ODDMENTS

An account of happenings in the Waveney Valley area

by ROY RICHES

[Editorial changes and interpolations appear within square brackets.]

[As its title implies Oddments is a miscellany. About three-quarters of the book is given over to Starston. The topics covered range from the church and school to entries from the 'towne book'and the churchwardens' accounts. Some of the material resulted from the author's researches into local history and some from his personal reminiscences or conversations with older folk in the village. Amongst the latter category he covers subjects like harvest and Christmas customs, leading travelling heavy horse stallions and the effects of the two world wars on the area.

I have not included those parts of the book that relate to locations elsewhere in the Waveney Valley. For the record, those chapters that I have left out are:

They are, of course, included in the hard copy of the book, which can be obtained from Roy Riches' daughter, Mrs Payne, whose address is on the acknowledgements page.]

St. Margaret's Church, Starston
CHAPTER ONE

The Parish Church stands in a very commanding position in the centre of the village. A well thought lay-out of trees and shrubs makes the scene a very delightful one indeed. Pride of place to the trees must surely be the two cedar trees reputed to be 500 years old, one was planted on the south side and one on the north side of the church.

In the churchyard is a stone memorial cross commemorating the Jubilee of the reign of Queen Victoria; this was erected with money collected in the village.

Part of the Church walls are thought to be the remains of the Church that stood there about 1100 A.D. but the main part of the Church including the square tower was built in the Norman period.

There are a great number of. memorial tablets and statues erected on the Church walls commemorating the local dignitories [sic] and Rectors who lived in the village and worshipped in the Church. This is a beautifully kept Church and the fabric is well kept. Electric heating and lighting has now been installed and it is well covered with blue carpets from the south porch through the stalls and to the aisle.

In the tower are six bells which are seldom ever rung or chimed now, chiefly because of the lack of bellringers. There is also a clock facing southwards.

Patron Saint
CHAPTER TWO

When entering the Church by the south door you will see an annex with a statue inside, this is of the Patron Saint of Starston Church, St. Margaret of Antioc.

In this statue she is depicted thrusting a sword into the dragons mouth. There are other statues in the country of St. Margaret some of them depicting her thrusting a cross in the dragon's mouth and others of her leading the dragon on a chain.

According to legend she was swallowed by the dragon and of course it would appear very difficult for her to get out again, so she made the sign of the cross inside the dragon and in time this grew and after much difficulty she was delivered safely.

After this experience she became known as Virgin and Martyr invoked by women in childbirth.

This called for her to pray to God that He shall help any woman who was in difficult childbirth and that the child should be delivered safely.

She was one of the fourteen Holy Helpers who went to heaven. This legend ties up with many inquiries that I have made regarding the Patron Saint of Starston. A well known person long since dead told me that in some parts of the country she was known as the Patron Saint of Pregnant Women, and it is suggested that any woman who is thought to have a difficult time in childbirth should attend the Church of St. Margaret and pray so that things would be much easier.

Church Plate
CHAPTER THREE

Starston Church has some very good and valuable church plate and the outstanding article is the silver chalice used in the Holy Communion service. It was once owned by Archbishop Sancroft of Canterbury and when he was forced to resign owing to his being unable to agree with the King of the time, he came to live at nearby Fressingfield in Suffolk. The chalice was given to Starston Church by a great niece of his. On his removal from the Holy See he returned to his native Fressingfield where he was born in 1616. On his death he was buried at Fressingfield.

The plate that he left Starston Church was his own private collection. The chalice which is still used for Holy Communion is of the Norwich shape and was made in the year 1567. Other items left in his bequest to Starston Church was an Elizabethan Cup and Cover dated 1517, a Paten dated 1692, a Paten dated 1721, a Paten dated 1865 and a Flagon dated 1877.

In the past Starston Church was very lucky in benefactors who contributed much money for the repairs and improvements to the Church and Churchyard.

Church 1902
CHAPTER FOUR

In an entry in Kelly's Directory of 1916 there is the record that the five bells were rehung and the sixth was added in 1902, being paid for by a bequest of Miss Constance Hopper who died in the year 1901.

The clock in the south side of the tower was erected by public subscription at Easter 1902 in memory of Mrs. Charlotte Hopper.

The Rev. Augustus Hopper a great cleric and benefactor in the village was instituted to the living on Saturday, October the 25th in 1845.

The Church 1847
CHAPTER FIVE

The Church bells which in 1847 numbered five were restored in that year by Thomas Flovey of Norwich at the cost of £20 10s. and this account was paid by the Rev. Augustus Hopper.

The two Churchwardens in that year were Mr. David Feaveryer and Mr. Charles Etheridge. The Altar rails and the Chancel were repaired in 1846 at a cost of £250; this account was also met by the Rev. Hopper.

A further entry for the same year (1846) states that a lime tree was planted on the west side of the Church and it might be the same one that is still in that spot.

A new pulpit was placed in the Church in 1854 at a cost of £85, having been carved by Mr. Rattee of Cambridge and also paid for by the Rev. Hopper.

