CRIMPLESHAM HALL, Norfolk, England. |
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Introduction
“To be Lett, and entered upon at Old
Michaelmas next, all that modern built Capital Messuage situate in
Crimplesham, in the County of Norfolk; consisting of a Hall, two Parlours,
four very good Lodging Rooms, and compleat Garrets, Kitchen, Dairy, Pantry,
Cellars, and other convenient Offices, Coach-house and Stabling for eight
Horses, with a Granary over the same, Dove-cote well stocked with pigeons,
Yards and Garden, well planted with Fruit Trees, with an Orchard and Paddock
adjoining, containing together, by Estimation, five Acres, and with or
without eighteen Acres of excellent Pasture Ground, now in the Occupation of
Mr James Drew. The said Premisses exceedingly well adapted for the Residence
of a Gentleman fond of Country Diversions, and are pleasantly situate within
half a Mile of the Turnpike Road from Lynn to London, three of
Downham-market, nine of Swaffham, and ten of Lynn, all considerable Market
Towns”. |
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Foxhill House in Reading, which the architect built for his own family, |
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In
1881 John Grant Morris, a Liverpool banker1 and buisnessman, paid
for a new hall to be built and gave it to his daughter as a wedding present.
In the garden an artificial lake and a fine early Victorian Folly 2 in the form of a Gothic Chapel, the materials of which are thought to have come from the ruins of West Dereham Abbey or a building reclaim merchant, popular in Victorian times. The Folly predates* the new house . There may have been the ruins of an earlier chapel there. (See the year 1541 below.) * Note: In FOLLIES a National Trust Guide 1986 by Gwen Headley, he writes, "A remarkable edifice which bears little relationship to any chapel built by anyone other than the Brothers Grim. A tall, spidery bell-tower is the most prominent feature , which we would guess was built in the early 19th century certainly before the existing house — the other Norfolk follies seem tamer." In The Friends Review (Philidelphia June 1861) appears a report on the visit to Crimplesham of Isema Whittaker (see the Quaker Connection below.) She describes a lake and tower in 1854. |
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Owners of Crimplesham
& Hall
1040 Ailid A "Freedwoman" was the owner of the Manor of Crimplesham. This was in Saxon times, during the reign of Edward theConfessor.
1066 Rainald "Norman the Conqueror" had seized the manor and given it as a reward to one of his Barons – Rainald, son of Ivo. These details appear in the Doomsday Book in 1086. Today the village sign shows the tyrannical Rainald and Ailid the freedwoman.
1130 - 1151 GILBERT de CLARE He was a Norman Earl of Brion who died on the latter date.
1151 - 1314 The "EARLS of CLARE" Towards the end of this period, underlordships were held by John de Pavilly (1217) , Roger de Crimplesham prior to him. Gilbert de Crymplesham and Theodore de Crymplesham (1250). The last Earl de Clare was killed at Bannockburn near Stirling fighting Robert the Bruce.
1315 Robert Belet
1317 Anselm de Land
1348 John de Weasenham
1399 Ralph de Dereham Ralph died Lord of the Manors of Dereham & Crimplesham.
1404 Thomas Dereham Esq. Thomas was the squire of Crimplesham and an eminent lawyer. 1450 Thomas Dereham Son of the above succeeded. 1471 - 1531 Thomas Dereham Son of the above succeeded. He was buried at his own request "at the north end of high alter in the chauncel of Crymplesham Church". 1542 Francis Dereham Francis of Crymplesham was executed in the Tower of London for being the lover of Catherine Howard, wife of Henry the VIII. It is said he prayed in the chapel room of the folly. 1560 Thomas Dereham Thomas of Crimplesham bought the abbey lands of Dereham. 1661 Sir Thomas Dereham Sir Thomas received a Baronet and built Dereham Grange. 1697 Sir Thomas Dereham Sir Thomas died on this date. He was envoy to the court of the Duke of Tuscany. He rebuilt the abbey. ? - 1738 Sir Thomas Dereham the Last of the Dereham's. A jacobite, died on this date in Rome. 1702 - 1706 Col. Edward Soames The property was sold to Col. Edward. Lord of the manors of Dereham and Crimplesham. His tomb is in West Dereham Church. He and his lawyer leased the manor for a year to John Woolaston. 1706 - 1745 Mary Soames Daughter of the above, suceeded and married Mr Soame Jenyns MP - an Honourable Lord of trade and plantations. 1746 William Delamore William was gentleman steward of the manor. 1745 - 1788 Soame Jenyns Esq. MP Became Lord of the manor by marriage. 1788 - 1795 Elizabeth Jenyns Presumed daughter of the above. 1806 Thomas Bagge Esq. Bought the property. 1845 - 1864 W. Bagge Esq. The owner and Lord of the Manor, but the Hall was occupied by Mrs E Doyle and James Doyle. The clock tower of the chapel dates from this period. 1864 - 1880 Hanna Doyle ? 1880 - 1881 John Grant Morris He paid for a new Hall to be built and gave it to his daughter who had married a local landowner Sir Alfred Bagge RN, second son of Sir W Bagge MP for West Norfolk, between 1837 - 1859 and 1865 - 1881. The new Hall, a 15 bedroom mansion of white brick structure set in a wooded park, was designed in 1880 by Alfred Waterhouse (1830 - 1905) and it was erected in 1881. The first payment was on the 30th July 1880, and the last payment on the 17th November 1881. The payments totaled £6,994 and 15 Shillings. £5,994 and 15 Shillings being the construction costs and £1000 for the finishings. The finishings are thought to be from Maples in London. The contractors were Messrs Robert Gage & Sons. Waterhouse had previously built Allerton Priory near Liverpool for Morris and later a villa near Cannes. In 1881 the village of Crimplesham had 293 inhabitants. Sir Alfred T Bagge, Bart., was Lord of the Manor and together he and John G Morris were the chief landowners of the area.
