TRUNCH HALL RESIDENTS
Trunch Hall in Bradfield Road is one of the oldest and grandest houses in Trunch and it has had some very interesting owners and tenants. One part of it is believed to date from the late 1500s and there have been later editions. For much of the time a farm of about 100 acres went with the Hall. I do not know who were the early owners although Thomas HOWES' will of 1646 shows that he owned land around the Hall and he mentions a "new" house.
In the early 1800s Marmaduke WARD, the church clerk, lived here and in his book about Trunch, Goodrich says that he sold it to farmer Thomas BIDWELL who was living here at the time of the 1839 tithe map. However by the time of the 1841 census Bidwell was farming in Swafield and Francis WOODROW was living in the Hall possibly as a tenant, probably with his sister Mary and brother George and a younger William. The Woodrow family came from Beeston Regis and when Cremer (Francis' father) was buried there in 1837 his abode was given as Trunch, as it was when Francis died in 1842. By 1851 the BIDWELLS were back at the Hall and father and then son farmed there until after 1891.
The rich widow In 1901 Ellen FORREST and her 2 daughters were living in the Hall and they are in the photo above. Ellen was born about 1843 the daughter of Laurence Walker, a solicitor's clerk in Stockport in Cheshire. When she was 17 she married Charles Birkett FORREST, a gentleman of independent means who was 34, and the following year their daughter Ellen was born in Jersey, Channel Islands.
By 1860 the family were in Yorkshire and another daughter, Louisa, was born and in 1871 they were in Guernsey, Channel Islands where Charles died in 1878. He left £800 in England but presumably more in the Channel Islands as after his death Ellen travelled around staying in grand houses. (Charles' fortune probably came from his father, who was an attorney).
By 1860 the family were in Yorkshire and another daughter, Louisa, was born and in 1871 they were in Guernsey, Channel Islands where Charles died in 1878. He left £800 in England but presumably more in the Channel Islands as after his death Ellen travelled around staying in grand houses. (Charles' fortune probably came from his father, who was an attorney).
The FORRESTs were in Trunch from at least 1897 until 1908 and the newspapers recorded their involvement in village activities. After her time in Trunch Ellen and her 2 daughters settled in a house called Harrolds in Pulham St. Mary in Norfolk, where they all died. Probate eventually went to a Richard Forrest , presumably a distant relative, who died a very rich man in 1975.
In 1909 the Norfolk News ran the following advertisement -
To let a splendid old country residence with stables, coach house, garden and pasture known as Trunch Hall. Apply W Gibbons. This could be Walter or William who were both farmers at that time and this suggests that one of them owned the Hall.
To let a splendid old country residence with stables, coach house, garden and pasture known as Trunch Hall. Apply W Gibbons. This could be Walter or William who were both farmers at that time and this suggests that one of them owned the Hall.
The BRIGGS family of Bradfield had owned land in Trunch since at least 1605, and one of them had the unusual name of BOZOON! At the end of the 1600s several were born in Trunch but as far as Trunch Hall goes Charles BRIGGS was listed as the householder in the 1911 census summary but not in the census itself. In 1911 he and his wife presented coronation mugs to children in the village and in 1919 Mrs. Briggs gave them all peace mugs and she relinquished the tenancy in 1927.
The 1921 census says the resident was Captain McLeod More from London, who was married with 2 daughters. He was a retired soldier but only aged 30. In 1927 his wife divorced him, because of his adultery and I think he remarried in 1929. In the early 1930s however he was declared bankrupt in spite of being left a considerable sum in his father's will 10 years before. He died in Eastbourne in 1947 leaving nearly £1000. Click here for more information.
A newspaper cutting from the New Zealand Herald tells us who moved in after the Mores.
Nov. 6th 1928 - New Zealanders at home - Mr & Mrs. C Plummer-Jones (late of Remuera) have taken up residence at Trunch Hall, Norfolk.
In 1935 Claude Plummer-Jones of Trunch stood for the Council elections and in 1936 he campaigned for overhead wires near the church to be buried underground. When he died in 1938 aged 59 he was living in Aylmerton. One website suggests that he was born in Canada. In 1937 a Miss D F Greenwood had a telephone installed at Trunch Hall
Nov. 6th 1928 - New Zealanders at home - Mr & Mrs. C Plummer-Jones (late of Remuera) have taken up residence at Trunch Hall, Norfolk.
In 1935 Claude Plummer-Jones of Trunch stood for the Council elections and in 1936 he campaigned for overhead wires near the church to be buried underground. When he died in 1938 aged 59 he was living in Aylmerton. One website suggests that he was born in Canada. In 1937 a Miss D F Greenwood had a telephone installed at Trunch Hall
During World War 2 the Hall was occupied by a soldier, Lt. Col. Alexander van STRAUBENZEE. Duncan Hayward who farmed at Dudley Farm in Chapel Road remembered him helping the Home Guard and says that he went to meetings in full uniform and gave pep talks and explained about guerrilla warfare. Alexander was born in India and served in the army there before arriving in London in 1932. He was awarded the DSO (distinguished service order) in 1917 for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.
In the 1939 register he is living in the Hall with his wife Helen Le Bel, a retired school bursar, and with the Tyler family, one of whom was a barmaid and another a sweet packer at Maynards in Norwich. When he died in 1947 he was living in Tuttington vicarage and left nearly £20,000, a very large sum in those days.
In the 1939 register he is living in the Hall with his wife Helen Le Bel, a retired school bursar, and with the Tyler family, one of whom was a barmaid and another a sweet packer at Maynards in Norwich. When he died in 1947 he was living in Tuttington vicarage and left nearly £20,000, a very large sum in those days.
Recent residents
In 1945 a Leslie R Nightingale of Trunch Hall was fined 15 shillings for riding his bicycle without lights, while in 1956 Timothy Hands, a poultry keeper of the Old Hall was declared bankrupt.
By 1958 the resident was Mrs. BURTON-SEYMORE who ran a nursery garden at the Hall and in 1961 she sued her landlord Robert Gibbons and farmer Walter Hicks for damaging her plants by using weedkiller on nearby fields. One complaint was that her polyanthus plants were bent, funny looking and twisted. She was awarded £250 instead of the thousands she claimed as the judge thought that she had exaggerated the damage.
In 1945 a Leslie R Nightingale of Trunch Hall was fined 15 shillings for riding his bicycle without lights, while in 1956 Timothy Hands, a poultry keeper of the Old Hall was declared bankrupt.
By 1958 the resident was Mrs. BURTON-SEYMORE who ran a nursery garden at the Hall and in 1961 she sued her landlord Robert Gibbons and farmer Walter Hicks for damaging her plants by using weedkiller on nearby fields. One complaint was that her polyanthus plants were bent, funny looking and twisted. She was awarded £250 instead of the thousands she claimed as the judge thought that she had exaggerated the damage.
Please contact me if you would like to know more or have anything to add.