The Early Cobb's.
The Cobb family of Morley St Botolph.
We know very little about Edmund Cobb. Even his name is uncertain as in the early 1700’s, when he was born, Edmund and Edward were often interchanged. We do know that he had at least two children with his wife Sarah, and that he later married again. Edmund was buried at the village church in Hackford in 1785. The burial record reveals that he was a farmer.
Edmund and Sarah’s son was also called Edmund. He was baptised on 2nd January 1749 at Virgin Mary and St Thomas a Becket, Wymondham, Norfolk. He became a farm bailiff. On 18th October 1774 he marries Rebekah Cole at Great Ellingham. Over the next five years they have three children, the first of whom died as an infant. These three children were all baptised at Hackford. In 1779 their fourth child is born and baptised at Morley St Botolph. Many, many more children followed! In fact Edmund and Rebekah went on to have twenty one children, some of whom did not survive. At that time a mortality rate of one in ten was not unusual for children. In many cases the short period of time between birth and baptism indicated that the child was not expected to survive and in some of these instances the baptism was probably conducted at home, not at the church. Fifteen of their children survived childhood although three of the fifteen subsequently died as young adults. 1794 was a particularly sad year with an 8 year old, a 4 year old and an infant all dying.
Several of the 21 Cobb children spent their entire lives in Morley St Botolph. The next generation, perhaps as a result of rapidly changing times, spread far and wide, although some remained in Norfolk. By the late 1800’s there were no longer any Cobb’s living in Morley St Botolph.
The Early 1800’s.
For many years the younger Edmund Cobb was farm bailiff to Mr Ganning, who was himself at Morley Hall for over thirty years. Mr Ganning’s death resulted in the property being sold in June 1812. Newspaper adverts reveal the extent of the size of the property. “To be sold in June 1812, the estate of the late Daniel Ganning esquire. Morley Hall, which is in the centre of a lawn, surrounded by wood and plantation and with barns, stable, granary and other buildings. Total 300 acres. Also a 150 acre farm at Morley St Peter, currently sub- let to tenant, also several cottages on one year rents. Viewings on application to Mr Cobb at Morley Hall or Mr Burrel.” One of the tenants at Morley St Peter was Edmunds son John Cobb.
The Norfolk Chronicle of Saturday 10th September, 1814, mentioned James Cobb of Morley being conveyed by cart to Norwich hospital with a broken arm. Much slower and quieter than the speeding ambulances of today! Presumably his injuries were more serious as he died on 17th September at Hethersett.
On the 31st May 1821, Edmund Cobb died aged 72.
Christmas Cobb.
Christmas Cobb was born on Christmas Day, 1795, in the village of Morley St Botolph. He was the youngest of 20 siblings and would be joined by another brother a couple of years later. Three of his siblings died in 1794, perhaps as a result of some sort of epidemic and it is possible that Christmas was not expected to survive as his baptism took place just two days after his birth.
With so many children life must have been hard for the family, so it is perhaps not surprising that Christmas sought an alternative to village life. On November 18th 1817 Christmas joined the army serving with the 77th Foot Regiment, which would eventually become the Middlesex Regiment.
It seems that Christmas was in a relationship with local girl Elizabeth Poll. On 16th August 1818 Christmas junior is baptised at St Marys & Thomas a Beckett church, Wymondham, a few miles from Morley St Botolph. Christmas Cobb is recorded on the baptism record as being the father and the baby boy is obviously named after his father. The family “abode” is recorded on the parish baptism record as Silfield, which is in Wymondham. The record also reveals that Christmas senior is a wheelwright. This event raises several questions; were the couple married – almost certainly not as the youngster was known in later life as Christmas Poll, and was Christmas living in Norfolk whilst serving with the 77th Foot Regiment – unlikely. There is another event which could be even more of a surprise. On 13th July, a month before the baptism of baby Christmas, an Elizabeth Poll marries a William Reeder at St Marys & Thomas a Beckett church, Wymondham. Both Poll and Reeder were common names locally, but is it possible that Elizabeth Poll married William Reeder and a month later gave birth to a son fathered by, and named after, Christmas Cobb? There were more surprises to come in the future as Christmas Poll [Cobb] has a daughter who marries Christmas Cobb’s son!
