger daughter (myself) only came into the music picture about 1913 by playing accompaniments on the piano and piano solos, and even at an early age was in great demand to sing childish songs. Throughout the war she sang in concerts for the troops. Her voice was trained but she could never pursue a musical career as intended as with the shortage of manpower she had to leave Dereham High School and make a career in the family business instead. In 1910 with several 'outsiders r from other parts of the town and surrounding district the musical gentlemen of the market place formed a highly successful minstrel troupe, calling themselves 'The Black Diamonds'. Mr Le Neve, the relieving officer from Derehaffi Road, was interlocuter, the two cornermen were my father as Bones and Mr Sidney Eglington as Tambo. The assistant cornermen were Messrs Austin and Peck. They rehearsed in the club room and were in great demand as entertainers. The troupe had a strict code of dress, with coats of black sateen and red buttons, dark trousers with white shirts with small red bow ties' the two cornermen had cutaway evening coats, red waistcoats, very large bow ties and red stripes down their trousersj the two assistants had similar outfits but with small bow ties. Mr Neve, the interlocuter, sat in a high chair in the middle of the back of the stage and his task was to control the overall performance; with his exaggerated bow tie, evening coat with contrasting cuffs, button hole and a large watch chain across his waistcoat his imposing presence left the audience in no doubt as to who was in charge! The first major performance of the Black Diamonds was given at the fete held on 20 June 1912 at the Dereham Road home of Doctor E V Perry (now Eynsford Lodge). They had been practising hard for the previous year and had met twice a week and rehearsed in a barn a littlE: further along Dereham 16 �Road (now part of Tylers Mead). For their premiere a covered prosceni um was erected, t he String Band accompanied and t he performance, along with the rest of the fete, was a huge success. The stage was unique in those days in that it was lighted by electricity supplied through the gardens by land line from Mr John Dixon, who at the time had the cycle shop on the corner of Towns End. The arrangements for the fete were carried out by a committee consisting mainly of gentlemen fro m the market place, with their wives forming the tea committee. It commenced at 2pm and with the exceptionally fine weather throughout the afte rnoon and evening a large number of local people were attracted and stayed and enjoyed themselves. The first part of the afternoon's proceedings were taken up by the band (which had paraded from the ,\1arket Place) and a detachment from Watts Naval Home, North EI mham, who performed various military, musical and life saving drills~ After the boys had finished their performance they were provided with 8 substantial tea which was topped up with further li ght refreshments just before they left. By 7.1 5pm a large crowd had assembled to enjoy the first part of the eveni ng's entertainment, The Black Diamonds under the musical directorship of Mr George Storey, who was also the bandmaster of Reepham String Band. The troupe performed for more than two hours a nd their programme of songs and choruses, some serious others humorous, was well received and several well-deserved encores were given. As dusk descended the garden was illuminated with hundreds of fa iry lamps festooned along the paths and amongst t he trees and bushes. These lamps consisted of coloured glasses about the size of a la rge cup, each containing a nightlight, and were lit ready for th e String Band which played for dancing on the IDwn until well after llpm. The whole affair was a great success, not leas t finanCially, and the proceeds were devoted to thc Reepham and Hackford Nursing Fund. The friendl y market place t ook on a different aspect with the outbreak of war in 1914 a nd everything seemed changed. Market days still continued, but with less en thusiasm . Local men were eithe r called up or volunteered for the forces, and with the arrivDl of troops the market place became a parade ground. We had army personnel here throughout th e war, billeted in homes and various bu ildings. There was much excitement when the first troops arriv ed ill late 1915. These were the IN Company of the Honourable Artillery Corps. , well remember them arriving on horses with their equipment. We were awaked by the sound of reveille from the market place at 6.30am and it was also sounded from various other points in the town. During the day were heard 'Come to the cook-house door! and later, at sunset, the 'Last Post'. To the younger gene ration who did not realise the seriousness of war it was a th rilling sight to see t he Company on horseback lined up for inspection on the market place, probably before going around the country- side on manoeuv res, and many a child was late for school in consequence. This gI'OUp of 1916 - Marjorie Gibbs is taking the picture in the centre foreground 17 �peacetime soldiers who were called up at the outbreak of war were drawn from all quarters of city life in London - stockbrokers, solicitors, actors, musicians and all grades of professional life. It was Reepham's boast that it held a very special regiment. These men entered into the village life and were very welcome guests in man y homes. The officers' mess was at the Ollands and the NCO's and men were in billets. The horses were kept in various stables in the town and we had two, as well as our own horse, in ours. We had two sergeants billeted with us. One was a dentist from Hanover Square, London who by way of contrast was the Saddler Sergeant. The other sergeant was a highly qualified engineer and he was the Wheeler Sergeant, so he was more or less dealing with machinery. Although the sergeants' mess was at Brewmere, these two invariably had their evening meal with us and became part of our family. The very small artillery guns of the Ii.A.C. were kept and g uarded on the market place. One vivid memory of the H.A.C. is still very much imprinted on my mind. It was New Year's Eve. We had kept open house for most of the evening for coffee and drinks for several of the officers and men with whom we had become frie ndly. (There seemed to be a great camaraderie amongst these troops and the various ranks mingled with each other very freel y). Nearing midn ight everyone came out of their houses and a huge ring was formed entirely round the market place. Soldiers and civilians linked up, in rather a merry mood, and we all sang 'Auld Lang Syne' and 'Home Sweet Home'. For a very young teenager, taken care of by one of the sergean ts of the household, this was, as I have already said, an unforgettable experience. If the market place could feel it would have thrilled as it listened to about 150 folk of all ages singing the Old Year out and the New Year in. It was with much sorrow that we saw the H.A .C . depart for active service in the spring of 1916. The Middlesex Yeomanry with horses, followed during the ne xt winter and the year after that the Hampshire Yeomanry arrived on bicycles and then instead of the market place being a parade ground with horses, we saw bicycles lined up for inspection. By this time a small YMCA was functioning in the King's Arms club room. A succession of regiments followed a nd each one entered into the li fe of the village, although we did not have another New Year's Eve on the market place. During the war several of the market place gentlemen were special constables and would be on duty in pairs, working on a rota system . The young generation became adept at avoiding their respective fathers, not wishing to be caught wi th a special army friend. When peace was declared and Reepham was again without its troops it never seemed the same. The tone of the town had altered, some men did not return, some were crippled, some had been prisoners of war and we all felt war weary and in a much more thoughtful mood. However, the old market place itself never changed a nd it returned to its peaceful splendour and serenity, as it is to-day. EDITOR'S NOTE Most of this essay was originally written by Marjorie Gibbs as a contribution to a study of Reepham and the surrounding villages. Whilst the bulk of the original article has been used. I have included some additional material, particularly that relating to the Black Diamonds and the 1912 Garden Fete. The inclusion of this article and the proposed changes were agreed in principle by Marjorie a few weeks before her death. I feel sure that she would have approved of the final result and that she would want me to stress her original comment that any critical remarks were not meant to be unkind in any way, but were merely a child's impressions and thoughts, seen mostly from a humerous angle. Taken in the early 19005 it shows the ivy clad church of St Michael's 18 • • �The Stately Homes of Reepham O NE of the saddest aspects of change, particularly since the Second \Vorld War, has been the passing of the big houses in and around the Reepham area. Up to the 19208, Reepharn could point to a number of these modest rStately Homes of England 1 and all they meant to their local rural communities. Hackford House (now known as The Bircham Centre), si tuated in the Market Place is one such residence that is but a shell of its former opulence. The home of a branch of the Bircham family, it was given t o the town as a thank-offering for the peace which followed the 1914-18 war., to serve as an indoor rec reational centre know as The ilircharn Institute. Its many rooms provided accommodation for meetings, ?a rticularly to many local voluntary groups and club s; and this use continues today. It also offered facilities as consulting rooms for visiting Veterinary 19 Surgeons, a Dentist and on Market Days a room was regularly taken by a Chartered Accountant. Hackford Hall, the erstwhile seat of the Collyer family exercised a considerable influence for many years and although it underwent many vicissitudes after Brig-General J J Collyer left it in the 1930s it Was restored to its proper use as a residence and has remained so since. Whitwell Hall is another residence, that although still accessible in some ways to the people of Reepham, is no longer used for the purpose for which it was built. The last person to use it specifically as a family home, left in the mid-1930s and it stood em[Jty until 1938 when it became a school. The outbreak of the Second World War saw the early closure of the school and it was used during the next few years by the military who exacted their usual toll on the building. Set in parkland of some 40 acres it was farmed after 1945 by Mr A H Ivins and there was the introduction of using the premises for summer cam!;)s. This use, was most successful, as it still is today, and there are many children living near and afar who have fond memories of this building and its grounds. There are two other big houses which deserve mention and these are the subject of greater detail. One has been demolished, this was Reepham House formerly known as The Ollands, a charming residence that retained its character and use until the 1960s, and secondly, The Moor House, a residence remembered for its beautiful well laid out gardens and which, after many years of neglect has now been restored to an element of its former glory. The Norwich Road entrance to the O/lands Estate �The Ollands Estate THE area in Reepham that we know as Ollands Park and the adjoining area of Moor House Close (bounded William Bircham lived in the property until the estate and various other areas of land that he owned in Reepham were sold at auction in July 1883. The House would have become available for possession by the new owner at Michaelmas that year but there is doubt that William Bircham moved out after the sale. Kelly's Directory of 1885 lists the occupants of the I-louse as William and Henry Bircham (his son). The next owners were Mr and Mrs Kendrew who lived there from about 1890 onwards. In 1914 Alexander Kendrew died and although the House was still owned by Mrs l{endrew until her death in 1920, she did not live here during the Great War. by New Road) was formerly the Ollands Estate, this was an area of nearly.....19 acres of parkland, gardens and lawns overlooked by a mansion originally called 'The Ollands'. The Mansion was built in the Elizabethan Style by William Bircham Esquire in 1832 and at some substantial cost. The interior was adorned with superb oak carvings and was decorated and finished in an expensive manner which offered a high degree of refinement and taste for a moderately sized establishment. It was built with the main rooms facing to the southeast a nd during the early years the grounds were developed so that eventually the house stood surrounded by park-like lawns adorned with ornamental timber and enclosed by plantations of trees and shrubs. The House consisted of the following rooms: In the basement there were a number of arched ale and wine cellars. The ground floor had an entrance hall with inner glazed doors, a vestibule with doors leading into the garden, a drawing and dining rooms, study, back hall, housekeeper's room, butler's pantry, kitchen, cook's pantry and scullery. The main rooms were fitted with carved oak mantelpieces and all floors were paved with stone. The first floor was approached by a broad oak staircase which was lighted by a large fine stained glass window. There was a central boudoir, eight sleeping and dressing rooms and a bathroom (fitted with a bath and water closet). There was a second floor with four large bedrooms and a open landing. Outside there was a rear courtyard with a servants hall, knife and coal houses, larder, large bin and a force pump which filled the cistern at the top of the House. A House of this size had to have its own transport and this was accommodated with stabling situated around a paved courtyard, it comprised a double coach house, a stable with four stalls, another stable with three stalls and a box, all with lofts above, a harness room, a second smaller coach house and a range of outhouses. Nearby was a coachman's house built in the same style as the House. In the years after the House was built the gardens were developed and after a few years it was surrounded by flower gardens, a rosary, walled fruit garden, outside vegetable and fruit gardens and a n orchard, supported by tool and fruit houses. A large conservatory was built near the House, also there was a double vinery (70 feet long) complete with hot pipes and a heating room, mushroom house, melon yard, various pits, potting houses and a large soft water tank. • John Alexander Kendrew • Mary In 1916 the House is recorded as being unoccupied but records also show that it functioned as a Officer's Mess for certain periods during these dark years. In the early 1920's, Mr Edward Phillip Oppenheim lived here and it was known as 'Reepham House', 20 �Although now generally forgotten, E P Oppenheim was during this period a famous novelist who wrote about 150 books, mainly travel, in addition to many new spaper and magazine articles in this country and the USA. To avoid paying certain taxes he moved to the French Riviera in 1925 and his daughter and her husband, Mr and Mrs Ryder Smith, continued to live here until 1928. Certain local opinions in Reepham have expressed, in recent years, that the House was lived in during the 1920's by the more famous novelist, Henry Rider Haggard. This is now clearly accepted as being un true although there are a number of comparable points tha t led to the apparent acceptance of this error of me mory. They were both writing novels at the same time a nd were famous during the 1920s; both lived in Norfolk (Rider Haggard at Ditchingham) and they bot h abbreviated their christian name to the first lette r. Edward Oppenheim's daughter and son-in-law, Mr and Mrs Ryder-Smith , lived at The Ollands and the similarity of names (with Rider Haggard) probably, more than anything else, fostered this mistake. It is highly likely that the two authors were socially a cquainted and more than likely that Rider Haggard visited 'Ollands House' but he never actually lived t here. A few years of Mr Oppenheim's occupancy are s ti ll well remembered today by some of Reepham's residents. When Mr Oppenheim moved in he brought with him his own butler and a Chauffeur, recalls Wesley Piercy. The butler was a Mr London and he lived in the house (now known as Echo Lodge) which was originally built as the coachman's house. The Chauffeur, Mr Mair, lived in one of the pair of cottages in Norwich Road, opposite St Mary's 21 School. The other cottage was occupied by a gardener, Jimmy Smith and his wife Polly. Jimmy may hRve been a gardener but he also had a reputation as a Reepham character and one who was partial to more than the odd half a pint of beer, much to the chagrin of Polly who was always trying to alter his ways to those of a more temperate nature. The large field known as Mill Hill and now cove red by the Moor I-louse Close estate was part of The Ollands' grounds. It had been let by the Ken drews to a local farmer for use as arable land but j\l r Oppenheim stopped the letting and laid it down to grass. Two or three local boys li vin g in the New Road area went as a deputation and called on ~ lr Oppenheim to ask his permission for them to be allowed to play on the field. This was kindly granted on condition that they stayed out of the plantation areas. A splendid field on which to pJay foo tball or cricket after school was gained and at weekends the Band of Hope football team played their home matches there. On the fifth of November each year, on this field Mr Oppenheim provided a great firework display which was supervised by the butler and other members of the staff. There were enormous rockets and other fireworks f ar bigger and better than those that could be bought locally that enthralled the watChing crowds, particularly the youngsters who were given sparklers to hold in their hands. The fireworks stopped after Mr Oppenheim moved but use of the field continued until the property was sold, the kindness offered was greatLy appreciated and no-one ever abused the condition concerning entry to the plantations. When the House was sold to Mr Harmer he immediately banned everyone from the field and used it for exercising his two riding horses. �Marjorie Gibbs recalled the occasions that she met Mr Oppenheim; lithe first time, he came into the shop (the firm of Edward Gibbs and Son, tronmonger and Seed Merchants of Reepham which closed in 1967), he was wearing flannel trousers a blazer and a straw boater and walked about smoking a cigar; quite a personality and looked most elegant. liRe was a writer of mystery and detective novels and in those days he was widely read, he was probably as popular then as Agatha Christie is today. 11Th ere was a flourishing choral SOCiety in Reepham in the early 1920s and the twenty of so members would go carol singing at Christmastime. The first night we visited the large houses in the district having first acquainted them that we would be calling. On the second night we concentrated on various houses in Reepham finishing up at 'The Ollands'. I well remember one Christmas, I think it was 1923, we were ushered into the large entrance hall by the butler, Mr London. We were greeted by Mr and Mrs Ryder Smith who asked us to sing to them. We were then regaled with hot sausage rolls and mince pies together with liquid refreshments. I can well remember Mr Ryder Smith offering me a choice of whiskey, port, sherry or coffee, 1 very modestly chose the latter only to be admonished afterwards by my friends for not taking anything stronger whilst I had the chance. IIAt about 9.30pm Mr and Mrs Openheirn - the parents of Mrs Ryder Smith - came out from dinner (both in evening dress and he with the inevitable cigar) and they chatted with each of us; this was the second time I met Mr Oppenheim.!! The ownership passed to Mr and Mrs T CHarmer (the Norwich clothing manufacturer) who -lived there until 1950 when it was bought and lived in by Mr and Mrs F J Irwin until the late 1960s. After the lrwins left, the house remained empty. It became prone to vandals and its glory, particularly the gardens, began to fade. There was a demand at this time for residential building land and this large accessible area in the middle of Reepham was easy prey to the planners and developers. In the early 1970s the House was demolished and grandiose plans for an estate of large detached houses was commenced. A few houses we re built before the developers fell into financial difficulties and for some time the area of half constructed houses and piles of unused building materials gave the place • • a blighted air. The work was eventually resumed by other contractors and happily by the early 1980s the work was completed and the grounds of this former splendid mansion were allowed to settle to their new use. Many people in Heepham remember The Ollands with fondness and there are still some who can member the House in its heyday with its formal gardens, conservatory and paths wandering through the large number of mature trees. Very little remains today; Echo Lodge in Ollands Road, a few of the large trees are still there to remind us of the former grandeur and some of the road names will continue the memory of former residents of the House, notably Bircham Road and Irwin Close. I .uIo'''''"' , .,,, GG';;:;;' -·.