Much work appeared to have taken place in the Church in the year 1856. The old pews were dismantled and the present oak seats were fitted, the Nave of the Church was entirely refitted. The pavements in the Church were relaid with encaustic tiles and the stained glass windows were fitted. These were made by a Mr. Ward of London and the oak wood work was carried out by Mr. Godbolt of Brockdish.

Church attendance round about 1870 was much greater than it is at present, so much so that it was decided to enlarge St. Margaret's Church and in that year 1870 the north aisle was added at a cost of £1,000, this increasing the seating to 250.

While the work of demolishing the outside north wall was being carried out a mural painting was uncovered in an arched recess.

Mural Painting
CHAPTER SIX

When exposed to the light and air the mural soon began to crumble away so a hasty replica was painted. The original was thought to be the work of an artist of the late thirteenth century and was thought to represent the death of Sir Walter Manny, a patron of St. Margaret's Church, in the year 1361. Some of the experts of the day thought it might refer to the death of St. Margaret of Antioc, the Patron Saint of the Church. A more recent opinion is that it might be a painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary as it shows St. Peter with the scroll and St. John with the cope. click here for a larger version of the copy of the mural (43K)

Catherine Sancroft
CHAPTER SEVEN

A portrait in the vestry of Starston Church is of Catherine, daughter of Sir John Hinde Cotton, who married William Sancroft, great nephew of Archbishop Sancroft, at Starston in 1742. It was this lady who gave the Archbishop's private plate to Starston Church.

She died in 1763 aged 72 and was buried at Fressingfield. Her daughter married John Wogan of Gawdy Hall, Redenhall.

Starston in 1854
CHAPTER EIGHT

A further entry in a Norfolk directory of 1854 concerning Starston statistics reads:-
Number of Houses - 93; population - 483; acres - 2,220; distance round the village 10¾ miles. Frederick Barber, carpenter; Ben Burgess, shopkeeper; John Hastings, miller; Charlotte Gunton, school mistress; Robert Foulger, carpenter; William Tidman, wheelwright; Mark Youngs, licensed victualler, "Gate Inn".

Some people lived a good age in those days although many deaths occurred in infancy and teen-age, but it is recorded that a man named Thomas Aldous, described as a poor man, died in 1740 aged 106 years.

Starston Rectory
CHAPTER NINE

The first mention of the Rectory in the present grounds was of it being built in the year 1637 by the Rev. Richard Anquish, Rector of Starston from 1637 to 1644.

At the time of my writing these notes we think that things are a bit unruly in Starston, but this poor Rector was turned out of Starston Rectory in 1644 by Oliver Cromwell's soldiers when the Rectory was taken over by the Rev. Whitear in 1803. He built the study and the two rooms over it. A later incumbant [sic] of the living, the Rev. Spencer, added the drawing room and the two rooms above it.

When the Rev. Augustus Hopper was the incumbent he had the old Rectory pulled down and rebuilt the present house together with the stable block. It was believed that the old Rectory stood in a more south westerly direction.
In the year 1850 people must have been very poor in Starston for it was recorded that the sum of 11s. 4d. was expended on meat and 6s. 10d. on plum pudding. This was paid out as Parish Relief by the overseers who used to include the Rector of the time in their number. Three old road men, Adams, Punchard and Emmerson each received 1-lb. meat and 1-lb. of plum pudding.

Starston Towne Book 1625
CHAPTER TEN

The Organ
CHAPTER ELEVEN

The organ was installed in Starston Church in the year 1878 by the Rev. E. C. Hopper who was quite an accomplished organist himself as well as a[n] expert bellringer. The organ was described as having 16 stops and 638 pipes.

Memorial Tablets in St. Margaret's Church
CHAPTER TWELVE

There are many and diverse memorial tablets in the Church and one of the largest and most famous is that of Bartholomew Cotton who is depicted with a ruff around his neck and kneeling at his desk, and complete with armorial bearings. He was a great legal expert in his time and died in 1613.

Other memorials in the Church are a brass tablet erected to commemorate the death of William Baggott who died in 1580; a wall tablet to commemorate the death of the Rev. Thomas Arrowsmith who died in 1729; in the north aisle is a very large tablet to the memory of Robert Ferrier who died in 1767; and others to the memory of the Rev. Spencer and the Rev. Whitear, a great benefactor of the village who was shot and died while he was out apprehending poachers in Gawdy Hall woods.

The Rev. Augustus Hopper and his son, the Rev. E. C. Hopper, are commemorated by the magnificent stained glass window. There are also other tablets to the memory of other members of the Hopper family.

The most recent memorial is that of one to the Rev. W. W. Evans who was Rector here for ten years, from 1962 to 1972.

Starston Church 1100
CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I would like to state that a Church stood here around 1100 but the main part of the structure is of the Norman period with parts of the old Church incorporated in the building.

The tower is Norman and houses six bells and on the southern side of the tower is a clock which was placed there by public subscription in the year 1902.

I hope I can be forgiven for keeping on writing about the Church of St. Margaret, but it is to me and probably a great many more people, like a jewel. As I have said in my previous book, many of our village institutions are gone, like the Rector, the village school, the pub, which was called the "Gate Inn", and had an inscription on a miniature gate affixed to the building which read: "This gate hangs high and hinders none, refresh and pay and travel on".