The following year on 6th March, Christmas Cobb transfers to the Grenadier Guards. His brother George, four years older than him, also served with the Grenadier Guards joining them while Christmas was still with the 77th Foot and being discharged in 1836. It is possible that Christmas transferred in order to serve with his brother. Previously called the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, the regiment was renamed as the Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards in honour of their victory over the French Imperial Grenadiers at Waterloo. They are the only regiment in the British army to earn their name in battle. Their uniform in the 1820’s was typical of the British army at that time. A single breasted red jacket was adorned with worsted lace trim on the epaulettes and cuffs. The cuffs also had a blue background. Two shoulder belts were worn across the jacket and held a bayonet and ammunition pouch. White breeches, worn with black gaiters were replaced with blue/grey trousers during the 1820’s. A bearskin hat completed the uniform. A flintlock musket, haversack and water bottle were all standard issue too.
Christmas Cobb’s brother George had a long, but undistinguished career with the Grenadier Guards. He joined them on 25th February 1818, attesting in Queen Square, London, at the age of 24. He served for a period of eighteen years, two hundred and fifty four days, presumably having signed on for 20 years. He was discharged on 3rd September 1836, due to ill health. His discharge papers stated that he was suffering from; “Rheumatism; has been much affected with this complaint of late rendering him incapable of duty”. The Principal Medical Officer stated that “I am of opinion that Private George Cobb is unfit for service, that he is permanently disqualified for Military Duty and I coincide in opinion with the surgeon.” George had spent his entire period of service at home, never going overseas. He was a cordwainer by trade and his discharge papers stated that he was “a good and trustworthy soldier”. At discharge he was 42 years and 8 months old, 5 feet 8 ½ inches tall, with dark hair, hazel eyes and a dark complexion. Further records for George are hard to find, with no conclusive evidence of him. There are several deaths for various George Cobbs’, including one burial at St Martin in the Fields in 1840. Whether this record is for him or not it seems likely that George did not live long once he left the Grenadier Guards.
In 1820 Christmas Cobb is promoted from private to corporal, but this was short lived and the following year he is reduced back to a private.
Christmas marries Hannah Stanford on 30th August 1822 at St Martin in the Fields, Westminster. This was only a few streets away from the Grenadier Guards headquarters at Wellington Barracks. Wellington Barracks is an imposing building, much larger and grander than might be expected of a “barrack”. The building was not completed until 1833. The entire surrounding area must have been a culture shock to Christmas with his humble rural background. Wellington Barracks are on Birdcage Walk and immediately opposite is St James Park. A little way to the west lies Buckingham Palace, to the east is the River Thames and Westminster Bridge and not far to the north is Trafalgar Square, with St Martin’s in the Fields church just across the road. Christmas may have been more interested in a building just a little further east. A public house, now aptly named The Grenadier, was a favourite haunt of the Grenadiers and was used by the Duke of Wellingtons Grenadier Guards as their mess.
After a couple of years Christmas and Hannah, who was known as Ann, started a family. John was born in London in 1824, followed by William in 1826 and Charles in 1830.
Having been in the army for 15 years and 44 days Christmas is discharged due to ill health in 1832. He is suffering from a chronic cough and debility and is considered to be unfit for military service. His discharge papers state that his conduct and character are good and describe him as 37 ½ years old, with dark brown hair, grey eyes and a dark complexion. His trade is wheelwright, the same trade that was listed on the baptism records of his illegitimate son Christmas junior. This seems to confirm that he had always been a wheelwright and he may have continued with this trade throughout his military career. Had he been a front line soldier he would still have had a relatively quiet time. He joined the army a few years after Waterloo and was discharged before the Crimean War and his 15 years of service took place during a fairly peaceful period. During the so called “Long Peace”, which lasted from 1815 until 1854, the Grenadier Guards Regiment did not leave British soil with the exception of a short time spent in Portugal in the late 1820’s, when they helped to restore order after the Spanish invaded their neighbours. Closer to home, agricultural riots in Newbury took place in 1830 and Grenadier Guards were sent from London in order to assist the local volunteers in dealing with this. It is probably unlikely that Christmas was involved in either of these events.
