Catherine Edith Hall was a late 19th/early 20th century diarist living in Southery, a village in Norfolk which lies eleven miles north of Ely. Her diary, which begins in 1895 and ends in around 1900, covers settling in to the parish, renovations to the parsonage, parish work and social visits, shopping, references to the aged Canon Beechy of Hilgay – an amateur photographer -, Abraham Ward – the Southery poet -, and a visit of Italian organ grinders. She also comments on local ways, including the prevalence of nicknames in the area. Catherine wrote much about her baby daughter, and kept a record of her children’s births, baptisms, weaning, illnesses etc.
Find out more: You can see Catherine’s diary at the Norfolk Record Office – MC 641/1.
A page of Catherine’s diary
A page of Catherine’s diary
A page of Catherine’s diary
Norfolk Record Office 