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In association with Fakenham and district Sun - Fakenham's only free paper
Readers of the ‘Fakenham and District Sun free paper’ will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corner’ articles which have appeared each month since December 2011.
For those who may not receive a printed edition, there is an opportunity here to view the current article as well as those from previous editions. |
December 2017
Norwich Street
This is a glass plate photo from 1912 of Norwich Street in Fakenham, the narrow street that leads off the north-eastern corner of the Market Place. It was a really busy place, with shops full of useful household goods - tools, toys, gas lamps, clothes, bicycles and even guns! - spilling out onto the pavements. The cabby in the photo is Ted Reynolds, and he met travellers at Fakenham East railway station and took them to stay at either The Crown or The Lion Hotel. Ted lived at 1, Wells Road, Fakenham and kept his horses round the back. He also later ran a car taxi service. We have now amassed thousands of interesting photos, all donated by the public. The photos feature people, places and events over many years in Fakenham and the surrounding villages. You can see a good selection of them on this website or come along to one of our public archive sessions to look at the complete archive on our laptops. |
Our next session will be held on Tuesday 12th December from 2.00 – 4.00 pm in Fakenham Parish Church. The session will start with photos that have been recently donated to our archive followed by a slideshow of photos from the past on a winter theme. During the refreshment break there will be mince pies, coffee and tea and, as a special treat, some members of the Fakenham Ukulele Group to entertain us. Please note there will be no scanning of new photos until the following session on Tuesday 30th January.
Do come and join us, where, apart from watching a slideshow, you can browse through our photo albums and documents, listen to recordings of people talking about the past or search the whole archive on our laptops. You can also contact us via this website or ‘like’ us on Facebook
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
Do come and join us, where, apart from watching a slideshow, you can browse through our photo albums and documents, listen to recordings of people talking about the past or search the whole archive on our laptops. You can also contact us via this website or ‘like’ us on Facebook
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
November 2017
Bonfire Night
There was a time, back in the 1950s, when Bonfire Night was a modest domestic celebration held in our back gardens or on a bit of waste land with a few friends and neighbours. There’d be a home-made guy made from old clothes stuffed with newspapers and maybe a villainous looking mask of Guy Fawkes pinned on to a turnip head. The children would have sparklers to wave around and the men of the family would be in charge of letting off rockets, bangers, Catherine Wheels and Roman Candles. Our nostalgic photo this month recalls such a Bonfire Night on Hempton Green in 1952, with the children wrapped up in warm clothing and standing with their mums a safe distance from the bonfire. They’d probably have been collecting material for the bonfire for months and ‘pennies for the guy’ to pay for the fireworks, which were in those days freely available from local shops. |
We have now amassed thousands of interesting photos on our community archive, all donated by the public. The photos cover people, places and events over many years in Fakenham and the surrounding villages. You can see a good selection of them on our website or come along to one of our public archive sessions to look at the complete archive on our laptops.
The next two sessions will be held on Tuesday 31st October from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm and on Tuesday 12th December from 2.00 – 4.00 pm in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of most months. Please note there will be NO MEETING IN NOVEMBER due to preparations in the church for the Christmas Tree Festival, and the December meeting is being brought forward to mid-December due to Christmas.
Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can bring in your own photos for scanning, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums and documents, listen to recordings of people talking about the past or search the whole archive.
You can also contact us via this website or ‘like’ us on Facebook
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
The next two sessions will be held on Tuesday 31st October from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm and on Tuesday 12th December from 2.00 – 4.00 pm in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of most months. Please note there will be NO MEETING IN NOVEMBER due to preparations in the church for the Christmas Tree Festival, and the December meeting is being brought forward to mid-December due to Christmas.
Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can bring in your own photos for scanning, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums and documents, listen to recordings of people talking about the past or search the whole archive.
