Colkirk Remembered

COLKIRK REMEMBERED

We still need more photos of the village and it's residents

Mary and Alfred Greef ( born 1885 ) Mary Greef's mother, Frances Cooke, nee Madder

Photos from Steve Greef, (Alfred's grandson, Mary's gt. grandson and Frances's gt. gt. grandson )

The above 2 photos, taken in 1978, are from Alan Wrigley's collection.

Alan lived in Colkirk for a few years and gives his permission to use these photos

You can view more of his photo collection by clicking here

School Road, 1915 and 2008 viewed from near the junction of Gormans Lane

Interior view, All Saints Oxwick, early 20th century and 2008

Colkirk school cricket team 1930's?

Seated front row centre, Eric Wright, with, on his left, his brother, Stanley Wright

Photo from Stanley's daughter, Sandra Rushton

The Star Public House in the 1920's & our gt grandfather Matthew Wright

( Blacksmith and Landlord of the Star from 1881 to 1927 )

Leonard Wright and his wife Bessie ( Youngman ) with daughter Elsie and one of their two sons, ( Eric or Stanley ?)

outside their home in Dereham Road ( opposite the Methodist Chapel )

Leonard Wright, Carpenter and Wheelwright

Above 4 photos and details from Keith Wright and Cheryl Green

Jack Hall, Colkirk`s rat catcher - pictured in the early 1940`s on a visit to his brother in law Alfred Wright in Suffolk.

Photo and details from Keith Wright

Oscar and Sarah Ann Dunn

Oscar Dunn was baptised at St. Mary's Colkirk on 14th December 1856

He married Sarah Ann Green there on 25th October 1892.

In 1910 Oscar was landlord of the Fox and Hounds at Weasenham St. Peter.

Oscar and Sarah also lived in Oxwick and in the now derelict bungalow next to the Crown.

Photo and details from Heather Gooch

Photo taken in 1940,s outside Primrose Cottage

Right to left: Diana Hall, May ( Wright ) Hall, Jack Hall ( Village Rat Catcher ), Alfred Wright and 3 friends.

Photo and details from Keith Wright

Diana (Harper) Wright in 1937 aged 83.

My gt. grandmother was born in Colkirk in 1854 to Henry and Margaret Harper.
Her father and later her widowed mother ran The Star public house from 1854 until 1881.
Diana married my gt. grandfather Matthew Wright in Colkirk in 1876 and in 1881 they took over The Star until its closure in 1927.

Matthew died in 1928 and Diana went to live with her daughter May ( Wright ) Hall in Primrose Cottage

Diana died in 1939 having spent 73 years of her life in The Star.

Both are buried in St. Mary's Churchyard

Photo and details from Keith Wright

April 4th 1914: Wedding of Olive Britton and Alfred Wright

Photo from cousins Keith Wright and Maureen Doyle

April 4th 1914: Wedding of Olive Britton and Alfred Wright

Photo and details from Heather Gooch and Keith Wright

Back Row ( excluding Bride and Groom ): Laura Green, Mabel Green, Frank Wright, Charlie Green, George Nobes,

Sidney Green, Mr.Howard, Ted Goodman, James Green, John Green

Women Seated: May Wright, Edith Green, Rose Bailey, Elsie Wright, Aggie Leeden, Mrs.Howard

Seated on ground: Maggie Dunn, Marjorie Leeden, Cissie Leeden, Charlie Chaffey, Maggie Chaffey

1920 - Four generations of the Green family

Our gt gt grandfather, James Green, his son Charles Henry, his grandson Percy and his great grandson George.
Percy was a corporal in the Royal Lancashire Fusiliers.

It turns out that I am related to the Harpers, Sumpters and Baileys of Colkirk

John Sumpter b.1854 who features on the website is my gt gt grandmother, Maria (Sumpter - Phillippo), Britton`s younger brother.

Photo from Keith Wright and Mark Goodbody

Colkirk Rectory 1910

Oxwick church, about 1900 ( above 3 photos from Steve Greef )

James Green ( previously of Heath Farm ) in the early 1920's outside his home with daughters

Sarah Ann and Agnes. James died in 1925 aged 90

Agnes Leeden ( Green ), midwife, 1930's

The above two photos are of Agnes Leeden ( Green ) were taken in 1910 and the late 1930's.