Following his discharge from the army Christmas returns home to Morley St Botolph. His poor state of health does not preclude the addition of two more children. Ann was born in 1833 and Henry in 1835. Henry was baptised at Morley St Botolph on 1st February 1835. The baptism record confirms that the family were back in Christmas’s home village and also show that Christmas is now a labourer. He presumably took on whatever work he could find when returning home. He did not settle for this though and by 1836 was schoolmaster of the village school, Brownes Daily Charity School, which had 20 - 30 pupils. In later years this became a national school. Sadly he did not retain this post for long. He died at the age of 39 and was buried at Morley St Botolph on 28th April 1835, just three months after his last son was born.
The 1840’s.
The village of Morley St Botolph lies just a few miles away from the large country town of Wymondham. In 1840 the village was inhabited by around 300 people and covered an area of less than 1000 acres. These figures did not change very much for the next half century. Being in the south of Norfolk and in the centre of East Anglia the area was extremely rural. Prominent amongst the village inhabitants were six farmers, one of whom was Thomas Sutton. The village also boasted its own pub, The Woolpack, and a baker, miller, shoemaker, smith, rat catcher and wheelwright. Also prominent was Reverend Charles Beauchamp Cooper, who would have overseen several Cobb baptisms, marriages and burials. He was also responsible for the neighbouring village of Morley St Peter. Around 1830 he had extended the rectory house and as well as employing servants he contributed to the village by paying for the schooling of a dozen children.
Christmas Cobb’s widow Ann only outlived him by six years. She was buried at Morley St Botolph on 19th March 1841. She was just 37 years old. Their older children had already left home, but the three youngsters, Charles, Henry and Ann, were faced with a serious problem. Their relatives were too old, too poor, or perhaps just not inclined, to be able to help. During the week ending 3rd April, all three of Christmas and Ann’s young children were admitted into the Forehoe Union Workhouse at Wicklewood, a few miles north of Morley St Botolph. They were described as able bodied, with a status of orphaned and the cause for them seeking relief being recorded as “destitute”. Also in the workhouse was 15 year old agricultural labourer John Cobb. He is listed separately, whereas Charles, Ann and Henry are listed together and were admitted into the workhouse together. Despite this he could be their elder sibling. However, Charles, aged 11, Henry aged 6 and Ann, aged 8, would not have stayed together. Children were separated into boys aged 7 to 13, girls aged 7 to 16 and all children under 7. Workhouse rules stipulated that children must have at least three hours schooling per day. In a rural area they would probably have had work to do too. For adults the daily routine in the workhouse consisted of ½ an hour to get up, washed and dressed, ½ an hour for breakfast, 5 hours of work, 1 hour for lunch, 5 hours of work, 1 hour for supper and 1 hour of free time before bed.
The Wicklewood workhouse was built in 1776/7. In 1841 it had 135 occupants, but had accommodation for 400. There was separate accommodation for the aged, children, the able bodied and lunatics. There was also an infirmary. The poor were let out at harvest time in order to assist on the farms. The main workhouse was a single long block, which was extended at each end in the latter part of the nineteenth century. All ground floor rooms had brick or tiled floors, with the upper floors having wooden floors. Bedding included straw and there were no fixed baths. It is hard to imagine how Charles, Ann and Henry must have felt to find themselves orphaned and put into the workhouse. While they faced up to this, four of their uncles, Stephen, Henry, William and John, and their extended family, were living in nearby Morley St Botolph.
Stephen Cobb was 55 years old and worked as an agricultural labourer. He was deaf and dumb and had been so from birth. He still led a full life and was married to Lydia nee Barlow. Like Stephen she had been born in Morley St Botolph. Their 21 year old daughter Anne Elizabeth lived with them. Their home was a cottage at 17 Hill Lane. The local Forehoe Association gave awards for long service. Among them in 1840 was one for Stephen Cobb, for thirty five years a labourer on the farm of Thomas Sutton at Morley. He was awarded £1 10s 0d.
