The Corsbies - a family of Norwich Union clerks

Here is an article from the Aviva Group Archive that provides further details on some of the stories Grace was reciting on Tuesday.  It is interesting to learn how the clerks lived and worked in the early Norwich Union of 19th century, the fines for being late, how long you could stand in front of the fire to get warm, but there were a number of clerks that worked for the company for many years including Joseph Corsbie who worked for N.U. for 50 years and received a warping £130 p.a. (£129K today).  Poor fellow he only received this income for a year before he died.  To find out more, please select the following link:  

https://avivaarchive.medium.com/the-corsbies-a-family-of-norwich-union-clerks-1624536a085a

Why is Abraham Lincoln connected to Hingham and Swanton Morley in Norfolk?

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln’s (yes the 16th American President's) ancestors lived in Norfolk and if the eldest son of Richard Lincoln, named Samuel, had inherited his will, then he may never have emigrated from Hingham to the Americas and Abraham Lincoln may never has existed.  To find out more, please select the following link:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/content/articles/2009/02/12/abe_lincoln_swanton_20090212_feature.shtml

Mary Wollstonecraft

An excellent talk by Chad Goodwin about Mary Wollstonecraft on Tuesday.  Mary was an English writer, philosopher, and foundational feminist advocate who argued that women are not naturally inferior to men but appear so due to a lack of education. Best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), she demanded educational, social, and economic equality for women.  Here is an interesting article about Mary:  

https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/mary-wollstonecraft-life-works-death-legacy/

History of King's Lynn Mart

I visited Kings Lynn last week and I was impressed with the museum located inside the town hall.  Did you know that Kings Lynn was the fourth largest port in England in medieval times, the other three ports were London, Southampton and Boston.  Anyway there was an information board in the museum stating that there had been a Mart in Kings Lynn for 800 years.  The Mart (meaning market) was originally an annual trading fair established by a Royal Charter by King John and was indicative of a typical medieval fair of the time.  By the 18th century it evolved into more of a fun far with games, performances, oddities and you guessed - drinking.  The 19th century brought more innovation and in particular, steam driven roundabouts which were the brain child of Frederick Savage, a local engineer.  To find out more please select the following link:

https://www.klmagazine.co.uk/articles/kings-lynn-mart# 

Edward Boardman

I’ve often referred to Boardman on my Heritage Walks, so I am sure you have heard of him.  His major works in Norwich include the refurbishment of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, converting Norwich Castle into a museum, building the notable Royal Hotel and the mortuary chapel in the city's Rosary Cemetery.  But did you know that he became Mayor of Norwich and he built How Hill House and lived in the How Hill Estate?  Find out more by selecting the following article and view more of his buildings in the Gallery section and a list of his buildings in the Works section:

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

The Clabburn Family and Weaving

I hope you all enjoyed the film that Mike H selected on Tuesday about the Norwich textile trade.  The film mentioned the Clabburn family who I had never heard of, so here is a summary of their involvement in Norwich weaving:

The Clabburns were a Norwich family long connected with the city’s weaving traditions going back to at least the late 1700s.  Thomas Clabburn I (c.1762–1824) is recorded in an 1783 trade directory as a worsted weaver and “manufacturer of bed coverlids” in Norwich — showing the family were established as textile workers from this period. 

The family’s weaving business grew significantly in the first half of the 19th century under Thomas Clabburn II (1788–1858). He became a manufacturer of Norwich shawls, a major local textile product.  In 1846 Thomas and two of his sons (William Houghton Clabburn I and Thomas Clabburn III), together with Thomas Dawson Crisp, founded the firm Clabburn, Sons & Crisp — a well-known Norwich shawl manufacturer.  The firm became especially prominent in the mid-19th century, benefiting from the shawl vogue sparked by Queen Victoria’s patronage (e.g., at the Great Exhibition of 1851) and won prizes for quality and design at major exhibitions.  William Houghton Clabburn I, active in the 1850s–1880s, helped grow the business; by 1855, the firm employed around seventy weavers. William also secured a patent for an improved shawl-making technique.  Thomas II was admired as an employer: 600 weavers and assistants contributed to a memorial tablet in St Augustine’s Church, Norwich, honouring him after his death — a sign of high regard within the local weaving community. 

Despite early successes, demand for traditional Norwich shawls declined from the 1870s as fashions changed and Lancashire and Paisley production grew. The original Clabburn partnership dissolved after the death in 1878 of their non-family partner, though related textile ventures (like the Norwich Crape Company) continued longer. By the late 19th century the Norwich textile industry had entered a long decline, and shawls ceased to be a major local industry.

In the 20th century, Pamela Clabburn (1914–2010) — a descendant of the Norwich weaving Clabburns — became a noted textile expert, curator and author who championed the history and conservation of Norwich shawls and East Anglian textiles. She founded the Costume & Textile Association to support textile heritage and worked extensively on preserving and documenting the industry’s history. 

Here is an article for those interested in further information:  

https://www.johnbarnard.me.uk/Clabburn.html

The Lost Norfolk Village of Eccles

Tony Harper mentioned the lost village of Eccles at the Christmas lunch so I thought a related article would be of interest.  Eccles-On-Sea is south of Happisburgh and was a thriving village during medieval times but most of the village has been taken by the sea as a result of a series of storms over the years, however occasionally the remains of St Mary’s church tower can be seen on the beach (last seen in 1986).  Some say you can still hear its bells ringing underwater as you sail by.  To find out more, please select the following link:  

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/20753608.weird-norfolk-lost-village-eccles-sometimes-appears-storms-graveyard-dead-cannot-rest/