Agnes was the village midwife and lived next to Frank Wright's smithy in Dereham Road

The above 4 photos came from Agnes's great grandsons, Keith Wright and Mark Goodbody.

David Whiteside outside the bungalow where he was born

( the derelict one next to The Crown ) - 1930's

John Sumpter and David Whiteside - 1930's

John Sumpter died in 1940, aged 87

Above two photos from David Whiteside

Colkirk School 1907 Colkirk Chapel Outing 1907

The story of Jarvis Drive

James Leech Ridgway died in 1862.

The Executors and Trustees of his will were James William Ridgway, Edward Carrington Ridgway and William Hearn Ridgway.

Part of his possessions was a 6.5 acre piece of land known as Rise Close which, in 1892, was sold for £2 10s 6d to Walter Marsham Hoare, Rector of Colkirk.

In 1897 George Nelson, Builder, from Colkirk, bought 2.25 acres of this land, bounded on the North by a field owned by John Chambers, on the East by the public footpath leading from Dereham Road to Hall Lane, on the South in part by a field belonging to Mrs Philippo and in part by a piece of land belonging to the Colkirk Co-operative Society and on the West by the highway leading from Fakenham to Whissonsett. He paid £135 for this piece of land.

George Nelson died in 1926 leaving the land to his son, Geoffrey James Nelson, also a builder.

In 1949 Geoffrey James Nelson sold the land to Kathleen Mary Drew for £100.

In 1959 Kathleen Mary Drew sold the land to Francis Edward Melton and Arthur Albert Melton, builders from Beetley, for £300

Seven bungalows were built on the land in the early 60’s and the road was called Jarvis Drive to honour Donald Jarvis, Headmaster of Colkirk School from 1934 to 1958.

The following articles are taken from a school project run by Mrs. Constance Cox ( Teacher at Colkirk School from 1975 to 1981 )

Colkirk - Our Village

Colkirk is a village near to Fakenham Town

Mr. Whitmore and his family are living at " The Crown "

Mr. Clements keeps the Post Office and the Village Store

We have to rely on Fakenham for the keeping of the law

The chapel down the Dereham Road has services each week

For our entertainment the Village Hall we seek

The Rector welcomes us to Church, the doors are open wide

The people come to learn, sing and pray when they are inside

Our school was built in 1847, improved by Rev. Hoare

Who wanted us all to be clever, learning more and more

The memorial stands on the corner showing we'll never forget

The men who fought for their country, the bravest ever met

Our fruit we buy at Selbys, on the Fakenham - Dereham Road

To several different markets it is taken in a load

Strawberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, apples too

High class and delicious especially grown for you

Selbys Fruit

Fruit trees planted in 1949-50, strawberries in 1966, blackberries in 1967 and blackcurrants in 1975.

There were 62 acres altogether, house was built in 1952, bungalow in 1963.

Fruit was sent to markets at Birmingham, Liverpool and Covent Garden, London.

Also sent to Wisbech to be repacked for shops.

This fruit farm provided work for a number of local people in the district.

Jarvis Drive

Jarvis Drive was named after Mr. Jarvis who was Head Master of the school from 1934 to 1958.

Mr. Jarvis died from a heart attack on Boxing Day 1958 at the age of 61.

He was also Church Organist, a Parish Pouncillor, Charity Trustee, member of the PCC and Head Warden of the ARP in 1938, which was re-named the Civil Defence in 1946 when he still remained a member.

Sadly missed, both at school and in the village, a casket containing his cremated remains was buried under a tree on the Camping Land side of the churchyard.

Mrs.Jarvis also taught at the school for 15 years. She retired in 1952 and died in 1965.

Their son married the daughter of Mrs.Beck ( senior ) and it was from Mr.Jarvis ( junior ) that this information was acquired

The Crown Public House

Mr. Samuel Collison, a farmer and woodman died in 1767, leaving £100 to the Parish. With this money the Parish Council bought " The Crown Inn ". The rent paid was used as a charity fund to help the poor in the Parish.

