Late 20th Century
William Moore has given a vivid description of Tasburgh some 50 years ago, of cottages lit by paraffin lamps, tin baths by the fire, water from wells and bucket toilets at the bottom of the garden. A family of seven occupied a cottage in Saxlingham Lane which had but two rooms downstairs and two up with an outside wash-house and toilet; it was aptly named Teapot House. An even smaller dwelling stood alongside the Old Post Office having just one room on each storey to accommodate a family of seven.
William tells of the terrible winter of 1947 when heavy snow fell in February and the freeze-up lasted until April, to be followed immediately by heavy flooding. Coal was still rationed, so stocks were low and few people could afford to have electricity laid on; most of the villagers had to rely on such firewood as they could find. Williarn Moore's family were cut off for three weeks by which time they were almost out of food. They had eaten all their hens apart from two left to lay eggs. They shot what game they could and eventually had to resort to trapping small birds. By digging through the snow to Manor Farm they were able to obtain milk. Help came when paths were cleared into the village, partly by Italian prisoners of war held at Long Stratton.
In those days shopping was a very different activity. Williarn explains that prepackaging was minimal in the four village shops. Sugar came in hundredweight sacks, cheeses were bound in hessian and weighed 28 lb, butter was in 14 1b blocks and biscuits were loose in 14 1b tins. Serving a customer took some time for the grocer had to cut, weigh, price and pack each item while waiting customers enjoyed a gossip. Milk was delivered by Mr Alford, a dairy farmer from High Road Farm on the Ipswich Road. He came round daily with a horse and trap from which fresh milk was measured to order from a metal churn.
In 1945 Tasburgh Women's Institute was relaunched. The earliest surviving minutes are those of 1947 when Mrs Rosemary Hastings of Rainthorpe Hall was president, Mrs Larner, secretary and Mrs Mann, treasurer. Meetings were held monthly at Rainthorpe Hall with talks, demonstrations, competitions, flower shows and whist drives. The quality of WI cooking was such that they were praised in the press on several occasions and in 1969 won a silver rose bowl for their preserves. They formed a choir and helped the village in many ways, providing refreshments at fetes and plays, organising the poppy day collection and operating'meals on wheels'. The WI also raised funds to pay for tables, chairs and other items at the village hall, where a plaque acknowledges their efforts. For their own enjoyment they organised outings to, what were in those days, such far away places as Clacton, Felixstowe and Woburn.
From the wartime salvage fund and from many money raising events, including the saving of pennies by the schoolchildren £562 16s 8d had, by May 1947, been raised for a village hall. For a small, relatively poor village this was a most creditable amount since it was worth about £16,000 at today's money values. A leading light in the efforts to provide a hall was Mr K. Riches, chairman of the village hall committee. In 1949 a public meeting was called to discuss proposals for a hall, one being to rent a building. A breakthrough came the next year with the public spirited offer of the gift of two fields covering about four acres by John Everson of Old Hall Farm and his sons Russell and George. Thus the village gained both a playing field and a site for the village hall midway between Upper and Lower Tasburgh.
The first village hall committee represented the major organisations in the village at the time and comprised: Mr B. W. Cross, Parish Council; Mrs H. M. Mann, Women's Institute; Rev R. Maudsley, Parochial Church Council; Mr R. G. Clarke, Methodist Church; Mr J. Cadman, Tasburgh United Football Club; Mrs C. E. Cross, School Manager.
The hall was opened on 8th September 1953 by Mrs Rosemary Hastings. The original building was sixty by twenty-four feet with two small rooms at the rear intended as a kitchen and a committee room.
Inside the new Village Hall, 1953
On the death of Canon A. E. Gates in 1948 Tasburgh had been the home of only three rectors in 111 years. In the next forty-six years there were to be no less than nine rectors, the first being Rev R. Maudsley. Henceforth Tasburgh rectors were also responsible for Tharston.
After the Second World War, Tasburgh Football Club played on a tiny sloping pitch in Rainthorpe Park, close to the Newton Flotman-Flordon Road. They were not popular with visiting teams since the pitch was riddled with molehills and rabbit holes. By 1952 the football team had moved to the new playing field but in their keenness to leave behind the obstacles of their old field they failed to observe that the playing field was littered with sharp flints. Despite compulsory flint picking sessions for players and officials before every match, players received many nasty cuts and the club was forced to move yet again. This time they played on a field off Old Hall Farm Loke where the changing facility comprised an eight by six feet steel wartime air raid shelter.