Next door at No 18 was Stephen’s 48 year old brother Henry Cobb, a carpenter. His 43 year old wife Martha, nee Duffield had been born in Morley St Botolph as had Henry. Living with them was Martha’s 9 year old niece Hannah Wade and William Cobb, an agricultural labourer. He was Stephen and Henrys elder brother and he died the following year. Hannah may have been orphaned in which case the Cobb children may have thought it unfair that she had been able to live with their uncle, while they were in the workhouse. Henrys job as a carpenter would have been quite varied in a small farming community. He would probably have made or repaired everything from doors and windows to gates and fences, carts and perhaps even basic furniture and coffins. At the time of the 1841 census Morley St Botolph’s inhabitants were almost all agricultural labourers, or servants to the farms. Henry was the only carpenter and would have been kept busy.
The cottages that Stephen and Henry lived in were owned by Mrs Maria Morse who went on to build a new school in the village in 1845. This was believed to be at No 2 Church Cottages, Swing Lane. When this building was redeveloped in later years marbles and pencils were found under the floorboards.
John Cobb was born and baptised at Morley St Botolph in 1779. On New Year’s Day 1810 he married Ann Richardson at Morley St Botolph. They wasted no time in starting a family with daughter Mary Ann being born on 28th October. She went on to marry local farmer Henry Clark. In 1841, now aged 60 and 55 respectively John and Ann were living in Morley St Botolph. John was an agricultural labourer.
A 14 year old William Cobb was a servant living on the farm of 34 year old Thomas Sutton, who was one of the big 6 farmers in Morley St Botolph. Living with him, were Sarah King Sutton aged 22, a servant and John Thurlong, aged 12. It is likely that this was Christmas Cobb’s son William, although it could have been a different William Cobb. Being slightly older and having both accommodation and a job saved him from the workhouse. However it is possible that his good fortune did not continue.
A Cobb family legend is that one of Henry William Cobb’s uncles [therefore probably one of Christmas Cobb’s sons] was the family black sheep but ironically became a sheep farmer in Australia. Only two uncles are partially unaccounted for; William and John. William seems to be the most likely candidate. It is likely that William remained in Norfolk after his father died in 1835, but when his mother died in 1845 moved back to the part of London that he would have known as a young child. On 3rd March 1846 the Clerkenwell county court sessions found a 22 year old William Cobb guilty of larceny and he was sentenced to three months imprisonment. Clerkenwell, Bermondsey, where “our” William later lived, St Martin in the Fields church, where William’s father married, and the barracks of the Grenadier Guards where William’s father was based, are all within a three mile radius. On 16th August 1847 the central criminal court sessions tried 23 year old William Cobb with larceny from a dwelling house. He was indicted for stealing 3 coats, value 10/.; 1 waistcoat, 1/.; 1 pair of trowsers, 30s.; 1 pair of boots, 1/.; and 5 hand-kerchief, 10s.; the goods of William Lane, in the dwelling-house of Henry Nichols; to which he pleaded guilty. He was transported for seven years. I suspect that this was “our” William and that he became a sheep farmer in Australia. This perhaps enabled him to earn sufficient money to ultimately return home at the end of his sentence. Many convicts stayed in Australia because they did not earn or save sufficient money to enable them to ever return home. There are very few single William Cobb’s on the 1851 census and with a couple of unlikely possibilities none of them seem to be “our” William. Therefore he probably was not in the UK in 1851. The timing all fits and “our” William is positively identified in England for the first time via his first marriage in 1855. The marriage record states that he was a bachelor and that his father was Christmas Cobb. His details from this point on are all conclusive by virtue of his father’s unusual name appearing on marriage records and by following his life through census records.
In the spring of 1842 Stephen and Lydia’s daughter Anne Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter also called Anne Elizabeth. She was baptised at Morley St Botolph on 7th March and her mother died just two weeks later of pulmonary consumption, with her mother Lydia being present at her death. The parish records state that the younger Anne Elizabeth was the “bastard daughter” of Anne Elizabeth Cobb.
During 1844, The Norfolk Chronicle refers to the death of Ann Cobb, beloved wife of John Cobb. She died, aged 58, at Morley on Tuesday 23rd July 1844. This was Ann Cobb, nee Richardson, the wife of John Cobb.
