Howard and Colwyn Cottages, Low Road
The site of this pair of cottages is clearly marked on a 1772 plan of the Rainthorpe estate held at the Norfolk Record Office under reference WLP 10/32 and except for a brief period, they remained part of the Rainthorpe estate until 1929, when much of it was sold following the death of Sir Charles Harvey. However, the 1772 plan shows a building, named as Bill's House, standing end on to the road, whereas the 1818 Enclosure Award map shows a building facing along Low Road, so it seems clear that the old house had been demolished and the current cottages built at some time in the interim, almost certainly when Rainthorpe was owned by John Gay. By the time of the Tithe Apportionment Award in 1840 the estate had been inherited by his daughter, Mary Girdlestone, and the following year's census return names James Davey, a 25 year old agricultural labourer as the tenant of the right hand cottage, now Colwyn, along with his wife and four young children. The other half, now Howard, was home to Elizabeth Peas, aged 60, and John Smith, 80, both of whom were described as being of independent means, so possibly a father and widowed daughter.
In August 1852 Mary Girdlestone offered the whole of the Rainthorpe estate for sale by auction, these two cottages being Lot 4 along with three parcels of let farm land. They were described as a double cottage and shoemaker's shop producing a rent of £10.50, with the tenants named as James Atkins and Joseph Harvey. At the time of the 1851 census, Joseph Harvey, the shoemaker, had been living in a cottage on Flordon Road so must have moved to Colwyn shortly afterwards. He and his wife Martha together with a 27 year old daughter Elizabeth who was described as a dressmaker, were still living in the property at the time of the next census in 1861. Mr Atkins however had moved on, and Howard was home to an agricultural labourer, William Key, his wife Hannah and their 21 year old son who was working as a journeyman miller, probably Tasburgh mill although there were four other mills within walking distance.
The purchaser of Lot 4 in 1852 had been Sir William Kemp of Bracon Ash Hall but in 1870 the cottages were repurchased by the owner of Rainthorpe Hall,
and in terms of occupation everything had changed again with the 1871 census showing the Howard being occupied by Joseph Risby together with his wife Sarah and their sixteen year old son, George. Joseph was described as a hawker, or door to door salesman, and his son as an apprentice cordwainer, or shoemaker, but money may have been tight because they had taken in a lodger, John Yallop who was an apprentice wheelwright. Joseph Risby and his wife were still there twenty years later at the time of the 1891 census, aged 83 and 79, being looked after by a general servant, Amelia Edwards, whilst Colwyn was home to Philemon Rackham, a 74 year old agricultural worker, his wife Harriet. They had arrived at some point before 1881, having been shown in the 1871 census as living next door in what is now Poppy Cottage.
Mr Rackham died later in 1891 and Mr Risby in 1897 leading to further changes, and Howard became closely associated with Tasburgh Mill with a journeyman, or assistant, miller Harry Moyes in residence in 1901 and Jessie Pratt, also a miller, in 1911. It's not clear whether they rented direct from Rainthorpe or whether the cottage had been included with the lease of the Mill which was also owned by Rainthorpe, but when the Mill was let to CA & AE Thompson the cottage was certainly included because when the Rainthorpe Estate was sold by auction in 1929, they were shown as the tenant at an apportioned rent of £5 a year. The two cottages formed Lot 16, with Colwyn being tenanted by Mrs Norton at the same rent. The 1911 census shows Thomas Norton, his wife Emma Jane Norton and their son Frederick in residence but Mr Norton, who worked as a roadman for the local authority, died in 1922 and his widow and son were still living in the cottage when the 1939 Registration was taken. At the time she was described as a 71 year old widow and laundress and her son Frederick was a farm labourer.
The purchaser of the cottages in 1929 was Frederick Curson but the cottages continued to be let, and the 1939 Registration names the occupier of Howard as Alfred Yarham, a 27 year old cowman who was perhaps working for the Cursons, but shortly thereafter Howard was sold to Gladys Patrick who together with her husband Harry ran the Limes Stores next door. William Moore in his memories of growing up in Tasburgh during and after the War says that the cottage was home to an elderly widow and her unmarried daughter who were relatives of Mr and Mrs Patrick. He also refers to the death
and funeral of Mrs Norton in 1941 in the following terms; "on her last journey, a gentleman with a piebald pony and a sideless four wheel farm cart took the primitive coffin containing the late Mrs Norton. There were no flowers, no mourners, not even her son, just the cart driver". In 1940 Colwyn was also bought by Gladys Patrick, and after Mrs Norton's death was then rented by Mr Moore's uncle. He and his wife had to take in evacuees from London, two of whom left overnight taking some cash and small valuables with them, but not knowing the locality and without transport they were soon arrested!
Mr Patrick died in 1945 and his widow Gladys remarried in 1947 becoming Gladys Gowing. In 1951 she sold Colwyn to Colvin Osborne who was in the RAF based at Hethel and his wife Wyn (Winifred Fincham) whose home had been Dairy Farm, Flordon. They had originally wanted to buy The Firs but the price was beyond their means. It was their combined first names that gave the property its current name, although he was always known by his second name, George. They modernised the cottage and added a single storey extension onto the side but his RAF service postings meant that they didn't take up residence until he retired in 1966, with the property being let in the meantime. Their daughter, Sheila, who was an active member of the village drama group, married Ralph Hardingham from Jasmine Cottage and moved to Long Stratton. George and Wyn also moved to Long Stratton in 2009, and the property was bought by Susanna Sadd, a teacher, who in due course added an extra floor to the single storey extension and a large garden room on the back.
Around the same time as selling Colwyn, Gladys Gowing also sold Howard. The name of the purchaser isn't known but for many years the unimproved cottage was home to Victor Garrod and his wife Sylvia who predeceased him. After his death in 2021 the cottage was bought by a builder, Charlie Dowd who added a side and double storey rear extension and obtained planning permission to build another property in the garden. Howard was then sold in 2023 to Robbie and Ellie Bridgstock but the origin of the name of the property remains something of a mystery.