Category Archives: All Posts

‘Wilfully Destroying a Geranium’ and other Crimes in 19th Century Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth gaol was housed in the twelfth century Tolhouse for several hundred years until its closure in 1875. In 1819 the Borough Council purchased adjacent buildings and converted them into a House of Correction (aka the Bridewell) which was … Continue reading

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Vaccination in the Archives

An interesting and under-used resource, which is perhaps unexpectedly helpful for family historians, are the series of vaccination registers (1882-1948) from Norwich City Council’s Health Department (reference NRO, N/HE 12).  Compulsory smallpox vaccination legislation was introduced in 1853 for England … Continue reading

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Parson Woodforde and his diary: a new website 

The famous diarist, the Revd James Woodforde (1740–1803), lived for 27 years at Weston Longville, twelve miles northwest of Norwich. He began his daily diary at the age of nineteen while at Oxford, continued it as a young curate in … Continue reading

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Colonel William Roy and Burgh Castle Fort

This blog will focus on how one of the most important mapmakers in British history has a link to Norfolk. William Roy was a key figure in the development of the Ordnance Survey (OS), Great Britain’s national mapping agency (so-named … Continue reading

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Great Yarmouth court rolls

The Norfolk Record Office holds the Great Yarmouth Borough court rolls (NRO, Y/C 4), which, between the 1260s and the 1670s, are the main, and, during the medieval period, the only surviving administrative records of the borough. They record the … Continue reading

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‘Nothing fresh today – war declared’: A diary of the Second World War

Tue May 8th 1945Great V E day war overin Europe no more fightingfor all the brave men andwomen who havesaved us fromuntold horrorno ore sirens no more fearand ahead no more bombingThank God and mayWe never forget his mercy This … Continue reading

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Medieval Women and Property

Women’s rights and access to property has changed drastically throughout history. At times women had access to property and at other times women were restricted from owning property. Despite restrictions, there were still loopholes where women could inherit property, usually … Continue reading

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The Black Beauty in the White House

This is the story of a child from a coastal town in Norfolk, who would go on to influence life around the world and who is just as famous today. Not Horatio Nelson, but rather Anna Sewell, the author of … Continue reading

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