Earlier this year an inspection of the Church plate was made and in this collection was a large silver spoon and no one seemed to remember much about it, but since then I have examined old documents and discovered that it was called a straining spoon and that it was a gift to St. Margaret's Church to commemorate the silver wedding of the Rev. E. C. Hopper on the twenty-eighth of June, 1908. It was given by this popular and generous clergyman himself.

Church Wardens Account 1687
CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Repairs of a minor nature were carried out in 1687, nearly three hundred years ago, according to the Churchwardens account of that year. Here are some of the entries:-

The population of Starston recorded in the town book:-
1695 - families 77, population 417, average 6
1811 - families 69, population 410, average 6
1821 - families 56, population 437, average 8
Between 1695 and 1821, a period of 126 years, the average size of families went up considerably.

The Cedar Trees
CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Since writing chapter one in which I described the trees in the Churchyard, it is with a very heavy heart I report that the famous cedar tree on the south side of the Church is no more. But the one on the north side is well worth inspection.
During the year 1975 many of the top branches of the south side tree broke off during high winds, with the result that rain water got into the broken parts and made many more of the large branches rotten. Very reluctantly the Churchwardens had it taken down in the Autumn of 1975.

This proved a very wise undertaking for on January 18th, 1976 a very fearsome gale developed, over a hundred trees, many of them very prime and mature, were blown down in the village and the remains of the cedar tree would surely have crashed on to the roof of the Chancel of the Church causing considerable damage, and in doing so it would probably have
broken the very valuable stained glass windows which were placed in the Church in memory of the Hopper family.
A new cedar tree, called Cedrus Altantia Clovca, has been planted nearby the spot of the old tree by Dr. Ruth Rainey in memory of her husband who was a very frequent worshipper in the Church and very often read the lessons.

Candidates for Confirmation 1845
CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Evidently the Rev. Augustus Macdonald Hopper was a very busy, popular and generous man, and his relationship with his parishioners was great, and he had a large congregation at Church and made contact with the younger people of the village.
The candidates for the confirmation on the fifth of April, 1845 totalled thirty-five. The usual classes of instruction were held, but according to the classifications of their general intelligence the standards were not very high. Two of the candidates, George Gooch and Alfred Day, were refused, the reason being given as irregular in attendance at the classes and
inattention.

The great majority of the candidates had marks of only fair, and only a few had marks of very satisfactory.
One of the candidates named as Mary Ann Thurston was described as ignorant but sincere. Owing to the very little education that the working people of that time received it was quite possible that many of them could not read or write very much, and the task of the tutor must have been very hard indeed.

Rev. Whitear 1802–1827
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

In my former book on Starston I mentioned the unfortunate death of the Rev. W. Whitear, Rector of Starston from 1805–1827 who was accidently [sic] shot and killed when out one dark night in Gawdy Hall woods when trying to apprehend poachers.
I have also tried to describe some of the many good things that took place in Starston whilst he was Rector.
One of these was the building of the bridge over the Beck, and after this a tribute was composed in his memory. He was greatly mourned and many tributes were paid to him.

"At Church with meek and unaffected grace,
His looks adjourned the venerable place,
Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway,
And fools who came to scoff remained to pray,
The service passed around this man,
Even children followed with endearing smiles".

Towne House
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

In the bottom half of what is now the Churchyard at the Parish Church of St. Margaret's, stood the village workhouse or towne house as it was mostly called. According to the records it was to be used for the reception and employment of the poor people of Starston. At a meeting of the Churchwardens and Overseers on January 6th, 1882, it was decided to go ahead and build the Towne House.

The money to pay for the building, £429, was loaned by Elizabeth Isaak of Redenhall and the conditions were that it was to be repayed in installments of £50 per annum, plus £5 per year loan charges. In a very long document drawn up, there appears the names of nine people who signed.

In a sketch of the Church and the surrounding area dated 1824, it shows that the Church at that time had no lych gate and no clock in the tower.

The towne house itself was of clay lump, with a thatched roof, and gabled ended, being built with the gables east and west with the front facing the south. It does appear from the sketch that it was about the size of an average double dwelling house of that period.

On the same document it shows the old wooden footbridge with handrails for pedestrians, also a stile at the south end of the Churchyard. In the distance can be seen "Beck Hall" and it looks the same today as it did in those times. One difference is that it was completely covered with some kind of creeper.

All Hallows Guild 1570
CHAPTER NINETEEN

Starston, in common with other villages in the 15th and 16th centuries, had a self supporting rural community. It was very difficult in those days to travel far afield as the only means of transport was walking, horseback or by pony and cart, one good thing for the people was that everything was produced or made locally.

Starston had its full share of tradesmen and mention has been made in old documents of blacksmiths, farriers, carpenters, wheelwrights, weavers and other craftsmen as well. It was known at one time there was even a brewery in Starston, and it is recorded that there was a guild formed, no doubt by these tradesmen, and in all probability they discussed their day to day work problems, and enjoyed themselves on social occasions. It is recorded that once a year they got together to have a feast This is probably why a bullock and two quarters of barley were left to the guild in the will of William Walpole of Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire. This will was dated the 20th day of September, fifteen hundred and seventy.

