How far did Norfolk labourers travel to find work?

[Redroger]

My ancestors were based in South Lincs and Cambridgeshire, both next door to Norfolk, and victims of the same agricultural slump. Cambridgeshire ancestors went to Middlesborough (crane driving in 1891) Rotherham (steel worker 1891) Australia and USA. Lincolnshire ancestors went to Canada; at least 2 from the same family, one of whom returned later.

[Jeuel]

Some of my Massinghams moved away in the mid-19th century, from Langham, North Norfolk, to work in coalfields or in Manchester.

My gt-uncle Samuel Henry Gray moved up to work in Armstrong's munitions factory in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, before joining the Metropolitan Police.  Three of his brothers also joined the Met and another brother joined the City of London police, in the late 1890s.  My grandfather Jeuel Jabez Gray was too short so worked in London for the Cannon Brewery and then Tanqueray the gin distillers, before moving into photograph enlarging and framing.

[mickgall]

Like Jeuel I have ancestors who moved from Norfolk (Marsham) to London to join the Met Police, my Gt Gt grandfather William and two of his brothers, James and Edmund, they all returned to Norfolk after retiring though.

[Patrizia]

My ancestors on my fathers side all originated from Tharston, Stratton St Mary/Micheal area of Norfolk with the family name of Hunt. However unlike many others who have written that their ancestors moved North and elsewhere mine moved south into Essex. where they continued to be farm labourers.

[Malcolm33]

      My Dad had to go to Norfolk to find work in the early 1930's.   He and Mum were newly married so he found employment with the East Anglia Electricity company and was based in Hunstanton then Heacham.   Although a qualified electrician he had to extend his capabilities to climbing Poles and cable jointing.
     Mum's sister, my Auntie Vera passed away just over a week ago, just short of her 99th Birthday.   Her husband Len Crick died a few years earlier.     But what I found most remarkable was his likeness to a friend we had here in Melbourne some twenty years ago whose maiden surname was Crick.     There was an amazing similarity in features, almost like looking at the same person, but she was from Suffolk and Uncle Len was from Consett, Co. Durham.
       When I did a little digging I found that his family in Consett in 1891 gave their place of birth as Suffolk.

[Amlodhi]

I hadn't realised, until reading this thread, how many people from Norfolk moved elsewhere through poverty.  My maternal great-grandfather John Rich (born Surlingham 1855) was from a family of agricultural workers (his father died of heart disease aged 42); he seems to have given up trying to find work locally and, late in 1874, hiked to Cambridge where he signed up with the Marines.  His service took him around the world and he eventually settled in Holyhead in 1890, marrying a local girl in 1893.  As far as I can discover, he never returned to Norfolk.

[Malcolm33]

I hadn't realised, until reading this thread, how many people from Norfolk moved elsewhere through poverty.  My maternal great-grandfather John Rich (born Surlingham 1855) was from a family of agricultural workers (his father died of heart disease aged 42); he seems to have given up trying to find work locally and, late in 1874, hiked to Cambridge where he signed up with the Marines.  His service took him around the world and he eventually settled in Holyhead in 1890, marrying a local girl in 1893.  As far as I can discover, he never returned to Norfolk.

     What a shame in a way that he didn't go back to the Broads, Amlodhi.   I know them well as we used to represent Blakes Holidays in Australia and I used to take travel agents on educationals there, on the boats.   Many years ago now.
     
      At least your ancestors were on the right side of Naarich (Norwich) for there are stories about the people of Swaffham, e.g. The Pedlar of Swaffham.     I had occasion a couple of days ago to look closely at that town and its people, begun because of something I remembered my mother teaching me.  It went something like this, "Aall the way to Swaarfham, just for a day's traaashen' and that's narfen'."    I did find it mentioned in a Norfolk blog, but what I really found interesting was that Wikipedia tells that the origin of the name comes from Old English  Swaeffe Ham, meaning the home of the Swabians.     Now this immediately struck a bell as only moments before I had been checking up on the Schwabians who have a similar reputation in Germany.   In fact Wikipedia says that the Swiss and Austrians use the term 'Schwab' as a derogatory for all Germans.  The Grimm brothers tale of Die Sieben Schwaben - The Seven Schwabians illustrates it.   They wore odd looking tall conical hats and seven of them took an immensely long Spear and ventured out only to be stopped by a Rabbit which scared them literally to death in the river.
    My point then is that the people of Norfolk have always been incomers through necessity from the Angles and Swabians down to the Flemings who came to weave and the Dutch who drained the Fens and created Holland in Lincolnshire.

[Amlodhi]

Thanks for this, Malcolm33.  We’ll never know my G-grandfather’s thoughts, although he was undoubtedly happier in Holyhead with his wife, the poverty of his youth being way behind him.  Sadly, married life didn’t last long as he was drowned in an accident in Holyhead harbour in 1902 - just 9 years into the marriage. But at least it lasted long enough to beget my grandfather (his own mother died in the Henstead Poorhouse in 1908 – whether he or she knew what became of each other will also never be known). 

But your information on the Dutch in East Anglia is fascinating. My G-grandfather’s ancestor, born around 1709, was one Jonas Rich – not exactly an English name.  I can find no record of his birth/baptism in any parish record, so it would seem he came from elsewhere.  Could he possibly have been Dutch, or even German?  Who knows!

I’ve only visited the Broads once so far – in 2009 - but I was sufficiently enchanted by them to want to go back.  Hopefully I’ll manage it this year.  I’ve managed to trace the Rich family to the villages of Woodton, Loddon and Surlingham (lots of the Rich family are buried in St Mary’s Church graveyard in the last).  More research may uncover more.

[bendywendy]

Amlodhi
I am a member of the Norfolk Family History Society, if I can help in any way with your family history let me know.
bendywendy