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Historical information about Elmswell

Elmswell - A Marker for the Millennium
You can find out a lot about the village from this little booklet, which is on sale at the Library.

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Click for details.
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Why not visit the Suffolk Record Office where you can find (at the Bury branch)....
  • Censuses from 1841
  • Tithe Map and Apportionment
  • Directories (Kelly's, White's, etc)
  • Newspaper cuttings
  • Wills
  • ....and much more
Interested in Family History? - Click here
How did Elmswell get its name?
An elderly villager remembers a clue...

Sources of information on this site

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From the official records:
parish registers of baptisms etc., censuses, Suffolk Parish Records Survey...
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Recollections:
Oral history and written memories
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Buildings:
Churches, Memorial Hall, Listed Buildings
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Press and publications:
Newspaper cuttings, pamphlets, directories, etc
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People who lived here: An index of hundreds of names, and...
the cemetery, In Memoriam pages, Services Roll of Honour, School register
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Documents:
Old maps, huge property sale in 1848, manorial account, potted history by Norman Sinclair in the 1970s
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Work and Society:
Railway, Fire Service, Bacon Factory, Firms, Farms, Pubs, Airfield, Vestry and Parish meetings, 1930s diaries, and a walk around the village in 1911!
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Correspondence:
Letters to the webmaster from all over the world
This splendid booklet can be purchased for £3.50 from the
Elmswell Library, Cooks Road; or by post (£4.20 incl. p&p)
from or Norman Kenyon (01359-241569).

Contents

Introduction
  1. The Romans
  2. The Saxons
    Eadwig's Gift
    The Elmswell of Eadwig's Gift
  3. Elmswell in the Middle Ages
    1086 The Domesday Book
    Abbot Samson (1182-1211)
    Survey of 1302 - Elmswell described
    The Warren
    Henry VI
    Elmswell Hall
  4. The Green
  5. Development around the Green
    The Grange and Certain Rectors of Elmswell
    The Red Lion
    The Marsh Family
  6. Sir Robert Gardner
  7. The Workhouse
  8. Education
  9. The Railway
    The Brickworks at Woolpit
  10. The Bacon Factory
Background and Further Reading
Abbreviations
Sources

Illustrations

Roman Pottery
Saxon Brooch
Parish Boundaries in the l9th c.
The Plough
The Warren
Hall Plan
Little Green
House on the Green
Button Haugh Green
The Stores formerly the Post Office
House Plan
Map of Elmswell
The 1851 Census
The Grange 		Sale Notice for The Lion
Marsh Family Grave Stone
Sir Robert Gardner Monument
Elmswell Almshouses
Parish Cottages
Extracts from the Overseer's Accounts
Original Elmswell Press Cutting
Elmswell School
Elmswell Board School
Elmswell Railway Station
Brickyard Train
Train at Station
The Bacon Factory

Buildings

Index of Elmswell's historical buildings, etc
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Baptist Church, Ashfield Road, including centenary pamphlet 1887-1987
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The Memorial Hall, Cooks Road
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Grade II listed buildings
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Methodist Church
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Church of St John the Divine
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Post Office
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Elmswell Hall
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From the official records

Censuses:
1841
1851
1861
1871
1881
1891
1901
1911

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Baptisms June 1851 to May 1873
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1814 Enclosure Allotments
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Marriages 1813-99
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Tithe Apportionments, 1841
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Burials from January 1813 to January 1889
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Suffolk Parish Records Survey - contains a lot of data for Elmswell across the centuries
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People who lived here

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Index of names of Elmswell people
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Elmswell People: family history and tributes to people who lived here
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The heroes of two World Wars
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School Register, 1888-1912
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The Cemetery
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Rectors of Elmswell
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St. John's Churchyard
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Newspaper and magazine articles, pamphlets, etc.

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Mike Gurr's notes and newspaper cuttings
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Newspaper articles
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Coronation Festivities 2-6 June 1953
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Elmswell's entries in various directories from 1844 onwards
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Judy Woollams' research into 19th century newpaper reports - births, marriages and deaths; court records, and a few other news items
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Miscellaneous material

Documents

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Old maps of the village
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Sale of Sir G Smyth's properties in 1848
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Manorial account, 1374
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Short history of Elmswell, from Norman Sinclair's handwritten notes
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Sale of land in 1930
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Work and Society

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The Railway
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The Airfield
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Pubs in Elmswell, 1850-1900 and before 1850
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Firms
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Fire Service
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Sophie Baker's diaries of 1934, 1937 and 1938
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Farms and Farmers
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Football Club
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Vestry and Parish meeting minutes
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A walk around the village in 1911

Directory entries

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White's 1844 Directory
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Kelly's 1916
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Kelly's 1846
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County Handbook 1917
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White's 1855
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Kelly's 1925 (names only)
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Harrods 1864
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Kelly's 1930?
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PO 1865
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Kelly's 1933 (and some 1937)
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White's 1874
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Telephones in Elmswell in 1951
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Kelly's 1908
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