I found this video footage posted by the London Screen Archive on YouTube., it's wonderful to see how busy the streets were back then. The film was made by Claude Friese -Green. He developed a system of using alternate red and green frames to create the illusion of colour.
Stradbroke is in Suffolk and is near to the towns of Eye and the market town of Diss. It currently has a population of around 1330. Alot of the early Wharton's in my tree originated in Stradbroke prior to moving across into Norfolk and settling in North Lopham. Below is the story of one family with a sad tale to tell. Elijah Wharton Our story starts with Elijah WHARTON who was born in Stradbroke in 1803. Elijah was the son of William Wharton (1751-1841) who was married twice. Elijah's mother being Frances was William's first wife. William also married Sarah Hunting and thanks to his father's two marriages, Elijah had 12 siblings. He married Caroline Clarke in 1822 at the age of 19 in Stradbroke Parish Church and they had five children together. Below is an extract of the family from the Stradbroke 1841 census listing Elijah as a farmer. Elijah lived all his life in Stradbroke and died in 1851 aged only 48 leaving his five children Ellen (born 1823), William Wharton (born 1824) , Alfred Wharton (born 1826), John Wharton (born 1827) and Henry Wharton (born 1828).
John Wharton (1827 - 1895) This particular story follows Elijah's third son, John. Having shared his father's inheritance with 4 of his siblings, I am sure that this didn't leave much of a nest egg for John. John was christened on 9th December 1827 in Wingfield, Suffolk a short distance away from where he was raised in Stradbroke. In the 1851 and 1861 census he is found living with his mother in Barlow Hall, Stradbroke, presumably helping her to run the farm there. In 1871 after his mothers death he moves in with his brother William in Ashfield Green, Stradbroke. Next we find him getting married at the age of 43 to Anna Maria MEEN on 7th December 1871. They had two children together Ellen Kate Wharton (born in 1872) and Arthur John Wharton (born in 1873). Sometime between 1873 and 1877 John was then sent to the Suffolk County Asylum for Pauper Lunatics in Melton and he stayed there until his death in 1895. His wife Anna would then have needed to support the two children and was unable to so she entered the both of them into Hartismere Workhouse and they are found their in the 1881 census listed as pauper children. More on what happened to them later on in this article. Anna's other relationships Anna then moved in with Charles Warren at his house in Laxfield and in 1881 she is listed as his housekeeper with another child called Frederick William Wharton who was born in 1878 in Laxfield. Although I haven't received confirmation of what is on the birth certificate, I believe that Frederick's father is in fact Charles Warren, but because she was still married to John, she would have had to put John down as the father perhaps and given him the surname Wharton when it should be really Warren. Charles Warren died in 1898. 10 years later in 1891 Anna has now moved to Lowestoft and living with William Flegg, and two more children Mabel M Wharton (born 1885) and Thomas W Wharton (born 1886). Anne calls herself a "widow" even though technically she is still married to John Wharton who is still in the lunatic asylum and Charles Warren her previous partner was still alive. She then had two more children with Flegg, Frederick Edward Wharton (born 1892) and Grace Wharton (born 1894). When John Wharton died in the lunatic asylum in 1895, Anne was then free to marry. She and William Flegg were married in 1902 and by the 1911 census she is listed as William's wife Anna Flegg and her two youngest children still named "Wharton". What happened to Anna and John Wharton's children, Ellen and Arthur Wharton? Having been abandoned by their mother into the workhouse I found them listed in the workhouse during 1881 whilst their mother had moved in with Charles Warren. Luckily for them the workhouse treated the children well and taught them valuable skills they could use when they left. I can't find her in the 1891 census for some reason but in 1901 Ellen is found working as a servant in Wortham to the farmer of Ling Farm. She was still living their in the 1911 census, but died shortly after it was taken in May 1911. By 1891 at the age of 17 years old, Arthur John Wharton had left the workhouse and made his way up north to Royston in Yorkshire. The 1891 census says he was a Farm Servant. He eventually settled in Rotherham with his wife Louisa Hurst who he married in 1901. He took employment as a Railway Stoker and it appears that he remained doing that work for the rest of his working life. They went on to have six children born in Rotherham. Nellie (1902), Gladys (1904), Arthur (1905), Geoffrey (1907), Harry (1907) and Clifford (1909). The founding of Hall's Grammar School in SnettishamI was researching the history of of one of my ancestors (Kate May Wharton) when I came across details of the school she attended in the 1871 census. It listed a Robert Lubbock as the school master. so I decided to google his name and see what history I could find out about the actual school. It turns out that the school has quite a fascinating story to tell. The school's founder was someone called Antony HALL. He was a Yeoman of Snettisham who lived in Snettisham during the early 1700s. He lived in a house called Cherry Hill which had about 5 acres of land. It was the house and land that he owned that would eventually be what was turned into the school. Apparently in 1708 he was taken ill and rewrote his will because he did not