-'C·..: , ' 9S 6 ," ' . .:>8J 22 �THE OLLANDS, HACKFORD··NE 23 �The Moor House In the late 1870s, William Bircham was forced to reconsider his financial position. With the encroachment of the railways, th e Bi rcham Brewery monopoly in this area was put under fierce competition, pa rti cula rly from th e Norw ich Breweries, and the family were in turn placed under severe financial pressure. In 1879 the Old Brewery House and various other lots in Reepham we re sold a t auction by Messrs Spelm an and Compa ny. The Old Brew ery House was bought by Samuel Bircham, who although a member of the Reepham Bircham family, was a successful sol ici tor who lived in Surrey a nd practised in London. It was ironic and perhaps satisfyi ng to William Bircham t hat Sam uel should purchase the Brewery House and he further extended Samuel's estRte in Reepham when after William's deat h in 1886 he lef t in his will the area in, around and including the Moor House to Samuel who had to purchase his holding. Due to his financial difficulties, William had mortgaged the Moor House and t he s urrounding area to Samuel Bignold in 1876. To in herit the property Samuel paid £2,250 to clear the mortgage. As Samuel now owned all th is a rea he decided in 1888 to clear the whole si te to ma ke the house larger and ge nerally to tUlO it into a house of some magnificence. All th e dwelli ngs, farm build in gs and o t her buildings were demolished and the whole area t urned into gardens and grounds to compliment t he new I-louse. The Bla ck Lion Public House was demolished and a new one was built on the opposite side of the road. A ga rdener's cottage was then built on the si te of the old Black Lion. The onl y early building which survived beh ind the house was probably used as outhouses and stables to ser ve the original s maller Moor House. I have been unable to fin d ou t who carried out the extensive rebuilding of the Moor House but Harry Hawes wrote in 1949 that the Black Lion was built by John Hever and Son, builders of Norwich and that his father Thomas Hawes was given the o rder to demolish a nd clear away all the cottages, farm houses and buildings which were on the site, he was also g iven the order to build about 50 yards of fl int wall with encloses part of the grounds. TilE HOUSE and the grounds that we know to-day as the Moor House were built in 1888 but there was a smaller house (with the same name) occupying the site before this date. It is difficult to detail when the original house was built, but it is known to be between 1846 and 1865, probably nearer the later date. The tithe map of 1846 for this a rea shows only a general collection of fa rm buildings and other dwellin gs. In 1865 Kelly's Director y of Norfolk records a Mrs Dalrymple as a private resident living at Moor House; th e Directory records very few private residents and it can be assumed t hat those included were persons of some rinancial means and social standing, and this status would no doubt have been shown in the local community by the size of their residence. In hi s reminiscences of Reepham, Harry Hawes recorded that rMrs Dalrymple lived there, she was aunt t o Mr Sam Bircham a very nice old lady, generous to the poor. She would ride about in a donke y chaise f itted with a glass front and whenever she went out she was always accompanied by her nurser. Mary Anne Dalrymple was born in 1778 and died in Reepham in 1875; In 1799 she was married to William Dalrymple and had ten children. It is reputed that William Dalrymple wal ked from Dumfries, Scotland to Nor wich to join some uncles in business there. He beca me a surgeon and gained a national reputation for his work at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. One of t heir daughters, Marianne, married William Bir cham in 1823. William was a brewer who lived at The Ollands and he owned the various t ithes that today make up the area of the Moor House, and it was he wh o is assumed to have built the original house .. Willi am Bir cham remained in re sidence at The Ollands and never li ved in Moor House but it seems to have been t he home of mem bers of his fam ily. Anoth er daugh t er of William a nd Mary Dalrymple was Cathe ri ne who, in 1837, married Francis Thomas Bircham and their son was Samuel Bircham who eventuall y inheritied the Moor House. After the death of Mary Ann Dalrymple in 1875 a Mr Fre nk Parmeter of Booton Hall came to live at the Moor I-louse. The Kelly's Directory of 1883 lists a Miss Bi.!'cham a nd Francis Pa rm eter as residing there. There was anoe-Ier branc h of the Bircham family which lived at Boot on Hall and Francis Parmeter (from Ayls ham ) married one of the daughters of the Samuel Bircham who resided there in the la te 18th and early 19th century (not to be confused with the ot her Samuel Bircham mentioned above). By the late 1870's Frank Parmeter was widowed and he went to live at the Moor House with one of his wife's unmarried sisters. After the House was completed (at a cost of £19,000) Sam uel Bircham lived there for part of the year alth ough working in London. He also li ved in Surrey where he built three further houses to live in. It is said that his wife did not like li ving in the Moor House and they spent their tim e in their various other homes. Sam uel Bircham lived here until the turn of the century when it was rented to Ernest Hudson who was here from about 190 3 un til hi s deat h in August 1931. Whilst living at the Moor House his son Sydney died, aged 27 in 190 9 and his wife Helen and second son Eric both died 24 �• in the infiuer:::z:z. members of t:Ie aI. Tbe OIlands this area of Reepham must, during the summer months, have been wonderful to walk rowd and look at. _ = !!. of rme :>edII: along New c:a=e the horses ~ awey by the Army. _ ~........-i-= - IiICDe of his horses cam e back B.i1rl i .. is '- &a= ¢e!' of losing them caused him nen~l" in lz.Te EY ;;;ore. Ernest Ei.lCson is still remembered today by som e residents 0: Elee?hal'IJ .,'ho recall him as a large and ki.nd elcerly man. He had a north country accent and he ""-as reputed to be part of the family that U' owned Hudson's Soaps; whether or not this is true he was always referred to as !Soapy Hudson! in Reepham. Local people who knew the House during this period rem e mbe r the grounds and front gardens as always being meticuously kept. With similar attention by full time gardeners being paid to the nearby grounds After Ernest Hudson's dea th in 1931 the House remained empty until the Second World War. It was kept windproof and wa tertight duri ng these years until it was used by the Army during the war years. There were many serving mem bers of the armed forces based in and around Reepham during this time and it seems that those based at the Moor House constantly c hanged. Their general role was not believed to be of any grea t or secret importance. In 1947 the Bircham family sold the Moor House to Dr Eglington who used it as a nursing home until the late 1980s. During the later years the House was used by numerous film and television companies to provide settings both inside and outside for various films and programmes. The most notable being the extensive use by Anglia Television in connection with the film adaptations of a number of P D James' novels. The Moor House was sold again in 1989. No part of this publication should be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior consent of The Reepham SOCiety 25 �1 Printing 1& J Watton 1 / 93 Tel. Norwich 871998 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Newsletters Description An account of the resource A comprehensive collection of newsletters published by the Reepham Society. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Printed and digital Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/RS/Magazines Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1983-2000 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Reepham Society Text-digital Any text item for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The text can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a text owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Society Magazine 1993 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2408201700 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 28 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Scanned by Geoff Fisher Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Reepham Society https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/37e8f79919af71432fd5bb3aa8bf4b43.pdf be52511ac13e3c60add9f8903b32c75e PDF Text Text Reepham Shopping Week Reepham Shopping Week was held in June 1950. It was originally planned as the Reepham Shopping Days and these were scheduled for June 14th, 15th and 16th, but the overall event was predetermined a success and events took place throughout the whole week. It was planned by members of the newly formed Reepham and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce and the Shopping Week Committee was chaired by Mr S. Curtis. The purpose of the week was not for the individual gain of a few tradespeople but was intended for the benefit of the town of Reepham as a whole. It was hoped at the time that this would be the first of many such occasions which would advertise Reepham as a shopping centre and by degrees to increase the overall prosperity of the town. Further Shopping Weeks with varied success were held in the following years. The success of the first one in 1950 assisted the parish council the following year in deciding that they would not support the festivities for the Festival of Britain but would offer their support instead to the Reepham Shopping Week. The prospect of the new decade of the 1950s meant so much to the people at that time; the previous decade had contained the dark years of war and the period of post-war austerity. This had now passed (even though some rationing was to continue until 1954) and the transition from war to peace by the Labour government elected with a landslide victory in 1945 had in a few years achieved conspicuous success and the hopes of the people were that this trend would continue. Memories were still very clear in recollecting the harshness �and deprivation of the war and the post-war discomfort when in 1947 the heavy snowfalls and extreme cold gripped the country for several weeks, giving the worst winter in living memory. For so many years the basic foods and other household items had been unobtainable or rationed, simple pleasures became luxuries and routine travel had been tedious and time consuming. These times of deprivation and inconvenience, which would be forever associated with the 1940s had however passed and 1950 was seen as a cornerstone. A decade viewed with hope and optimism and people were convinced that the worst was over and social conditions and life generally could only get better. In 1950 Reepham was very much a local centre for the surrounding area. Agriculture was probably the largest overall employer and farm life was still greatly dictated by the walking pace of the carthorse. Reepham was a focal point for the rural population who lived within a walking or cycling distance and a large number of people regularly made their way into the town for most if not all of their shopping needs. A trip to Norwich was an irregular or perhaps even an annual visit and this for most people could only be made by train and not by car; transport for most people was by bicycle or else they had to walk. Larger orders placed with the local shops would be delivered by the shopkeeper’s van or by a delivery boy on his tradebike. Bacon rashers were freshly sliced by hand for each customer, sugar was scooped out of a drawer by means of a handled measure and was weighed into thick, dark blue paper bags and thick rinded cheese was sliced by hand. Shopping was a necessity that for many women formed a regular part of their daily routine; meat safes were essential and refrigerators were a luxury. Stabilisers and preservatives in food were yet to be introduced and if you wanted to keep food for any length of time it had to be bottled, pickled or preserved at home. The vegetable patch formed an indispensable part of every household and chickens and rabbits were kept for their ultimate value as a pie filling. Much of the area had not been connected to the electricity supply and nor was mains water fully available. The flush toilet was still considered a luxury and for many the alternative was a little hut at the bottom of the garden, serviced on a weekly basis by the horse-drawn “night cart”. Everybody knew exactly who everyone was, mechanised farming and household conveniences were unheard of, the abundance of vehicles on the roads had yet to appear and J. Sainsbury was a town grocer indistinguishable from thousands of others. The turn of the year in 1950 signified hope and everyone was determined that this summer event would bring pleasure and profit and would be repeated in future years. The first part of this hope indeed came true, as the local press reported after the week was over “it was a thoroughly sound job that has been well done”. Whether or not it brought in the continued material success that the local traders hoped for was uncertain at the time but the fact remained that the occasion brought a large number of people into the town to enjoy the events and Reepham was placed well and truly on the map. The programme of events started on the Tuesday with the Grand Eve of Opening Dance which was held in the Reepham Band Hall when Gerald Amies and his orchestra played from �8 pm to 1 am. During the interval, the result of the ballot for “Miss Reepham” was announced. It had been agreed that Miss Reepham could be any lady above the age of 18 from within a radius of five miles and Miss Daphne Barrow was elected by the vote of the audience. The following day saw the highlight of the “week”, the grand parade on the Wednesday afternoon of Light, Heavy, Riding and Saddle Horses and Vehicles, which came from many local farms and trades and a gathering at the same time of the North Norfolk Harriers. This parade congregated in the Market Place and despite some adverse weather a large number of people watched as the turnout was judged and the various rosettes and other prizes were distributed. It was previously announced that two “mystery persons” (a lady and a gentleman) would tour the main streets between 2 and 3 pm and if they were successfully challenged by someone who was also able to produce a Shopping Week programme, they could claim a prize of 10/-. Miss Peggy Miller was the only person to successfully challenge and she secured the prize. In the evening, the massed bands of Fakenham Town, Cawston and Reepham played in the Market Place from 7.30 – 9 pm and this was followed by an open-air dance with the music being provided by Mr Bird’s radiogram. From the early morning bustle of the weekly livestock market to the enjoyment of the late evening dancing the whole town participated in a level of enjoyment that had not been experienced for many years. On the following day, a mammoth whist drive with 35 tables was held at the Band Hall. Mr H. Gibbons acted as master of ceremonies; there was a first prize of three guineas and the event was greatly appreciated by the many people who attended and particularly by those who went home with a prize. Friday evening was an exceptionally busy time with many people coming into the town for the knock-out bowls competition and a darts contest. The bowls was organised by Mr C. Plume and played on the Sun Inn and Kings Arm’s bowling greens with the winners Messrs. A. Carman, H. Bell and H. F. Laskey winning by nine shots to three. The darts competition was organised by Mr G. Bunn and this attracted more than 300 entries. The finals were played at the George and Dragon with winners coming from Cawston, Lenwade, Plumstead as well as Reepham. Miss Reepham with her attendants, Miss Joy Jones and Miss Jean Tubby, presented the prizes. The “Week” was an unqualified success, it brought many people into the town and while this may not have raised a sustained level of trade for the local shopkeepers it certainly achieved its objectives in the short term. A opportunity was derived which allowed the local tradespeople to fully display their merchandise and their efforts were initially rewarded. The committee responsible for the organisation were rewarded too with the knowledge that a good job had been thoroughly well done and the foundation was laid for a similar successful event to be held the following year. �From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine 1996 � Text-digital Any text item for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The text can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a text owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Shopping Week Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2408141140 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 4 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 1950 Description An account of the resource An account of Reepham Shopping Week, organised by the Reepham & District Chamber of Trade & Commerce in June 1950 and in subsequent years. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Written by Michael Black; scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine 1996 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/23d78cbbd7ff5fe8c2f3ecb28a1fad63.pdf edb4334a5b2ac2249f538eb76ec19674 PDF Text Text Reepham Market Reepham Market was founded in 1277 when Sir John de Vaux, whose lordship of Hackford extended into the parish of Reepham, obtained a charter from Edward I for a weekly market on Saturday and a fair on “the eve of day and morrow” of the feasts of Saint Peter and Paul − the 29th June. This fair was for many centuries one of the highlights of the year to people living in and around Reepham. At the turn of this century the Market Place would be invaded by travellers’ vans, roundabouts, coconut shies, shooting galleries and stalls selling all manner of sweets, rock, souvenirs and general cheapjack items. Such a large gathering of fair people lasted longer than the original charter condition of an evening and a day and usually they were here for at least a week, with some of the last to leave taking up to three weeks. Although the fair offered a time of great delight and excitement to the children, the adult part of the population was glad when they went owing to the noise, disruption and general inconvenience that was caused. Edward Gibbs, the ironmonger, once gave credit to one of the Norwich fairground families for the supply of a quantity of paint so that the “cakewalk” could be repainted while it was at Reepham. The fair moved on, the bill was not settled and for years afterwards the annual visit of the fair meant an attempt by Mr Gibbs to obtain his money. It is said that he never was successful in receiving payment. This annual fair occupied the whole area of the Market Place; the vans (or homes) of the fair people were drawn up side by side outside the King’s Arms with the horses being put out to grass on a meadow near the outskirts of the town. The various rides were placed on the remainder of the area and at night the whole scene would come alive with a blaze of sound, light and colour. There was a large and majestic steam engine which provided the power to run the roundabouts, the organ with its wide repertoire of tunes and to provide lighting for some of the stalls. All the stalls were gaily or gaudily decorated and those not lit from the steam engine were illuminated by paraffin flares. It was an annual occasion that was greatly looked forward to. It brought life and vibrancy to the town and temporarily increased the takings of many of the local businesses, particularly the public houses. In these present times our children clamour for a trip to a theme park but in those past days the thrill, entertainment and overall fun of the fair made its way to Reepham and doubtless this once a year event was appreciated, enjoyed and remembered far more than the expensive outings of today. The fair was held on the Market Place up to the outbreak of the Second World War. From 1939 the limitations imposed on the fair people by the war made such events impossible. Although visits by fair people resumed in the late 1940s and continued until the 1960s, they were on a much smaller scale and the stalls and rides were moved from the Market Place to a field on the outskirts of the town. The size and grandeur of the fairs of these earlier years had gone forever. While this annual fair gave Reepham a week or more of local supremacy, the dominance of a market in this area of Norfolk was for many years with the neighbouring town of Foulsham. Around 1300, Foulsham was the metropolis of the Eynsford Hundred and �for at least the next three centuries the Reepham market was not to be compared with that of its neighbour. Market Day However, the size and status of Foulsham slowly declined while at the same time Reepham steadily prospered and during the 18th and 19th centuries established itself as a typical market town. With a population of about 1,000 in 1845 it had acquired, apart from its Market Place, a number of activities which distinguished it from a “village”. These would have included a bank, several inns, a brewery, clock and watch maker, chemist, grocer and draper, coach builder and stone mason. For generations, until it finally closed in the early 1970s, the farmers of the neighbourhood looked to Reepham to provide a weekly market for their products. The original market was set up in mediaeval times and this allowed a convergence on Reepham of all manner of people who wanted to buy, sell or barter and the market would also have offered a type of “employment bureau” where arrangements could be made to hire a craftsman’s skills. For instance, a carpenter would have lived in the town or he may have come in and set up a stall from which he would take orders or arrange work. He would then go to carry out the arranged work in the house of the person who wanted furniture made. This type of service would have been the same for many other trades such as bricklayers or builders, dressmakers and tailors. With the large influx of people for this particular day the town would have had to make specific arrangements, water had to be available and the requirements were probably satisfied by communal wells or by the town pond which was situated where the fire station stands today. The stalls would have been organised into fixed lines with passages between and market latrines would have been dug; in the winter cut reeds or old straw would have been spread about on the roadways to soak up the mud and rain. Special beer was often brewed and bread would have been baked for the refreshment of those attending. Market Day in those times would have been a difficult experience for the many who attended. The main street (now Back Street) would have been narrow and hold-ups would inevitably be caused by the traffic passing through. This moved at different speeds − there were riders on horseback, singly or in groups, horse-drawn carts of different sizes and probably slow, solid bullock carts, swaying and moving at a walking pace or less. There would have been piles of stinking street rubbish to negotiate, children playing, stray animals and many a drunk unintentionally sleeping in the gutter. Parking of animals and carts was a