1845 and 1846 saw a widespread failure of the potato and corn harvests and this would probably have resulted in job losses on the farms and had a significant impact on many of the local population. Joining the army was one way of finding a job and a new life. At this time there was no conscription for the army, but many of the men that attested [voluntarily signed on with the army], had no jobs and little future. It is likely that Christmas Cobb and his brother George joined the army over twenty years ago to avoid the poverty of life in a large family in a rural village. Soon Christmas’s son Charles was to join probably for similar reasons, although in his case it may have been a way out of the workhouse.
Conversely, despite the economic problems, this was the era of the railways and these were still expanding in Norfolk. The line from Wymondham to Dereham was being built and ran a few miles north of Morley St Botolph. The Cobb family would have been aware of this new development and of a bizarre accident that occurred on 8th December 1846. The line was not yet complete and a bridge over the line at Wicklewood was considered unsafe as its buttresses were sinking. The bridge was taken down, at night, with two fires burning on it. As some of the timbers were removed the bridge began to collapse and a dozen or so labourers fell to the ground, along with the bridge timbers and the two fires! Fortunately all escaped serious injury. Ironically the Wymondham to Dereham section had opened for goods traffic the day before the accident, but did not open for passenger traffic until 13th February 1847.
The 1850’s.
On the 3rd September 1850 Christmas Cobb’s son Charles joins the army, attesting with the 98th Foot Regiment in Norwich, for an initial period of 9 years. He subsequently signs on for a second term of 11 years. It is not clear whether he had already left the workhouse, or whether this was his means of doing so, but what is clear from his military records is that he had learnt a trade – he was a carpenter. He may well have learnt this trade from his uncle Henry, who was now in his sixties, but still making a living as a carpenter in Morley St Botloph. When Charles joined the 98th Foot Regiment, they were on active service in India and Charles appears on the 1851 census at Chatham barracks, presumably prior to sailing to India to join them. The 98th Foot Regiment had been in India for almost nine years and by the time Charles reached India they had been posted to Calcutta.
Morley St Botolph still contained a good number of Cobbs. By the time of the 1851 census, 9 year old Anne Elizabeth was still with her grandfather Stephen Cobb. However his wife Lydia had died in 1849. A few years earlier his sister Sarah’s husband William Jackson had died so Sarah now lived with her brother. They must have made an unlikely family; 60 year old Stephen, deaf and dumb and a widower, his granddaughter, who probably considered him her father, and his 71 year old widowed sister who was a housekeeper.
The Jackson family had to a certain extent been saviours to the Cobb’s. Sarah’s son Robert was a saddle maker living in Damgate Street in nearby Wymondham. Living with him and his wife were the younger Henry Cobb, [Christmas Cobb’s son], who had probably escaped the workhouse by virtue of being given an apprenticeship in saddle making by Robert Jackson. Also living there was dressmaker Hannah Wade, the niece of Stephen Cobb’s wife Martha. Damgate Street is one of the main streets running through the centre of Wymondham. In the early 1850’s it was a hive of activity. There were several pubs and small businesses, many of which were run from the home. There were tailors, shoemakers, milliners, bakers, joiners, wheelwrights, glaziers, painters, coopers, braziers, weavers, a cow keeper and a clothes dealer. The pubs included the Sun Inn which was number 65, just two doors away from the Jackson residence.
Back in Morley St Botolph, Stephen’s brother Henry, a carpenter, and his wife Martha, a launderer were still living next door to Stephen.
Stephen and Henrys brother John Cobb became a widower in 1844 and in 1851 he was living with daughter Mary Clark, nee Cobb, and her husband and family. They were living at 54 Stalland Road, Deopham, a few miles from Morley St Botolph. Mary’s husband Henry was a farmer with 30 acres. Their children were John H, aged 15, James W, aged 14, Jabez G, aged 11, Jessy aged 9 and Jael, aged 8. John was described on the census as an annuitant, so he may have earned sufficient money to have created a reasonable trust or pension for himself. This seems unusual for an agricultural labourer so perhaps he came into money when his wife died. Whatever the circumstances John did not have long to enjoy his money. He died in 1852.
