ROW THIRTY EIGHT‑ FERRIER'S ROW (Palmer)
Ferrier's Row*2
Ellis the Brush Maker's Row, 1828 *2
Row Thirty Eight (Swinden) map
This row ran from Charlotte Street to the
Market Place.
The
house at the
south‑east corner, no. 22
Market Place, was for many years the property of a family of the name of
Ferrier. They descended from Richard Ferrier or Ferrour, of Norwich. (Mayor of
Norwich 1473) Robert Ferrier, Bailiff
1643, was the first in Yarmouth. Richard Ferrier who died in 1695, had been
Bailiff in 1691. He left an only son,
also Richard, who had a considerable
estate at Hemsby, where several generations then resided. He headed the
Jacobite or High Church Party, was major
of the Yarmouth Fusiliers, Mayor 1706 and 1720, and M.P. for Yarmouth in
1708, along with Colonel, the Hon. RogerTownshend. Robert Ferrier was town clerk 1739, and Mayor 1850.
Mary, his sister, married John Burton, water Bailiff. Their son was
Robert Ferrier Burton, and their daughter Lorina in 1778 married Nathaniel Palmer who died in 1799.
John Burton their second son, had a
son ‑ William Hurry Palmer, the town's mayor in
1844.
At
the north‑west corner of row 38
is a house, the property of the Lovedays. In 1712 it was a settlement by Thomas Loveday upon a son of
the same name, and Priscilla his wife, who survived him and married John Parson. In 1991 Roger and Joy
Loveday live at 120 King Street, where
they have a wool shop, although no relation!
Between this row and row 40 is an old house fronting Charlotte Street,
no. 21, which bears the letters N.E.L.*1
In 1927, Harry Johnson wrote -"The east
entrance astonishes the visitor, it
being the lowest covered way of all the
rows. By multiplying the number of this row, you arrive at the height in inches. The Ferriers resided at the house at the
south-east corner during Charles II's reign, and I believe entertained some of
the party who accompanied the King
on his visit to the town in 1671. The Ferriers today trace
their ancestry back prior to 1643, when Robert Ferrier was
Bailiff. The roof of this building is quaint. Ellis the brush maker:today brush
makers have their shop in the Broad Row".
There follows an especially long description
from the row survey -
"Across the clearing in this row (on the side of no. 20) is another old
house of interest on the same (north) side of this row. This house has a lofty
gable, from which projects a Tudor chimney in
brick of three flues. The premises are now divided into two
or three tenements, and what was its
front court is cluttered up with
out-buildings against the row fence wall.(fence or wall?!)
It appears at one time to
have been a
single house, and has very good
brickwork. Between ground and first floor levels is a band of
ornamental brick arranged as
a string, and above this the
wall is panelled, the divisions indicated by brick pilasters, in each panel (presumably), was a well proportioned
sash window. Several of these lights
remain. Above is a cornice and a steep tiled roof of plain tiles.
The
ground floor also has sash
windows, but where the wall spaces are not occupied by the sides
of more
recent
outbuildings, the brickwork has
been white washed. There are cellars.
It is probable that the
interior would on close investigation, and after the removal of recent
partitions etc., disclose further evidence of the Tudor origin, which now alone
shows in the chimney. The structure
appeared to be sound.
No. 20 is an exceptionally well built house, with 18 inch brick walls
at ground floor level. The entrance is
to the row, and is a recessed
porch, with panelled jambs, architraves,
and hood. The door is 6
panel, with small light over.
Within is a good panelled hall 7
feet wide, with from which a newel
staircase with balusters and handrail and panelled walls rises. There
are rooms on either side of the hall,
(but I was not allowed admittance)
which are possibly panelled. In the window jambs are, or were, shutters. On one
side of the hall is a room
with a pair of sash windows with
a 14 inch pier between, which has had outside shutters. On the other side is a room also with two
similar windows which retain their external shutters. Upon the first
floor is a
range of five
handsome well proportioned sash windows (but
several of them in poor condition). The brickwork is good (but in one place somewhat
decayed), with black headers.
To the east is a clearing leaving one
side of this building exposed, and in the rear is a court of small size,
which could be enlarged and cleared. This house is likely to date from 1750.
It is
now dirty and overcrowded, used as a common lodging house".*3
After the war, Matthew Smith lived here at no.
3, at
least until 1955. (The only house then still occupied.)
*1 Palmer
*2 Johnson
*3 Row survey, 1936
The Occupants, Row Thirty Eight, 1886
(From Market
Place to Howard Street North)
Place, A.
Neville, G.
Dyble, Mrs.
Groom, G.
The Occupants, Row Thirty Eight, 1913
(From 21
Market Place to Howard Street North)
Gowing, William, fish merchant
3. Smith, Matthew.
The Occupants, Row Thirty Eight, 1927
(From 21
Market Place to Howard Street North)
Johnson, William, fish merchant
3. Smith, Matthew
The Occupants, Row Thirty Eight, 1936
(From 21
Market Place to 20 Howard Street North)
3. Smith, Matthew
N.B. Mr. Smith was still at no.3 in 1955.