Starston Manors
CHAPTER TWENTY

Starston, as well as other places in East Anglia, was divided into manorial holdings, and these were usually given to people who had done some fighting for the King or through marriage to some noble man or woman, and these were first mentioned in Starston in 1285.

One of these was at the extreme northern end of the village, and was known as Boltons Manor, but nowadays it is known as Broughton Manor Farm. It was owned at that time by Sir Peter Clean, and at one time it was reported that there was a moat and an island there.

Gunshaw Manor is partly in Needham and partly in Starston, the boundary is reputed to run through the Gunshaw Manor House. It is said that the oven is the boundary. At one time it is claimed that this Manor had some conneetion with the old Monastic Priory at Mendham.

Another Manor mentioned in 1230 was Bressingham Manor lately known as Starston Place, and it got its original name from the village of Bressingham near Diss.

Beck Hall Manor got its name from the stream called the Beck that passes close by. The first mention of the owner of Beck Hall, or Bek Hall as it was known in those days, was William De Ingham in 1296, and he was made a Lord in 1309.
At a later date the Manor passed on to the Calthorpes, and afterwards it was known to be in the possession of the Gawdies. It then passed on to the noted dignitories [sic] wholived in Starston, the Cottons who joined it to Bressingham Manor.
Another Manor which was reported to have a moat around it was Starston Hall. This moat is largely filled in now, but the site is occpied by a nice Elizabethan house.

Other good houses in the village are Grove Hill which is towards the southern end of the village near the old Waveney Valley railway line and built in 1849. It is adorned by some fine chimney stacks of great antiquity. Conifer Hill, built in 1881 is delightfully set in the woods of Starston Place Estate, and is not easily seen from the road.

The School 1839–1960
CHAPTER T\VENTY-ONE

As with other villages the School has been a dominating feature of the destiny of the children and of village life in general.
In a small village like Starston it was the hub on which village life revolved, it also had a bearing on the religious life of the children, as a very strong feature of the School was the usual half hour of Scripture and hymn singing every morning with the usual attendance of the Rector. He also used to inspect the daily register of attendance which was kept. However, with the closing and sale of the School this is now gone for ever.

The children do not attend the Church on a Sunday as they used to. They are transported away to other schools and in the evenings nothing is seen of them in the village as no doubt they make social contacts at the schools for their evening entertainment. Thus, as far as the children are concerned, it does make the village appear to be dead.
If there are no young people around, the village is missing out. In my young days in Starston there was always a gang of around twenty in the street and always enough for a game of cricket or football in the evening.

The school was built in 1839 by the Rev. Archdeacon Angus Macdonald Hopper. In 1888 it was recorded that there were 100 pupils attending the school, and the average attendance each day was 90. This led to over crowding and the school had to be enlarged.

Mr. G. A. Bannister was engaged as headmaster in 1896 and as his family increased, the adjoining school house had to be enlarged in 1900 and it is recorded in the school accounts that the rent for the school house was £7 annually. Another entry was that Mrs. Bannister was engaged as an additional teacher at a salary of £25 yearly, this was in the year 1903.

When a new act came into force in 1903, the school, which had passed into the ownership of the Rev. E. C. Hopper, son of Archdeacon Hopper, was let to the new Education Authority.

Starston Old and New
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

I thought it might be interesting to note the changes that have taken place in the village over the last fifty years.
In agriculture the main items grown were corn, mangolds, swedes and turnips for the feeding of livestock. There were several herds of milking cows in the village and after the local demands had been met the surplus was put into large churns and transported to Harleston Railway Station for delivery to the larger towns. As there was no service on the local Waveney Valley line on a Sunday the milk had to be transported to Tivetshall Station.

There was a considerable amount of butter and cream cheeses made in the village. The usual way this was done was that there was a device in the farm dairy called a separator, and this was used to separate the cream for the making of the butter, and the liquid which was saved was sold as skim milk and this could and was purchased by the local villagers for quite a nominal price. Very often you could get a two-pint can full for one penny.

However, this has now all changed and the milk is now sent off in large tankers to a central depot where it is bottled and distributed, and is often a day or two old before it reaches the consumer.

In recent years sugar beet has been grown in the village, these when fit in the autumn are carted away to the sugar beet factories to be made into sugar.

Chickens, which were kept on every farm and backyard are now housed in large ugly asbestos buildings, and they never see day light. The cockerels are reared in what are called broiler houses and when they are ready for slaughter they are collected and sent off to a chicken factory.

At one farm "White House Farm" grapes are now being grown instead of corn, and on some of our fields roses are grown on a large scale.

With the coming of the combine harvester and other giant farm implements including huge tractors, not many men work on the land, and it is not unusual to go around the village and not see a single man at work in the fields.

Another crop now grown is peas which are produced for the canning factories. Here again this work is done by giant machines.