problem and the length of parking time was much disputed. Although this was probably the manner of Market Day in Reepham for centuries it became somewhat more organised in later years and particularly during the 19th century. By this time, the familiar layout of the centre of Reepham that we have today had been built. Back Street was no longer the main thoroughfare and the roads leading into the town would have allowed a much easier passage for those wishing to travel through on Market Day. In 1845 Reepham is recorded as having a hiring fair; this was one of the many customs associated with the farming year which had prevailed for centuries but which like so many �others died out during the early part of the 20th century. Towards the end of September the hiring fair would have been held and those agricultural workers who wanted to “break fresh ground” would gather in the Market Place wearing a piece of coloured ribbon or cord in their buttonhole. This was a sign that they were seeking a new situation. When the labourer had agreed terms with a farmer, he would accept a shilling (usually) and this would bind him to serve his new employer for a year. While St Michaelmas day is officially the 29th September, in this area the payment of all due rents and the various necessary farm movements would become effective on the 11th October. New farm engagements would commence on this date and should the labourer have defaulted then the farmer was entitled to sue him. Although considering the wages offered and the limited possessions of the labourer this was not much of an option to the farmer. It is further recorded in 1845 that Reepham had a weekly market, which sold stock from within a wide catchment area. What isn’t known is the date when the day of the weekly market changed from Saturday to Wednesday although it had been held on Wednesdays since at least the early 1800s. It was with the coming of the railways in the mid 19th century that the movement to market for both man and beast became easier. While this transport change initially benefited Reepham, the drawing power of the great market in Norwich, with its need to feed a large population, gradually stifled all the smaller markets that offered competition. Although competition with Norwich was never something that was particularly appropriate from the much smaller local markets like Reepham, it was a major element that contributed towards the eventual closure of the Reepham saleground in March 1972. Until the setting up of the new market saleground by Irelands in 1877, the Wednesday market is recorded as being a corn and cattle market with the 29th June as the annual fair for stock and horses. Little is recorded of the corn market and it was probably a small affair compared to the much larger ones held elsewhere in the county. The indoor facilities of the Corn Hall in Exchange Street, Norwich (now the home of Jarrolds Department Store) were palatial indeed compared to the open Market Place at Reepham which subjected the buyers and sellers to the vagaries of the weather. Corn and Cattle The corn market would commence in the autumn once the grain to be sold became available on the local farms. With harvest over and the barns full the threshing would begin; in the 19th century this was a boring, arduous task, carried out by four or five men at a time who would use a flail, the tool that was like a wooden jointed whip which when used in a steady rhythmic way would shake out the individual grains of com. After threshing was completed, the “winnowing” or “dressing” of the corn would be carried out and the remaining grain was scooped up into “bushels” − the standard measure, levelled off and tipped into sacks. Grain would be taken straight to the mills after dressing or samples would be taken to the market so that it could be sold. “Stock and staple” were the terms given to the types of corn sales; “staple” or “sample” was when the farmer would bring samples of his corn and book the order; he would then arrange delivery where and when required and then collect payment. This would save cartage in bad weather, an important �consideration on the bad winter roads prevalent in this agricultural area at that time. “Stock” was when the farmer took the corn in sacks to sell direct, collecting payment at once. This method of sale often favoured the buyer as he would try and beat down the price, knowing the farmer would let all go cheaply, rather than have to cart the corn home again. Earmarked – A Red Lincoln steer receives his ear mark, necessary under the fat stock subsidy scheme, at Reepham cattle market. The “operation” is being performed by Mr L. Blythe, July 1954. During the 1880s there was obviously a good demand for grain in this area and a number of local businesses were actively involved in the buying and selling. There was Bircham & Sons who purchased for their brewery, William Hannant and George Wright, both corn dealers, Squirrell and Utting, corn and cake merchants, S & S W Leeds, corn and seed merchants, and Coller & Sons, coal and corn merchants. Three of these businesses were established at Reepham Station and the coming of the railway to Reepham at this time boosted the local corn market, albeit only for a few years. There was an initial spirit of optimism as the following letter placed in the local press in November 1882 indicates: The reopening of this market took place on the 4th October 1882 and has continued every fortnight since with remarkable success quite beyond the most sanguine expectations. The next market will be held on Wednesday at half past two (instead of half past three as therefore) at which time a train will arrive at Reepham Station (Great Eastern Railway) and those coming from Norwich and elsewhere will find a conveyance ready to take them into the market. The principal buyers have consented to find sacks and do all they can to make the delivery to sellers of corn bought at this market as easy �for the farmers as possible at the railway station nearest. Seeing there is every facility and good prospect of making a good corn market for the neighbourhood, the farmers are solicited to support this project in every way they possibly can. We are expecting a full attendance at the next market. Your obedient servant, R P Gooch Reepham Auction Mart Messrs. Irelands saleyard, an area that was to become an integral part of Reepham’s prosperity was originally an orchard. It was the property of William Bircham who owned the Reepham Brewery (now the Old Brewery House Hotel), various areas of land in and around Reepham and a number of public houses, including the King’s Arms. The orchard, which for a number of years had been let to the landlord of this establishment, was triangular in shape and is recorded in the subsequent Bircham Estate sale catalogue as occupying an area of 2 rods and 13 perches. It was obtained from Michaelmas 1878 on a 30-year lease by Messrs. Irelands at an annual rental of £5. The orchard also contained a small barn with a yard and sheds and these continued to be let to the King’s Arms at the annual rental of £7.10s.0d. The orchard had been leased for development as a cattle saleyard and it was subsequently advertised by Irelands as the Reepham Auction Mart. In summer 1883 the Bircham Estate was put up for sale by public auction and the 16 lots were sold at the Norfolk Hotel in Norwich. Lot 12, comprising the auction mart and the barn, were purchased outright by Irelands. In 1883 cattle were still being sold on the Market Place although Irelands’ fortnightly sale is recorded as a “large stock sale”. A notice in the Eastern Daily Press for a fortnightly sale in July 1883 informed interested parties: Messrs. Irelands offer for sale at Reepham Auction Mart PRIME FAT BULLOCKS, COWS, HEIFERS, STORE STOCK, FAT SHEEP, HOGGETS. FAT AND STORE PIGS and OTHER EFFECTS. Commencing at 12.30 P.M. It is unclear as to whether local competition was prevalent between buyers and sellers in the Market Place and the new saleyard but Irelands would appear to have established the major level of business. �This picture, a study in expressions, was taken during Messrs. Ireland’s sale at Reepham on Wednesday 22nd March 1950. War and Depression At the outbreak of the First World War the selling of cattle still continued on the Market Place; Irelands had become a weekly sale with the annual fair still taking place from 29th June. The 1914–18 war and the resulting period of depression which greatly affected agriculture in this area severely altered these arrangements and by 1925 the annual fair was no longer recorded. With one or two notable exceptions all market and sale activities had been moved to Irelands’ saleyard and they rook place on a weekly basis. The outbreak of war in 1914 did not immediately change the pattern of agricultural life in this area with the harvest of that year being brought in before farm workers of military age began to trickle away to join the “great adventure”. The greatest threat was the requisitioning of farm horses by government agents with many a local farmer losing good stock to provide the army with the means to haul the artillery and above all for transport. Although the weekly market continued, this loss was the cause of great inconvenience to many farmers who relied upon horses as their only mode of transport. With bad harvests in 1915 and 1916 and with the continued success of the German U-boat campaign, the government acted and set up a Food Production Department which had wide powers to purchase domestic produce and agricultural products. Many items which would have been disposed of through the system of the local markets prior to the war were now purchased direct and the market as a vital element of the local economy began to decline. �This decline was compounded further when, after another difficult harvest in 1917, rationing of food was introduced. The farming industry was able overall to make a positive contribution to the war effort and farmers did rather well from August 1917 when an Act was passed which was initially to guarantee minimum cereal prices for the next six years and also introduced a minimum wage for farm workers. This however was repealed in 1921 and prices and wages fell sharply. The 1920s is recalled as being the most depressing period for farming, a depression which in turn affected those areas of business which relied heavily upon it. Market prices that had been high during the war years plummeted, the price of cereals fell so sharply that profits could only be gained by farmers who worked the best land and could produce a high yield. The introduction in 1919 of death duties on large estates meant that a great deal of land was placed on the market. Land values were still high and during this post-war period there were huge sales. It was estimated that by 1921 more than one quarter of all local farm acreage had changed hands. The auctioneers suddenly found a short-term boom for their services in dealing with the many land sales that occurred. These high prices failed to last and from the early 1920s the state of farming generally went into a sharp decline, farm prices fell sharply and farmers dismissed their workers and tried to make ends meet by using family labour, machinery or by reducing standards and grassing over previously arable land. Many farms were sold as the owners went bankrupt and landlords of large acreages found the land could not be let at any price. The wages of farm workers which had reached 46/- a week in 1918 had now been eroded down to 19/- a week; there was no alternative to these labourers but to work at the low rates as many men were already out of work due to the high number of farm closures. The period from a farm workers strike at the Easter time of 1923 until the General Strike in 1926 is seen as the lowest point in these bad times but after this date things began to slowly pick up. During the war, the government had introduced the new crop of sugar beet, ironically as Germany had supplied 80% of Britain’s pre-war demand for this crop. From the mid-1920s the government gave the farming industry a much greater financial backing by offering a contract price for growing this root crop. It helped to get the farmers back to a healthier state by giving a level of financial security coupled with a crop that assisted crop rotation. Previously farmers had grown mangolds, swedes and turnips which were a root crop to feed cattle with. The import of cheap beef particularly from the Americas undercut the market price of cattle raised in this country. Farmers could not afford to keep them and in turn they no longer grew the root crops required as fodder. The lack of animals to sell meant a severe reduction in trade for the local markets and the auctioneers. The introduction of subsidies on wheat and also on slag and lime greatly helped. Many fields in this area had become sour and underproductive. They needed liming to increase yields, basic slag (which is a phosphatic fertiliser) was sent from the coalfields by train to Reepham. It was delivered to the nearby farms and spread onto the fields. Among those who survived the depression were farmers who were able to rear or support a flock of sheep and to many farmers the yearly cheque for lambs was the largest single item �in their annual income. While many locally raised sheep were sent to the large sales in Norfolk such as the June lamb sale at Diss (the largest in East Anglia), there was still a large number sold in Reepham. An annual spring lamb sale was held by Irelands at Briston, an event which coincided with the local fair. However this sale, like the sale of sheep at Reepham, did not have the pulling power and higher prices of markets like Diss. Sheep driven to the fair at Diss attracted buyers from far afield and these buyers were prepared to pay higher prices than those that could be expected in Reepham. There was a wholesale improvement in farming from 1936 onwards, but the results of the worst times were felt right up to the outbreak of war in 1939 and it was generally felt that the land fit for the returning heroes of the First World War did not materialise under the wide Norfolk sky. Animals have always been sent to market; the buying and selling of beasts and fowls has always been an integral part of farming life, and profit and fortune were only to be had if a farmer was able to raise his stock to a standard which commanded a good price. Until the latter part of the last century many animals would have been driven to the local market although some were often driven longer distances to the larger or seasonal markets as better prices could be obtained. The demand of the Norwich and King’s Lynn markets and the annual sheep sales at selected towns throughout the county would mean long days for the drovers who were entrusted to take care of the animals being sold or bought. However, the time and effort taken by the local farmers and the hired drovers would generally be well rewarded by the higher prices obtained. First the Railways then the Cattle Floats Reepham had for many centuries enjoyed a standard rural catchment for those who attended its weekly market, the numbers attending as with most rural areas was limited to the daily journey made possible by horse and cart, a distance of some four or five miles (or a ten-mile round trip). Initially, Reepham gained a shift in importance with the coming of the �railways, with two lines and two stations positioned at the north and south of the town. Farmers from a wider area were able to buy and sell stock and for a number of years, particularly up to the First World War, the market prospered. However, from the 1920s this prosperity, brought to Reepham by the railways, declined as more and more trade was switched to the more lucrative Norwich Saturday market with the loading of mostly cattle onto the early trains from Whitwell and Reepham stations and then being unloaded at the Trowse and City stations in Norwich and driven through the streets to the Castle Hill market. This mode of transport slowly began to change as more and more farmers started to use the competitive cattle lorries of the hauliers for their market transport. The old order of the farmers, the local markets and the cattle drovers, all reliant upon each other for so long, were to be so radically changed in just a few years by the transport changes that accelerated during the second half of the 20th century. The cattle lorries took the trade from the railways and the trade went to the larger markets or direct to the abattoir. The cattle drover had all but disappeared by the 1940s, the railways closed during the next 20 years and many of the smaller and more local markets had gone by the mid 1970s. Reepham Stock Mart (as it was originally known) reached its peak during the years 1900– 1914, when it was among the best in the county, with local people adamant that it was only inferior to the larger markets on Norwich Castle Hill and at King’s Lynn. It served faithfully and well a wide inland agricultural community – with the nearest opposition as far distant as Dereham, Fakenham, Holt, North Walsham and Norwich – and weekly entries of 200 cattle in addition to plentiful supplies of sheep, pigs and poultry were of quite common occurrence. Beasts and Drovers Animals would be brought in by a mixture of boys, farm labourers and drovers. The former two would have driven animals from the local farms or from the two railway stations while the drovers would have come from some distance where it was impractical to use rail transport. The driven animals would low and bellow as they had always done, mostly moved in slow but seemingly organised groups. Occasionally an animal would bolt from the herd or flock but this would quickly gain the attention of the drover’s dog, which would increase the noise level as they barked and chased the animal back into place. While the drovers could exercise tight control with their charges, this was not always so with the groups of animals that were being led, even short distances, by some of the local lads. On shorter journeys that were not worth the bother for a drover the farmers would sometimes get their labourers to drive animals to market. Some farmers were reluctant to do this as they felt that the labourers were having a morning out at their expense, so they paid some of the local lads a few pence to do this particular job – a decision not popular with the labourers but the farmers felt it was money well spent. While this offered a financially prudent arrangement to the farmer, he tended to turn a blind eye to the difficulties that the lads often encountered or unwittingly caused. �A small herd of young pigs would want to go in every direction except forwards and certainly not on the most direct route to the sale pen. A sudden noise would send the frightened animals scurrying in all directions; if an open garden gate or a gap in the hedge was discovered many a Reepham resident ended the day with an upturned flower bed or a vegetable crop dug up earlier than was intended. After the market it was a similar story but in reverse; if a farmer had bought animals and wanted them taken home by an experienced hand, he would seek out one of the drover brethren and arrange for “Jimma” with his “ol dorg” to go across and take the animals to their destination. If a shorter journey was involved the local boys would still be willing, despite their early morning problems. A local drover was Sidney Frost who lived in Whitwell Street, a man who was renowned for his large size and his infrequent change of clothing, although this was blamed on his droving which often meant many days at a time away from home. With his dog trailing beside him he would be at the Acle marshes by 4 am to receive cattle which were then walked back to be in Reepham by sundown ready for delivery to the saleground for the following day’s market. During the latter part of the 19th century and the early years of this century large numbers of Irish cattle were sent over to be sold initially at Norwich market. The cattle were landed on the west coast and then sent by rail to Norwich. Local drovers were employed to receive and if necessary to look after the cattle for a few days and then to bring them to the market for sale. Irish cattle were very popular at Norwich because they were ideally suited for the lush coastal marshes. They would be sold and then sent to the marshes for fattening up, the rich grazing ensured they were ready for sale again after about three months. The cattle would be brought off the marshes by the marshmen ready to meet drovers like Sidney Frost, who then had the slow but steady task of walking them to a local market. The Irish cattle were often in a bad state when they arrived in Norwich. They had lived very poorly in Ireland and some of them were in a wild state, often the drives to the marshes were very difficult for the drovers and a great test for their skills. Once this difficult task had been achieved the cattle thrived quickly and the long return journey to markets like Reepham was much easier with a bunch of fat and contented beasts. After the First World War the work of the drover was gradually but irretrievably taken over by the motorised cattle float; although in the early years the size of the vehicles was small and the number of animals that could be carried was limited, they were obviously much quicker and the services of the drover and his dog, who had been part of the local agricultural life for so long, soon became obsolete. In later years, the cattle floats would be brought into the saleyard, reversed up to the pens and the animals would be loaded up for a journey to their new home or on their final journey to the abattoir. The animals with a degree of initial reluctance, would anxiously climb the boards with the lorry driver and yard helpers banging empty pails on the sides of the lorry to encourage the hesitating beasts along. The shrill yap-yap-yap of the drover’s dog had now been replaced by the sounds of grinding gears and labouring engines. The old order of centuries had changed. Although most of the drovers stuck to their known trade some of them would buy and sell for dealers and butchers and eventually some moved fully into the dealing business when the old order changed. �Some animals would be brought in by other means. One or two horses would be harnessed to pull a cattle float which would hold two beasts, pigs would be put into the back of a tumbril and then covered over with