LOCAL HISTORY
Memories of Thorpe Abbotts Local historian, Dennis Cross from Diss, shares with us his fascinating collection of old postcards, focusing on a different village in every issue. This time, we take a walk down memory lane in Thorpe Abbotts.
The Lion, in 1912, was the only pub in the village at that time. The landlord was William Baliant, who was also a bricklayer. The pub is now closed.
This 1925 postcard shows Thorpe Abbotts School, at
the entrance to School Lane, which was built in 1862 for 60 children. The headmistress at this time was a Miss FM Powell. The building is now private houses.
Thorpe Abbotts Place, in 1916, was a dellighhtffull mansion owned by the two Kay sisters, who were also the principal landowners in the village. This photograph was taken by Ernest Abraham, who was the official local war photographer during the 1914-18 war and travelled with troops while they were training in the area.
The Street, in 1907, looked very different to how it is today. The population at this time was just over 200.
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