The Rise, Decline, and Rise Again (?) of Market Gardens
Last spring, some colleagues and I began a gardening group in the grounds of our workplace growing potatoes, onions, squash and a little bit of everything else we fancied. Some of us were completely clueless (myself included – I entered into the lunchtime activities armed only with an iPhone app) while others already knew a […]
Ipswich’s links with the Corset Industry
Corsets. I think most people like them. Personally, I love them, although I wouldn’t want to wear one every day. Now with connotations of glamour, weddings, burlesque, lingerie and (dare I say it ) fetish – we have moved away from the days when scores of women wore them daily. This is not a blog […]
The rise of the ‘monthly nurse’
Every time I come to write a blog I try and think of something that has interested me, and might interest others. Last weekend I was doing some research looking into a lady in Chatteris. In 1861, she was listed as a pauper, head of the household and sharing with her grown up son and […]
Familiar place, unfamiliar past
Having spent many an enjoyable evening with friends at Charles Wesley Court on Belvoir Street in Heigham, it is perhaps surprising that it has taken me a couple of years to research the origins of the Court. In our part of the world, Belvoir is usually pronounced “Bell-voir” – not “Beaver” as an Belvoir Castle, […]
“The Privilege of a Citizen”
I spotted on twitter today – with thanks to @ThatLauraKnox and @WomensLibrary – a link to a spoiled 1911 census page displayed on the BBC website (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/31_01_11_census.pdf). It is not known just how many women refused to fill in the 1911 census schedules, but it is possible that thousands of women joined the ‘No Vote […]
“Historic Market Town? Not us, we’re a Hanseatic Town!”
Many, many times on entering King’s Lynn I have pondered just how many people, local or otherwise, know why King’s Lynn’s urban gateways are proudly branded “King’s Lynn – A Hanseatic Town”. Recently, King’s Lynn has had a somewhat unfair reputation in my own humble opinion. As a ‘west area officer’ for several years I […]
The lives and loves of occupants of Rattle Row, Wymondham
A row of weavers’ cottages in Wymondham was demolished in the late 1970s following a public enquiry in 1977. The cottages were replaced by retirement bungalows which remain to this day. While the street name has lingered, the houses are certainly very different to those they replaced. The cottages made up ‘Rattle Row’ named after […]
