Last updated 25/04/2007
This page contains articles on aspects of Reepham's history.
Roys of
Wroxam
Matthews Norfolk Brass
Wallace King
Transportation for stealing a sheep
The Old Bakery (now
known as The Old Bakehouse), Back Street, Reepham
Alfred Roy, born in 1838, kept shop in Reepham where he was also the village carpenter. Harrods Postal and Commercial Directory 1868, refers to him as "grocer, tea dealer, draper, hosier, hatter, haberdasher, millinery and mantel warehouse". He moved from his original premises (now the Pharmacy) in the Market Place to larger premises across the square in what is now the Town Office. His two sons, Alfred, born 1872 and Arnold, 1874, set up Roys of Wroxham "the world’s largest village store".
An introduction to Pamela Swayze (nėe Barsted) (a lifetime Reepham resident) led to the discovery that between them, Pam, her brother Godfrey and father Bernard had devoted over 100 years to playing in the Reepham Town Band. In 1945 as part of a special performance before Queen Mary, the Queen Mother, Pam, aged 20, and the first female member of the Band (women having taken over from those men called into the Forces) played cornet solo. Her account of the Band led to the publication of The Reepham Town Band (now Matthews Norfolk Brass) - see the publications page. This booklet describes the Band's beginnings in the early 1900’s, its triumphs and tribulations, including near disbandment after the sudden death in 1957 of its dedicated conductor Tommy Ruffles, resurrection in the early 1970’s, becoming Champions of East Anglia in 1980 and reasons for changing its name in 1984 to Matthews Norfolk Brass, are all recounted.
Pam and Godfrey still live in Reepham.
A branch of the Wallace King furniture store was brought to Reepham in 1913 by John Walker who was apprenticed to Messrs. Wallace King when 14 years old (in 1895) and remained with them for 24 years. The Reepham store opened in what is now known as the Bircham Centre in the Market Place. On its closure in 1919, John Walker opened his own furniture store at the junction of School Road and the Market Place where he worked until his sudden death of heart failure in 1938 while conducting business in the store’s adjoining office. A Baptist, he was an enthusiastic worker in the cause of the Labour Party and the Methodist Union and founded the Reepham Band of Hope of which he became secretary. Such was the esteem of local people that many wishing to attend his funeral were unable to gain admission. At the time of his death John Walker lived in Rudds Lane. He left a widow and one son. The latter was killed in WW2.
Transportation for stealing a sheep
Story of The Laurels on Dereham Road, Reepham (originally called Veranda House) as told to Harry Hawes by its original owner
The property, originally named Veranda House, was built for Thomas Lincoln, uncle of Harry Hawes’ father. When Thomas was about 19 years old he was apprehended and charged with sheep stealing. He admitted the seriousness of the offence, which at the time could be punishable with hanging, and was transported to Sydney, Australia, where he lived for thirty years. During this time he hired a sheep ranch, began fattening sheep and saved money. He married an Australian woman whom he brought to Reepham where they made their home with a John Neale, farmer of Whitwell Street. Shortly afterwards Thomas bought a piece of land and arranged the building of a house on the Dereham Road. The veranda was built in the Australian style. The house later came into Harry Hawes’ possession. He and his family lived there for many years carrying on their business as builder and undertaker until Harry was declared bankrupt in the 1920’s and all his property sold. Veranda House was bought by local ironmonger, Edward Gibbs. The small neighbouring house, The Beeches, was built on a piece of land given by Thomas as a present to John Neale’s daughter for the kindness shown while awaiting completion of Veranda House.
With thanks to Wesley Piercy
THE OLD BAKERY (now
known as The Old Bakehouse), BACK STREET
(By Wesley
Piercy,witten in the mid 1970s)
Dick Joice held up one of his Bygones: "Does anyone know what this was used for?" he asked. I had not seen one since the 1930s and had almost forgotten there was such a thing. "It looks like a bread rasp," I replied. It was identical to the one I had used about forty years before in Reeder’s Bakery in Back Street, Reepham, and it brought back a lot of memories.
The shop and house were next to the street, but the bake office (as it was called) was and still is at the bottom of the yard — a low lean-to building with a big chimney. It had a stable door entrance and in the middle of the room was the trough (pronounced to rhyme with dough) in which the dough was made, and on the right was the table on which it was scaled and moulded. At the far end was the oven, built of brick, known as a side flue oven, with a coal burning furnace on the left. When the oven was fired the flames would circle round the oven to the flue on the right.
One dough would be made overnight. Sacks of flour, or more correctly half sacks (140 lbs), were stacked next to the wall behind the trough. Two sacks were shot into the trough, enough for one batch. Water had to be carried in pails from a pump in the Greyhound yard next door. (No piped water in those days). Water was heated in the oven in an iron boiler and, when the correct temperature, was added to the flour. Yeast and salt were dissolved separately and the whole lot mixed by hand, then wrapped up to keep it warm and left till morning.
Early next morning the oven would be stoked up and the dough taken from the trough and put on the table. While this was being scaled, moulded and put into tins someone would be making another "faster" dough which would be ready for use when the first batch was drawn.
By the time the first batch had proved in the tins the oven would be up to temperature, the smoky pieces of coal raked from the furnace and the oven swabbed out. The swab was a wet sack attached to a long pole and used for cleaning the floor and walls of the oven. The tinned loaves were placed in the oven using the peel (a flat shovel with a long handle). The furnace was blocked off from the oven by the boiler, full of water, and a piece of sheet iron, to stop the loaves nearest the furnace getting burnt. After forty five minutes the bread was ready to draw, using the peel again; this brings me back to the bread rasp, used for removing any black which might have got onto a loaf from the oven sides. The next dough was then scaled off, the oven flashed and the process repeated. Though this method seems crude, the product was much better than the "stuff" produced by modern bakeries.
There were two other bakeries in Reepham – Ford’ s in the Market Place and Morley’s in Church Street — but alas now there is none.
Back Street was not the quiet backwater it is today: as well as the bakery there was Wilkinson’s Grocery; Plume the Barber, two pubs - the Greyhound and the Duke of York, and Sewell Eglington’s Dairy adjoining the bakery. The cows were brought through the yard twice a day to be milked by Ralph Rudd, nicknamed Rhubarb.
But to return to baking, after the bread and other goods had been baked, the next job was cooking peoples’ dinners. Many of the houses did not have ovens and electricity was too expensive so, particularly at weekends, joints of meat, Yorkshire puddings and many other items were brought to the Bake Office to be cooked. The charge I believe was 2d per item, not what could be called dear. Bakers did not make a fortune from this service, but as the oven was already hot it was all profit. The same thing happened on Christmas morning with Christmas dinners, but the oven had to be specially heated on this occasion.
The price of bread during these years ranged from 3¾ d to 4¼ d per 2lb loaf, less than one tenth of the present price - and a loaf today is only 1lb.
Well that is a short account of one trade that has ceased in Reepham. There are several others. Who would have believed it could happen!
 |
|
Wesley Piercy, |