a net and nearly all the poultry was put into crates which were conveyed in the back of a farmer’s trap or driving cart. Billy Easton, landlord of the Ratcatchers public house at Cawston, was typical of many at that time who dabbled in the ways of the market by buying and selling poultry and small stock. He would journey into Reepham every Wednesday with his horse and cart and would have two or three crates of chickens and perhaps some rabbits to sell. After a day at the saleground he would go home with some other poultry, which had been bought at an advantageous price, ready to sell at a higher price a week or two later. In those days everyone in this rural area kept chickens, mostly for the eggs but also for the kitchen pot. When the birds had finished laying, they would be disposed of. There were no household freezers for the birds to go to so they would be sent to the local market and sold. There were large numbers of poultry sold at Reepham each week with most of the purchasing carried out by specialist poultry dealers. A number of dealers came each week from Briston, Hevingham and Norwich but there was also the regular attendance of buyers from further afield and particularly those who purchased for the meat trade in the Jewish areas of East London. After having been sold the birds destined for the dinner tables of Bethnal Green and Shoreditch would be put into crates and pushed on a hand cart up to Reepham Station; they were then packed in the guard’s van and sent to Norwich ready to catch a late afternoon train to London. Market Day and the Public Houses There were a diverse number of people who regularly attended Reepham Market Day. Local buyers and butchers were joined by many from Norwich and other East Anglian towns. There were also Midlands buyers and some coming from as far north as Manchester. These longdistance buyers would travel to a number of local markets until they had purchased all their requirements. Attendance at Reepham on Wednesdays would be followed by a journey to Acle on the following day. Added to these were the drovers who have already been mentioned and of course the farmers, butchers and dealers, who reached the town in a variety of carts, traps and even occasionally the elegant gig. The horses were taken out of the shafts and stabled under the watchful control of “Duckety” Rudd at the King’s Arms or Billy Hall at The Sun and these two hostelries in the Market Place did a thriving business while bargains were driven and settlements made. Some farmers preferred the lesser hostelries such as the Lord Nelson, Greyhound, Duke of York or George and Dragon. In this pre-motor car era, the caring for the horses and storing of carts gave much opportunity to the rival ostlers, whose frequent encroachment beyond their own bounds upon the frontages of residences and other business establishments often grew to dimensions which presented quite a problem. Another popular place was The Crown, mainly due to its proximity to Reepham Station and the roads leading buyers and sellers in from Holt, Cawston, Aylsham and Wood Dalling. This particular public house was open all day and would pick up a lot of business during the �afternoon as farmers, butchers and various other traders made their way up to catch a train home or were journeying past by horse and trap or on foot. During this later part of the day many had already imbibed at the public houses in the town and were often a little worse for drink. 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” at The Crown. 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. In the centre of the town, farmers would congregate and talk to each other, exchange news and gossip and bargain with the merchants to sell their corn or go to the bank for wages. They would take the opportunity to carry out necessary farm shopping with visits to the ironmongers or the agricultural engineer. Their wives would come too and would make their way around the shops, market traders and cheapjacks drawn in by the one day of the week when everyone came to buy and sell. A horse-drawn Sainsbury’s van was a regular feature before the First World War. It would be based in the Market Place and would buy eggs brought in by the farmers’ wives; these women also brought in and sold farm-made butter to the local shopkeepers. Many of those attending would return to the hostelry of their choice to invest some of their profit in the liquid refreshment available. The local public houses were open from 10 am to 10 pm and both The Sun and the King’s Arms enjoyed considerable trade. There were the early drinkers who had taken advantage of the relaxed market day times, the farm hands who had brought in or were to take home animals and then there were the farmers, butchers, dealers and other traders. Later in the day, after all trading had been concluded, the auctioneers and their staff would arrive. They all came to eat, drink, strike deals, catch up on the gossip and converse with their friends and acquaintances. The bars would be full and the beer would flow and many would contend that although market day was primarily business, the best part was undoubtedly the socialising which took place after the organised buying and selling had been completed. The day would conclude with many people heading home in a befuddled but contented state. The market thrived during the pre-war years but with the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 and its subsequent restrictions it entered upon a general decline from which it never recovered. The heights of the sales during the Edwardian era were never again achieved and the slow decline continued during the next 60 years. There were periods of re-establishment, notably in the late 1930s – when the Hitler War cried a halt – and again in the early/mid 1950s after the limitations of the Second World War were finally lifted. Until the introduction towards the second half of this century of the larger and monopolistic abattoirs, all killing of animals was carried out by butchers at local slaughter houses. Reepham butchers like Pratt, Utting and Spriggs all bought animals at the market, kept them until required and then carried out the slaughtering. Mondays was the quiet day of the week for the local butchery trade so the fateful animals were dispatched on this day. �Food Rationing and Other Controls The market continued during the years of the Second World War but the sale of the majority of the animals was strictly controlled by the government. After the introduction and general success of the scheme of rationing in the First World War, the government felt that this would be an essential element of their war programme. It was decided in the first week of war in September 1939 that food rationing would inevitably come, but for the time being food production was to be controlled so that food supplies available would be well looked after and evenly distributed. This early control was an attempt to prevent anything like profiteering and to avoid a dislocation of food stocks. Controls were introduced on Wednesday 13 September 1939 with an order made for fixing maximum prices for fat cattle, calves and sheep primarily destined for slaughter. While it was possible to sell poultry and young pigs to the highest market bidder it meant overall that the sale of animals had to be carried out through the local livestock market and direct sales from the farm were prohibited. The controls, in various forms of intensity, lasted for the next 15 years although the first few months of the “phoney war” caused the government to lift the restrictions in December and for a short time the market reverted back to a normal state. However, with the initial introduction of the controls, many farmers had assumed that with a market of fixed prices it would not pay for them to retain beasts for fattening and many beasts had been disposed of at control prices during the previous three months. Though the shortage pushed up Christmas prices that year it was a simple fact that local farmers had received no encouragement to hold on to their animals as they usually did for the Christmas trade and the relaxation of controls was short-lived. �During the early years of the war there was pressure from the government to put as much extra land as possible “under the plough”. Millions of extra acres were planted with cereals and although this compensated the levels of foodstuffs that could no longer be imported it had an initial and drastic effect on farmers who kept livestock. There was tremendous propaganda pressure from the Ministry of Food, who seemed to have an insatiable bias for more potatoes, to plough up more land and there was an argument that one acre of average arable crops fed far more of the population than one acre of average grassland. It was widely promoted that an acre of average wheat saved at least as much shipping space as seven acres of the best grass in England. Farmers who had kept livestock before the war had relied increasingly on cheap imported feeding stuffs; these were no longer available and those locally produced were all strictly rationed. This coupled with the subsidised plough-up policy caused many animals to be sold and slaughtered during the autumn and winter of 1940/41. This resulted in a severe decrease in the keeping of animals and particularly of poultry and pigs which gave little back to the soil in return for what they ate, and by 1943 the output of eggs had fallen by half and that of pigmeat by two-thirds below the pre-war level. The camera catches the atmosphere of the market as the crowds gather around the auctioneers, some to bid and buy, some just to watch and listen. While this had an initial drastic effect on livestock there was a need to maintain a balance as British farming at that time was essentially mixed. It was appreciated that to reduce too much would affect the level of meat and milk production and there was an effort to retain fat cattle and fat pigs, prices would be guaranteed and the production and sale would be strictly controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture. After 1940 all purchases of livestock for slaughter were made on the government account, farmers were asked to maintain orderly �marketing of stock in the normal quantities through the appointed market and to co-operate with the various stages of control as they were introduced through the war years. Reepham was nominated as a market that could grade cattle and pigs and for the next few years, until the regulations were finally decontrolled in 1954, the regular Wednesday sale day continued. Grading When the animals were sent to market they were no longer sold by auction. The stock would be sent in by the local farmers and inspectors from the Ministry of Agriculture would grade the animals, although in the early part of the war some of the grading was often carried out by experienced local butchers and farmers like Thomas Hudson of Bawdeswell. The animals would be weighed and checked and the decision of the grading fixed by means of an ear tag. The resulting grade would determine the price the farmer received. The controls would also determine the particular butcher or slaughter house to which the animals were to be sent. Grading at Reepham would start at 10 am and would usually take up to three hours to complete. While the animals were sent to market it was a very controlled procedure and somewhat alien to many farmers who had always been used to the ways of a more open sale environment and to those who had been used to selling animals direct from the farm to local dealers and butchers. There was also a level of resentment to the Ministry officials who would sometimes grade animals to a lower price than that expected by an individual farmer. However much the system of control was disliked it allowed Reepham Market to remain open during these dark years even though it had become no more than a local point for the control of basic food production. The number of people, particularly farmers, who attended the market declined during these war years. Unless a farmer had animals to buy or sell, he did not go – times were hard, fuel was rationed, there was much to do and few people to do it and no time for standing about socialising in Reepham saleyard. �Dealers An essential element contributing to the local market system was the role of the dealer. They were men who were mainly farmers or who had access to land upon which they would graze or store cattle until such time as the animals could be profitably sold. These men would travel around the various daily markets in Norfolk and beyond, buying and selling animals although they dealt primarily in cattle. �Prospective buyers Mr G. Childerhouse and Mr F. E. Falmer, inspecting geese at the Christmas poultry sale, Tuesday 14 December 1965. The buying and selling would not, however, always be carried out at the saleground. In Reepham the various dealers would be found in their usual seat at a favoured hostelry and many a deal was struck between them and their customers without the help of the auctioneers. One of these exceptions was “Latcher” Woodhouse, a cattle dealer who lived near Aylsham. He would never sell through Irelands’ market but always sold his animals privately so as to avoid having to pay commission to the middle-man. He would drive over to Reepham in a pony and trap and the 15−20 cattle that he had for sale would be brought in by a local drover. He would position himself (and the animals) near the outside railings of the Brewery House and from here conduct his business, a manner of sale that he continued throughout the inter-war years. Edward de Grey Seaman had extensive farming interests locally at Foulsham, Kerdiston and further afield at King’s Lynn. He would always sit in the King’s Arms and conduct his business with the aid of a pot of tea which was constantly refilled during the dealing between him and his customers. John Perowne, who farmed at Brandiston, could always be found in The Sun, and Fords the bakers in the Market Place was the usual haunt of Sam Pye who had butchers’ shops at Cawston and Swaffham. Deals here were often concluded over a cup of tea and a hot meat pie or a plate of “hollow” biscuits. �During the depressed years of the 20s and 30s many farmers lacked the finance to buy cattle but had the land to graze them on, so they would come to an arrangement with a dealer. Young cattle would be bought by the dealer and then fattened and looked after by the farmer; when ready the dealer would sell the cattle and a financial settlement from the profit would be shared between the two of them. Many small farmers during this period had no alternative but to seek out the dealers on market day and to try and set up such an arrangement, a deal that would give the farmer a small but greatly needed level of income. There were also buyers like Fred Wright who purchased for the Norwich Co-op Society and Billy Brooks of Horsford and Hubert Large of Swanton Morley who bought for slaughter houses who in turn supplied the butchery trade. There were many local butchers who bought for their own shops; Sam Pye from Cawston has already been mentioned but other regulars included Chris Payne from Foulsham and Charlie Howard from Lenwade. The relationship of dealers, butchers, farmers and the weekly market was a structure that sustained for many years but was broken with the advent of the Second World War when all sales were strictly controlled through the nominated markets by the Government. The Christmas Sale and Fat Stock Show In the early part of this century Messrs. Irelands in conjunction with many of the local shopkeepers, introduced a Christmas Sale and Fat Stock Show. The local traders contributed to the prizes for the many classes and there were cups and rosettes provided by Irelands. The groups of animals and fowls including pigs, sheep, cattle, domestic birds and turkeys were divided into many classes and the showing, judging and selling was a great social draw for many people in Reepham and from further afield. Like all stock shows the animals were the main attraction; they won the prizes and then suffered the unfortunate dignity of being sold to the highest bidder for slaughter for the Christmas trade. This annual sale and show began early and finished late and it ran with considerable success for some ten years until 1914. It attracted large entries in all sections and was a very popular event for exhibitors, buyers and the residents of Reepham generally. Competition among the exhibitors was always keen and very high standards were reached. Among prominent Reepham exhibitors at that time were the farming brothers John, Ernest and Tom Sharpin while others included John Perowne from Brandiston and Billy Payne from Cawston. Rivalry among butchers was even keener and when a Reepham butcher was fortunate enough to obtain a prize beef, the carcase was early displayed prominently and proudly in his shop with its prize rosette. Needless to add, its delicately marbled fat in its appetising red meat was eagerly sought by his patrons, while its suet was a prize indeed. There was many a proud head of the household in Reepham in those days who brandished the carving knife above the roast beef of his Christmas dinner knowing that he could offer his family nothing finer. The Christmas Fat Stock Sale and Show of 13th December 1911 was a good example of Reepham Market at its most successful. In the week before, the local press had carried the market notices which indicated that the following number of animals had been provisionally entered: �On the day, all those preliminary expectations were exceeded and Irelands dealt with possibly the biggest sale ever held at Reepham. The following report from the Eastern Daily Press of the next day tells it all: REEPHAM. A SUCCESSFUL SHOW. The market town of Reepham yesterday was crowded with farmers, butchers and dealers, on the occasion of Messrs. Irelands’ annual Christmas show of fat stock. This year proved to be one of the best yet held, both in quantity and quality. The fat cattle comprised 140 prime over-yeared box bullocks, may of great weight and superior quality. There was also a larger supply of very choice sheep, black-faced and half-bred hoggets. The trade for beef was vert good, the highest, in fact, for several years, 1 cwt. live weight fetching from 45s. to 47s. Mutton trade was also very much better. Appended are a list of the prize winners for cups presented by gentry and tradesmen of the district: Best fat beast, silver cup, value £5 5s. – Won by Mr G.F. Boddy of Bolwick with a black polled homebred, weighing 14 cwt. 2 qrs., 2 lbs., and purchased by Mr Thomas Stimpson, Dereham, for £34 10s. Mr Boddy was, however, disqualified in consequence of his farm exceeding the radius of six miles. Mr George Seaman was therefore awarded the cup for a black Angus weighing 16 cwt. 3 qrs., and purchased by Mr F. Bayfield, Foulsham, for £39 10s. Best butcher’s bullock, fed by tenant farmer, silver cup – The winner was Mr John Perowne, of Guton Hall, with a red shorthorn, weighing 15 cwt. 2 qrs., and sold to Mr Charles Diggens of Holt for £37 10s. Best pair of fat beasts, fed by tenant farmers – This was won by Mr John Perowne, of Guton Hall, with a pair of Scotch bullocks, bought by Messrs. F. Bayfield and Robert Stimpson for £32 10s. and £31 5s. �Best fat bullock fed by tenant farmer, presented by Reepham tradesmen, silver cup, value £5 5s. – Mr George Seaman, of Oulton, was awarded the prize with a black Angus, weighing 16 cwt. 2qrs., and sold to Mr B. E. Smith, Bunwell, for £41, the top price of the day. Best pen of five cross-bred hoggets − Won by Mr John Green and sold to Mr Dickerson (Norwich) at 59s. each. Best pen of black·faced sheep – Won by Mr John Perowne and bought by Mr W. Bayfield (Dereham) at 63s. There were several other very good hoggets shown, which realised much better prices than of late. Twelve choice Suffolk shearlings realised 69s., 70s. and 69s. each; they were the property of Mr George Seaman. Mr Edward Stimpson of Sall won both prizes in the swine class, the best pen of three fat pigs and the best single pig. They were sold at an average of £8 each to Mr Rump, Reepham. Mr Purdy of Cawston took the cottagers’ prize for the best pig. The best pair of turkeys went to Mr W. J. Comer of Weston. Mr Bartle took the second prize. The best pair of fat geese were sent by Mr R. Dawson and the second pair by Mr G. Brown. For the best pair of fat ducks Messrs. Lowe Bros., Guestwick, were awarded the prize, with Messrs. Gibbs Bros., Guestwick, second. Fat chickens, first prize Mr Lock, second prize Messrs. Gibbs Bros. The pigs included some very heavy weights, and trade ruled rather better than recent prices, several making from £5 5s. to £8 10s. each. The poultry show included an exceptionally large supply, from 1,500 to 2,000 head being penned. Turkeys made up to 23s. each, ducks 4s. 3d. each, geese 7s. each, chickens 3s. 9d. to 4s. each. The attendance was very large, and buyers attended from all parts of Norfolk, a large number of Norwich butchers, as well as the principal butchers from Fakenham, Dereham, Holt, Sheringham, Cromer, Overstrand, North Walsham, Aylsham, Foulsham and neighbouring villages. In the evening several of the company sat down to dinner, the chair being occupied by Mr Aubrey Radway, during which the cups were presented to the prize-winners. Dinner in the King’s Arms club room The conclusion of the press report mentions the dinner held in the evening. From the early years the bustle and enjoyment of the show was concluded (and some would say enhanced) with a dinner in the King’s Arms club room, although in the latter years up to the Second World War it was held in the Sun Hall. Mr Hubbard was the publican at the King’s Arms and he was responsible for the decoration of the room and the preparation of the meal. It was wholesome fare, greatly appreciated and hungrily consumed to replenish the sturdy frames of the dealers, farmers, auctioneers and other men who attended − men who had spent the day in the business of showing, judging, buying and selling. Though no doubt they had found it necessary to replenish their �energies with a draught or two of ale and a hastily eaten pie, their stomachs hungrily awaited the evening repast. The meal offered copious amounts of beef and pork (generously supplied by Bayfields of Dereham) with the plates further filled with ample supplies of vegetables. This was followed by trifle or a