I like to mention this as I can well remember the times when you would see many men working in the fields, hedging and ditching in the winter time, carting farmyard manure and spreading it in the autumn. Great teams of horses ploughed the land for the next year's crop. In the spring would be the drilling of the corn, again horses being used, and then used to come the grand season of the harvest, time when the corn was first cut by gangs of men with scythes.

Then the stooking or shocking of the corn to finally get it ripe for the carting on the large farm waggons to be stacked.
In the autumn the corn was threshed, the wheat would go off to the local mill to be ground into flour, the barley to the local maltings to be made into malt for making beer; and the oats would be crushed for winter feed for the cattle.

The village carpenter's shop is now a motor repair garage. The village pub is now the Post Office and shop, and the blacksmiths shop is now a private residence. [The Post Office and garage no longer function in 1998.]

A note in the directory of 1864 states that Charles Reynolds was the corn miller and John Rudkin was the station master.

Sir Astley Cooper 1768–1841
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

One of England's greatest surgeons once lived in Starston Place in approximately 1800. He was Sir Astley Cooper, Bart., who was born at Brooke Hall in Norfolk on August 23rd, 1768. He was the fourth son of the Rev. Dr. Cooper, then curate of Brooke. It is said that in his youth he was a very wild young man,* but as he grew older he took up medicine, and in London he attended lectures on anatomy which were given by the leading surgeons of the day, Dr. Cline and Dr. Hunter. He made such rapid progress that he was appointed Professor of Anatomy at the Surgeons Hall in London.

In 1800 Professor Cooper was appointed surgeon to Guys Hospital where he carried out operations for the modest fee of 5 and 10 guineas. It was a turning point in his career when in 1812 George IV developed a tumour on his scalp and Professor Cooper was selected to perform the operation for its removal.

On the day appointed he awaited upon his Majesty. Lord Liverpool and other senior cabinet ministers were present in an adjoining room where the operation was taking place when it was noticed that the Surgeon appeared to be pale and nervous, on seeing this Lord Liverpool took hold of his hand and said: courage Cooper your reputation will be either made or marred by the success of this operation.

This kindly rebuke so impressed him that all anxiety vanished from his face and he carried out the operation with his usual coolness and dexterity. The operation was a great success and a few months afterwards the King conferred a baronetcy on him. Lord Liverpool's remarks to the surgeon proved to be correct, for the year following he was reported to have commanded £21,000 in one year, and it was reported that he was often paid £1,000 for a single operation.
When he retired to live at Hemel Hempstead he turned his attention to the welfare of old horses. He would buy up old and worn out horses, doctor them and make them into healthy creatures.

It was in 1812 that he was elected president of the Royal College of Surgeons. He died on February 12th, 1841 and was buried beneath the chapel of Guys Hospital. It was generally agreed that his influence on the surgery of the day was great.

Sir Astley's mother was a popular authoress and was the publisher of many literary works and novels.

There was a plaque on the wall of the now demolished Brooke Hall in his memory. Part of the wall has been retained for this purpose.

Another matter of local interest is that this great surgeon had connections with Starston Place. During the 1939–45 war this large house was taken over by the military, and while rummaging about in the house a group of four young officers came across a skull in a wicker basket. It was generally felt at the time that this once belonged to the surgeon who used it for experimental purposes. Anyway, being young, the officers had a friendly kick about with the skull, and then went off down to the local public house called the "Gate Inn" where they related their morning's experience to some of the old local residents who had just called in for their Sunday drink.

When told the locals shook their hcads gravely and said: "Well bor no good will come to yew for duing this sort of thing". And as sure as fate these four young officers were all killed on the Western front. This incident was related to me as late as 1974 when a gentleman called to see me from Australia. He was stationed at Starston Place at the time.

I am glad to say that the skull is now buried in St. Margaret's Churchyard as when the late Mr. Lombe Taylor came back to live in Starston Place he found the skull again and it was reverently buried in the Churchyard.

During this year I visited my doctor, Dr. Arthur Dinn in Harleston and he inquired how my book was proceeding. When I told him I was at present writing a chapter about Sir Astley Cooper he said it was very interesting to him and he promptly produced a chair with a very straight back which the surgeon had designed for the use of spinal patients.

Since writing the foregoing paragraphs it has been my good fortune to come across a lady who has actually seen the skull mentioned earlier, and she can remember very vividly the inscription scratched on it, and it read: "Once I was so now are ye as now I am, so will ye be".

As well as surgeon to George IV he was surgeon to William IV, and her Majesty Queen Victoria. He was surgeon for 35 years at Guys Hospital and was also surgeon at St. Thomas Hospital.

*I am reminded of a boyish prank of young Astley Cooper, an account of which I have read somewhere. The father of the lad who was to become a distinguished physician was an incumbent of St. Nicholas, and his son seems to have given him a good deal of trouble. One day, when the wind was in the north-east, he got possession of two of his mother's pillows and carried them up to the church spire. There he ripped them open and dispersed their contents in the air. The descent of the feathers all over the market place caused great astonishment, and gave rise to curious conjectures, one of which was that a great storm in the north had blown immense quantities of wild-fowl feathers from the island of St. Paul!

