ROW FORTY
‑ (Palmer gives no
name)
Wall the Linen Draper's Row (1828) *2
Taylor and Fulcher's North Row *2
Plaza Row (north) ( 1926, G.Plane,)
"Robert
Wall was a popular linen draper and politician,
and carried on business at the north‑east corner where for many years
there was hung the golden key belonging to Sills Ltd., the key‑makers and
ironmongers. Trade signs in Yarmouth have gradually reduced in number. The town
had its "Golden Ham", "Horn", "Golden
Canister","Large Hat", and
"padlock", but these trade signs have passed. A tablet is
inserted on the south wall at the western entrance denoting the widening of the
row in 1859, with initials 'W. S.'
".*2
Row forty
ran from Charlotte Street to the Market Place. The house at the north‑east
corner was for many years occupied by Robert Wall, a woollen draper, a fluent
speaker who took a leading part in
the politics of the day. He inherited
the house from his father, Thomas Wall, and in his turn, passed it to his only
son, the Rev. Thomas Wall. The Rev. Wall was instituted to the vicarage of Edgeware
in 1848 on the presentation of Dr. Lee,
at the request of the inhabitants.
At the south‑west corner of this row some
very old houses were pulled down in 1859, and rebuilt. In one of them was
discovered a fragment of carved oak which had apparently been the front of a
chest. On it was represented in high relief , on one side ‑ the combat
between St.George and the Dragon, and
on the other, a Stag chase, with a man
on foot blowing a horn.*1
In 1926,
Gladys Plane, (14/1/12-25/2/95) then Gladys Chapman, lived with her parents at no. 7 in this Row. *3 Next to the Chapman's
house resided the Turners at no. 6. Every night Mrs. Turner had a number of men
visiting. Mrs. Turner was nice looking and quite petite. Gladys asked her
mother about this. Sometimes she had up to 8 visitors during an evening. Gladys' mother, Emma
Chapman, said that the lady had a lot of Uncles. Gladys was quite jealous, and
wanted to know why they (The Chapmans) had so few relatives! Gladys' mother
said the lady "did books"
(accounts?). Gladys, many years later,
thought otherwise! One of Mrs. Turner's daughters was named Rhoda, but Mrs.
Turner had several families, so I was informed. Gladys' own entertainment was
more conventional; at age 14, she used to go dancing in the Dance Hall on the
Britannia Pier.
At no. 8 in
this row lived the Houghtons, they were
pleasant folks, Daniel Houghton
went to St. George's Chapel. He was a
fireman. It is thought that he died in
an accident. At 4 and 4a, were the Jermanys. They had a tap in the yard and
indoors was only a tin bath and no running water. There was no water inside any
of the other houses, so Mrs Jermany's
tap was much in demand.
Edward Bromfield lived opposite. He used to
go to the shop for a tiny portion of flour, he was so frugal. None of the
residents here had any spare money then. Nevertheless Mr. Bromfield had a
lathe. He turned out wooden basins and wooden
spinning tops, and being a generous sort he gave some to the children in
the row. They were plain wood, unpainted, but very smooth and well finished.
Henry
Bailey at No. 13 was a "creepy sort of man". He used to ask Gladys
into his house, but Gladys was always wary of him, declining his invitations.
He had a daughter called Phyllis. Next
door to him was Mr. Phillips. Charles
Phillips at No. 14 was a "big
bruiser of a fellow". His occupation was to
prepare the
tripe on the stall in the market. A relative of his who he worked for was the
owner of the stall and the business.
At the top
of the row lived Mrs Farrow, who was very friendly; Mrs Wilgress was "a
little lady", her son Geoffrey has (in 1991) only just retired after 40
years working at the Conservative club as steward. His father was William
Willgress. Miss Stone was then an elderly lady. Robert Tubby lived with his
family further up the row. They were a bit highbrow. Mrs Tubby was "born
with a silver spoon in her mouth". She
used to work at Grouts and they were rather better off than most, since
they both worked. Mr. Tubby was out
early to an office. They were a family of three, so were well enough off,
unlike Gladys' parents with their brood
of 12.
Morley and
son, cabinet makers, had a shop in the row. They made all sorts of cabinets,
sideboards, and furniture‑ manufactured here in the row, and sold on the premises. William Barber was another
occupant of this row, thought to be "an old man to steer clear
of"!