fruit tart and custard and cheese was available for anyone who felt he had a space left to fill. All of this would be washed down with draught beer and whisky chasers. The meal was followed by speeches and the presentation of the show cups. In some years, the patrons enjoyed entertainment with recitals or monologues performed by the more musical or artistic members of the local community. The hall would hold up to 100 diners and it was strictly an all-ticket affair. The tickets were keenly sought after and would be sold out long before the day of the dinner. Some of the diners would stay in Reepham for the night but the locals who attended would find their way home, late but happy and many a horse returned to its stable with a rider or driver oblivious to the world and encapsulated in a fug of sleep and alcohol. The Christmas sale suffered mixed fortunes, particularly from the effects of the two World Wars and it took a long while before it returned after 1945. At the first post-war Christmas sale in 1954 the Reepham and District Chamber of Trade challenge cup was won by a Hereford steer exhibited by Mr Simmons of Witchingham and the beast was bought by Mr F. Sutton of Acle. There were many other classes to be judged for cattle and pigs. There was a heavy entry of cattle for this particular show sale although the entry of more than 450 pigs is reputed as being down on the previous week. Although the Christmas sale and show was revived the dinner was not and something that had figured prominently on the Reepham calendar for so many years had disappeared. The largest post-war Christmas poultry show ever recorded, when over 800 lots changed hands, had been held the previous year in December 1953 when loading and dispersals were maintained by the aid of torches long after dark. There was a fine show of turkeys with some birds realising up to 6/- (30p) a pound. Apart from the turkeys that year, the sale offered a wide range of poultry to grace the Christmas dinner tables of the local area, this included caponised chickens, coloured birds, best quality hens, cross breeds and a number labelled as “inferior fowls”. There were geese and ducks and for those who did not want poultry they could have purchased a rabbit, wild or tame. Although it was Edward VII who made the eating of turkey at Christmas fashionable, the present popularity of the turkey is very recent. The high price paid at the market in 1953 was for the purchase of a bird that was, at that time, considered a luxury. Goose and chicken were routinely eaten on Christmas Day until the late 1950s when the turkey, with the help of a certain Mr Matthews, began to dominate. More than 10 million are now sold every year at Christmas. The saleground (now occupied by the Station Road car park) was not large compared to the size of other markets in Norfolk. It was of a triangular shape with two large entrances: one situated where the present car park entrance is and the other further down the hill towards Towns End Corner. There was also a small pedestrian entrance into Chapel Walk (often �called Saleground Alley). There was no pavement alongside the area as there is today and the saleground went right up to the edge of Station Road. Along the east side were the uncovered sheep and cattle pens. On the opposite side along Station Road was an area covered in corrugated sheets used for the penning of pigs and calves and next to this was a small brick and tiled barn. This had been built originally as part of a small group of buildings when the land had been part of a farm; when the area was bought outright by Irelands in 1883 it was still being used for the winter storage of cattle. The west wall of the barn fronted directly onto Station Road and is remembered by many people for the profusion of bills and notices that were plastered over the lower brickwork. The barn was used as a storage and display area for the limited amount of deadstock sent for sale. Anything not sold would be stored here until the following week and in particularly cold weather calves to be sold would be put in the barn away from the icy draughts of the open barred cattle pens. Next to the barn were the toilets and this area was also occupied by a stall which sold cockles, mussels and other shellfish to those attending the market. The market was small yet busy and the close proximity of the animals, the effluent generated by both men and beasts which was dealt with by limited drainage and the smell of shellfish must have offered a rare cocktail of heady yet rustic smells. Indeed one abiding memory offered was the trail (and odour) of animal urine that found its natural way from the saleground pens and downhill towards the street drains at Towns End Corner. �A nice white turkey, among those presented for sale at the first of the Christmas 1968 poultry auctions, has an anxious look in her eye, as though aware time is getting short. Holding the bird is Mr J. Haggerty. In the centre of the saleyard was a row of poultry pens which individually held up to 10 birds. The pens were made of netting and the whole section was covered with a pitched roof to keep off the rain. Also in the centre was the wooden office used by Irelands on sale days and the weigh bridge. The site originally contained at the northern end a tall American prairiestyle windpump, used to raise the water required by the saleground. In later years, a motorised pump was installed in a small shed situated over the bore pipe and the tower was removed. In recollections of the saleground this tall wind pump was remembered clearly by many people. In the early part of this century there were few houses along Station Road and the tower was clearly visible as people approached Reepham from Kerdiston, Wood Dalling and Cawston. The Saleground Owners Irelands was founded by Anthony and Henry Ireland who had extensive farming interests in Guestwick and Wood Dalling. They opened offices in Guestwick and Foulsham from which �they conducted business as land agents and auctioneers and were well established when they purchased the orchard in Station Road which was to become the Reepham saleground, or Reepham Auction Mart as it was advertised in the local press of the time. Henry’s son Edwin took over the firm in the early part of this century and continued with its expansion particularly in selling at the large and lucrative market at Castle Hill, Norwich. By the 1930s Irelands had become a large and active organisation in the farming and general agricultural life in Norwich and North Norfolk. At this time, their main office was based in Norwich and they were holding regular sales and auctions at Norwich Castle Hill, North Walsham and Holt as well as Reepham. During the 50 years, until his death in 1953 at the age of 92, there were few members of the farming fraternity in Norfolk who had not had dealings with E. B. Ireland. Early days of Irelands: centre seated is Henry John Ireland of Wood Dalling; standing on the left is Alfred George Gibbs. Hubert Sheringham started work with Irelands in 1946 as an articled pupil and he had to pay the firm a premium of £100 a year to work there and learn the trade of auctioneer and estate agent. Thankfully, this form of apprenticeship lasted for a relatively short time and within two years he had become qualified and remained with Irelands for the next 40 years until he retired as a senior partner in 1986. During his time with Irelands Hubert was a regular auctioneer at Reepham. Immediately after the Second World War the rural areas of �Norfolk still relied heavily upon the established system of markets to buy and sell and the many local markets held on different days of the week provided employment to a number of company auctioneers and other staff who would attend and carry out their particular tasks. Other well known auctioneers at Reepham included Alfred King from Trunch, Brian Boning and Arthur Gibbs from Norwich and more locally William (Billy) Ewing who had been employed by Irelands until he was called up for war service in 1940. During the war he would help out at local markets when on leave and when demobbed in 1946 he was re-employed by Irelands and continued to sell at Reepham until its final closure. The saleground was often a bustle of activity, there would be three auctioneers working at the same time selling poultry, pigs and cattle and assisting them would be the porters, helpers and clerks all going about their business in this relatively small area. These market years are connected with the names of many people who had a direct and indirect association with the saleyard: Ernie Lines, “Ikey” Wright and Les Blyth who did the portering; Tom Bacon who looked after the poultry; Herbert Vardigans who used to help wash down the yard and take away the days accumulation of straw and manure; Billy Freestone who unlocked and locked the saleyard and carried out the general caretaking duties; and Tom Hall who helped with the clearing up. There was Fords the bakers in the Market Place who supplied the bread and meat pies which fed many of those attending and Clifford and Violet Watson who between them were licensees of The Sun, the local public house favoured by Irelands for 42 years until Violet retired in 1964. Violet Watson lrelands carried out a number of local farm sales and in the depressed inter-war years the appropriate page in the Eastern Daily Press would carry the auctioneers’ advertisements for “excellent pair of brick and tile farm cottages”, “desirable lots of household furniture and effects” and “Capital Holdings”, “Live and Dead Stock”, “Agricultural Carriages”, “Choice In- �calf and heifers”, “Pedigree pigs and poultry and useful working horses”. There were many of these sales but much more went under the hammer than the items in the catalogues. In many cases the farm sale was not simply a sale but the disintegration of a way of life for a farming family and for some the breakup of a wider farming community. Irelands Meadow Irelands also held spring and Michaelmas deadstock sales. These sales were held on the meadow (known as Irelands Meadow) which was bounded by Kerdiston Road and Smugglers Lane – an area which in the last 20 years has been built on and is now covered with houses and bungalows. Before it was sold for development the meadow was used in later years for the parking of cattle floats and other vehicles but twice a year and for a few hours only it came alive with the bustle of Irelands’ spring and Michaelmas sales. Apart from the limited use every Wednesday in connection with saleground parking the field was used as a general recreation ground and particularly by the Band of Hope football team who played here during the 1920s. Market day squeals: December 1954. With a squealing and a shooing, Mr W. Cook’s pigs tumble helter-skelter out of the lorry to Reepham Wednesday Market. These two annual sales consisted of all manner and classes of agricultural machinery and miscellaneous dead stock that farmers wanted to dispose of. The sales would be held on �Wednesday and would start at 10 am so that the majority of items could be sold before the sale of beasts and poultry commenced at the saleground nearby. The Michaelmas sale in October 1949 was typical of many successful sales held in these postwar years; the car park is recorded as having handled 54 cars and six lorries and a fine autumn day brought out a large number of people, some buying, some selling, others who were interested to buy if a bargain came their way and the majority who just came for a morning out. More than 350 lots were offered and many were cleared at keen prices; it was probably not a day for the bargain hunter. The more important items sold on the day included a Fordson Major Perkins diesel tractor £475, chicken houses to £31, Morris 8 van £60, tumbril £29, deep digger plough £30 and pitch pole harrows £32. On such days, a large number of people would attend and the Market Place would be full of parked vehicles. Wednesday was the one busy day of the week for the local police with a constable controlling the influx of people and traffic by standing on point duty at Towns End Corner. Parking Problems In the days of horse-drawn travel parking had never been regarded as a nuisance but the increasing numbers of motorised vehicles caused the residents of Reepham to consider from the early 1920s that it was a problem and after much public agitation the use of the Market Place as a car park was brought about by the former St Faiths and Aylsham RDC. The council purchased the property from the then Lady of the Manor (a member of the Eglington family) for £400 in 1937. The ancient market was bought by the district council on the urgings of the parish council who had been concerned for a number of years at the way the Market Place had been managed, after being let to a lessee of the Lord of the Manor. The End of an Era The market finally closed on the 8th March 1972. During the previous week, the Eastern Daily Press had carried a notice from Irelands which stated: The Auctioneers wish to announce that the weekly market for live and dead stock will be discontinued after 8th March 1972, periodic sales of household furniture and effects will be held in future and the first of these will take place on Tuesday 28th March. Like many other local markets it had suffered a severe decline in trade by the early 1970s and it was inevitable that a market that was small compared to others in the county was no longer financially viable. Irelands decided to concentrate their interests on the much larger and more lucrative Norwich market. Keys weekly market at Aylsham had been established in 1954 and as Reepham dwindled so Aylsham succeeded with a lot of the people involved in the general market business preferring the Aylsham saleground with its much larger range of pens and cages, much of it under cover, and easier parking on the actual site. There had been a drastic decline in the number of animals being sold; fat cattle and calves were no longer being sold here and the market relied entirely on the sale of pigs, rabbits, �poultry and dead stock and the occasional sale of furniture and household effects. The spring and Michaelmas sales went when Irelands Meadow on the Kerdiston Road was sold. The number of fat pigs and sows sold each week fluctuated greatly, sometimes it reached 150 animals but the weekly trade was often much lower and far too often the numbers sold were less than 50. The heady times of the early 1950s had gone forever; market days when record entries of more than 500 pigs, up to 200 cattle and on one particular occasion in September 1952 when more than 2,500 head of poultry were auctioned would never again return to Reepham. The annual Christmas Show had been held in December 1971; the animals were prepared, shown and judged as they had been for the previous 100 years but the day was tempered with an element of regret and the knowledge that this was probably the last one. The market was held in the early weeks of 1972 and then on Wednesday 8th March Irelands finally called it a day. Without ceremony and fuss the 32 fat pigs and sows that had been entered on that day were sold and loaded up for their various destinations. The dead stock was auctioned and the few traders, dealers, farmers and local people who attended drifted away in the early afternoon. The straw and manure was cleared away, the yard swept and washed down and in the failing late winter gloom the few electric lights were switched off, the gates closed and an area that had served Reepham and its rural catchment so well for nearly a century settled down to await its future. A brief report appeared in the Eastern Daily Press on Friday 10th March but it was linked in with the closure problems of the Dereham Auction Mart. The few words offered about Reepham were a small, yet unfitting epitaph to the death of a market that has once stood with the best that could be found in Norfolk. The traffic problems in Reepham had been viewed with growing apprehension for a number of years and the closure gave Broadland District Council the opportunity to purchase the site from Irelands and in 1978 to open the area as a car park. The preparatory work and subsequent landscaping to achieve this has been very thorough and all trace and vestige of its former use has disappeared. As surely as Irelands Auction Mart buried all traces of Mr Bircham’s orchard more than 100 years ago so the asphalt, bricks and ground covering shrubs has removed all traces of the saleground. We can only speculate as to what the next 100 years will bring to this area! From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine 1996 � Text-digital Any text item for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The text can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a text owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham Market Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2408071035 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 28 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1277-1972 Description An account of the resource An extensive history of Reepham Market from its establishment in 1277 to its demise in March 1972. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael Black Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine 1996 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/300ead4785e5a6114e43512c793d574e.pdf 99998535d1c9437b1dcb16f00b174155 PDF Text Text From : East Anglian Town & Country Magazine November/December 1979 ������� Text-digital Any text item for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The text can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a text owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Reepham in the 1920s Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2407031000 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1979 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1920s & 1970s Description An account of the resource Copy of an article written by the Rev. A. G. Allcock for the East Anglian Town & Country Magazine. He describes his childhood days in Reepham in the 1920s. The accompanying advertisements give a taste of the shopping opportunities in the 1970s, e.g. TVs to rent or buy from Randells, electrical items & services from Reepham Electrical on Townsend Corner. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived East Anglian Town & Country Magazine Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available East Anglian Town & Country Magazine Attfield Diane's Pantry Grief Randells The Chimes https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/730b568463e173ac15fd80df82f44d1e.pdf 86d2b4898cd6afbde24834742223912c PDF Text Text Whitwell Hall According to the 18th century Norfolk historian, the Rev. Blomefield, the history of the manors of Gambon and Whitwell Symonds (which today includes the areas of Whitwell Hall and Hackford Hall) can be traced back to Anglo Saxon times. The land is listed in the Domesday Book (1086) as being owned by Rolf de Bellofago who was given the land after the Norman Conquest. In 1659 Augustine Messenger held the manors of both Whitwell and Hackford and in 1680 these were inherited by Robert Monsey who became rector of Bawdeswell in 1683. In 1689 he was obliged to take an oath of allegiance and supremacy to the new King William but he declined to do this and was subsequently deprived of the living at Bawdeswell. He was more fortunate than many other members of the clergy in that he owned a small, yet comfortable estate so he retired to Whitwell to live. He was able to indulge in his passion for growing plants, particularly oaks, and some of the oak trees that he planted at Whitwell during these later years still survive in good order today. It was here that his son Messenger was born in 1693. It is said that the 18th century was rich in “interesting physicians” and one of the most remarkable (and certainly the oddest) was Doctor Messenger Monsey. He is recorded as being uncouth, unwashed, able to deliver the most outrageous remarks and generally to behave in the most unseemly manner, was generally unpopular yet always tolerated on account of his wit and malice. He is mentioned in most of the contemporary records of the time. �Messenger spent his formative years at Whitwell being educated by his father until 1711 when he entered Pembroke College, Cambridge. He graduated B.A. in 1715 and returned to Norwich to study medicine. He finally settled down to practice at Bury St Edmunds and might have remained there for the rest of his days had it not been for a fortunate accident which occurred when the second Earl of Godolphin was taken ill at Bury, on his way to his house at Newmarket. Monsey was summoned to attend and the patient made a swift recovery although history does not record whether the recovery was fully or partly due to the professional ability of Messenger. Godolphin was a nobleman who was fond of a good talk and a quiet life and so delighted was he with the doctor’s conversation that he invited him to go and live with him. He also introduced him to all his friends and in due course obtained for him the post of non-resident physician at the Chelsea Hospital. Monsey was able to live at the Earl’s house at St James’s in London. In London, this extraordinary doctor from Norfolk, with his appalling manners and scathing tongue, was a novelty and became an instant success in the broad social circle of friends of the Earl of Godolphin. He became a great friend of Sir Robert Walpole (who was the first person to hold the office of Prime Minister) and it is reputed that Messenger was the only man who dared to contradict him and to beat him at billiards. The Doctor had a prodigious output of general verse and literature but his celebrity owed little to the pen but everything to his conversation and his habits. He never did anything in a common manner; when one of his teeth ached, he would tie it by a length of catgut to a perforated bullet and fire the bullet from a pistol: he claimed this method of dentistry to be painless and urged all his friends to remove their painful teeth in the same manner. He never said anything unless it was unexpected or outrageous, his talk was vigorous and incessant, anecdotal, highly flavoured and crowded (like his letters) with classical quotations and deplorable puns. He was also renowned as a teller of scurrilous afterdinner stories once the ladies had retired and left the gentlemen to their port. Lord