On another occasion the ingenious youngster concealed himself close to the altar and during a wedding ceremony repeated after his father the words of the marriage service. That was the only time the Rev Mr. Cooper observed an echo in the church.

Old Time Harvest
CHAPTER THIRTY

As many readers are aware Starston has many acres of very fertile land, and much of this prior to 1904 was farmed by Mr. Alfred Taylor. As much of this was arable land this entailed employing a very large number of men, as most of the work was done by horses and a very primitive set of farm implements and hard manual labour

Harvest, however, was a very joyful time to be at work on the farm. Long hours were worked from daylight to darkness. Much of the corn of this period was cut by scythes and old fashioned reapers which were drawn by horses.
Many men sustained their strength with home-made beer which was brewed in many of the cottage homes, and the ingredients of this was mostly malt, hops and sugar. Breakfast was taken to work by the men and was usually eaten at 8 a.m. The main meal of the day was dinner which was taken at 12 mid-day.
It used to be an exciting time for the men to see their wives and children trundling over hedge, ditch, and row carrying large baskets, and the old fashioned frail basket made of wicker. In these would be bottles of tea and in the baskets would be home-made meat puddings and in other dishes there would be luscious runner beans and new potatoes. In those days every man grew his own vegetables and most had large gardens which they cultivated so as to provide themselves with vegetables all the year round. There were no tinned vegetables in those days and in any case it was economical to grow these as the wages were very low.

For a month's work in the harvest field the usual price was £10 and it was the custom to pay the year's rent of the cottage which was usually £4. Any money left over was spent on buying heavy leather boots for the winter. There were no rubber Wellingtons in those days.

I would liketo point out that although there were very few labour-saving implements in those days harvest was always completed without having to work on a Sunday. Very few if any of the farmers in those days would allow it. It used to be a grand sight to visit the stackyards after harvest as most of the farms on the Starston Place Estate had raised ricks to stack the corn on, this had a two-fold purpose, one was that there was no wet corn on the bottom and also the rats were unable to climb the iron stanchions to get into the stack.

In addition to the ricks mentioned each of the farms had large wooden structures, the roofs were covered with slates and the massive wooden posts held up the roof and the sides were open. The corn was neatly stacked into these massive structures which were called Northerns. This method meant a saving in the skilled job of thatching.

With the harvest all in it was a time for rejoicing, for both master and man, and as was the custom elsewhere the men used to be entertained by the farmer, his wife and family to an evening's entertainment. In many places it was known as a Harvest Horkey but in Starston it was known as the Harvest Largees, and these were carried out at Starston Place up to 1904 in which year farms were let to Mr. J. B. Dimmock.

When the date was fixed the farm foreman at the time, Mr. Bales, with the head horseman, Mr. S. Holmes would assemble with other workers in the large kitchen of Starston Place and forming a ring they would hollar as Norfolk farm workers could well do, "Largess-LAA- LAA-less" as long and as loud as they possibly could, to impress the visitors whom Mr. Taylor had invited along. The men would throw their felt or cloth hats which were the fashion in those days in the air with whoops of delight. Then Mr. Bales would go round to the ladies and gentlemen present to collect the Largess which in those days was mostly silver 4-shilling and 5-shilling pieces.

After refreshments of home-made cakes and lots of beer, the men would sing a song or two, happy with the thought that with the money collected they could take their wives and children on a day's excursion on the train to Yarmouth.

Christmas in the Village
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Starston Place Farms, being the largest employers of labour in the village, was also the centre of social events at Christmas and the New Year. The hand-bell ringers, some of whom were employed on the estate, used to make a tour of the chief houses on Christmas Eve and used to finish up at Starston Place. The team of six at the time that I am writing of used to ring two bells each and were led by Mr. Fred Reeve one of the gardeners.

They would assemble in the large front hall and play a series of change ringing, two of the well known methods were known as "Bob Major" and "Bob Minor".

For the finale a very lively tune was played called "Haste to the Wedding", this involved clashing the bells together and making a great din.

After this finale the ringers would retire to the kitchen to partake of home-brewed beer, hot sausage rolls and mince pies. While taking refreshments the bells were taken over by Mr. Alfred Taylor and his five sons, but not being accomplished ringers they could only manage a plain ring round much to the delight of the experts.

Among the other visitors to Starston at Christmas time were Town Bands from Harleston (now not in existence) and the Salvation Army Band, which at the time of writing still pays a visit to St. Margaret's Church, mostly to play at harvest festival services.

The other events which I have mentioned were not carried out after Mr. Alfred gave up farming in 1904.

Starston Bridge 1824
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

In the year 1824 the bridge over the Beck was just a wooden footbridge with hand rails for pedestrians with the carts and cattle fording through the water. This was evident from a sketch I have seen dated 1824.

In 1825 a committee was formed at a meeting held in the village on 4th April, 1825, when it was decided to build a modern bridge. Plans were drawn up and it was decided to build a brick pinion structure with iron girders to support the road crossing material.