An entry in the Eastern Daily Press of 28th August 1953 records the Annual General Meeting of Tasburgh United Football Club where it was decided to form a combined football and cricket club under the title of Tasburgh United Sports Club. The chairman was Mr K. Riches and the secretary Mr J. Cadman.
In the meanwhile local youths had developed another form of sport. On the land where Harvey Close now stands a cycle speedway track was developed and the team racing there in the Depwade League had the proud name of the Tasburgh Tigers.
By 1954 the football pitch at the playing field had been relaid together with a cricket pitch and practice wicket. The village cricket team played on Saturdays and Sundays for some ten years. In this period football flourished, with three teams and many supporters; it was not unknown for three coaches to be required to convey the first team and supporters to away matches. In the 1956 / 57 season Tasburgh led the Norwich and District League. Sadly within the next twenty years the football team faded then disbanded.
The infant teacher at the school after the war was Miss Hewitt who travelled every day from St Faith's on a motor-cycle. Two senior boys were detailed to wait at the school gate every morning to grab the cycle as she arrived and hold it while she disengaged gear, switched off and dismounted. What arrangements she made at the other end of her journey we do not know! Mrs Elizabeth Page remembers that Miss Hewitt delighted in taking the children down through Bluebell Wood while William Moore recalls the outside school toilets of corrugated iron and that water had to be fetched to the school in buckets filled at the rectory.
Through the 1950s life at the school changed. There was a rail outing to London in 1954 and regular bus trips were made to Wymondham swimming pool. Attendance rose to fifty-seven in 1959 when the larger schoolroorn was divided by a curtain to make two, not very soundproof, classrooms. By now there were two cloakrooms together with a scullery to help deal with school meals which were prepared at Newton Flotman. The age limit for scholars was reduced to eleven years in 1959, the older children attending school in Long Stratton.
In 1952 Rev Maudsley moved from the parish to be replaced by Rev Percy Gresty who set about reforming the church choir with the able assistance of the organist and village postmaster, Phillip Lammas. The choir became eighteen strong and reached such a high standard that on occasions the church was packed.
For a while after the war the railway station at Flordon continued to play an important part in the life of the village as a source of mail, parcels, newspapers and coal, while farmers used the railway to transport their sugar beet, corn and cattle. As motor transport became ever more affordable its door to door convenience killed off much of the rail traffic and Flordon Station was closed in 1961 as part of the Beeching cuts after a life of 112 years. William Moore tells us that the landlord of the Railway Tavern at this time was Mr Brookes, who supplemented his income by cutting hair; boys could usually persuade him to sell them half a pint of cider while waiting for their hair to be cut.
In 1961 the population of Tasburgh was 343, slightly less than the 1911 figure of 355. While some old cottages had been demolished and council houses had appeared on Grove Lane, Church Road and Ipswich Road the village remained completely rural in character. This changed dramatically after 1961 as widespread house building, mostly in Upper Tasburgh, led to a trebling of the population to reach 1117 in 1991.
The first area to be developed was that now occupied by Valley Road, Willow Close and Curson Road. Mr Shepherd of Cherry Tree House applied for planning permission but this was turned down on the grounds that Tasburgh was not designated as a development area, that housing would be intrusive on the landscape and that the land would be better used for agriculture. Mr Oliver, a Hempnall builder, appealed against the refusal pointing out that the land was light, stony and infertile and that there was a real demand for housing in the area. The tide now began to turn for neither Depwade Rural District Council nor the parish council objected to the appeal, this despite a local resident complaining that only five of the nine parish councillors had attended the relevant meeting and that the matter was not on the published agenda. Nevertheless the appeal was dismissed, one of the grounds being that the school was due to close.
Faced with a growing countywide demand for more housing the County Council relented and later in 1961 gave permission for Mr T. Riches to build fifty-six houses in the Valley Road area. This change of heart cleared the way for further successful applications. Building at Valley Road went ahead and in 1964 Mr K. Riches obtained clearance to develop Orchard Way. Planning proposals and village growth increased the workload of the parish council who found it necessary to hold monthly meetings.
The needs of the growing village led to the formation of the Playgroup by Christine Morris and Jenny Harvey in 1968 with meetings twice weekly at the village hall. By this date other organisations had arisen in addition to the Women's Institute and Football Club; Tasburgh Players had established themselves at the theatre in Rainthorpe Hall, there was a Church Youth Club, a Christian Alliance children's club, a Bingo Club and WI whist drives. A particularly lively club was the Young Women's Association with fortnightly meetings, outings and parties, among their highly varied activities was a midsummer ball, also a barbeque and swim by the River Tas at Saxlingham Thorpe. Two major annual events throughout the 60s and 70s were the church fete at Rainthorpe Hall and the village fete at the playing field.