Whilst the younger Henry Cobb had escaped the workhouse by taking an apprenticeship to his cousin Robert Jackson, his fellow inmates had also moved on. His sister Ann was one of several servants employed by Reverend Charles Beauchamp Cooper and was living at the Rectory in Morley St Botolph. His brother Charles, with the 98th Foot Regiment, had returned to England in 1854, where they remained for three years. They then returned to India, this time to the North West Frontier. Since the early 1800’s the East India Company had expanded into the Indian sub-continent, but eventually they were felt to be restricting the traditional way of life and a rebellion started in 1857. In 1857/8 the 98th Foot Regiment were involved in the Sepoy Rebellion and then formed part of the Sittana Field Force which was sent to deal with the Hindustani Fanatics. The Sittana Field Force was a large unit divided into four columns, with the 98th Foot Regiment forming part of the third column. The entire unit was at Salim Khan on 25th April 1858 and from then on the four columns operated independently wiping out villages and other strongholds of the Hindustani Fanatics. It was at this time that the British army used the Enfield rifle for the first time and it was found to be extremely effective. By the end of 1858 India came under the rule of the British Empire.
The 1860’s.
As the younger Cobb’s left the workhouse, the older Cobb’s were declining in numbers and within thirty years there would be no more Cobb’s at Morley St Botolph. In 1861, Stephen Cobb, now a 71 year old labourer, was living with his 68 year old brother Henry, a carpenter, and Henrys 65 year old wife Martha. Their property was beside the Manor House. Sarah Jackson nee Cobb had died four years earlier and young Anne Elizabeth had moved on. Stephen died on 18th January, 1867, aged 78.
Henry Cobb junior [the son of Christmas Cobb] had grown up considerably in the last few years. In 1858 he had married Garveston born Sophia Mayes. Their first child, Charles was born in Thuxton, near Garveston in 1860. Having been taught his trade by Robert Jackson he was now a saddle and harness maker in his own right. In 1861 he and his family were living at 63 Folley Road in Wymondham. Their second child, Laura, was born in Garveston the following year. The family now moved to Fakenham. In the 1860’s Fakenham was a growing town with a population of around 2,500. It had a head post office, a recently completed railway, a quite large market place, with a weekly market on Thursdays and two banks. To the Cobb family the move here probably represented the start of their independence, having left the security of Henry’s cousin in Wymondham and his wife Sophia’s family in Garveston. Their third child, Henry Wm was born in 1867. Two years later another child, Julia was born.
In 1867, after ten years in India, the 98th Foot Regiment returned to England. Upon their return Charles Cobb married Mary Ann Poll at Portsea Island, on the 21st of June. She was twenty years his junior and was born in Wymondham. Her father was Christmas Poll [Cobb] so Charles married his father’s granddaughter, his own half niece! It is possible that she did not actually know that her father was really a Cobb, as no father of the groom was listed when Christmas Poll [Cobb] marries for the first time. He may have wondered why he was called Christmas though! This was not unusual for someone born at Christmas, like his biological father, but he was born in August. On the other hand Charles marrying someone from his home town, whilst at Portsea, is quite a coincidence so perhaps they did know of their connection.
Charles and Mary Ann soon started a family, with daughter Amelia Ann being born in 1868 at Aldershot. It is likely that Charles was nearby with the 98th Foot Regiment.
1870’s.
The younger Henry Cobb and his family were still in Fakenham, with the census recording them as being at 28 Hayes Lane, with their four children. They had two more children, Louisa and Harry, in 1875 and 1877.
Charles Cobb and Mary Ann had another daughter, Lavinia Jane, who was born in Tynemouth in 1870. The 98th Foot Regiment spent time at Fenham Barracks in Newcastle, which explains Lavinia’s birthplace.
The 98th Foot Regiment’s next move was to Ireland and Charles and Mary Ann’s third child, Ann Elizabeth was born in County Mayo on the 16th October 1871. At this time Charles’ Uncle Henry, the carpenter, and his 75 year old wife Martha, a charwoman, were still living in Morley St Botolph, where Henry died four years later.
On the 8th July 1872, whilst still in Ireland, Charles Cobb is discharged having completed his two terms of service. He had served for a total of 21 years and 13 days, 13 years and 8 months of which had been in India, or the East Indies, as his discharge papers referred to it. During his service he was awarded the India General Service Medal with North West Frontier clasp and three good conduct badges. His name appeared nine times in the regimental defaulters’ book, which regularly resulted in a loss of good conduct pay, which was subsequently restored. He seems to have been a regular committer of minor crimes or breaches of discipline. At one stage of his career he was briefly a corporal, but was reduced back to private. He suffered no wounds or injuries during his service and it is possible that he continued with his trade of carpentry which would have kept him out of the front line.