In 1959, as the Crown was in a state of disrepair and Mr.and Mrs.Colman were retiring, ( having been licensees for over 25 years ), it was decided to sell the pub by public auction. It was bought by East Anglian brewers, Greene King and Sons Ltd, for the sum of £1500. After expenses of the sale were paid, the remaining money was placed in the Bank and the interest is paid out to charities each year.

Gratitude was payed to Mr.Collison when his tombstone was cleaned in 1830.

Mr.Myhill started a butcher's business in 1936 in the Crown yard ( the building now being the toilet block at the pub ).

He killed a pig, a sheep and bought beef, making his deliveries by bicycle. At the end of the first week he had made a profit of 15 shillings ( 75p today )

Later he bought a small Austin Van. He gave up his business in 1939 when he joined the forces.

Permission was asked in 1936 to lay the Bowling Green at The Crown ( now the beer garden )

May 1971 - Gift to " The Crown Inn "

A horse-shoe, hand made at Colkirk has been given the The Crown by Mr.Marshall of Sidmouth, Devon who was on holiday in Norfolk. It contains an inlaid photograph of the maker, the late Mr.Frank Wright.

Mr.Marshall considered that the horse-shoe rightly belonged to the village and, in accepting it, the licensee Mr.G.Frost told him that " it would hang in a prominent place in the bar ".

The smithy where the shoe was made ( down the Dereham Road, near the chapel ) was demolished, together with the cottage, in October 1970.

The Old Rectory

A rectory at Colkrk was first mentioned in 1346.

The current building had alterations and additions in 1820-30 and again in 1870 when the out buildings were removed to a new site and the Parish Room was built.

There was a disastrous fire in 1922 necessitating reconstruction of the south and west wings.

In 1954 part of the old rectory was converted into a separate flat. The Old Rectory was finally bought by Mr.and Mrs.Hugh Beck.

A Colkirk Coachman

1964 - Members of the family of a former Colkirk Coachman returned to the village to attend the dedication service of a memorial to a daughter killed in a New York street accident in 1961. The woman who was killed was Miss Margaret Agatha Dunn, daughter of Mr.Oscar Dunn, a one time coachman to the village Rector. She was 65 years of age, born 6th May 1899.

One of her brothers, Mr.Ernest Dunn, of New York State, who had also emigrated, expressed a wish that there should be a memorial to her at Colkirk and sent a sum of money for this purpose. The money was used in carrying out improvements in the school and for three new oak pew fronts in the church which were dedicated to her memory. Three electric clocks were bought for the school.

This picture was lent to me and, judging by the church, is obviously not Colkirk - any guesses as to where it might be.

Birds of a Feather

The Cranes and The Sparrows

Many of the residents of Colkirk will know Eileen Bailey of Starre Corner but few will know that she is the fourth generation of her family to live in the village.

Born Eileen Crane at White Cottage, Dereham Road in the early part of the 20th Century, Eileen was the youngest daughter of John Crane and Alice Sparrow. Eileen and her family moved to Hazelwood Farm, Common End where she married Stanley Bailey in 1940 at St Mary's, Colkirk . Stanley Bailey was born at Common End, Colkirk in 1910 and spent all his working life as a mole catcher, firstly for his father, then in partnership with his brother Percy.

John Crane Wedding of John Crane and Alice Sparrow

Eileen's father, John Crane, was born at Ashwicken, nr Kings Lynn, in 1871. He moved to Colkirk when his father James took over the stewardship of Manor Farm at Common End. John married Alice Sparrow, born 1875 in Colkirk, at St Mary's, Colkirk in 1912. They lived for a spell in Dereham Road, Colkirk before moving to the cottages adjoining Manor Farm. John worked as a team-man and gamekeeper at Manor Farm before it merged with Hazelwood Farm and he became Farm Steward in 1919 living in the farmhouse. John died in 1951 at Colkirk, a retired Farm Bailiff.

Eileen's mother, Alice, was the daughter of Henry Sparrow and Ann Bartaby. She died in 1954 at Colkirk. Henry was a wheelwright in Colkirk and Ann was the Housekeeper to the Curate of Colkirk. She later ran the village Post Office in School Road.

Manor Farm

John's parents (Eileen's paternal grandparents), James Crane and Mary Crane( nee Pettit ) died in 1938 and 1932 respectively. Both are buried in Colkirk.

