Costessey Hall

This is another suggestion from Tony Harper which was circulated some time ago but is still a goodie.  I used to play golf around the old ruins that exist today and I was very surprised to see what a wonderful building it was in its hey day.  Did you know there was a manor on the site beforehand that dates back to the Norman invasion?  The hall was then built in 1553 over the river by Sir Henry Jernegan but when was it converted into a Gothic style house?  What brought about the demise of this lovely hall?  To find out more, please select the following article and also take time to select the arrows on the picture gallery to see some excellent photos of the hall:  

http://www.lostheritage.org.uk/houses/lh_norfolk_costesseyhall.html

Here is a supplementary article that you may find of interest:  

https://www.costesseypark.com/history/

Indian Partition

For those that would like to hear some additional information on this topic, here is a link to an interesting documentary. Please select the following link and press play. You may need to move the red bar back to the start and you should be able to skip the adverts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZS40U5yFpc

There are several films on BBC iPlayer but the one I thought particularly good was - Seven Days in Summer: Countdown to Partition.  It combines the historical timeline with accounts from relatives of people who lived through the event.  If you don’t have an iPlayer registration will probably need to register before you can watch this film:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p059jt1j/seven-days-in-summer-countdown-to-partition

Hellesdon Railway Station

Tony Harper has suggested an article on Hellesdon Railway Station.  It was originally built in 1882 but why was it built so far aware from the centre of Hellesdon?  The station was closed to passengers in 1952 but what were it’s other community uses?  It continued to the used for freight until the early 1970’s but when was the station building finally demolished?  There were a couple of sidings built to load cattle on to wagons after they had grazed on the nearly fields and there was even a signal box for a while.  It’s also interesting to read about and view the pictures the work the rail demolition crews undertook on the line.  I was shocked to read that they destroyed all infrastructure around the line to ensure no other organisation could lay track, telegraph poles, concrete posts, signage and vintage lamps - sacrilege!  Please take time to view the pictures of the line especially those with the Railway Ghost Images.  To find out answers to these questions and more information please select the following link:

https://themilecrossman.com/2018/03/25/hellesdon-station-part-1/

Here is another link that covers similar ground and has some interesting maps of the station:

http://disused-stations.org.uk/h/hellesdon/index.shtml

Thomas Browne

We discovered the Thomas Browne plaque beside Pret a Manger on Tuesday and of course his statute sits in the Haymarket, so here is some further information on him. 

Thomas was a polymath (a person of wide knowledge and learning) during the times of the English Civil War.  Educated at Oxford, practiced as a physician all his life, he wrote two best sellers throughout Europe, one a spiritual autobiography, Religio Medici which was a spiritual testament and early psychological self-portrait, and Pseudodoxia Epidemica where he looked to prove or debunk many commonly held 'urban myths’.  His other areas of expertise were science, anatomy, philosophy, astrology, astronomy to name a few!  Who said our ancestors weren’t intelligent!  It beggars belief how he concentrated on his work with the English Civil War going on around him.  He also introduced the word electricity into our language!  To find out more information please select the following link:

https://www.sirthomasbrowne.org.uk/his-life.html