His discharge papers describe him as having sandy hair and blue eyes and he was five feet six inches tall. When discharged he gave his intended place of residence as Wymondham, although he did not live there again for another twenty years. He instead settled in Wakefield, briefly in Eye and then in Ascot.
While living in Wakefield, Charles and Mary Ann had four more children, three of whom died at a young age. Charles Edward was born in 1873, but died when just two years old. William Henry was born in 1875, but died when he was six. Next came Mary Maud who was born in 1877, but died at three years old. In 1879 Albert was born.
Meanwhile in Norfolk, at a village called South Creake, changes were on the way at The Black Swan. In 1878 the Black Swan was lot no 50 in the sale of Bircham & sons Reepham Brewery. The sale was on Saturday 8th June and after the sale the pub was let to John Burcham, who was the licensee prior to the sale, for an annual rent of £15. The property consisted of a tap room with room behind, upland cellar, bar, wash house, pantry, large club room with moveable partition, 7 bedrooms, open cart lodge next to the road, detached wash house, stable, yard with range of buildings comprising blacksmiths shop, coach house, stabling and loose boxes, large garden at rear and an allotment to the common. John Burcham remained the licensee until 1879 when Lawrence Harper took over for just one year. The next licensee was William Lunness in 1888 so it seems that the pub was not a pub for a 9 year period.
The 1880’s.
Henry Cobb, the saddle maker, and his family had moved to South Creake, probably to the Black Swan although they may have lived elsewhere in the village first. Henry was now in his mid-forties and had been a self-employed saddle and harness maker for over twenty years. He employed two of his sons and had presumably been quite successful. South Creake is between the north Norfolk coast and Fakenham and would have had a regular passing trade of farmers and fishermen. Several fairly large scale farmers were based in the village which had no other harness makers at the time of the 1881 census. The Black Swan also gave Henry larger premises and the opportunity to take in lodgers. The 1881 census records the family at the Black Swan and shows that Charles and Henry Wm were now apprentices to their father. They also had lodgers, 40 year old Edward Tompson, a photographer, and his 32 year old wife Margaret C. Another son, Alfred had been born in 1880.
The once thriving population of Cobb’s living in Morley St Botolph was no more. The 1881 census shows that Henry Cobb’s widow Martha, now an 87 year old pauper was living with her niece Hannah Phoenix, nee Wade at nearby Deopham. Hannah had done well for herself. From living with her aunt and uncle [Henry Cobb and Martha Duffield] she had gone to live with Robert Jackson as a dressmaker, at the same time that the younger Henry Cobb was an apprentice harness maker to him. She married local man Taylor Phoenix who was now a farmer of 9 acres.
Meanwhile Charles Cobb was living in Eye, at Chandos Lodge, Lambseth Street. The census shows him as a serving Chelsea Pensioner and gardener. The head of the household was 69 year old Lucy Townley, a solicitor’s widow. Also in the household are Marian Plaister, a companion to Lucy, and two servants. Lucy was also born in Norfolk. Charles’s family were not far away though. At 262 Back Lane, Eye were Mary Ann, and children Amelia Ann, Lavinia Jane, Ann Elizabeth, William Henry and Albert.
Mary Ann’s child bearing days were not yet over. Daughters Mary Maud [the same name as a previous child] and Alice Ann were born in 1882 and 1884 respectively.
The family then move to Ascot, where three more children are born. Mabel Emma was born in 1885, Flora who died as a baby, was born in 1888, and Lily Nora was born in 1890.
While Charles Cobb and his family were still in Suffolk, his cousin Henry Cobb was settling into new surroundings. At some point in the early 1880’s the family moved to Thornham, which was on the coast and surrounded by farms. This seems a strange move. Henry was almost certainly renting the Black Swan at South Creake, rather than being the owner and when the building returned to its former life as a pub it is possible that Henry was forced to leave.