A good start was made with the Rector agreeing to the payment of the architect's fee from his own pocket, and further more he decided to lend the rest of the money to the parish. This in turn was levied on all occupiers of land or houses in the village.
The money when raised was to be paid back to the Rector by instalments plus sixpence in the pound interest until the amount was fully paid up.

One of the conditions of the building of the bridge was that all the labouring and the carting of the materials was to be done by the villagers free of charge as part of their statute duty.

Anyway the job was well done and I suppose paid for, and according to the drawing of the new bridge which I have seen and from the measurements quoted the bridge is still standing though the pillars are damaged.

The bridge was built under the supervision of the Norfolk County Architect of that year, Mr. John Brown. The initials of JB and the year 1825 are as stated in the records still imprinted in the bricks.

Allotments in Starston 1845
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

When the Rev. Augustus Macdonald Hopper was appointed Rector of Starston in 1845 the labouring people of the villages were very poor indeed, Starston being no exception. Seeing this he decided that the glebe land or part of it anyway should be used to help the poor to be a bit more self-supporting. Accordingly the glebe field, which by the way is still controlled by the Rector of Starston and situated on the way from the by-road which runs off the Hardwick road towards Pulham North Green, was portioned off into plots for the residents of Starston.

The field, described as the winding field, comprised two acres, three poles and six perches, and was divided into seventeen pieces of twenty rods each. At this time the bottom half of the Churchyard was also glebe land and was known as the Church Pightie being in size 100 rods. This was divided up into three pieces of 20 rods each, and one of 40 rods.

Rules were drawn up and signed by the tenants of the allotments and each one agreed to pay 1s. 0d. each towards the cost of having the land ploughed up. The land appeared to be in good heart as there arc mentions of five and six bushels of wheat grown on each allotment. It was the custom in those days to grow wheat and to have it ground up to make wholemeal flour. This was done in the local windmills. Starston had one in common with most villages, in South Norfolk, some had more than one. The name of the Starston miller in 1864 was Charles Reynolds.

At the time of writing this book I have been unable to find out where the Starston windmill was situated.
Anyway the allotment scheme flourished and it is worth mentioning that in 1849 George Titlow was the tenant of plot No. four. This man is thought to be a relative of the Rev. Sam Titlow who later left money on trust for charitable purposes for Redenhall, Harleston and Wortwell.

To encourage good husbandry prizes were awarded annually for the best-kept allotment. The money awarded was 10s., 5s., 4s.
The Church Pightle scheme also flourished and mention is made that in 1851 the allotment held by George Titlow was transfered [sic]to Simeon Titlow, and this was also recorded as being cultivated by the same person in 1856. However, things appeared to be a bit difficult for some of the tenants, as in 1856 James Keeley had his allotment taken away because he had not paid his rent.

When the allotments were first let it was decided that those with large families should have priority, and it stated in the deeds that account would be taken of prospective tenants having a garden or not. When the allotments were ready to let the men drew lots as to which one they would cultivate.

The allotments were rigorously inspected to see if they were cultivated properly, and an observation was recorded in the Rector's book and there are several instances of the allotment holder losing his allotment through bad husbandry.
In 1850 it was recorded that one tenant grew 5½ bushels on 18 rods and this was worth 50s. 0d. Another interesting entry in the book was that Simeon Titlow had an allotment on the Hardwick road site in 1852. He proved to be a good grower for he made headway as in addition to the Hardwick road allotment he had another one on the Church Pightle. The results were marked in the book either good or bad and this man Simeon Titlow always had a good mark.

This must have stood him in good stead for he moved on to Attlebridge to take up farming. He was the father of the Rev. Samuel Titlow who left the investment for the poor of Redenhall, Harleston and Starston. This is still known as the Titlow Trust and the money from the interest is still distributed annually.

Starston Poor
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Further entries in the overseers book for 1847 are evident that poverty was still rife and under the heading of Christmas Dole 1847 entries were made that five people were given two yards of flannel, one yard each to six other people and three poor persons had three pounds of meat each. Plum pudding was liberally doled out, the amount being decided by the size of the family. 80 pounds of plum pudding were doled out, also 32 pounds of meat.

Horse Leading
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Until very recendy a very familiar sight in Starston and other villages in the area in the springtime was the arrival of the heavy horse stallions. These usually came round on foot with the man in charge called the "Horse Leader", perched high up in his pony cart leading these massive horses which more often than not weighed more than a ton.

Mating time for the mares started the first week in April and went on until the end of June. Appointments for the service of the stallions were mostly made at the local country markets in the district. But when the immediate needs had been met it fell to the Horse Leader to do much more travelling in the country side to look for more trade.

The duties of the Horse Leader has been given to me by one of the last surviving men who did this job, Mr. Edwin William Lawrence, known by mcst people in the area as Ted. He is over eighty years of age and at the present moment livesin the pleasant village of Shelfanger near Diss. He was born at West Bilney and was following a family tradition of four generations. Leaving school at the age of thirteen he immediately started looking after horses and continued to do so until called up for service in the 1914–1918 war in which he served the full period with the Irish Guards. On demobilization he started work with Shire horses for Mr. Fitch of Billingford near Diss. After seven years he changed employers and went to work with Suffolk horses for Mr. Raynham of Langmere near Diss. He made yet another change with a different breed of horse, the Percheron, this time for Mr. Cole of Winfarthing near Diss, and he remained in this job for 30 years until his retirement.