You can also contact us via this website or ‘like’ us on Facebook
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
October 2017
Helhoughton Gardening Class
This photo was taken possibly in the 1940s of the boys’ gardening class at Helhoughton village school. The school’s allotment garden was along the main street near Roys’ village shop. Each boy bears a hoe, rake or spade and one young man – maybe an assistant teacher? - carries a pair of scales to weigh the garden produce. The Head teacher, Mr Naylor, who had a reputation for being very strict stands behind the boys with the wheelbarrow. We suspect the girls were probably busy doing needlework or cookery while the boys learned these essential gardening skills. We have now amassed thousands of interesting photos on our community archive, all donated by the public. The photos cover people, places and events over many years in Fakenham and the surrounding villages. You can see a good selection of them on our website or come along to one of our public archive sessions to look at the complete archive on our laptops. |
The next sessions will be held on Tuesday 26th September and Tuesday 31st October from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of every month. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can bring in your own photos for scanning, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums and documents, listen to recordings of people talking about the past or search the whole archive.
You can also contact us via this website, or ‘like’ us on Facebook
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
You can also contact us via this website, or ‘like’ us on Facebook
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
September 2017
Great Eastern Railway Station
This very old photo from Edwardian times was taken on the platform of Fakenham’s Great Eastern Railway station on Norwich Road. It shows the staff and families of the biggest employer in the town at the time - Miller, Son & Co, printers - waiting for a train on their firm’s summer outing to Great Yarmouth. The wooden construction of the station can be seen clearly. In later years the wooden boarding was replaced by asbestos sheeting. The railway and station buildings disappeared during the 1980s and 90s, to be replaced by the Fayre Green housing complex. |
We have now amassed thousands of interesting photos on our community archive, all donated by the public. The photos cover people, places and events over many years in Fakenham and the surrounding villages. You can see a good selection of them on our website or come along to one of our public archive sessions to look at the complete archive on our laptops.
Our next sessions will be held on Tuesday 29th August and Tuesday 26th September from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of every month. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can bring in your own photos for scanning, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums and documents, listen to recordings of people talking about the past or search the whole archive.
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
Our next sessions will be held on Tuesday 29th August and Tuesday 26th September from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of every month. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can bring in your own photos for scanning, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums and documents, listen to recordings of people talking about the past or search the whole archive.
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
August 2017
Foaming!
Does anyone recognise these characters? We'd love to know who they were! This wonderful photo of three of our retained firemen was taken in 1988 at Fakenham Fire Station after a drill using foam to extinguish a simulated fire. We have now amassed thousands of interesting photos on our community archive. The photos cover people, places and events over many years in Fakenham and the surrounding villages. You can see a good selection of them on our website or come along to one of our public archive sessions to look at the complete archive on our laptops. |
The next session will be held on Tuesday 29th August from 2.00 pm - 4.00 pm in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of every month. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can bring in your own photos for scanning, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums and documents, listen to recordings of people talking about the past or search the whole archive.
Chris Chalk,
Secretary, Fakenham & District Community Archive
Chris Chalk,
Secretary, Fakenham & District Community Archive
July 2017
It would appear that the information we previously held in relation to this photograph wasn't completely accurate, this has now been amended. Thank you all for your help and participation
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Fakenham Junior School 1980
Old school photos often spark many happy (or mixed!) memories for both children and their families, and we hope this one will do the same. The photo shows a class of pupils at Fakenham Junior School at the end of their school year in July 1980. We have now amassed thousands of interesting photos on our community archive. The photos cover people, places and events over many years in Fakenham and the surrounding villages. You can see a good selection of them on our website or come along to one of our public archive sessions to look at the complete archive on our laptops. The next session will be held on Tuesday 25th July from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of every month. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can bring in your own photos for scanning, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums and documents, listen to recordings of people talking about the past or search the whole archive. You can also contact us via our website, or ‘like’ us on Facebook. Chris Chalk, Secretary Fakenham & District Community Archive |
June 2017
'Cheggers' - Fakenham Junior Swimmers
This photo from our community archive was taken in 1979 and shows pupils from Fakenham Junior School being presented with a swimming trophy by the celebrity actor, TV presenter and entertainer Keith Chegwin (‘Cheggers’). The presentation took place at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre at a special celebration day to commemorate the school winning a national award in the Coca-Cola Dolphin Trophy scheme. The scheme was open to 30,000 primary and junior schools in England and Wales and was designed to encourage children to learn to swim at school. Since its inception in 1963 over 740,000 children across the UK had achieved the target of learning to swim before the age of 12. It was organised by the English and Welsh Schools’ Swimming Associations and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and sponsored by Coca-Cola. |
If you remember the event and the names of the children in the picture, maybe you’d like to get in touch with us? Group photos are very popular with people who view our community archive, and if you have school or workplace photos that we can add to our archive we would be happy to scan them in. They can then be shared as part of our community’s local history.
