Author Archives: victoriadraper24

An Opening Performance

Posted on 11 March 2025 by victoriadraper24

26th September, 1921. How much can we imagine what the opening performance of As You Like It might have looked like, at the brand new Maddermarket Theatre in Norwich? Could it be possible for a theatre built centuries after Shakespeare’s … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, NRO Research Bloggers, Snapshots from the Archive | 4 Comments

‘Little more than a mass of fungus’: conserving the Salthouse Parish Register- Part 2: what’s inside

Posted on 23 February 2025 by victoriadraper24

We have already looked into the burial of the Salthouse Parish Register and the work to conserve it. Now it is time to focus on some of the people included in it. Some of the entries give far more detail … Continue reading →

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‘Little more than a mass of fungus’: conserving the Salthouse Parish Register. Part 1- the burial and conservation work

Posted on 5 February 2025 by victoriadraper24

In 2005, Record Office staff began the task of conserving the first parish register for Salthouse, allowing people to see inside the register for the first time in over sixty years. The register contains a unique record of the baptisms, … Continue reading →

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The Botanical Diaries: A Victorian Teen’s Summer Adventures

Posted on 16 January 2025 by victoriadraper24

The needles of a 500-year-old yew tree, a sprig of oak from Sherwood Forest, a piece of seaweed from the seaside resort of St Leonards. These are not typical artefacts you might expect to find in Norfolk Record Office. Yet, … Continue reading →

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Christmas in a foreign country

Posted on 20 December 2024 by victoriadraper24

We tend to think of Christmases as a time for having fun with friends and family. Often we forget about those who are unable to do so, particularly those who are working or stationed abroad. This was the case for … Continue reading →

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Poor Jack-  Food for the Poor or How to Make a Fortune

Posted on 29 November 2024 by victoriadraper24

My first independent foray into archival research at the Norfolk Record Office gave me a real headache in trying to understand the text but it was a fascinating and rewarding journey which lead to researching topics in many ways. Norfolk … Continue reading →

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Disaster on Prince of Wales Road, Norwich: September 1923

Posted on 13 November 2024 by victoriadraper24

Prince of Wales Road was built in 1860s as a grand thoroughfare for visitors from Norwich’s new Thorpe Railway Station to travel into the city centre. Old photographs show it lined on one side mainly by grand houses with shops … Continue reading →

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Pauper emigration from the parish of Guestwick in the 1830s.

Posted on 10 October 2024 by victoriadraper24

Researched and written by Christine Shackell The parish of Guestwick lies between Fakenham and Aylsham in north Norfolk. In 1831 the census recorded that there were 37 houses with 188 inhabitants.1 It comprised a scatter of cottages and farms with … Continue reading →

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