Baconsthorpe Castle

I was recently walking from Bodham and came upon the wonderful Baconsthorpe Castle.  I have included an article on this in the past and it is well worth repeating.  I would normally recommend a visit to the castle but it looks like there is some building work going on at present.  You can park at the castle at a cost of £2 and explore this excellent fortified house.  The castle, moat and gardens are lovely on a summers day.  Anyway, who built and lived at the castle?  How did it become a Tudor wool factory? It’s a story of rags to riches and back to rags!  The answers and much more are in the following articles:

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/baconsthorpe-castle/history/

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/baconsthorpe-castle/history/tudor-wool-factory/

Norfolk Lunatic Asylum in 1882

Continuing on from the talk by Richard Johnson on Tuesday, here are a couple of articles.  The first article has some statistics and is a little dry but I would encourage you to flick through.  Of the patients that were admitted from 1850-1882, how many of these recovered?  The timetable section is worth a look as it outlines a typical weekly schedule for 1859.  The food facts section is also interesting - what did the inmates have to eat on Christmas Day?  How much weight did the majority of inmates put on by the time they were discharged?  To find out the answers to these questions and more information, please select the following link:  

https://restorationtrust.org.uk/2019/01/30/norfolk-lunatic-asylum-in-1882/

Here is an EDP article which describes the approach to postnatal depression during the Victorian era.  Why did psychiatrists think that women were more prone to lunacy than men?  There are also some case studies of the women that resided at the asylum (they are not for the faint hearted).  To find out more please select the following link:

https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/lifestyle/heritage/where-was-the-mental-asylum-norwich-8408818

Death of Queen Elizabeth II

It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of our Queen on Thursday 8th September.  She was a great inspiration to myself and millions of others.  May you rest in peace your majesty.  I am honoured to have been alive during your reign.  God Save The King!

Royal Rebranding - What Will Happen to Stamps, Coins, Banknotes and Passports

With the passing of the Queen and the blanket coverage going on at present, I thought I would come at this from a slightly different angle.  So when will Charles’s head appear on coins and which way will he be facing?  When will we see the King’s head on stamps?  Will the royal cyphers be changed on post boxes?  What happens to the Royal Warrants that have been issued in the Queen’s name (Colmans has one)?  To find out the answers to these questions and more information, please select the following link:  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59596996

Origins of our National Anthem - God Save the King

Here is an interesting article about the origins of our National Anthem.  It appears to have evolved over time but I didn’t realise that it was popular as far back as the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745.  To find out more please select the following link:

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/god-save-queen-history-national-anthem

Parson Woodforde

Here is another excellent article from the Norfolk Tales, Myths and More! website.  I was recently fortunate to have a meal at the Parson Woodforde pub in Weston Longville and a member of my family asked me who was Parson Woodforde.  I didn’t know so I thought an article would be interesting.  The reason why he is famous is because he is the author of The Diary of a Country Parson. This vivid account of parish life remained unpublished until the 20th century.  The value of the diary to the historian lies in the wealth of primary source material it provides, while the general reader can bring from it the authentic flavour of 18th-century English country life.  To find out more, please select the following link:  

https://norfolktalesmyths.com/2021/04/09/the-diaries-of-a-parson-woodforde/

If you would like to flick through the entire text of his dairy, then please select the following link:  

https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.227134/2015.227134.The-Diary_djvu.txt

 

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