You can see many more interesting photos of Fakenham and the surrounding villages on our website or come along to our next archive session. This will be held on Tuesday 27th June from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of every month. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can see photos of Fakenham and surrounding villages, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums or search the whole archive on our laptops.
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
You can see many more interesting photos of Fakenham and the surrounding villages on our website or come along to our next archive session. This will be held on Tuesday 27th June from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of every month. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can see photos of Fakenham and surrounding villages, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums or search the whole archive on our laptops.
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
May 2017
'Woolies' Fakenham shop Staff
This photo, taken in 1991, is of some of the members of staff who worked at the Woolworths store in Fakenham Market Place (now the Warehouse Shop). The shop sold everyday household items at rock bottom prices and, although shoppers in the UK considered ‘Woolies’ to be as British as fish and chips, it was actually part of a global brand, with more than 3,000 near-identical stores across the world. Part of Woolworths’ magic was its ability to adapt to fit into different local communities and to ‘go native’ without sacrificing its identity. Sadly, having risen like a meteor, Woolworths faded away in the USA and Canada in the 1990s before falling like a stone in the UK in 2008. The British chain went from normal trading in 800 stores to complete shutdown in just 41 days. |
If you have any more photos of our local Woolworths store or of your working days in any other local businesses we would be happy to scan them into our archive, where they can be shared as part of our community’s history.
You can see many more interesting photos of Fakenham over the years on our website or come along to our next archive session, which will be held from 2.00 to 4.00 pm on Tuesday 30th May in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of every month. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can see photos of Fakenham and surrounding villages, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums or search the whole archive on our laptops.
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
You can see many more interesting photos of Fakenham over the years on our website or come along to our next archive session, which will be held from 2.00 to 4.00 pm on Tuesday 30th May in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of every month. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can see photos of Fakenham and surrounding villages, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums or search the whole archive on our laptops.
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
April 2017
Remember Lancaster Avenue Prefabs ?
This is a photo of the prefabs built after the Second World War in Lancaster Avenue, Fakenham. It shows the family of Harry and Mary Coates working together in their garden, with their two children looking on. Prefabs, or prefabricated houses, were a major part of the wartime coalition government's plan to solve the severe housing shortage after the war following widespread damage to the country's housing stock in the Blitz. They were originally envisaged by the wartime Prime Minister. Winston Churchill. Under Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government about 150.000 prefabs were built. The prefabs, which could be built in a day on pre-plumbed concrete slabs, were very popular due to their good design and durable construction, and many lasted much longer than the ten years they were originally designed for. The houses were a godsend for the homeless, bombed-out families across Britain - detached dwellings with the then astonishing luxury of a garden, a bathroom and a separate indoor toilet. |
The 40 prefabs in Lancaster Avenue were eventually demolished and replaced by permanent dwellings in the early 1960s. The tenants were offered homes built by Walsingham Rural District Council at the Lee Warner estate and Jubilee Avenue and by infilling at Greenway Close.
You can see many more interesting photos of Fakenham over the years on this website or come along to our next archive sessions, which will be held from 2.00 to 4.00 pm on TUESDAY 25th April in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of every month. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can see photos of Fakenham and surrounding villages, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums or search the whole archive on our laptops. You can contact us via this website or 'like' us on Facebook.
We will also be taking part in 'Fakenham Heritage Open Day', to be held in the Bistro, Fakenham Market Place, on Saturday 22nd April from 9.00 am - 12.00 pm (to coincide with the Farmers' Market and Makers' Market). This event will mark the anniversaries of our three local history groups: the Fakenham Local History Society, the Fakenham Museum of Gas & Local History, and the Fakenham & District Community Archive. Everyone welcome!