get along with his three children, however he did love his grandchildren. His wife had already died and he wanted to provide assistance to the poor of his village in helping them to read and write and get an education. When he died in October 1708, his children don't appear to be that happy about the outcome of it because he had left all his land and buildings with specific instructions to start a grammar school in the village. The will said that the school should take care of the education fo 20 poor boys from the village whose parents occupied property not worth more than £20. No other free scholars were allowed to be taken in unless they were descendant from Antony Hall. He did however allow fee paying scholars to attend, which I guess was how the school would be maintained and be able to survive. Nothing was done for many years after to implement the wishes of Antony Hall's will. The land and property remained with his grand daughter and eventually the Hall family died out. It wasn't until one hundred years after his death that a local vicar took the case to court to get the will moving and the school opened. The school finally opened in 1805. When Kate May Wharton attended the school in 1871, she was one of 13 other boarders at the school. I would imagine that coming from a farming family she would have been a paying boarder. Three years later in 1875 the school was temporarily closed because it was under pressure from the number of church and school board schools that were opening in and around the county. It opened again later in the year under a new scholarship system
For further details about the history of the school visit http://www.hallsfoundation.co.uk/halls02.htm. William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk Below is information taken from the Wiliam White's history. It mentions the origins of the Old Hall Farm, which was farmed by Thomas George Wharton, Arthur Philip Wharton and Hugh Wharton. It also mentions St Michael's church where most of the Wharton's from this family are buried, including my father John Arthur Martin Wharton. 1845
INGOLDISTHORPE, on the Hunstanton road, 10 miles N.N.E. of Lynn, is a small scattered village, seated in a picturesque vale, finely clothed with wood, and watered by a small rivulet, which flows westward across the salt marshes to the Wash, after forming a beautiful cascade at the new bridge, near Snettisham. The parish contains 344 inhabitants, and 1,128 acres of land, mostly belonging to John Bellamy, Esq., of Wisbech, the lord of the manor, who has a large mansion here, now occupied by the Rev. Edward Bellamy, M.A. On an eminence, commanding an extensive view of the ocean and the adjacent country, is Mount Amelia, the delightful seat of Captain John Davy, R.N., built by John Davy, Esq., in 1745. In the reign of King John, John Chamberlain sued Henry de Patesle and Thomas de Ingoldesthorpe, for the murder of his brother Drugo, and both being convicted, the former was banished to Jerusalem for seven years to serve God for the soul of Drugo, and the latter was to find a priest for the same purpose, and to pay Drugo's parents the sum of forty marks. The CHURCH (St. Michael,) is a large building with a square tower and three bells, and opposite the south porch stands an ancient cross. The rectory, valued in the King's Book at £12, and in 1831 at £355, has 45 acres of glebe. Certain Trustees are patrons, and the Rev. Abm. Hepworth, LL.B., is the incumbent. In the north aisle lies interred Richard Gardiner, Esq., commonly called "Dick Merry Fellow," who died after a short residence at Mount Amelia, in 1781. He was a busy partizan at elections, and left behind him a great variety of jeu d'esprit, songs, and inscriptions, full of wit and humour. The tithes were commuted in 1839, for £300 16s. 9d. per annum. The sum of £10 left to the church and poor by Agnes Bigge, was laid out in the purchase of about 3A. of land, now let for £4 10s., most of which is given to the poor. Bellamy Rev Edward, M.A. vicar of Dersingham, Hall Bocking Mary shopkeeper Davy Capt. John, R.N. Mount Amelia Fayers Thomas cooper Flight Isaac victualler, Ship Hepworth Rev. Abm., LL.B. Rectory Jordan John blacksmith & beer hs. Kenney G. shoemaker Lewin William butcher Potter John gardener Smithbone Edward shopkeeper Townshend Jeremiah bricklayer Vergirson James carpenter Webbin William blacksmith FARMERS Davies Mrs. Dungar Thomas Hotching Wm. Petrie Archbd. Santy Phoebe 1883 INGOLDISTHORPE, on the Hunstanton road, 1½ mile S.E. of Snettisham Station, and 10 miles N.N.E. of Lynn, is a small scattered village, seated in a picturesque vale, finely clothed with wood and watered by a small rivulet, which flows westward across the salt marshes to the Wash, after forming a beautiful cascade at the new bridge, near Snettisham. It is in Docking union, Smithdon and Brothercross petty sessional division, Smithdon hundred, Lynn county court and bankruptcy district, Docking polling district of West Norfolk, Heacham rural deanery, and Norfolk archdeaconry. The parish contains 309 inhabitants, living on 1393 acres of land, and has a rateable value of £2498 2s. 7d. The Rev. James Bellamy, D.D., owns the manor and a great part of the soil. He occasionally resides at the manor house, an ancient brick mansion, enlarged by him during the last few years, and situated near the church. John William Davy, Esq., Mrs. Catherine Davy, John B. Goggs, Esq., Henry James Coldham, Esq., Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and a few smaller owners, have estates here. On an eminence, commanding an extensive view of the ocean and the adjacent country, is Ingoldisthorpe Hall, the delightful seat of