1881 - 1904 Sir Alfred Bagge RN Sir Alfred, Commander and MP who had married Millicent - only daughter of Mr John Grant Morris on the 11th July 1872 resided there, but the owner is recorded as John Grant Morris.
1904 - 1918 William Henry Brown John Percival Farmer and Stockbroker, farmed 1360 acres. He lived in London and used Crimplesham Hall as a shooting lodge.
1918 – 1952 The Birch family ….more
1953 Steven John Pope son-in-law of late Constance Julia Birch & John Garford Bles solicitor
1953 Mr C.H. Cobb (he had been the head gardener in the old Mrs Birch’s employment….more
1953 - 1966 Dr & Mrs D.W. Taylor Whilst they were out for a Sunday drive in their car, Dr & Mrs Taylor saw a hand painted wooden board saying "For Sale" at the gate. The house had not been lived in for two years and was very dusty with broken windows and dilapidated inside, but they were people who enjoyed the challenge of turning it into a family home with the help of their four teenage children.
1966 - 1968 Dr A. B. Taylor Son of the above, worked as a consultant in a hospital in London. His plan to move to Norfolk and occupy the Hall was delayed for professional reasons and in 1968 he sold it to his brother-in-law William Harnett .
1968 - 1996 Mr William Harnett An airline pilot with BOAC, brother-in-law of the above, was married to Sylvia Taylor eldest daughter of the Taylors.. They brought up their three sons here.
1996 - 2021 The Idris-Goudarz The ‘IDRIS-GOUDARZ’ family.
2021 - Kokab Yasmin Kayani
Information from the researches of David Wilson Taylor at the Norwich public library and verified from A History of Norfolk volume 6 by Charles Parkin also A History of Norfolk Volume 2 by Francis Blomfield (both on Google Books) Thanks also to Nick Cobb for his further researches.
ESTATE AGENTS Sale Details 1903 Sale Details 1996 Sale Details 2013 |
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AUCTIONEER’S Sale of Contents 1918 |
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Crimplesham & West Dereham As early as 1399 Ralph de Dereham was Lord of the Manor of West Dereham & Crimplesham. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, West Dereham Abbey and its associated lands were granted by Henry VIII to Thomas Dereham of Crimplesham, the father of Francis Dereham who subsequently upset the king.
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Francis Dereham of Crimplesham - 1541 Francis of Crimplesham was executed in the Tower of London Francis Dereham (executed 10 December 1541) was the son of John (Thomas) Derham, of Crimplesham.. He was a Tudor period courtier, most famous for his affair with Queen Catherine Howard, fifth wife of King Henry VIII of England. This affair lasted until Catherine was made lady-in-waiting to Henry's fourth wife Anne of Cleves. Dereham was made a secretary at Hampton Court, an appointment possibly engineered by the Duchess of Norfolk, to silence him about Catherine's previous indiscretions. When their past relationship was brought to the attention of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, he reported them to the King, provoking an investigation which resulted in the arrests of the dowager Duchess of Norfolk, her stepson Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Francis Dereham and Queen Catherine herself. .... more
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The
Quaker Connection
At
this time the Hall Manor was occupied by two eminent Quakers by the names of
Elizabeth and Hannah Doyle. Hanna kept a Diary of day-to-day life and
this is in the Norfolk Records Office. 3 Here is a
quotation from The Friends Review (Philidelphia June 1861): "
A spacious dining-room
and drawing-room, with pleasure grounds, lawn, lake, and tower, are
open to our numerous guests, who after an evening repast (sometimes in the
dell or on the lawn, and sometimes indoors) assemble at the sound of gong or
bell in the drawing-room, and sit opposite the agent and other friends who
are invited to address the company. It was on such an occasion in the year 1854,
that Ismena Whittaker was with us."
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4 On Google Books you can find “A Tribute to the Memory of Ismena Whittaker” by Hannah Doyle of Crimplesham Hall 1860. 5 Also on Google
Books “Memoir of the Life of Elizabeth Fry” . You can read the above two books in full, on line and, yes, buy modern paperback versions at www.alibris.com - mostly shipped from the States but if you scroll down the bookseller's page you can find UK bookshops selling them too. 6 P. Aldridge (NLA) 2007
http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk http://www.british-history.ac.uk
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