Thornham had a population of around 600 and over the last fifty years a school and chapel had been built. Thornham was a busy fishing village and in the not too distant past had been a haven for smugglers. Henry would probably have known about Thornham as some of his past customers at South Creake would have travelled to and from this area.
Thornham would probably have seen less passing trade than South Creake. A local man, Isaac Flegg, was a harness maker who lived at the west end of the village nearer to the busy harbour at Brancaster Bay. This is the harbour that still contains the old warehouse which is often photographed today. At that time the warehouse would have been a hive of activity, unloading coal and loading outbound ships with corn. Henry was at the east end of the village, near the old harbour, and his neighbours included a coal merchant and a carrier, both of whom would have been knowledgeable contacts for him. The family had another daughter; Olive Maud was born in Thornham on 29th October 1883. She was baptised on 15th April 1885.
The move to Thornham would have brought Henry Cobb into direct contact with the sea faring community. He may have been told tales of smugglers and shipwrecks, as well as fishermen’s tales. The majority of shipwrecks occur further to the East of Norfolk, particularly around Happisburgh, but a heavy storm caused three ship wrecks a few miles along the coast from Thornham a couple of years before Henry moved there. In October 1880 there were three boats all washed up at Holkham during the same storm. The first one was called Violet and had sailed down from Whitby. Another was from Shields, the Sharon Rose, and she was taking coal across to France. The third was a schooner called Lois from Littlehampton. The crew of the Lois were rescued by taking out ropes from the beach. The lifeboat, Eliza Adams, from Wells went out to the Sharon Rose and managed to get alongside her and rescue the crew. The lifeboat had hardly got back to Wells, when they sent her straight back out to help another boat. The lifeboat men tried but the gale was so bad that they couldn’t get alongside and they had to give up and head home. They were almost back into the harbour when they capsized and only two of the crew survived.
On October 23rd 1891 a Norwegian barque named Lydia ran aground off Thornham during a gale. Her hold was flooded and she had damage to her rudder and topmast. Her crew of fourteen were rescued by the Brancaster lifeboat, Lily Bird and taken to the Ship Inn at Brancaster.
In the earlier part of the nineteenth century nearby Blakeney had been a major fishing port with Herring and Oysters being a speciality and as recently as the 1870’s there had been over 300 mussel fishing boats registered in the locality. Thornham itself had local fishermen and a thriving fishing community could be found further along the coast at Kings Lynn.
The 1890’s.
The 1891 census shows Henry Cobb living at 37 Oldfield Lane, Thornham. Louisa, employed as a servant and Harry, still an apprentice to his father, and youngsters Alfred and Olive Maud were still living at home. All other children had moved on. Grandchildren were to feature soon though. Daughters Julia and Louisa had both married and moved to Greenwich where their husbands found work in the docklands. However they both return home from their new lives in Greenwich in order to have their first child at home. In 1895 Louisa’s daughter Louise is born in September and Julia’s daughter Julia was born in December. In these times it was not uncommon for daughters to return home for their first born child.
In 1891 Charles Cobb was living at No 2 Alpha Cottages, Sunninghill, Ascot, Berks with his wife Mary Ann and children, Albert, Annie E, Lily Nora and Mabel E. Charles was a gardener and domestic servant. The couple’s thirteenth child, Charlie Christopher, was born in 1892.
In or around 1895 the family move back to Norfolk, and on the 1901 census Charles was living at 91 Folley Road in Wymondham. He gives his occupation as Chelsea Pensioner & gardener, and incorrectly lists his birthplace as the Tower of London! With him were wife Mary Ann, 10 year old Lily Nora and 8 year old Charlie Christopher.
The 1900’s.
In 1900 Henry Cobb’s wife Sophia dies at Thornham on 27th January, aged 56. A year later the census shows that Henry, Alfred, now a yardman on a farm, and Olive Maud, now a housekeeper/domestic had moved to 104 The Green in Thornham.
In 1902 Charles Cobb died at the age of 72, at Wymondham. His cousin Henry survived until 1919 and died at Thornham on 27th September, aged 85. Henry was the last of the Cobbs who were actually born in Morley St Botolph, but their extended family survives to this day, some of them still in Norfolk.