Godolphin died in 1766 and none of Messenger’s other patrons could quite endure the possibility of having him as a permanent resident in their houses. He had married when he lived at Bury but his wife was dead and his only child, Charlotte, was married to a linen draper in London and was preoccupied with her large family. The idea of retiring and moving back to Whitwell was the very last thing he wanted to do, so he had to leave St James’s and retire to apartments in Chelsea Hospital. �He continued to maintain his contacts and his remarks were as much quoted as ever, but he grew old and soured and intensely disagreeable, and his dress and general deportment became even more eccentric. He was much disliked at Chelsea, particularly by the junior doctors who were eager for his post and salary. Messenger would aggravate them by refusing to give up the position and by saying that they would all die before him anyway: a statement which he did his best to fulfil by living to the age of ninety-five. He became increasingly lonely as the years wore on, for he had by now outlived all his friends, and his scathing wit and unpredictable conversation was too strong to be accepted or appreciated by this later era of London society. His daughter spent as much time as she could with him but this was limited as she had eleven children and a husband who was in business. During these later years he maintained a regular correspondence with William Wiggett Bulwer of Heydon Hall. William lived only a few miles from the Whitwell estate and generally kept an eye on the place for Messenger. It is known that Messenger and Charlotte would occasionally visit Norfolk but it seems that while they would visit Whitwell, they would always stay at Heydon; in any case the hall would have a tenant living there. Travelling from London to Norfolk in the 18th century would have had its limitations and in these later years the old age and failing health of Messenger coupled with the family ties of Charlotte would have made journeys impossible. In 1767 he began these letters to William and they continued with the last one being written only a month before his death in December 1788. While outwardly he appeared the same disagreeable and awkward person he had always been, these letters displayed him in a mellower and less savage mood. Amid the wit and general buffoonery there runs a pleasant current of affection and kindness, particularly for his daughter and especially for Mr and Mrs Bulwer and their daughters Molly and Sally. He wrote of Heydon as the place “where I have always met with so much cordiality, pleasure and hospitality – for I do assure you I have passed no moments of my life with more satisfaction than at Heydon”. He died at Chelsea at the age of ninety-five on 26 December 1788. His will was worthy of him. It was nineteen pages long and was extremely detailed and complicated. He insisted, with elaborate and ghastly directions, that his body should be dissected and the remains thrown into the Thames. The recipients of his clothes were detailed down to his “old shoe buckles”. Many people received sums of money ranging from five pounds to six hundred and fifty pounds, but all his property and lands “in the parishes of Whitwell and Hackford in the County of Norfolk” went to his daughter Charlotte. A complicated entail that the Whitwell estate should pass to her �female children and to their issue only was included and it seems that Messenger’s intention was to exclude the male line of the family from any long-term inheritance. Like her father, Charlotte did not appear to have lived at Whitwell Hall during the rest of her lifetime. She had eleven children and a husband who was in trade in London as a linen draper. Their home and business was firmly rooted in the capital and there seemed little sense in moving up to a rural estate in Norfolk and so for a few years longer Whitwell Hall and its farms continued to be let to tenants. Faden’s 1790 map of Norfolk marks the hall as being occupied by a Thomas Cooke. Charlotte only lived for a few more years and she died in 1798. Her eldest daughter Caroline inherited the Whitwell and Hackford estates and on 18 March 1800 she married John Bedingfield Collyer. John was the second son of Daniel Collyer of Wroxham Hall and he and Charlotte moved into Hackford Hall. The Collyer family and their subsequent generations were to live at Hackford until Brigadier-General John Collyer left during the 1930s. The exact date cannot be established but at this time the Whitwell Hall estate was sold by Caroline either just before or just after her marriage. In the Land Tax Return of 1801 for the parish of Whitwell the proprietor is shown as Edward John Ellis. The same Edward Ellis is listed in the Morningthorpe Return for 1800 so it is probable that he purchased the estate between April 1800 and March 1801. The Land Tax Return for Whitwell continues to record Edward Ellis as living at Whitwell until his death in February 1821. His subsequent will shows him to have been a somewhat wealthy man; he left a number of specific cash bequests totalling nearly £3,000 with several bequests payable per week or per year for the rest of the life of the recipient. The whole of the estate was left to his nephew, James Ellis of Hackford, with the provision for him to “be kind to his father Arthur Ellis, if not the estate was to pay him an allowance of 20/- for the rest of his life”. Unfortunately, history does not record the actual outcome. Also included in the will was £100 to Robert Leamon the Younger of Fakenham who was also appointed as sole executor and was to be paid expenses and a reasonable allowance for carrying out the necessary executive duties. James Ellis was a harness and collar maker (also the trade of Robert Leamon) who lived with his wife Alice and their eight children in a house on the comer of Reepham Market Place, on the site which was later occupied for so many years by Barclays Bank. James, however, declined to move into Whitwell and it was left to Robert Leamon as executor to find a tenant for the hall and its surrounding arable and pasture land. The letting was advertised in the Norfolk Chronicle in early June 1821 �and the hall was initially occupied on an annual tenancy by Matthew Breese Copeman. However, it was only eight months later that, in the same newspaper, the following notice appeared on five consecutive Saturdays in February and March 1822: To be sold by Auction by Mr Burt at The Angel Inn, Market Place, Norwich, this day 2nd March between the hours of 3 and 5 in the afternoon (unless sooner disposed of by Private Contract). All that very desirable Estate called Whitwell Hall, in Whitwell, in the County of Norfolk, late the residence of Edward John Ellis, Gentleman deceased and now in the occupation of Mr Matthew Breese Copeman, as tenant from year to year; comprising a capital Mansion House with attached and detached offices of every description, fit for the residence of a Genteel Family and 130 acres, three roods and 17 perches by survey, of excellent arable and pasture land, with barns, stables and every other requisite farm buildings, for the occupation of the same. Also a Messuage, now used as Cottages and a convenient and well planned Tan Yard, containing 14 handlers, 17 vats, six taps with necessary limes and grainers, convenient drying shed, mill house, leather house, bark barns, stables and other outbuildings, requisite for carrying on the Tanning Trade. The Mansion House contains an entrance hall, with keeping room, dining and drawing rooms, six bedrooms, three attics, kitchen, store room, good cellars and other domestic offices; it is situated on an eminence with a lawn in front surrounded by growing plantations, which inclose a trout stream, a greenhouse and large gardens, well planted with choice fruit trees, a capital orchard, etc. The Estate may be viewed upon application to Ihe tenant. Printed particulars and conditions of sale are ready for delivery and may be had of the Auctioneer and at the place of Sale and for price by Private Contract apply personally or by letter post paid to Mr James Ellis at Reepham or Mr Robert Leamon junior at Fakenham. The auction sale did not, however, produce a buyer and Robert Leamon obviously felt the time had come to move up from the status of harness maker to that of country gentleman and so he purchased and duly moved into Whitwell Hall during the summer of 1822. This move was confirmed when the following notice appeared in the Norfolk Chronicle in November 1822. Fakenham − To be sold by Auction on Wednesday 13th November. The remaining parts of the valuable stock in trade of Messrs Leamon and Son, Saddlers, Collar and Harness Makers. To be sold without reserve. Robert purchased not just the hall and its surrounding farmland but also one of the two Whitwell tanneries. The tannery had been an essential part of the estate �business since the 18th century and it was to remain so throughout the next 50 or more years. Robert’s ownership introduced a period of considerable change at Whitwell. He enlarged and modernised the tannery during the 1840s. He made sure the estate was properly farmed and also built up a thriving timber business. Robert was obviously a man of some wealth and in 1840 he pulled down most of the old red brick hall and built in its place the white brick and slate-roofed Regency style house that remains to this day. In 1842 he moved the road some 100 yards to the north and built a new carriage drive which ran to the front of the House. On the southern boundary of the present park are some springs, the presence of which no doubt gave the origination of the name “Whitwell”. The springs flow up from the chalk and if the surface chalk is disturbed the water runs a muddy white. In old English “Whitwell” means white spring. At the time of the enlargement of Whitwell Hall embankments were constructed to contain the flowing water and so, some four hundred yards east of the hall, Robert constructed a reservoir (or spring pond) to supply the hall with a supply of fresh water. Research has shown that at the eastern end and a few yards below the reservoir a brick-lined pit was built to contain a hydraulic ram which was installed in 1842. This machine used a flow of water from the reservoir to pump a smaller quantity along 300 yards of lead piping up to a tank in the hall. The water was (and still is) very hard and this quickly coated the inside of the pipe which in turn minimised the danger of lead poisoning. The rise from the ram to the tank was about 80 feet and it took ten gallons of flow to pump one gallon of water into the tank at the rate of one gallon each minute. The original installation pumped the water into a large slate tank mounted on brick piers in the boiler room. Water was then piped to the kitchen and from here it was collected by the maids and carried by them to the parts of the hall that required it. In later years tanks were installed in the attics and these were primarily used to supply the bathrooms and the flush lavatories. The waste flow of water which drove the ram was channelled along the southern boundary of the park and a dipping place was made with brick steps leading down to the water so that the families living in the Orwell Cottages could come with their pails to get the water they required for their domestic purposes; this was in everyday use until 1939. The reservoir filled from the chalk springs; it has always run constantly to overflow and has never been known to freeze over. It maintains a constant temperature of 10°C throughout all times of the year. The ram supply was used for the hall until 1970 when the increasing use of agricultural sprays in the arable field next to the reservoir was judged likely to pollute it. �Robert’s change of status in life to that of country gentleman was achieved by hard work and a shrewd ability to turn all aspects of the estate into a profitable business. He died on 7 March 1853 and was succeeded by his eldest son, also named Robert. In his lifetime Robert (2nd) was to greatly enhance his inheritance and also to enjoy a reputation as a considerable personage. He owned an estate of nearly 800 acres and his business interests thrived. He was involved in politics and was the sponsor for Clare Sewell Read, a well known Norfolk MP of the time. He was also secretary to the group of country gentlemen who in 1850 erected by means of public subscription the large Corinthian column erected as a monument to the memory of Thomas Coke at Holkham Hall. He is also known to have had a financially lucrative contract to supply timber to the government, probably for the navy and he bought large amounts of oak from other Norfolk estates such as Felbrigg. He must have had considerable capital available to be involved in and to sustain such a venture. Robert had obviously inherited some of his father’s business acumen and he continued to take the Leamon family through a period of financial prosperity, a period that was to eventually decline and end so unhappily a few years after his unfortunate death in 1878. While there were a number of reasons for the decline in the family fortunes, they can be initially traced to a disastrous fire which occurred in 1874. The fire which burned for three days destroyed the many stacks of tan bark which stood in a yard near to the tannery; some of the tannery buildings were also burnt down. The tan bark was not insured and to replace this and also to update the tannery Robert had to borrow capital. Skins for tanning had to be obtained from slaughterhouses and these mainly came from Norwich where most of the completed leathers were transported back with much of the trade going directly to the shoe manufacturers. The untreated skins were delivered to Whitwell in relatively small loads by carriers’ carts and this slow and limited form of transport was unable to compete with the new railways. The extension of the Victorian railway system enabled hides to be transported quickly and in bulk. Small country tanneries began therefore to suffer from serious competition at this time from the large urban tanneries, notably in Bermondsey. Much of the work in the larger tanneries was helped by machinery while the local tanneries’ output was achieved almost wholly by labour-intensive means. Robert realised that his tannery was becoming uncompetitive and with the additional burden of the 1874 fire he decided not to just rebuild and replace his loss but to modernise the overall tannery enterprise. Money for the venture had to be raised and it appears that Robert borrowed from a local group of businessmen known as the Springfield Group of trustees. �In retrospect it is ironic that the coming of the railways was the death knell of the country tanneries yet Robert sold some of the estate land to the Midland and Great Northern Railway to enable Whitwell Station to be built in 1883. When it was sold Robert insisted on the condition that the M&GN plant trees along the new line of the road to screen the sight of the new station from the hall. The trees subsequently planted were Scots pines; they grew quickly and fulfilled the screening condition. Most of them remain standing today. He greatly extended the tannery by making additions of other tan pits, drying sheds and by building in 1876–77 an engine house fitted with a steam engine. This was used to grind the bark which was essential to make the tan liquor in which the hides were steeped. The outflow from the skin washing and particularly when the tan pits were cleansed gave off a dreadful odour, so Robert moved the course of the beck further to the east of the hall by having a new course dug out. This is still referred to locally as the “new cut”. Despite all the investment, business did not upturn and the local community, and his family, were all greatly shocked at the severe loss when Robert committed suicide in August 1878. He hanged himself in one of the Whitwell Hall bedrooms. He was succeeded by his son, Phillip. Phillip was unable to stop the decline and the Leamon fortunes went from bad to worse with the whole enterprise eventually being declared bankrupt in 1883. Phillip went to India to try and recoup the fortune but he didn’t succeed; while he was away his wife remained at the hall until 1887 when the Springfield Trustees foreclosed and she and her family were forced to leave. Her six small children were placed in the care of various relatives and she went to live in Norwich. Sadly, the considerable strain these years placed upon her affected her mental condition and she finished her life in an asylum. The three generations of the Leamon family who lived at Whitwell all had large families and today their descendants are widely scattered throughout the world. In recent years Tony Ivins has enjoyed a correspondence with branches of the family living in Canada, Tasmania and in many parts of this country. The Springfield Trust retained the ownership of the estate for the next 40 years and the hall was let to various tenants. In December 1921 Mr C. Banan bought the estate but by 1925 he had sold the 320-acre Hall Farm to Arthur Stimpson and also sold to Capt. E.H. Barclay the hall and 40 acres of parkland. Capt. Barclay lived at Whitwell with his wife and three daughters until 1937 when he inherited Colney Hall and subsequently moved there. The property was then sold to Forest School Ltd (1928) Ltd (a private company registered as an educational charity) which has owned the hall to this day. Forest �School had outgrown its original premises in the New Forest and moved to Norfolk in the spring of 1938. The school remained here until early 1940 when the threat of invasion along the North Norfolk coast caused the children and teaching staff to be evacuated to south Devon. The army requisitioned the hall shortly afterwards and remained there until late 1945. The school did not return but a Forest School Camp was held during the summer of 1947 and during the next 20 years the hall was increasingly used for Easter and summer holiday camps and for staff training courses. In 1965 tented camps and house accommodation was offered to schools during term time and this pattern of term-time activity and holiday camps continues today as the Whitwell Hall Country Centre. Tony Ivins joined the staff of Forest School when it moved to Whitwell in 1938 and, apart from war service with the RAF from 1940–46, he has been actively engaged with the school to this present day. Suzanne Dommen joined the school staff in the summer of 1939 and Suzanne and Tony were married in 1946 and made Whitwell their home. Brian and Sue Evans, assisted by Paul Mortimer, are now responsible for the management of camps and house parties and also for the estate. Tony still maintains an active interest as he is chairman of the company directors. From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine 1994 �Robert Leamon, who bought the Whitwell Estate in 1822. �The reservoir which originally supplied the hall with all its water – very little of the original ram can be seen today, what is left is situated at a lower level and in the trees at the far left of the picture. Robert Leamon (2nd). �Mary Gill, wife of Robert Leamon (2nd) �Whitwell Hall in the 1880s showing some of the notable changes and additions made by the Leamon family: 1. The site of the tannery. 2. The new course of the beck (the “new cut”) which supplied the tannery with water. 3. The two cottages (now �“Hillside”) let to the Midland and Great Northern Railway Company as homes for the stationmaster and signalman. Bought by the company in 1919 and turned into one house for the stationmaster. 4. The line of trees built to screen the new station from the front view of the hall. 5. The reservoir and hydraulic ram installed in 1842 to pump water up to the hall. The front of Whitwell Hall in the 1880s, looking towards the east; Robert Leamon (1st) built the hall in the 1840s and also constructed a new carriage drive which led to the front of the building. This was closed up in the 1920s and since then all traffic has used the rear driveway only. Phillip Leamon, taken in 1879, a year after he inherited the estate from his father. �Robert Leamon (2nd) had married Mary Gill in 1847 and, like most other Victorian families of this period, they had a large family; their first child, a son, was born in 1849 and 10 more children followed during the next 12 years. The first son was called Robert (as had been the first son of the previous three generations). Sadly, he died at the age of two and the estate was in time inherited by the next eldest son, Phillip, who was born in 1853. Another son was born into the family in 1854 and he was subsequently christened Robert. In the Whitwell Road cemetery there is a large memorial to Robert and his wife Mary and also to their 11 children. On the other side of the cemetery, and almost parallel to this memorial, is the family grave of the Collyer family. It is perhaps ironic that the two families who lived and worked as neighbours should end with their final resting places so close together. �Mrs Phillip Leamon with her six children; Mary, the eldest, looks about eight years old and so the picture was taken about 1889, some two years after the family had left Whitwell Hall. �The three eldest children with their mother, nurse and Mr Preston the coachman. Taken in 1884 it also includes a lady, at the back of the trap, whose name is unknown, although it is probably one of Mrs Phillip Leamon’s sisters-in-law. Members of the Whitwell Hall staff in the late 1870s. �The large memorial to Robert, Mary and their 11 children in the foreground. The family grave of the Collyer family may also be seen almost directly in the background. Whitwell Hall, 1993. The outline of the conservatory from the 1880s picture can be seen on the side wall of the main building. � 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 Whitwell Hall Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2406261000 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 18 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994 Description An account of the resource A history of Whitwell Hall and Estate from Anglo Saxon times to the present (1994). Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine 1994 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael Black Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher Ellis Leamon Monsey Whitwell Whitwell Estate Whitwell Hall https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/71939c61f51b32745413349bf46ff737.pdf c2d3bb16827d2f481a1d2b21a6aaedb9 PDF Text Text The Moor House Glasshouse We are only too aware that even with an organisation like the Reepham Society it is often difficult to protect the buildings and general landscape of the Reepham area. Government initiatives gave us a local town plan which in turn produced a conservation area. This protected area includes much of Reepham but even with this level of protection it is still possible for structures that have stood as part of our heritage for so many years to disappear − often quickly and sometimes without reasonable opposition or protest. In recent years we have all lamented the loss of large areas like the original Ollands Estate or buildings like the barn on School Road or even the brick wall along Bar Lane. They could have been saved and the structures put to an alternative use; admittedly the wall along Bar Lane would have been expensive to repair and in parts to rebuild and some would argue that its costly retention would have been of little value, other than aesthetic to future generations. However, if we can consider saving the wall at the southern end of Ollands Road then the Bar Lane wall should have merited a better fate than it ultimately received from the contractor’s bulldozer. The statutory planning controls and conditions that we have all had to consider or confront at some time or other, coupled with the media interest and subsequent regret often expressed when an old building is demolished, has given us a greater awareness of the need to retain our past, even if the structures saved have to be adapted to an alternative and more acceptable use to suit today’s requirements. In recent years Reepham has achieved more successes than failures in retaining buildings rather than condemning them to the labours of the demolition contractors �and much of this has been achieved by the local interest and desire in wanting to save buildings rather than lose them. The Reepham Society with its watchful reputation must take credit that the townscape we appreciate in Reepham today is there partly due to their effort. It was therefore to the relief of all interested parties a considerable triumph of common sense and a sense also of local history when it was announced that the Moor House was to remain. It was not going to ignominiously end up as a pile of rubble or that a plan of its grounds would end up on an architect’s drawing board so that a number of “desirable Tudorbethan residences” could be drawn in around the mature yet protected trees. Reepham already has a Moor House Close and many people would agree that we were not yet ready for a Moor House Park Estate also! The Moor House was to be retained and planning consent was given for a number of different uses. While one of these was for residential purposes it was unexpected but extremely acceptable when the house was bought with the purchaser’s intention of turning it into a family home – a decision which has now turned to fruition. It is even more gratifying to know that not just the house but the grounds and outbuildings also are receiving attention by the owners, and eventually it is hoped to return it all to the state in which it was originally built and subsequently enjoyed over 100 years ago. I’m sure many readers will have noticed and appreciated the labours of David Wright and Kirby Leonard, the owner’s son, which has brought such a dramatic change in the gardens and grounds around the house. Many hours have been spent in cutting, planting and mowing these areas, sometimes with a necessary ruthlessness and at other times with a required tenderness to ensure that a semblance of order and balance is returned to what was once an area of Victorian splendour set out in the formal and required manner of that age. To the north west of the house and behind the wall along New Road was the kitchen garden, an area of status and immaculateness that was the domain of the head gardener and his staff and which would have been ranked by Samuel Bircham and his family as one of the most important areas in the Moor House grounds. The walled kitchen garden is a form of gardening that was practised for many centuries, but it reached its zenith in Victorian times when there was a tremendous demand for this relatively small area to produce a wide range of fruit, vegetables, flowers and plants to meet the constant requirements of the house and its occupants. A continuous supply of vegetables for the dining table, fruit for dessert, flowers for decoration and pot plants for the house would be expected and it was the head gardener’s job to meet this and for all days of the year. �However, this legacy of Victorian splendour was time consuming and highly expensive in terms of labour. As social conditions changed during the earlier decades of this century it became an area of neglect, forgotten and unused by its later owners, a victim of 20th century changes and the mass yet cheap import of fruit and vegetables which had previously only been available to the landowner who had money to spend on heated glasshouses and a large gardening staff. The fruit and vegetable garden at the Moor House became like so many others an item of the past and because it was untended it slowly returned to a natural state. This particular garden however was destined for a revival. The brick boundary wall along New Road reaches 18’ in height along its southern end; this was purposely built as it was to form the back wall of the carriage house and the stable block which in turn stood next to the large kitchen garden glasshouse. The precise and orderly Victorian thinking deemed that the glasshouse would face directly south overlooking the garden which would in turn be situated next to the ample and continuous supplies of manure generated by the horses stabled next door. Many people in Reepham were aware of this large glass building and most could recall that within their memory it had always been in a sorry state. Some, and it is not very many, could remember it from the pre-War days of the 1930s when it was last commercially used. The memory though of most people was of its broken guttering, of the smashed glass panes which had once so majestically covered the wooden frame and of the frame itself, now paintless and in many places rotten. The interior was choked with nettles, brambles and other weeds which along with the few remaining hybrid plants had grown rampant as they all struggled for light and survival. It had become a jungle of untamed growth and it seemed to epitomise the collective neglect and disinterest that had befallen the house and grounds. However, this garden, and the glasshouse in particular, is now part of a success story of which the owners must be justifiably proud and I’m sure they would like to share this with all those people in Reepham who have cares or feelings that something that could have so easily been forgotten has not just been saved but has been painstakingly, and I’ve no doubt expensively, restored to its original condition. There were many reasons for the popularity of glasshouses with the Victorians but two in particular allowed this era to reach the zenith of its use. Prior to 1845 glasshouses had been common in the very large country houses where money to provide and support them had been no object to the rich landowner. In 1845 the removal of the glass tax meant that glasshouses and the general luxury of forced garden produce could be available to most houses of consequence in both town and country. Secondly, Thomas Rivers, a well-known Victorian nurseryman, came up with �the idea of “orchard houses” after experimentation in 1848 at his nursery. He found that he could grow peaches, nectarines and apricots with great success if he sheltered plants with a glazed roof and sides and allowed ventilation through openings which could be adjusted so as to maintain a constant temperature. This gave maximum protection to the fruit trees and it ensured the setting of fruit in spring and the thorough ripening of next year’s fruiting wood during the autumn. He wrote a pamphlet about this called “The Orchard House” which was so popular that it appeared as a book and this ran to many editions during the decades after 1850. It was said that the orchard or large glasshouse became so familiar and essential in a good Victorian garden that no other garden structure up to that time had ever advanced so quickly in popularity. Initially, the orchard house differed from its companion glasshouse as it was primarily to grow fruit in. However, it was soon found that a broad range of garden fruit and vegetables could be grown together and the Moor House glasshouse is a good example of a unit that was able to offer this double requirement. The high north wall allowed for trained fruit and the lower south area was ideal for a wide range of other fruit and vegetables which would grace the dining table. Up to the early/mid part of the 19th century there were only a small number of vegetables available for the country house table, and during the winter months the variety was very limited indeed. It was said that a turnip, cabbage or leek were often the winter mainstay although broccoli, cauliflower, peas, seakale and artichoke were becoming popular. As the century progressed, gardeners found that by forcing vegetables on hotbeds of fermenting manure, in forcing sheds, frames, terracotta pots or in warm glasshouses, they were able to offer a wider range of vegetables and fruit and for them to make an out-of-season appearance on the dining table. It was possible to provide fruit from heated glasshouses two months or more earlier than its normal season. A glasshouse the size of the one at the Moor House would have undoubtedly been fitted with a system of iron piping which would have been fed from a small outside boiler and the heat provided would in turn be used to force on the fruit and vegetables. The Moor House glasshouse presents us, however, with something of a conundrum because there is no evidence of a boiler house or any form of heating, other than natural sunlight, being provided. Ann Bircham, whose family owned the house, can recall the kitchen garden area during the 1920s but cannot recall the existence of any form of heating. The internal ironwork of the glasshouse is structured with a large open hole in each support, indicating that is was probably designed to take a heating pipe but for some unknown reason they were never installed. It was known that when Samuel Bircham built the house his wife was never happy to live here and in �consequence the time spent here was on a limited basis. Perhaps Samuel felt that the cost of installing a boiler and then running this for an irregular household use was an expense that could be avoided? It seems therefore that from the time it was built and until the tenancy of Ernest Hudson (1903−1931), the glasshouse was used in a fairly formal gardening way but was still able to provide a wide range of fruit such as peaches, nectarines, figs, early vegetables for the winter table, summer salads including tomatoes and cucumbers and no doubt melons, a particular Victorian favourite. Gooseberries, raspberries and currants could also be potted up and brought on in such a house. When Ernest Hudson rented the Moor House in 1903, he introduced a more regular use to the glasshouse − he turned it into a commercial peach house. The house provided a cool shelter to several peach trees which would have been trained to fan shapes. This meant that in January the dead wood (which had borne fruit the previous season) would be cut off and the young shoots formed the last summer would be tied-in to wires which were nailed into the north wall. This pruning and tying-in would have been carried out to a high standard; if not, the work would be undone and would be painstakingly re-tied to the head gardener’s satisfaction. The peaches that were grown were picked and sent for sale to Covent Garden in London; during the earlier part of this century fresh semi-exotic fruit commanded good prices and there was little competition from the Mediterranean countries. The fruit would be picked one or two days in advance and laid out to dry so that the skin would lose the effects of humidity which would have built up in the glasshouse. The peaches would then be wrapped in tissue paper or in a thin layer of cotton wool, and the wrapped peaches were then placed in boxes (which usually held twelve fruit) and these small boxes would be stacked into returnable fruit hampers. After the fruit had been firmly yet securely packed it would be taken to Reepham Station and from here start its journey to London. It arrived after only a few hours and would enable the fruit picked in Reepham to arrive perfectly ripe and ready for immediate dinner table consumption. When Ernest Hudson died in 1931 the house remained empty for a number of years until it was used for military purposes during the Second World War. In these few years up to 1940 the Bircham family retained the services of a gardener who continued to work and look after the kitchen garden and the glasshouse. It is fair to say that from the War onwards the use of the glasshouse declined and it subsequently fell into the state of dilapidation that became familiar for so many years to those people using New Road. Care and expense though has now been lavished on the glasshouse and today it resembles closely the state in which it would have been seen over 100 years ago; but �what efforts it has taken. More than 1,500 panes of glass were purchased and installed; considerable carpentry time has been spent on repairing and replacing the damaged woodwork, particularly the lower opening window frames. All the original Victorian ironwork supports have been retained although they were in good need of cleaning and repainting. The structure, however, proved to be remarkably sound and what is seen today is all original. Even the hand pump on the eastern end has been restored to working order. There is an underground tank at this end which collects rainwater from the glass roof; the tank is not overlarge for such a building of this size and David Wright feels that in some long-past hot summer the tank would almost certainly have been completely emptied. There is one other feature from the past that remains in the building − a large vine. This is one plant that has withstood all the natural turmoil and upheaval of the past 50 years. Hopefully, this year it will produce a harvest of grapes, the first for many years to come. Ann Bircham can recall the vine being here in the 1920s; vines were a favourite with the Victorians so is it feasible that here is a survivor from the plants installed by Samuel Bircham’s gardeners so long ago. The glasshouse today is a wonderful structure, the triumph of a desire to return a useful and well-built example from the Victorian age back to a pristine state and for the building to be used once more for its original purpose. While we, the readers, are probably content with our 10’x6’ or 12’x8’ greenhouses, bought in an easily erectable state, we can offer nothing but admiration for a project that has seen the rebuilding of a glass structure 100’x18’x18’. Now that their labours have achieved such a success let us hope that those instrumental in this project will have many years “fruitful” pleasure from it. From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine 1994 �Photos: The Moor House glasshouse, 1993 � Text-digital Any text item for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The text can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a text owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Moor House Glasshouse Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2405101010 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 7 pages Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994 Description An account of the resource History and 1990s refurbishment of the Moor House glasshouse and gardens. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Written by Michael Black; scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine 1994 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Bircham gardening glasshouse Moor House https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/f2d2e6f8cee1a6b8ca1f835669056358.pdf 2f88fa37d3ff878f28ee7843560df861 PDF Text Text GB/REE/2405081040 Sale of Manor House Estate including Eades Mill ��� 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 Manor House Estate Sale, Great Witchingham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2405081040 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A3 6 sheets including folded map Land, Property & Titles [File 8, Archive Box 108] Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 7th July 1877 Description An account of the resource Particulars & Conditions of Sale of the Manor House Estate, including Eades Mill, at auction in Norwich 7th July 1877 under the will of Mr John Elmer Ebbetts. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Fletcher and Son, printers, Norwich Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1877 Great Witchingham Eades Mill https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/02dc952ea503f7bc23f33a00876b1ecc.pdf aaa9adae27a558b1e04a8fd0dac80f9e PDF Text Text Brickmaking in Reepham Like many of its neighbouring towns and villages in Norfolk, Reepham has through the centuries inherited a richness of buildings many of which survive today and hopefully with the benefit of the Reepham Conservation Area they will stand for generations to come. They may not stand out so majestically as the two churches or some of the larger buildings such as Whitwell Hall or Hackford Hall but they are now regarded with the same level of importance and rightly so. They have an individuality of their own and as such they form a very natural part of our town. This individuality is probably due to the fact that nothing but local materials were used. In previous times, transport to move the required items other than short local distances was extremely limited, unlike recent years when a great variety of building materials has been brought into Reepham by the easy availability of transport. However, has this choice, and the large number of additional properties built, added or detracted from the overall charm of living in this rural market town? Most people would feel that the solid use for so long of local materials and the recent use of a much wider range have jointly helped develop Reepham into a place of some character. While brick is generally considered to be the main building material in Norfolk, the three traditional materials of clay, flint and carstone have been extensively used, and these along with a number of minor ones have all played their part in the centuriesold construction of buildings in Norfolk. They have all given their own individual character to the houses in which they were used. Not all these materials were used in this area as there was none locally available, notably carstone. There are examples in the Reepham area of the use of materials which are no longer in favour as suitable for building. Weatherboarding is the style of finishing off woodframed buildings externally with horizontal courses of boarding, with one board being lapped an inch or so over the one beneath, and originally, they were finished with a coat of tar. This style of building found little favour in Norfolk except in farm buildings where it was frequently used. It was a quick and efficient way of erecting buildings and while it deteriorates if not looked after, there are a number of examples to be found in farms around the Reepham area. Weatherboarding is to be found on the east-facing wall of the house on the corner of Ollands Road/Church Hill and on the renovated buildings in Reepham Moor just further up from the old Black Lion public house. Homes of half-timber work were built extensively from the Middle Ages and this method of building was reliant upon a good supply of timber and craftsmen who were well acquainted with this particular work. There are still a number of barns in �this area which display in their roofs the art of pinning together huge wooden beams and trusses but there are very few houses left which display this particular building art. Probably the best example in Reepham is a house in Back Street. This is a twostorey house which is timber-framed and plastered to the street side and brick to the rear; the main building dates from the 16th century. At this period in Reepham’s history Back Street was either the main road through Reepham or was the edge of a medieval market place which was probably much bigger than the present one. It is likely that most if not all the original houses along here were constructed in this halftimber work. Most people associate Norfolk with flint and it is used extensively for building particularly in the south-west and along the north and north-east of the county. It was not easily obtainable in the Reepham area although it is seen in a number of specific places in the town, notably the retaining wall built around the eastern edge of the Moor House and the wall on the southern end of Ollands Road (recently restored with the financial help of the Reepham Society). The buildings with the greatest amount of flint are of course the two churches of Reepham St Mary and Whitwell St Michael and the lower part of the churchyard wall along Back Street. Excavations were carried out in the grounds of Whitwell Hall in 1973 and some fine examples of medieval flint walling were uncovered, walls which were obviously part of a dwelling of some importance. There are two main materials left to consider and these were the most extensively used in this area: clay and brick. Originally, clay was used in a process known as wattle and daub and this was the main way of building the walls. It consisted of a timber framing with wattle sticks laced vertically and horizontally in between, which formed a key for clay mortar to be stuck on. The whole of the framing was generally plastered both inside and out and buildings of this construction have almost the same appearance as those built of clay lump. Clay lump was first used in Norfolk about 350 to 400 years ago and was still used as a housebuilding material by local builders up until 50 to 60 years ago. There are some good examples at Kerdiston, which were built for the district council in the 1920s. An old