Chris Chalk. Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
You can see many more interesting photos of Fakenham over the years on this website or come along to our next archive sessions, which will be held from 2.00 to 4.00 pm on TUESDAY 25th April in Fakenham Parish Church, where we meet on the last Tuesday of every month. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can see photos of Fakenham and surrounding villages, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums or search the whole archive on our laptops. You can contact us via this website or 'like' us on Facebook.
We will also be taking part in 'Fakenham Heritage Open Day', to be held in the Bistro, Fakenham Market Place, on Saturday 22nd April from 9.00 am - 12.00 pm (to coincide with the Farmers' Market and Makers' Market). This event will mark the anniversaries of our three local history groups: the Fakenham Local History Society, the Fakenham Museum of Gas & Local History, and the Fakenham & District Community Archive. Everyone welcome!
Chris Chalk. Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
March 2017
1950s Hempton
This is a photo taken at East View, Hempton in the 1950s by local resident Keith Meakin. It shows his mates Dick Wright and Keith Joyce on a motorbike and sidecar belonging to Keith’s father, Jack Meakin. Jack used his motorbike to pick up American newspapers, magazines and comics early each morning from King’s Lynn railway station and deliver these all-American publications to USAF Sculthorpe, where he and his son Keith would sell them (sometimes twice!) in the Mess. You can see many more interesting photos of Fakenham’s local history over the years on this website, or by coming along to one of our monthly archive sessions where you can see photos of Fakenham and surrounding villages, bring in your own photos to be scanned into the archive, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums or search the whole archive on our laptops. So why not join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat. |
February 2017
Fakenham trouser factory.
This is a photo of some of the staff at Harmer’s trouser factory in Fakenham, situated on The Drift. This was a branch of one of the largest clothing companies in the country, JW Harmer & Co., a family firm established in 1825 that produced high quality men’s clothing. Harmer’s had its main factory in Norwich, with branches in Fakenham, Diss, Syleham and Stradbroke. The company produced beautifully made garments, including school blazers, uniforms for the Post Office, Fire Service and military services, plus trousers and jackets for everyday wear. At its peak it produced around 32,000 garments each week. In 1987 the company decided to close the jacket and blazer-making production line and concentrate on trousers. Sadly, the business declined due to foreign competition and a shortage of skilled labour, and the firm went into liquidation in 1990. We are aware that there are many people living in the area who worked at Harmer’s, and we are thinking of arranging a reunion of former employees. So please do get in touch if you’re interested. |
We meet on the last Tuesday of each month 2.00 pm and 4.00 pm. in the Trinity Room in Fakenham Parish Church. why not Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can see photos of Fakenham and surrounding villages watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums or search the whole archive on our laptops
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
Chris Chalk, Secretary
Fakenham & District Community Archive
January 2017
‘Mary Poppins’ - Coming to Town
This month’s delightful photos are of George Mayes, who was the Manager of the Central Cinema in Fakenham from 1950 until its closure in 1976. He’s shown here in photos from 1965 giving away balloons to local schoolchildren to promote the forthcoming film ‘Mary Poppins’ George came from Weybourne and began his career at Sheringham, where he started as a re-wind boy and trained to become a projectionist. In the early part of the war he went round the RAF stations in Norfolk and Lincolnshire with a mobile cinema unit. When he was called up he served in the Army Cinematography Service. This took him abroad, where he worked film projectors in Italy, Egypt and Greece. On demobilisation in 1947 George went to Fakenham as chief projectionist and became its Manager for 26 years, from 1950 until the closure of the Central Cinema in 1976. This cinema later re-opened as our still popular Hollywood Cinema. You can see many more photos of Fakenham’s cinema’s history over the years on our website, or come along to our next archive session, which will be held from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm on Monday 30th January in the Trinity Room in Fakenham Parish Church. Join us over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a friendly chat! You can see photos of Fakenham and surrounding villages, watch a slideshow, browse through our photo albums or search the whole archive on our laptops. Chris Chalk, Secretary Fakenham & District Community Archive Photos courtesy of Keith Mayes. |
© 2011 Fakenham & District Community Archive.
Created in-house by Fakenham & District Community Archive
Created in-house by Fakenham & District Community Archive