Mrs. Catherine Davy, built by John Davy, Esq., in 1745. The Old Hall, an Elizabethan house, formerly surrounded by a moat, is now a farm house. In the reign of King John, John Chamberlain sued Henry de Patesle and Thomas de Ingoldisthorpe, for the murder of his brother Drugo, and both being convicted, the former was banished to Jerusalem for seven years to serve God for the soul of Drugo, and the latter was to find a priest and to found a chantry in the church for the same purpose, and to pay Drugo's parents the sum of forty marks. The CHURCH (St. Michael) is a handsome structure, comprising nave with aisles and clerestory, south porch, chancel, and square tower with two bells. The ancient screen remains, and at the east end of the south aisle is a piscina. The east and west windows, and the south windows of the chancel have been filled with stained glass by the rector. That at the east end is to the memory of the late T. Beckett, Esq., and his wife, and represents the Nativity, Crucifixion, Ascension, and Descent of the Spirit, and is the work of O'Connor. The window at the east end of the south aisle is filled with stained glass, by Preedy, in memory of Captain John Davy, R.N., who died in 1876, and was inserted by his family. The nave was thoroughly restored, reroofed, paved with tiles, and fitted with open poppy-headed benches, in 1857, at the expense of the parishioners and their friends, the chancel having been restored a few years previously by the rector, the Rev. W.T. Beckett. The new roof is of high pitch, and the spandrils rest on richly-carved stone corbels by Farmer of London. Opposite the south porch stands an ancient cross; and over the entrance is a figure of the patron saint. In the north aisle lies interred Richard Gardiner, Esq., commonly called 'Dick Merry Fellow,' who died, after a short residence at Ingoldisthorpe Hall, in 1781; and at the west end of the church is a tablet to his memory. He was a busy partisan at elections, and left behind him a great variety of jeu d'esprit, songs, and inscriptions, full of wit and humour. Here are also several tablets of the Davy and Hoste families. The rectory, valued in the King's Book at £12, is in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. William Thomas Beckett, M.A., who has 45 acres of glebe, a yearly tithe rent charge of £312, awarded in 1839; and a handsome Elizabethan residence, built in 1856-8, at a cost of £2000. The School, with teacher's house adjoining, was built in 1858 by the rector, is supported by voluntary subscriptions, school pence, and Government grant, and attended by about 60 children. The sum of £15 left to the church and poor by Agnes Bigge, was laid out in the purchase of about 3 acres of land, now let for £4, which is given to the poor on St. Thomas's day. The common of 200 acres, was enclosed in 1858, when 30 acres were allotted to the poor for fuel, 8 acres for garden plots, and 3 acres as a recreation ground. POST OFFICE at Mr. John Townshend's. Letters arrive at 7 a.m., and are despatched at 6 p.m., viâ Lynn. Snettisham is the nearest Money Order and Telegraph Office. Askham Wm. coal dealer & shopkeeper Beckett Rev. William Thomas, M.A. rector, the Rectory Bellamy Rev. James, D.D. president of St. John's Col. Oxford, Manor house Brown Miss Martha dressmaker Cater Robert victualler, Ship Inn Davy Mrs Catherine Ingoldisthorpe hl Earl Robert beerhouse & cattle dlr. Fayers Thomas cooper and coal dlr. Grange Robt. frmr. horse & cattle dlr. Griffin Wm. Thompson frmr. Old hall Hatch Edwin whitesmith Hodgetts John Thomas farmer Kendall Edward blacksmith Lewis Richard farmer Marrington David carpenter Martins John butcher & cattle dealer Swann Miss Agatha schoolmistress Townshend Jno. parish clk. & postmstr. Utting William fish dealer Ward Humphrey tailor & shopkeeper CARRIERS pass through to Lynn several times a week. Thomas Wharton (1797-1828) was listed in the 1841 Census as being the farmer of Courtyard Farm in Ringstead, Norfolk. Thomas remained the farmer of 750 acres until his death in 1828. He and his wife Susan Porter are buried in St Andrew's Church in Ringstead. The farm still exists today and further information can be found by visiting http://www.courtyardfarm.co.uk/organic-farming/HISTORY.html. The website states: "Courtyard Farm covers 750 acres of rolling countryside near the Norfolk Coast. Peddars Way, a Roman road, passes a mile to the west of the farm, and goes through Ringstead village, and Roman remains have been found nearby....In 1784 Courtyard Farm was part of the Hunstanton Estate, owned by the Le Strange Family and it was farmed by their tenants until 1946." I have just recently contacted Courtyard Farm in the hope that they have some documentation about Thomas I could look at, Le Strange family http://www.ls.u-net.com/ documents the history of this ancient family who can be traced back to saxon times. They were mostly known in Shropshire and Norfolk. "Their long-lived connections with Norfolk dates back to Roland le Strange (Ruallus Extraneus in Latin) who founded these branches around 1100 A.D.. Although the le Strange name died out in Shropshire, the eldest surviving branch remains in Norfolk." At the time when Thomas was farming the land it would have been under the control of Hamon le Strange and Roland le Strange of Hunstanton. I have now started to add pages to the site with detailed biographies of my discoveries. Not all will have dedicated one pages to them but the main areas where I have researched I will put as much details as possible.
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AuthorJulia Wharton Archives
January 2014
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