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Our archive
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We publish The Brundall and Braydeston Chronicle quarterly for our members. Click here to view pdfs of some previous editions.
Why our archive is worth preserving
Here is an example of how our archive can shine a light on the village of Brundall over the decades.
The first picture shows the blacksmith and his family outside the smithy around 1884, judging by the ages of the children in census returns.
The smith was Robert Gowing (or Gowen) and his wife was Christiana Harper, one of 10 children of John Harper, the landlord of the Ram Inn. Their children were Robert, born 1876 and Rosa Elizabeth, born 1882. The young man is perhaps an employee or apprentice.
Robert Gowing was born in Buckenham in 1854, and was still working as the village blacksmith in 1911.
The next two show Elsie Butcher at what had become the Old Smithy Tea Rooms in 1932 and 1933. The shop, in her front room, had a fish and chip shop and tea-rooms attached, called Ye Olde Smithy Tea Rooms after the smithy which had stood on the site. She took over the shop in the 1930s, and continued until her retirement in 1956. She died in 1992.
The final photo shows the same site which had become the Mace Market, with a dress shop, Just Fancy’s, next door. The general store became a Mace Market in 1965. The store is now Brundall's Co-op (one of two Co-ops in the village) and Post Office.
PLEASE NOTE: Our photographs are copyright. We may give permission to reproduce them, if asked; we welcome voluntary donations to help support our work.
The first picture shows the blacksmith and his family outside the smithy around 1884, judging by the ages of the children in census returns.
The smith was Robert Gowing (or Gowen) and his wife was Christiana Harper, one of 10 children of John Harper, the landlord of the Ram Inn. Their children were Robert, born 1876 and Rosa Elizabeth, born 1882. The young man is perhaps an employee or apprentice.
Robert Gowing was born in Buckenham in 1854, and was still working as the village blacksmith in 1911.
The next two show Elsie Butcher at what had become the Old Smithy Tea Rooms in 1932 and 1933. The shop, in her front room, had a fish and chip shop and tea-rooms attached, called Ye Olde Smithy Tea Rooms after the smithy which had stood on the site. She took over the shop in the 1930s, and continued until her retirement in 1956. She died in 1992.
The final photo shows the same site which had become the Mace Market, with a dress shop, Just Fancy’s, next door. The general store became a Mace Market in 1965. The store is now Brundall's Co-op (one of two Co-ops in the village) and Post Office.
PLEASE NOTE: Our photographs are copyright. We may give permission to reproduce them, if asked; we welcome voluntary donations to help support our work.
Our archive group and its current work
An archive group, led by our archive administrator, Chloe Veale, has begun the important job of cataloguing the collection, and more volunteers are welcome to join the afternoon sessions once a week. The work was started in association with the Norfolk Record Office's Community Archives: Skills, Support and Sustainability Project, which was supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
If you would like to find out more about our archive group's work, email Chloe: [email protected]. You don't have to be an expert - just prepared to have a go at this interesting work with our friendly group.
If you would like to find out more about our archive group's work, email Chloe: [email protected]. You don't have to be an expert - just prepared to have a go at this interesting work with our friendly group.
The back of Shiel's Court in the 1920s
Current work includes a major project to discover and document the life
of the Hotblack family. George Snelling Hotblack (1850-1920) was a partner
in his family’s boot and shoe factory in Norwich before comfortably retiring to Shiel’s Court, Braydeston Avenue, a fashionable ‘Arts & Crafts’ house built in 1895 (pictured in the 1920s). The household comprised George, his wife Emily, two daughters and son, and several domestic servants who lived in or near
the house.
BLHG’s Archive Group volunteers have studied local and national records to discover more about the lives of these residents, ‘above and below stairs’.
In the process, a broader portrait has emerged of everyday life in Edwardian Brundall between 1901 and 1911 when it was a small, peaceful village with fewer than 500 residents.
In association with Brundall Primary School, Hollyman Homes, Norfolk
libraries and descendants of the Hotblack family, a community learning and activity pack will be launched during the late May half-term holiday 2025.
Further projects have seen the photographing and recording of the graves in St Laurence's cemetery; transcriptions of 14th-century court rolls, and the investigation of the National Archives database for documents connected with Brundall.
of the Hotblack family. George Snelling Hotblack (1850-1920) was a partner
in his family’s boot and shoe factory in Norwich before comfortably retiring to Shiel’s Court, Braydeston Avenue, a fashionable ‘Arts & Crafts’ house built in 1895 (pictured in the 1920s). The household comprised George, his wife Emily, two daughters and son, and several domestic servants who lived in or near
the house.
BLHG’s Archive Group volunteers have studied local and national records to discover more about the lives of these residents, ‘above and below stairs’.
In the process, a broader portrait has emerged of everyday life in Edwardian Brundall between 1901 and 1911 when it was a small, peaceful village with fewer than 500 residents.
In association with Brundall Primary School, Hollyman Homes, Norfolk
libraries and descendants of the Hotblack family, a community learning and activity pack will be launched during the late May half-term holiday 2025.
Further projects have seen the photographing and recording of the graves in St Laurence's cemetery; transcriptions of 14th-century court rolls, and the investigation of the National Archives database for documents connected with Brundall.
How it all began...
It was Sheila Evans, Brundall’s first county library assistant from 1974, who began collecting photographs and documentary evidence of the village’s past for the benefit of local schoolchildren and thus laid the foundation of a future archive.
In 2005, as The Book of Brundall and Braydeston was in preparation, a group of local enthusiasts embarked on a comprehensive investigation into Brundall’s history. This led not only to a renewed study of the scrapbooks but also the donation by local people of hundreds of photographs, documents and oral history accounts. Following publication of the book in 2007, and as a result of the success of this gargantuan team effort co-ordinated by Barbara Ayers, BLHG was formally founded.
At the time, most of the collected material was digitised by founder member Gerry Hawkins and originals gratefully returned to their owners. Sound recorded interviews and the scrapbooks were transferred to Norfolk Record Office. Since then, new digital images have been added continuously to the collection.
In 2005, as The Book of Brundall and Braydeston was in preparation, a group of local enthusiasts embarked on a comprehensive investigation into Brundall’s history. This led not only to a renewed study of the scrapbooks but also the donation by local people of hundreds of photographs, documents and oral history accounts. Following publication of the book in 2007, and as a result of the success of this gargantuan team effort co-ordinated by Barbara Ayers, BLHG was formally founded.
At the time, most of the collected material was digitised by founder member Gerry Hawkins and originals gratefully returned to their owners. Sound recorded interviews and the scrapbooks were transferred to Norfolk Record Office. Since then, new digital images have been added continuously to the collection.
Copyright: Nothing on this website may be copied or published without the permission of the Brundall Local History Group. This does not mean we will not give permission, but you do have to ask us. The archive material has come from many sources and there are many copyright holders.