saying, “Give it a good hat and a stout pair of boots and it will last hundreds of years”, is attributed to a clay lump house. The “hat” is the huge overhanging eaves and the “boots” being the solid base of brick or flint, the base usually being tarred for additional protection. Sometimes the houses were built with a dripboard about halfway down the side walls which would divert rainwater away from the “boots”. �Clay was used because it was extensively available in this area, it only had to be dug out of the ground. There are many pits scattered around which testify to years of activity in extracting this material. The best example being the clay pits at Booton; these water-filled pits have a reputation for being very deep which indicate to the large amount of clay that was taken over a long period of rime. This would have all been hand dug, loaded into small carts and then transported to the required site. Anyone who has experienced digging out clay will appreciate how difficult the task was and these labourers were men of great strength, often renowned for their capacity to consume large amounts of liquid to appease the thirst that this work brought, particularly in the summer months. To make clay lump the clay would have been spread out in a thick layer and all stones which were larger than a walnut would have been removed. The clay would then have been watered and short straw, dried grass or sedge to act as a binding agent would have been spread over it and trodden in. This process was known as “puddling”. A horse or the labourers in their bare feet would have carried out the “puddling”, which broke up the natural fracture lines in the clay and so reduced its proneness to break-up by weathering. The clay was then put into wooden moulds or frames to form a block which was generally eighteen inches long by nine inches wide by six inches deep; these would have been used for the external walls. Blocks were made to the same length and depth but only six inches wide for the internal walls. The blocks were set on level ground for a few days and when sufficiently dry were turned up on end and taken to a platform where they were left to finally dry out. Depending upon the time of year this could take a month or two and often the blocks were formed throughout the winter for use the following spring. The clay lumps would then be built on a plinth of brickwork or flint-work by setting the lumps into clay mortar. The finished walls were then finished with a coat of clay slurry, topped with tar, then sanded and coloured. In other parts of Norfolk (particularly in the south) different colours were often used but in this area the houses were mainly white. The finishing coat had to be applied as quickly as possible after the wall was built as it was essential not to let water get into the clay lump as it would disintegrate very easily. On farm buildings (and sometimes on labourers’ cottages) the clay was often tarred. This made for a long-lasting, water-tight building but aesthetically it was not very pleasing; could anything have been gloomier to a poor farm labourer trudging back in the falling light than to go back to a black house? Covering the solid clay-lump building would have been a roof of pantiles or thatch. Pantiles would have been laid on Norfolk reed and hair mortar. Thatch always seems �the best covering for plaster walls and in this area good thatching straw, not reed, would have been used. Finally, we come to brick, the material that was used most extensively for building houses and farm buildings in this area. Brickwork was introduced into this country in Roman times but the art of brickmaking ceased after they left and it was not reintroduced until the Middle Ages when brickmaking was brought to East Anglia by the many Flemish weavers who settled here at this time. This area with its large pockets of suitable clay must have proved of great benefit to these immigrants who soon made and used bricks, a use that paralleled in growth with their increased prosperity. Bricks are made out of clay dug out of the ground and allowed to weather; it is moulded into shapes and then baked. The brick earth contains sand and clay and other ingredients including oxide of iron and lime; these two are the main colouring agents with the maximum amount of iron producing a dark rich red. This is the natural colour of bricks made from clay from this area. Reepham has a richness in buildings built of brick, not just in the older areas of the Market Place, Back Street and The Moor, but in most other areas of the town where the choice and use of brick reflects the now-past industry of brickmaking in Reepham. In the past most villages had a clamp or kiln, usually situated next to a ready source of clay, from which bricks were produced. Marshall Howard, a builder in Cawston, operated a large kiln on the outskirts of the village until after the Second World War and brickmaking was practised in Foulsham until the early part of this century Reepham seems to have had two main places of brickmaking, the first one in Kerdiston. It is known that there was a thriving brick-building business here throughout the nineteenth century and probably throughout the previous century also. There is a farm here called Brick Kiln Farm and the field directly opposite is shown on the 1846 tithe map as “Brick Kiln Pightle”. It also shows the outline of a number of buildings which on the first O.S. map of the area in 1886 are shown as the kilns, a number of pits from where the clay was dug are also detailed. When the map was revised in 1906 the brick kilns were described as “disused” although some buildings including a smithy remained. John Eglington of Kerdiston is listed in Kelly’s Directory of 1846 and 1853 as a brickmaker as is Freeman Eglington in 1865 and 1875. There is no such mention in later directories and it is assumed that brickmaking ceased here towards the end of that century. Nothing remains today but if you look carefully, you can find pieces of deep red brick in the ground around the kiln area. If you stand here and look eastwards towards Reepham, the field in front of you (Brick Kiln Pightle) shows severe undulations and �some very high banks, evidence of where the brick clay was dug for so many decades. Towards the end of the 1870s, Newland Villas, a row of houses in Station Road, were built by Arthur Collison, who was in business as a publican (the Black Lion public house) and a builder and he used bricks from a nearby site. Brickmaking had been carried out for many years on the area bounded by Cawston Road and New Road. In 1846 the two small fields here were named as Clamp Close (situated just north of The Crown public house) and Brick Kiln Close (the area today on which the houses in New Road are being built). Brickmaking was carried out here although it suffered certain difficulties in 1881 when the line of the new railway was laid directly through the site. It seems that Arthur Collison bought the area of land between the new railway line and Cawston Road and during the late 1880s he built a new and large kiln at the eastern end bounded by Orchard Lane. Collisons were able to utilise the clay resources on this site to produce the bricks which during the 1920s and 30s built most of the houses that stand today on Cawston Road, Wood Dalling Road and Laburnam Grove (an area originally called Mountfield Estate) and the houses on New Road built for the former St Faiths and Aylsham Rural District Council. Reginald Rudd who lives in Richmond Rise remembers working in the brickyard during the 1930s when he was apprenticed to Collison Bros.: “The brickyard was entered from the Cawston Road near the junction with Orchard Lane. It was a triangular-shaped site and it ran along the railway line at the back of the houses on the south of the Cawston Road.” When the houses were first built, they had relatively small gardens but with the closure of the brickyard the gardens were extended over the old site and down to the railway line. Today nothing remains; the site is now entirely covered by houses and the pits from where the clay was dug have long been filled in and grassed over. Even the pit which gave the site a continuous supply of water has completely disappeared. The pit from where the clay was dug was situated al the bottom near the railway line; digging clay was a hard task but made easier by having a bucket of water standing nearby; this was used to wet the spade each time before it was put into the clay. The clay slipped off easier with the spade wet but it was very different if the spade was dry; the clay would stick and each shovelful had to be scraped off. The clay was then taken to a large tank about 10 feet in diameter, known as a pugging mill; here it was mixed with water piped up from a nearby pit. The tank had a central spindle into which was fixed a bar; this extended across the top of the tank and five downward spikes were fitted to each side of the bar. It resembled a large, spiked comb. A donkey or pony was harnessed up to the spindle and then walked �round and round the tank so that the spikes thoroughly mixed the clay and water. Initially this was hard work for the animal but it became easier as the water was worked into the clay and a thick paste created. A great deal of energy was needed to pound and pummel the clay to the required consistency; it is difficult to believe that before horsepower was used this task was carried out manually – hard work indeed! Towards the end of the brickyard life the pugging mill was replaced by a crusher which was driven by a little petrol engine. It mixed the clay thoroughly and was also able to crush the stone and other impurities which previously had to be removed by hand. While this process was faster than using a donkey or pony it was not so reliable and would often break down. When the clay had been thoroughly mixed into an almost plastic state the excess water was drained off (back into the pit from where it first came), the large stones would be removed and the wet clay would be dug out and barrowed up to the brickmaker. He would rake a double handful of wet clay and throw it into a mould, the clay would be tamped down, the top skimmed off and the wet brick shape turned out into a nearby barrow. The mould was always placed onto a small wooden pad which had the letter “C” moulded onto it and this letter would be impressed into the clay when the brick was turned out. The secret of achieving a good shape was to accurately throw an adequate amount of clay with the right force, if this happened air pockets would not form and the clay would properly fill the mould. The clay bricks would then be moved to the drying shed where they were carefully stacked. This long, narrow shed had a flat roof, slightly sloped to let the rain run off and with old sacks hanging down the sides to give further protection to the outside bricks against excessive wet. The elements, particularly the wind and sun, would then partially dry them out; this process would vary depending upon the time of year and it could take several weeks. The bricks were then barrowed into the kiln and stacked from the outer edge working into the centre. The kiln was a long semi-circular brick building built partly under ground level, with doorways at either end. It was constructed with an inner oven area where the bricks were placed and an outer brick skin which contained a lower level where the fires burned. The fire level was reached from the outside by a number of openings at the ground level which allowed the coal to be shovelled downwards directly onto the fire. The smoke and heat went upwards over the curved inner area and out through a number of top outlets. When the kiln had been filled the entrances would be sealed up using clay and old bricks, then the fires would be lit. �The temperature and time needed to fire bricks in a kiln was a bit rough and ready by the standards of today but these brickmakers acquired a skill in controlling the required temperature and were able to raise the fire to something like 1000°C and then to hold it for the required period. If the correct temperature was not achieved or maintained it would mean a wide range of quality in the bricks fired and could result in a high proportion of “throw outs”. If the heat was built up too quickly the clay would dry out too soon and the bricks would crack. This particular kiln seems in Mr Rudd’s recollection to have been soundly built to a specific design and the firing of bricks had a high degree of success. The kiln would be fired three or four times a year and each firing would produce about 5,000 bricks There was one person permanently employed to run the site although when extra help was required other men from Collisons would be brought in and sometimes up to six would be employed on the site. The house on Cawston Road known as “Crows Nest” was built for the brickmaker. When Harry Collison was told that the first brickmaker to live here was going to be a Mr Rook, he said, “well the house must be called Crows Nest“ − and so it was. The last brickmaker for Collisons was Alan Jeffries who continued living here after the brickmaking ceased. Once the kiln had been lit the brickmaker would be responsible for bringing the fire up to temperature and keeping it going until the bricks had been baked. He would build the fire up gradually until a heat haze could be seen coming out of the top outlets; this showed the heat was going through all the kiln. He would then keep the fires going until the baking process was completed. This would take three to four weeks and during this period he would also be making more wet bricks ready for the next firing. When it was adjudged that the bricks had been fired, the fires were left to die down and the kiln allowed to cool. It would take about a week for the fire to go completely out and a further 10 days or so for the kiln to cool down. The entrances would be knocked down and the bricks removed. They were very hot when taken out and it was hard work which required a thick pair of gloves; once outside the bricks would quickly cool. The empty kiln would be checked in case any repairs were necessary to the structure and when ready the next lot of bricks would be barrowed in and the process started again. There was a considerable colour difference in the bricks: those nearest the fire were burnt almost black with the colour changing to a light red for the bricks stacked in the centre of the kiln. The black bricks were very hard and if knocked would shatter into pieces whereas the light red bricks were soft and could be easily cut and shaped with a bricklayer’s trowel. �During the 1940s the clay on the site had been worked out and Collisons were buying in clay from Cawston. The brickmaking process was very labour intensive, with the clay having to be bought, and with competition from the increasing availability of cheaper bricks transported from the Bedford and Peterborough brickfields it was no longer a paying proposition and the yard was closed. The brickyard was in use for some 60 years and when it closed it finished a manufacture that had been carried out in Reepham for hundreds of years. All traces of these brickyards and their kilns have gone but their legacy remains in the houses and other buildings that we regard as such an essential part of the character of Reepham. Own individual character. �Bricks, pantiles and weatherboarding. The O.S. map of 1886 shows the area in Kerdiston which had been used for at least 200 years; it closed down at the end of the 19th century. �The second map shows the Cawston Road area from just before the Second World War; all the houses were built from bricks made at Collisons brickyard (marked on the map as “Kiln Chy.”). Kilns were originally situated in the field just to the northeast of the Crown Public House – bricks made and fired here were used to build Newland Villas in Station Road. A typical Collison Brick – made in tens of thousands during a period of more than fifty years – were used to build many houses in Reepham, most notably around Cawston Road. This area was originally called Mountfield Estate. �One of the houses situated along Reepham Moor; while architectural details dating from the sixteenth century can be seen at Moor Farm later details of interest from both the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries can be seen in a number of later properties. Close inspection in some areas of brickwork will show the common English and Flemish brick bonds and the later stretcher bond which was normally used when the structure included a cavity wall. Other less common brick bonds are also to be found here. Ordinary bricks were used for decoration, usually this was achieved by creating patterns in profile or by the bricklayer integrating different types of bonding. Decoration by using coloured bricks is not noticeable. Decoration on the end of buildings was often achieved in the chimney breasts or more particularly on the gable ends. The Dutch gable is often considered as a highlight of the bricklayer’s craft, while a number of good examples can be found in the nearby villages of Cawston and Foulsham; they do not appear to exist in Reepham. Different size bricks can often be found in older buildings; until the end of the eighteenth century most bricks were made two inches deep but the introduction of the brick tax in 1784 caused the size to increase with a three-inch brick becoming the common size thereafter. It is not uncommon to find bricks larger than the three-inch size; it usually depended upon the personal size nominated by the local brickmaker. �Collison Bros. − Reepham Brickmakers and Builders. Left to right: Horace (Horry) Collison, Herbert (Witty) Witred, Stanley Alford and Harold Alford. From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine 1994 � 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 Brickmaking in Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2405031635 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource A4 PDF, 12 pages Description An account of the resource A history of brickmaking in the Reepham district, including the use of various building materials across Norfolk and the manufacture locally of bricks throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Written by Michael Black; scanned and edited by Geoff Fisher Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived From an article published in the Reepham Society Magazine 1994 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Reepham Society Brick Kiln Farm brickmaking https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/3661053a736ea03dd909e91d9ec06ac0.jpg f32b426185e36b8f7e50f715840476dc Photograph-digital Any photograph for which there is no previously existing hard copy in the Archive. The photograph can be stored on CD, DVD, memory card, USB stick, on hard drive or 'cloud'. It may have been sent electronically to the Archive or it may be a photograph owned by someone else which we have scanned or photographed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Norwich Road Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2404041700 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Streets & Buildings/Norwich Road [File 17, Box 117] Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1910s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Norwich Road, Reepham Description An account of the resource View of Norwich Road looking towards Booton. The white building was the storage for George Storey, painter & decorator. In the right foreground is Jesse Bircham's chemist shop & further along is the sign for George Grey's shop where he made & repaired boots. Possibly taken in 1917. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource EW Norwich Road RL Calendar 2024 Storey https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/cf7cf9eb7312b235ffcab7bf2b5f1b5a.jpg ebc463476d2986cdb1be34a5831a8b8d 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 Greetings from Reepham Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2404041530 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Streets & Buildings/General [File 17, Archive Box 117] Description An account of the resource Postcard with selection of views compiled from other postcards. It may have been intended to be used as a Christmas Greetings card. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource EW Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1910s Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s Austin cattle market Peck https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/c54a26bb18b28682171520d00a8acf5d.jpg ea93982e011979ffa555fc9d9eb991c1 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 Ginnett's Circus Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2404041500 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Sepia photograph Mounted on card Badly foxed Streets & Buildings/Market Place [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 Market Place, Reepham Description An account of the resource Very old image, possibly 1890s. Taken in the Market Place facing the chemist shop run by Johnson Cripps. In more recent times this building was once used by Barclay's Bank, later by Quinneys & more recently by Country Cottages. The large wagon in the centre belongs to Ginnetts Circus that regularly visited Kings Lynn, Norwich and Great Yarmouth at the end of the 19th century. Note the frontage of the shop on the right, currently housing Robertsons butcher's shop. This was replaced before 1903 by a stepped roof. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Betts 2024 Barclays Bank Cripps https://reephamarchive.co.uk/omeka/files/original/d9ee73cb810c687a043a8dc8b110cf94.jpg f3165ce76874172b4afded0d01faed18 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 Baptist Chapel Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GB/REE/2402161530 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital Churches & Chapels [File 4, Archive Box 104] Description An account of the resource Very poor image of the chapel that stood in Fisher's Alley. (Included for historical reference.) Built in 1842 as a Baptist Chapel, later used by a Free Methodist group. After Methodist Union in 1935 it was used as a carpenter's workshop and later the meeting place of the Good Companions social group. Two houses called Companion Cottages now stand on the site. One of the stained glass windows from the original chapel can be seen from Fisher's Alley. Fishers Alley