TROWSE (2)

I think I am fighting a losing battle on this one, but I will try anyway. I should stress that in my opinion Trowse is pronounced to rhyme with ‘gross’. Most people nowadays assume that it rhymes with ‘cows’, but this not so. If you think of a ‘dose of medicine’, that is how my relatives all pronounced it; they all lived there for decades from the 19th century, and I suggest they knew best.

THE RUINS OF TROWSE NEWTON HALL

This ruin is of Trowse Newton Hall is near Whitlingham Broad. Whitlingham Broad is not a real broad any more than the University Broad at UEA is. They were both dug out as gravel pits in the late 20th century, whereas the proper Norfolk Broads were medieval peat diggings. This picture was taken before Whitlingham Broad existed, and the surrounding area was a tranquil watermeadow where bullocks were grazed in the summer months in preparation for Christmas. Watermeadows are still quite a feature of Trowse, because the low-lying land where the rivers Tas, Yare and Wensum all meet is suitable for little else. This is a parish of extremes however; the steep hills between the church and the old hall are home to Norfolk’s only ski slope!

Trowse Newton Hall was originally a medieval foundation, a country retreat for the Priors of Norwich Cathedral Priory. It would have been a short voyage by rowing boat from the Cathedral precincts; under the arch at Pulls Ferry to Trowse wasn’t very far. After the Reformation the Hall was retained by the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral for the enjoyment of the bishop. By the middle of the nineteenth century it had lost is church connections, and had become a farmhouse on the Crown Point Estate. During the time of General Money the avenue of lime trees which leads from Crown Point Manor to Trowse Newton Hall was planted. Later Trowse Newton Hall was reduced to a “picturesque ruin”, which is how you see it now.

Edward VII was entertained at Trowse on Monday the 25th of October 1909. After a day of official engagements in the city, he took supper at Crown Point Mansion, as a guest of the Colman family. He had got on the train at Norwich Thorpe, and alighted across river from Trowse Newton Hall. He crossed the river on a pontoon bridge specially constructed for the purpose, and was driven past the ruins of Trowse Newton Hall and along the avenue of lime trees to Crown Point Manor. He was not the first Royal visitor arrive at Trowse Newton Hall however; Edward III and Queen Philippa lodged there while visiting Norwich in 1335! A visit to Norwich by the monarch used to be a rare occurrence. None had taken place between 1671 (when Charles II visited the city) and 1909, and before Charles II no reigning monarch had visited the City since Queen Elizabeth I.

Crown Point is named after a fortified town in New York State. It was where a battle took place during the French War in North America (The Seven Years’ War), which resulted in a British victory. In command of the British troops was General Money, who later purchased the estate in Trowse which he called Crown Point to celebrate his achievement.

The surroundings of the ruins of Trowse Newton Hall were changed to marked degree by the development of Whitlingham Broad as a leisure facility. Whitlingham Lane was diverted, and the nearby barn, part of the farmyard associated with the Hall, was converted to form a coffee shop for the visitors to the Broad. A car park was built adjacent to the double avenue of lime trees near the Hall.

Whitlingham Reach (A. Sandys, 1860)

150 years ago Trowse Millgate and Trowser Newton (which since the 17th century had incorporated the parish of Whitlingham) together made up the bustling village of Trowse. The area of Whitlingham was not just a place of pleasure and relaxation as it is today, but a centre of industry. A limekiln was in operation where  the steep cliffs approached the river bank. Wherries were frequently at Whitlingham quay unloading barrels of beer from Norwich, and returning with quicklime for builders in the city. The White House was the local pub, and was where the ferryman lived. The ferry gave dwellers in Whitlingham quick access to Thorpe Green, and after 1874 to Whitlingham station. This was on the Yarmouth line, built by George and Robert Stephenson.

The street in Trowse Millgate gave access to Trowse station on the London line. The Pineapple pub was adjacent to the station at Trowse, and stood on the road that used to take horse-drawn traffic across the  level crossing. This was before the bridge was built that now crosses the line at TROWSE. Some of the livestock sold at the cattle market under the walls of the castle were grazed in Trowse, but far more were unloaded from cattle trucks in sidings at Trowse station, to be returned under new ownership to the same station and despatch to fresh pastures or the abattoir. Where the cattle trucks used to be loaded and unloaded is now a depot for sand.

A blacksmith, woodturner, shopkeepers, several butchers and a shoemaker all served a population of just under 600 in 1840. The Colman family bought Crown Point Manor in the last quarter of the 19th century, and proceeded to turn Trowse into a model village. They gave the land which is now the common to the community, in exchanged for some land in Whitlingham Lane. The White Horse pub was demolished, and rebuilt where it stands today, on the other side of the road.

The entrance to Crown Point Manor from the Kirby Road, 1958.

JOSEPH MASON

joemasonspage@gmail.com

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