One of the best Shire horse stallions he ever handled was "Ivy Royal Seal", and he won many prizes in the local shows and travelled to London to the Shire Horse Show and obtained fourth prize in a strong class of 16 entries. The best Suffolk stallion handled by "Ted" was "Admiral Johns" who won many show prizes and was also the sire of many of the famous horses owned by the millers Pauls of Ipswich.

One of "Ted's" great joys was to relate about his best Percheron Stallion named "Stour Hcad Lagor" which was champion at the Royal Show, also champion at the Suffolk Show held at Ipswich in 1934. In one year he sired 85 foals. He was bought for seventy pounds and sold for £300 which in those days was a considerable sum of money. "Ted" related that it would have been difficult to find a horse with a quieter nature than this one, and was quite disappointed when it was sold and sent to Doncaster where it lived to the ripe old age of 17.

There are many country tales of the use of herbs and other old fashioned methods to control the tempers of these massive and often troublesome beasts but true to his profession, "Ted" would not divulge any of the names of the herbs used. He did, however, say that to control these massive animals it was essential to let them know in no uncertain manner that you were the boss and not afraid of them, also to treat them with firmness and kindness as they were very intelligent animals.

Another of "Teds" great memories was to see as many as nine stallions parading in the streets of Diss on the market day (Friday). This was when they were looking for more business and they presented a very gay sight with their tails and manes braided up and adorned with shiny brasses.

Many of the goings on of the Horse Leaders have been related to me by Mr. William Howes of Alburgh, now around eighty years of age himself. Strangely enough he also served in the Irish Guards with "Ted" and they have remained friends ever since. All that "Ted" has told me ties up with what Billy Howes has also told me.

The Wars Years 1914–18 and 1939–45
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Starston, in common with other villages and towns in East Anglia, contributed its quota of men for the Armed Forces. Fifty men were called up from this small village for the First World War and of this number 22 paid the supreme sacrifice. Although most of the men at that time were engaged in agriculture, it was very hard indeed to get military exemption.

The Germans often sent over their airships, called Zeppelins, at night todrop their bombs and it was thought Pulham Air Station was their primary objective. The Air Station had some searchlights to try and pick out the Zeppelins for the anti-aircraft gun which was stationed nearby. When the Zeppelins did release their bombs they never scored a direct hit on Pulham, but some of the bombs fell at Hardwick and Earsham.

There were not many aeroplanes in this area at this stage of the war but one military light plane unfortunately crashed one morning in 1917. The pilot, a Canadian, was killed and near the spot on the Gawdy Hall Estate at Redenhall is a cross. It was I believe, erected by Mrs. Sancroft Holmes and it has been maintained in a good condition until this time by the present owners of the estate.

The Pulham Air Station became a base for dirigible airships and their primary object was to hunt the German submarines which were menacing our ships in the North Sea.

After the war the base became the home of the larger type airships and at one time most of these ill-fated airships were housed either in the large hangers which had been built or to the large steel mooring mast which had been erected.

One of the best remembered was the R.33. During a very fierce gale this airship broke away from the mooring mast and severely damaged the nose part. She drifted away backwards as far as Holland. When the gale subsided the skeleton crew managed to bring her back to Pulham.

The ill-fated R101 was at one time at Pulham but she met her fate in France where she crashed en route for India, killing most of her crew.

The Second World War, 1939–45 again took away many of our young men to fight, but fortunately only four were lost. But with the enemy bringing the war to us there were many more civilian casualties; many of our towns and villages suffered heavy losses through enemy bombing.

Pulham Air Station, now an ammunition dump, was again the chief target for the enemy and several attempts were made to cause damage. On August 21st, 1940, a fine sunny morning, the peace of the countryside was rudely disturbed by a dog fight between three Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force and a Dorniet bomber which was attempting to bomb PuIham Air Station. The Hurricanes managed to set the Dornier on fire and two of the German crew escaped by parachutes. They landed safely but were soon captured. The pilot remained at the controls of the stricken bomber and by skillful manoeuvring he avoided crashing on Harleston but did so on a field at Conifer Hil in Starston, killing two ponies The pilot was burned to death in the blazing inferno.

The pilot was buried in the Village Churchyard at Starston and a wooden cross erected over his grave. It was noticed that from time to time flowers were placed on his grave and it was said that once his sister, from Germany, visited the grave. The inscription on the cross read:

Heinz Ermeck, died 21/8/40, aged 19.

Starston Wind Pump
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

In the centre of the viliage near the stream called the Beck is a very rare windmill built around 1850. Its main job was to fill up the massive water tanks, one on top of Starston Place and one in the farmyard. So effective were the large canvas and wood sails that although there was a stationary engine which could work the pumps, it was seldom used. However with a piped supply of water to the village and district the use of the pump was discontinued. The windmill, now scheduled as an ancient monument, has been restored and the public are invited to pay a visit of inspection.

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