MemoriesofThorpe Abbotts

emoriesof hor e Abbotts

Localhistorian,Dennis Cross from Diss,shareswithushisfascinating collection of oldpostcards, focusing on adifferentvillageineveryissue. Thistime, we takeawalk down memorylane inThorpe Abbotts.

 TheLion,in1912, wastheonly pubinthe village at t thattime. Thelandlordwas WilliamBaliant, whowas a also abricklayer. Thepubis nowclosed.

 This1925postcard showsThorpe AbbottsSchool, at theentranceto School Lane,which wasbuiltin1862for 60 children.Theheadmistressatthistime wasaMiss FM Powell.The buildingis nowprivatehouses.  Thorpe Abbotts P Place, i in1 191 ,was ad del ligh htf ful l mansion ownedbythe twoKay sisters, whowerealso the principallandownersinthe village.This photographwas t taken by ErnestAbraham,who wasthe o cial localwar p photographerduring the1914-1 warand travelledwith t troops whiletheyweretraininginthearea.

 The Street,i in 1907,l looked very different to how it is today. Thepopulation at this timewasjustover200.

 Harvesttimeinthe summer of194 , shows(l-r) Reggie Venton, Vera Ruddockand JoeFormanina field adjacent to theairfield.  These oldhouses,seenhere in 19 0, were livedinbypeople whoworkedonlocal farms. New houseshave nowbeenbuilton otherside ofthestreet.

 atedaround19 0,this postcard shows thevillagePost O ce, whichwasrun by Mrs ouise ebenham.Shealso ranthe local blacksmiths, whichher husband’sfamilyhad ownedfor generations.

If readershave anylocal postcardsofDissorthe surroundingvillages,please getin touchwithDennis after7pmon 01379651897