In September 1968 the low lying parts of the village suffered from an extensive flood, water entering houses at Cat's Corner and along Low Road from Watermill House to Rookery House. A fire engine pumped three feet of water from Glebe Cottage and Mr J. Crawshay of Tasburgh Grange was able to sail a sixteen foot dinghy from his front drive across the nearby meadows.
The next area of housing growth was Woodland Rise and Everson Road which received planning permission in 1969. From 1971 the pace of change became such that it can only be clearly recorded on a year by year basis.
1971 The population had almost doubled to 610. The Rev T. Macnaughton-Jones, who had been rector of Tasburgh and Tharston since 1958 retired, to be replaced by Rev Oswald Glass.
1972 Much concern having been expressed about overcrowding at the school, the parish council lobbied for a new school. The response of the education authority was to erect two portakabins. St Mary's Guild for women was started, led by Mrs Glass, the rector's wife.
1973 Planning permission was given for the building of Everson Close while Mr D. Addington of Old Hall Farm obtained consent for the development for housing of eleven acres behind the council houses in Church Road. Here Wilcon built the Churchfields development over the next ten years. Additionally to the major housing schemes of the 60s and 70s, individual, generally larger, dwellings were built in both Upper and Lower Tasburgh, Harvey Close having been developed in 1966. The First Tasburgh Brownies were formed in 1973 while the Youth Club, not for the first or last time, suffered from a shortage of leaders and had to resort to fortnightly meetings. Lack of support led to the closure of the Methodist Chapel.
1974 From Saxon times Tasburgh had been part of Depwade Hundred until, at the turn of this century, the larger Depwade Rural District Council was formed. Now an even larger local authority took over, South Norfolk District Council. The ancient name of Depwade continued only in the title of the church Deanery.
1975 The 130th anniversary of the school was celebrated by a Victorian Day. The headmaster, Mr Peter Ramm, teachers and scholars all wore Victorian costume and lessons were given in Victorian style. The Playgroup was now being run by Mrs Jean Campling and sessions had been increased to three mornings weekly. 1976 Negotiations began fora site fora new school; with the rapid expansion of the village the school roll stood at seventy-six, the next year it was to reach 100.
1977 This was the year of the Queen's Jubilee and Tasburgh entered into the celebrations with a will.Jubilee Day started with the church bells ringing followed by children's sports on the playing field after which the youngsters were presented with Jubilee crown coins. After a meal at the village hall the fun moved to Rainthorpe Hall for a children's party. Here Tasburgh Players gave a Jubilee Revue which was followed in the evening by a bonfire and fireworks display at the playing field. The chief organiser was Mr James and the cost of £220 was met entirely by fund raising. After a short break Tasburgh Players had been reformed by a small group headed by Lynn McKinney with Mrs Rosemary Hastings as president. This year also saw the relaunch of a tennis club. They played at Tasburgh Grange by kind permission of Mr and Mrs Crawshay, later they also played at Tasburgh House. Enthusiastic fund raising enabled grass courts to be established at the playing field and the club immediately set their sights on providing hard courts. Another 'birth' in 1977 was the Babysitting Circle.
1978 A most welcome addition to the church came on 29th October when Mrs Walton of Tasburgh Hall opened the church room with its kitchen and toilet, built as an extension to the vestry. It was chiefly due to the efforts of Mr and Mrs Walton that the project was so quickly financed and completed.
1979 A new rector, Rev M. Fitzgerald arrived with responsibility for Tasburgh, Tharston, Flordon and Forncett. Work started on the long awaited new school and the Young Women's Association was changed to the Monday Club.
Last Days Of School
1980 The new school was opened on 2nd June by the Bishop of Norwich. There were sixty-five pupils at the new lower age limit of eight years, older children being bussed to the Middle and High Schools at Long Stratton. Our
Public spirited Victorian rector, Henry Preston, who founded our first village school would have been proud of the new school and of its subsequent achievements. It is entirely appropriate that both the present school and the road upon which it stands should bear his name. This year saw the last performance of Tasburgh Players at Rainthorpe Hall, they moved to the village hall taking the stage from Rainthorpe with them. 1980 saw the'launch'of the First Tasburgh Sea Scouts by Bernard Minns assisted by Lyndon Bringloe and Tim Braddock.
