History of Earlham Hall

I was on a Ramblers walk today and we stopped off at Earlham Hall so I thought an article would be of interest.  This Jacobean house was where Elizabeth Fry grew up as it was the home of the Gurney family.  It has also been a home for nurses, a hospital, the home of the UEA and a law school.  To find out more please select the following link:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earlham_Hall 

History of Ice Cream

As the weather is starting to get warmer, an ice cream may appeal to lower your temperature.  Do you eat your flake first or like me, push it into the cone for later?  Anyway did you know it all started with the Ancient Greeks? How did they store ice cream during warmer weather?  When was the first ice cream recipe in England?  The answers and much more are in the following article: 

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/historians-cookbook/we-all-scream-ice-cream

Caister Hall

I recently attended Caister Hall and wondered what its history was.  A rectory has been located on this site since 1612 built by the Pettus family.  The current building dates to late 18th century and was built by Horatio Dashwood who became the parson in 1803.  In 1948 it became a country club and hotel and is currently owned by Brasteds.  To find out more please select the following link:  

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d0Kykxg2rmAl1bq7SR5gOob43kgBFBc7/view

Lady Lucy Houston

After the interesting talk by Dale Wiseman on Tuesday here is some supplementary reading.  Lucy certainly had a fascinating life from being a showgirl to brushing shoulders with royalty, the development of the Spitfire and flying over Everest.  Please select the following link:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy,_Lady_Housto

History of Tesco

Well we had Argos last week so I thought the history of Tesco might interest you.  Who was it’s founder?  What are the origins of the name TESCO?  The whole business concept was to provide affordable food to the population - you may feel they have strayed from this principle recently!  Anyway to find out more please select the following link:  

https://tesco-bst.com/history-of-tesco/

History of Argos

Here is an article that I sent out a few years ago which outlines the history of Argos from Green Shield Stamps to online shopping.  Who was the founder of Argos?  And where did the name come from?  The answers are in the following article:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/05/argos-story-green-shield-stamps-tesco-sainsburys

 

John Innes Centre

The John Innes Centre moved to Norwich in 1967 and has been an important part of the city ever since.  The story of John Innes goes back to the start of the 20th century and involves a property developer, a Cambridge biologist and plant genetics.  To find out more please select the following link:  

https://www.jic.ac.uk/about-us/history-of-plant-microbial-science-at-john-innes-centre/

The Victorian Picnic

Here are some ideas for a picnic although they might be saturated in calories!  In her now-famous Book of Household Management published in 1861, the writer Mrs Beeton outlines her "bill of fare for a picnic for 40 persons”.  Meat, fish, and pies would be on the menu but what types of pie and what was in the sandwiches?  What did they have for dessert and did they drink alcohol?  All is revealed in the blow article:

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/victorian-picnic-guide/

Black Anna of The Jolly Butchers

You may have heard of Black Anna, the landlady of the Jolly Butchers on Ber Street.  She became famous for her jazz renditions in the pub and people flocked to see and hear her perform.  She was from Italian descent and her real name was Antoinette Hannent and it looks like that she learnt about jazz from the U.S. servicemen during WWII.  Sadly she died in 1976 and the pub closed in the same year.  Here is a film of her being interviewed and also performing, the performances are at the start and the end of the film, just select the Watch For Free button:  

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-life-and-music-of-black-anna-1973-online

Here is an article that provides more information about Black Anna:

https://norfolkrecordofficeblog.org/antoinette-hannent-black-anna/

The North Walsham and Dilham Canal

Adrian O'Dell mentioned this canal in his talk as part of the development of the industry within North Walsham during the 19th century.  Opened in 1826, for a short period the canal was an important means of transportation from Antingham to the River Ant at Wayford and thereon to Great Yarmouth.  Such cargoes as corn, flour, timber, cattle cake and animal feedstuffs were transported along this waterway until it was cheaper to move these cargos by train or road.  Here is an article that explains it all:

https://www.northwalshamheritage.org.uk/north-walsham-and-dilham-canal/

The Quakers and the Gildencroft

I visited the Quaker Meeting House on Upper Goat Lane today with Colin.  It was the first time I have been inside and I have included some photos below.  It was no surprise to find it to be very plain and practical and it was interesting to discover the history of the building that was built in 1826 and also the history of the Quaker burial ground at Gildencroft.  Here is an article that explains it all:

http://www.staugustinesnorwich.org.uk/History_-_The_Quakers.html

Church Architecture

I went on a Heritage Walk with Colin today and in one of his books he had the following diagrams which show the shape of church window arches and the period they relate to.  The early English arches are 13th century, the decorated ones are 14th century and the perpendicular arches (where the baluster goes all the way to the top) are 15th century.  I have always wanted a simple and easy way to identify the age of a church in most cases and this is it.  Of course there are exceptions but this is the general rule.   Hopefully you will find this useful:

The Bread and Blood Riots of 1816

I’ve been reading about the rioting that occurred in Norwich during the Georgian period.  It was a period of significant social unrest and Norwich had a reputation of being a hotspot.  Here is an article that describes one incident which came about after the introduction of the Corn Laws of 1815.  The latter was introduced to charge import duties on grain from overseas and also to keep the price of home grown grain high to promote political power and land ownership - it all sounds like a recipe for large unrest amongst the poorer masses:  

https://norfolktalesmyths.wordpress.com/category/georgian/

Thomas and Samuel Bignold

Here is old article worth repeating.  Did you know that Thomas Bignold was squeezed out of control of Norwich Union by the Board and his sons?  What were the antics of Samuel’s rascal son?  Was Charles Bignold a willing participant in Norwich Union? And how long did the Bignold’s control the organisation for?  If you don’t know the answers, and even if you do - select the link below:

https://joemasonspage.wordpress.com/2016/07/10/norwich-union-the-bignolds/

A Very Victorian Christmas

Somebody suggested an article on the above at the last meeting but I cannot remember who it was - sorry whoever you are!  Anyway I do like to honour requests.  We probably all know how hard you had to work in Victorian times, so hard that a lot of people had to get married at Christmas as it was the only time they could get two days off!  Here is an article that explains more:

https://thecowkeeperswish.com/2018/12/08/christmas-weddings-in-victorian-england/