Latest Site Updates – with links
New in November 2023
A new page, here, has been added with links to listings of Wreningham participants in World War 1 – 1914 to 1919, not only those who gave their lives. The information also includes a listing of those who were not resident in Wreningham but had family connections in the village. A listing is also included of those who were eligible to vote in the General Election at the end of the war but who were absent as a result of their postings. This new page is in addition to the existing Commemoration page which gives details of the fallen.
New in September 2023
A new page has been added which provides information about Wreningham village content in the BBC Domesday Project from the mid 1980s. The new page is under the Events drop-down. A link is here.
Additions have been made to The Mill page adding the story – including photographs, of the Aldridge family haulage business and information about the sale of the Aldridge business to William Ashby and Sons (in a grey features box). Go here and scroll about 3/4 of the way down the page.
New in July 2023
A new page has been added which provides information about John William Bullimore’s 1861 Diary. The new page is under the Stories drop-down. A link is here. The page, itself, also includes a link to a pdf transcription for the diary’s entire year. The page content is based on the talk given at the 30th June 2023 WHG meeting.
New in June 2023
A link to the image of a presentation document given to Mabel Long in 1906 has been added to the Long Family page. Scroll down to the section headed “Mabel Long – organist”.
New in May 2023
Minor additions have been made to the Burton’s / Poplar Farm page (about halfway down the page) to include references to Elm Tree Farm (also known as George’s Farm) which had been owned by Burton family.
Two Cannon Balls have been unearthed in Wreningham. The information with a photograph is provided on the Archaeology page in a grey features box under Stories.
Details have been included about Queen Elizabeth I and her huge entourage passing through on their journey to Norwich in 1578 under A Simple History here (near the top of the page).
New in April 2023
On the Utilities page (scroll down to the final subject) the Telephones section has been extended to provide further detail about the arrival of telephones in the village and lists some of the first Wreningham subscribers.
A number of additions have been made to the Long family page – including further text and new photographs.
A photograph of a (distant) cricket match being played at Fir Grove has been added to the bottom of the Village Sport page under Events.
A photograph of Martha Bullimore’s gravestone has been added to the John Bullimore page together with a number of text/information additions and updates.
A text extract has been added from a Great Eastern Railways’ Act of Parliament, in 1876. It shows the very few words which were required to define the scope of our branch line within (what was) a three page legal document. We have added this short extract near the top of The Railway page.
A photograph has been added of cycle racing in the Gravel Pit at the southern end of Ashwellthorpe Road from the 1950s. It can be found at the bottom of the Highway Rates page, under People.
New in March 2023
Various fixes and modifications have been applied to harmonise the appearance and improve the functionility of the site’s menu and navigation across all devices: desktops, laptops, tablets and phones.
New in February 2023
For mobile phone users of this website: Our presentation of main menu and drop-downs on mobile phones has just been improved to help site navigation. You will first need to hold your phone upright to make the menu visible. Start by tapping the stack of three little lines in the top right of the screen to make the menu appear. Once you have found your selected page, turn your phone on its side to get the best page-viewing experience.
A hand-built tricycle has been added to Local Transport under Stories – and scroll to the bottom of the page.
A new page has been added under People>Traders called Fish! It is the story of Wreningham’s only known fishmonger who was resident in the village during the late 1800s.
Additional information has been added about the Folwell family – including a photograph, at the bottom of the Butchers page. There are also various minor text additions on the Bothway Family page and their 1918 farm map has been relocated to the Burton / Poplar Farm page.
There is a correction and addition regarding the date of a farm auction towards the end of the John Rowe page. On this latter page, there is also an introductory paragraph (and link) to our existing Sick Pony story about John Rowe giving assistance to the Long family at Fir Grove.
Additional information has been added to the Water section of the Utilities page under Stories. A new photograph has been included showing the pump-house which originally provided water from a borehole at Church Farm for the village’s new water-main in 1957. All the new information is contained in the first grey features box.
New in January 2023
An old aerial photograph has come to light, from about 1951. It shows the Toprow end of Mill Lane: in particular, the Mill. A full copy and a cropped copy of this photo have been added to the Violet Peel and The Mill pages respectively, where it usefully contributes to both stories.
The Old Census page has been moved under a new sub-munu header: Parish Records – itself under “People“. Under this same Parish Records sub-menu is the completely new page of Highway Rates. This single page includes links to 13 multi-page transcriptions from annual records of Wreningham properties. These recently re-discovered details cover the years 1880 to 1894. The records list how much money everyone paid for the maintenance of the roads; more exciting than that, they names all the village tenants / occupiers and (from 1885/6) provide the names of each property owner, too. When combined with our other records, these could become a key set of documents in piecing together the Wreningham village story during the late 1800s.
A new feature has been added to all of the website’s pages. After starting to scroll down any page, a blue disc with an orange “up” arrow will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen. One click or tap on this blue disc will cause the page to zoom straight back to the top.
New in December 2022
The Harrison family has been added under “Stories”. They were landlords to three large Wreningham farms in the early-mid 1800s – owing about 40% of of Wreningham’s land. There were already references to the Harrisons elsewhere on the website and links to this dedicated new page have been added to those pages, too.
Also under “Stories” we have added the life of Henley Curl – solicitor and artist who was a Wreningham resident in the second half of the 1900s. He was a man who also made an important investment in the future of the village which is still with us today.
There is an addition to the existing details for the Great Farm Auction of 1869. Information is provided about the auction location – click on the link and scroll down to the grey features box.
Photographs and a short description of the the old bread oven at Fir Grove have been added to the bottom of the Bakers page.
A photograph carousel has been added to the bottom of the Contacts page to provide a dynamic pictorial tailpiece to the website.
New in November 2022
The story of the architect, James Morant Lockyer, responsible for the rebuilt Church Tower and Rectory designs (and probably the North Transept) c1851. Click on Tower Collapse and scroll down to grey features box.
Additional information about the arrival of mains water in Wreningham has been provided in a new grey features box near the top of the Utilities page.
New in October 2022
Architects drawings of Wreningham Church c1852: Click on Tower Collapse and scroll half-way down the page
Information about some very special guests at an Upcher family wedding: Click on A W Upcher and read the text alongside the newpaper cutting
The price of flour sold at the village shop between 1847 and 1887: Click on Bakers and find the “retail price of flour” link in the final grey features box
Photo of old oil lamps in use until the late 1950s at Wreningham Church: Click on Utilities – and shown in the grey features box
Queen Victoria Jubilee Booklet from 1887: Click on Victoria Jubilee and find link to the “booklet” pdf in 3rd paragraph from the bottom of the page
A mini-family tree showing the family connection between John Bullimore’s second wife and Violet Peel: Click on Violet Peel and find the link in the 3rd paragraph from top
A set of links to interesting maps through the ages is now included at the bottom of the Contact page
An aerial view of the Trotting Track from 1988 at Poplars Farm can be accessed from a link near the bottom of the Burtons / Poplar Farm page
The 1921 Census for Wreningham has just been transcribed and added to the Census page. The 1939 Registration (on the same page) has also been updated.
The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee booklet from 1977 and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee booklet from 2002 are both available in pdf form (shortened versions) and can each be accessed from links on the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilees page
A copy of the very first Wreningham Mardle from October / November 1981 as a pdf is linked from about half-way down the Village Hall page