Gladys went
to buy the bread at Beazor's bread shop in Howard Street. They would
buy "overdays" bread (yesterdays), it cost only a farthing a
loaf, but they couldn't afford more, and found it quite palatable. Beazor used
to make "twists"(coiled up bread loaves).
Another
resident of this row, old Miss Archbold, used to chase the children up and down
the row with her broom for making too much noise! A friend of Gladys Plane was Sonia, Mr. Weller's daughter. Weller owned the Plaza, and also had a
stall on the market. He sold foreign
paper money there after the first war‑ presumably only any value to collectors. Has anyone got
any of this now I wonder? At no. 9,
William Wilson was the father of Robert Wilson the maltster of row 11 and row
58. When Mrs. Wilson died, she was laid out in her coffin at the
house, as was then usual, and the (grand)children were all given a halfpenny.
Nowadays it amazes me how fast folks want their relatives removed to a cold and
remote unfriendly "chapel of rest" at the undertakers, almost as soon
as the deceased has stopped breathing it seems. Everone now seems so frightened
of death as though it were un-natural.
This row
was certainly intact after the war, and there were 14 occupied premises in 1952, and 13 in 1955. It certainly was
not the war that demolished this row.
*3
Interview 1991
The
Occupants, Row Forty, 1886
(From Market Pl. to Howard Street North)
1. Barge,
S., iron store
2. Elliott,
W.
Sammon, G.
3. Duncan,
Mrs., midwife
4. Smith,
Mrs.
5. Bowles,
Mrs.E.
6. Bensley,
Mrs.
7. Bezance,
J.
8. Layton,
Thomas
9. Grimmer,
J.
10. Ives,
J.
11.
Readsham, Miss
12. Smith,
Mrs.
13. Hales,
J., greengrocer
Smith, J.
Ellerd, W.F., cabinet maker
Smith, F.E.
Blanden, H.
Balls, Mrs.
Annison, S.
The
Occupants, Row Forty, 1913
(From
23 Market Place to Howard Street North)
1.
Phillips, Charles A.
2. Wright,
Mrs.
3. Page,
William
4. Jermany,
Alfred
4a.
Jermany, Mrs.M.
5. Bensley,
Miss
6. Wilson,
William
7. Tubby,
Robert
8. Peel,
Robert
9. Buck,
Charles
10. Smith,
Mrs.
12. Millen,
Mrs.
13. Smith,
Mrs.E.
14.
McCarthy, Mrs.
South side
15. Smith,
Frederick E.
16. Morley,
Frederick, cabinet maker
18. Buck,
Walter
19.
McCarthy, James
20.
Archbold, Miss
21. Cubitt,
Henry
The Occupants,
Row Forty, 1927
(From
23 Market Pl. to Howard S.N.
1. Farrow,
Mrs.
2.
Wilgress, William
3. Stone,
Miss
4. Jermany,
Alfred
4a.
Jermany, Daniel
5. Hall,
Harry
6. Turner,
Frederick
7. Chapman,
John William
8.
Houghton, Daniel
9. Wilson,
William
10.
Bromfield, Henry, sen.
12. Milne,
Mrs.
13. Bailey,
Henry
14.
Phillips, Charles
South side
15. Tubby,
Robert
16. Morley
and son, cabinet makers
17. Barber,
William
18. Taylor,
Miss
19.
Bromfield, Edward 20. Archbold, Miss
The
Occupants, Row Forty, 1936
(From
23 Market Place to 22* Howard Street North) (*this should read 24,
and must have been a misprint in the directory)
1.
Lingwood, James
2.
Wilgress, William
3. Stone,
Miss
4. Jermany,
Alfred
4a.
Jermany, Daniel
5. Hall, Harry
6. Turner,
Frederick
7. Chapman,
John William
8.
Houghton, Daniel
9. Mannall,
William Austin
10.
Bromfield, Henry, sen.
12. Palmer,
Horace
13. Kemp,
Miss
14.
Phillips, Charles
South side
15. Mann,
Alfred
16. Morley,
George Frederick, decorator
17. Myhill,
Miss
18. Boggis,
Leslie
19.
Bromfield, Edward Albert, paper hanger
20.
Archbold, Miss