James Crane Mary Crane nee Pettit

Alice's parents (Eileen's maternal grandparents), Henry Sparrow and Ann Sparrow ( nee Bartaby ) died in 1915 and 1920 respectively.

They are also buried in Colkirk.

Henry and Ann's parents (Eileen's maternal great grandparents), William Sparrow & Ann Sparrow (nee Emms), and George Bartaby & Mary Bartaby (nee Russell ) are also buried in the village churchyard.

The Colkirk Swan

The Village - 1977

The Greefs of Oxwick

Mary Ann Greef outside Oxwick church

Mary Ann Greef ( formerly Cooke ) was born about 1844 in Castle Acre.

She married John Greef from Gooderstone and they had about 11 children whilst living in Caldecote, Swaffham.

They moved to The Green, Oxwick and were living there in the 1891 and 1901 Censuses.

Their son Reginald is mentioned on the Colkirk War Memorial.

Reginald and Eliza Greef John and Mary Greef with their family

THE 1947 COLKIRK CARNIVAL

Frank Wix, Billy Falconbridge and others

Pam Colman, Urban Lake, Donald Jarvis

Percy and Elsie Cunningham

Sylvia Thetford and Leonard Charter-Starte

Molly Brummel Pam Colman and Diana Hall Dennis Crane

Leonard and Gwen Charter-Starte Leonard Charter-Starte, Eric Wright

Harry and Amy Smith Harry Smith

Jack Larwood, George Pearson, Billy High Albert ( Bumper ) Catton, Dougie Wright

Leonard Charter-Starte Alec Robinson, Derek Johnson

Leonard Charter Starte and Jack Joice

Revd. and Mrs Caulfield Browne

( Cauliflower Browne )

Jack Joice Leonard Charter Starte Harry Smith

( village dentist )

Josie Gale nee Keely

Jack Joice Jack Joice

A SELECTION OF OTHER PHOTOS

Shop run by Elijah and Sarah Crane

Gertie Nobes outside The Crown School Road from Starre Corner

" Neck Rest " Exercises

The Rectory before " The Fire " Church with oil lights and pot-bellied stove

1930

L to R: Queenie Green, Vera Nelson, Peggy Isbell,

Eileen Crane ( Bailey ), Patricia Crane,Violet Aldous ( Harrison )

Wedding of John Crane and Alice Sparrow

( Eileen Bailey's parents )

John Crane James Crane and Mary Pettit ( Eileen Bailey's grandparents )

James Bailey and Ann Middleton Manor Farm

( Stan Bailey's grandparents )

Manor Farm Church Road

1967 W.I. or Mothers Union Choir Boys, L to R: John Bailey, Owen Reynolds, Derek Johnson,

Back Row, 3rd, 4th and 5th - Mrs Johnson, Eileen Bailey, Rose Makins Michael Robinson, Brian Robinson

Colkirk FC, 1954, Norman Wix - goalkeeper Evelyn Johnson, Sheila Wix

Colkirk FC, probably 1940's

JOHN SUMPTER – A 19^th CENTURY COLKIRK RESIDENT

Click on photo to enlarge

John Sumpter, a carpenter, was born in Ringland, Norfolk in 1812.

In 1838 he married Diana Harper, a Colkirk girl, born in 1815.

By 1851 they were living in Colkirk with their four children, Maria (12), Dinah (8), Elizabeth (5) and Martha (3), who were all born in Colkirk.

By the time of the 1861 Census they were living in the pictured cottage in Fakenham Road (now Crown Road) which was converted from a barn or stables about 1854. They now had an additional son, John (7).

John (senior) died at the age of 57 in 1870 and was buried on 5^th September in Colkirk.

In the 1871 census Diana was still living in the same cottage with her son John, now working in the building trade like his father, but as a bricklayer.

Diana died in 1912 aged 101 and was buried on 28^th February in Colkirk.

John, her son, lived in the cottage until he died at the age of 87 in 1940.

He was buried in Colkirk on the 18^th September.

The cottage, having changed very little from the photo, still exists in Crown Road.

(The present owner has asked that her address is not published on the website).

Some memory joggers

The Star Public House