Trunch Women
Although most of the historical records (particularly the earlier ones) refer predominantly to men, there are a few mentions of women. The manor records show that a Beatrice of Gimingham and Mabel at Hill (living on the Hill) paid taxes in Trunch in 1340 and that Agnes Pearce and Alice Powell owned land here in the 1390s. Often these were widows who inherited from their husbands and in the 1597 subsidy tax list, Alice Mason is named as a widow but Faith Bradfield is not.
The 1839 Tithe map shows that Ann Cadge owned the Shambles, Hannah Woodrow the Post Office, Deborah Wortley the Limes, Ann Dixon Millers Farm and Sarah Margetson the Tee Farm.
The 1839 Tithe map shows that Ann Cadge owned the Shambles, Hannah Woodrow the Post Office, Deborah Wortley the Limes, Ann Dixon Millers Farm and Sarah Margetson the Tee Farm.
Other information about more wealthy women can be found in their wills and there are over 70 of them for Trunch. Again many are widows but not all. I have transcribed some of these and my impression is that these women mention their clothes and household goods more than most of the men do. Some left money to charity, such as Elizabeth Piggon in 1716, who left 40 shillings for the "poor of Trunch" and Ann Primrose who left 20 shillings for bread for the poor in 1795. Perhaps the most unusual was the annuity of £3 a year for the ministers preaching to the protestant dissenters at Bradfield, for as long as the meetings lasted, given by Dorothy Harwood in 1727.
Most women however did not own land, pay taxes or leave wills but some female servants of 1629 are named in Goodrich's book and after 1841 the census records list the many women aged 12 and up who were employed in domestic service, often for only a short time before they got married. Earlier on women undoubtedly worked in the textile industry but there is little evidence of this apart from the spinning whorls found in the village by metal detectorists and the newspaper reports of 1792 and 1802 when three Trunch women were fined for "false reeling", which was producing yarn for cloth with two few threads. Later the census records women working as dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses and tailoressses and some of these were also noted in the trade directories.
Other common occupations of women included being governesses and school mistresses, housekeepers, charwomen, nurses, laundresses, and shop assistants. Very few are recorded as helping on the land until the 20th. Century although I suspect that they certainly did even if only on a seasonal basis. More unusual occupations were Lydia Sussins as a confectioner and Sarah Pooley as a coal seller in 1851, Louise Bloom as a shoe binder in 1861, Dora Rowden as a secretary in 1911 and Madeline Tyler as a sweet packer in 1939.
Trunch women of note
Susan Newland took over as publican of the Crown Inn after her husband Joseph died in 1836 and carried on until her death in 1871. Later Ellen Cobb was the publican of the Crown from 1912 until her niece's husband William Dixon took over in 1931. Ellen (nee Rouse) had married her brother-in-law after her sister died only for her new husband to die a year later and she was left to care for his two teenage daughters.
Susan Newland took over as publican of the Crown Inn after her husband Joseph died in 1836 and carried on until her death in 1871. Later Ellen Cobb was the publican of the Crown from 1912 until her niece's husband William Dixon took over in 1931. Ellen (nee Rouse) had married her brother-in-law after her sister died only for her new husband to die a year later and she was left to care for his two teenage daughters.
In the 1800s women often took over farms when their husbands died and these included - Rhoda Bugden, Elizabeth Miller, Sarah Clarke, Jemima and Hannah Bullen and Judith Johnson. Hannah Watts also took over as Postmistress and shop keeper after her husband died.
Several women in the census and trade directories are described as "being of independent means". Some of them are the widows of the more wealthier Trunch residents such as Deborah Wortley and Frances Primrose but others were unmarried. Several of these women had links to the wealthy Primrose family, such as Nanny Wiseman, whose mother was Sarah Primrose and Hannah Johnson, whose sister married Alfred Primrose. The daughters of well-off families were more likely to remain single as there was no financial imperative for them to marry. These included Elizabeth Greenhill, Mary Ann Ducker, and Alice and Rosalind May.
Other notable women (for various reasons) included - Ann Colman who was transported for theft in 1809, Deborah Wortley, who married her uncle, Betsy Primrose who ran the brewery for over 20 years after her husband Philip died, Ellen Forrest, the merry widow who lived in Trunch Hall, Horatia Nelson who married the Curate's son and Maria Buttle (nee Lee) who had the most tragic life.
In the 20th. Century women played a more publicised part in village life, with organisations such as the Mothers Union, Women's Institute, Girls Friendly Society and Trunch Friends. They were also often involved in concerts, charity fund-raising and church and chapel events. There are also several lists of women working in the village fields in World War Two and also in the 1950s and 60s.
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