1981 The ever growing population reached 930. The Tennis Club's hard courts were brought into use and the Old School was converted into a private house. Yet again the Youth Club was short of leaders and was only able to provide a weekly disco before ceasing altogether for a while.
1981, Norwich City FC manager, Ken Brown, hands out Royal Wedding crowns to Tasburgh scholars following postponement of sports day due to rain.
1982 The Rev R. Blakeley took over as rector. A great fillip to village activities came with the formation of the Inter-Village Sports Team to take part in competitions initiated by the Sports Council. With Pam Moore as co-ordinator a team competed in the district round at Harleston. Junior and senior sections took part in five-a-side football, netball, badminton, table tennis, a relay race and, for the seniors only, darts. Tasburgh won the district competition for small villages and continued to win at district level every year until the competition ceased. This entitled them to go forward to the county round where, as often as not, they met their constant rivals, Great and Little Massingham. This year the Badminton Club was formed as a direct outcome of the inter-village sports activities.
1983 The village hall was extended by the building of a new block across the front to provide an entrance hall, a committee room, toilets and an improved kitchen. A new rectory was completed close by the rectory built 141 years earlier. The Churchfields development was completed bringing to an end the burst of expansion in the village which had begun in 1961. The Inter-Village Sports Team beat the Massinghams in the county final and went forward to the regional competition at Shotley near Ipswich. After a dreadful start they recovered to take Tasburgh to the giddy heights of regional champions. New leaders having come forward the Youth Club restarted while the Playgroup extended its sessions from three to four weekly.
1984 Another offspring of the Inter-Village Sports Team was the Netball Club, formed this year. Tim Braddock took over as scout leader when both his founder colleagues moved away from the village. A cub scout pack was formed but within a year its leader also moved away and the pack had to be disbanded.
1985 The Rev T. Raven took over as rector. The Monday Club ceased activities but the Youth Club had by now been full reactivated with a wide programme of activities.
1986 The Cub Scout Pack was reformed.
1987 Maddy Munday took over the reins of Tasburgh Players who were giving two performances a year.
1988 The membership of the WI having fallen to eleven it was sadly felt necessary to close down an organisation which had in the past made a major contribution to village life. Mrs Gertrude Hardingham had been president of the Women's Institute for the past twenty-four years. A new group on the scene was the Carpet Bowls Club.
1989 Cub Scout five-a-side football led to the formation of an under- 12 football team playing in the Norwich Sunday Youth League, football had returned to Tasburgh. Ken Ransome, together with Roger and Helen. Bumett, had the idea to link Tasburgh with a European village. So it was that Ken and Roger crossed the Channel together with Gayle Macdonald and Steve Beckett representing the parish council and the Inter-Village Sports Team. Their objective was Linden, thirty kilometres from Brussels. Their original idea that the link might be on sporting lines soon changed for one based on two-way family visits. Thus Eurolink was formed and visits have taken place every year since with ties between the two villages growing ever stronger.
1990 On the retirement of Rev Raven the new rector was Rev David Harrison. Mrs Dyan McKelvey took over as headmistress after long service with Tasburgh School. This year the school was runner-up in a national environmental competition. A current annual event which can be traced back to 1990 is the Parish Harvest Supper run jointly by the village hall committee and the church. Despite the extension made in 1983 the village hall had become ever more inadequate for the increasing demands made upon it. After a public meeting the Village Hall Improvement Steering Committee was formed, it decided that the best plan was to extend the existing building and commenced fund raising and seeking grant aid. Sadly this year saw the demise of the First Tasburgh Brownie Pack after a life of seventeen years.
1991 The population of the village topped the thousand mark at 1117. Tasburgh had changed in thirty years from not much more than a rural hamlet into a large, mainly suburban, village. On 18th August the village sign was unveiled Following a competition the design was based on the ideas of three pupils of the school, Paul Beckett, Scott Harwood and Peter Starkey. The carpet bowls team competed with great credit in the inter-village competitions winning both the junior and senior events, but this was sadly the last year of the competition and thus the end of the line for the highly successful Tasburgh team. The trophy cabinet in the village hall bears ample testimony to all those who represented the village so valiantly over the ten years of the competition. The junior arm of scouting was further strengthened by the formation of a Beaver colony for six to eight year olds. Following a stewardship campaign by church members, two weekly activies were started on Wednesday afternoons in the church room. The Coffee Pot offered a club for all villagers followed in term time by Trekkers for school age children. After a hard fought campaign, mainly by mothers led by Sue Bing, a much needed footpath was completed alongside Grove Lane between Church Hill and the village hall.
1992 Tasburgh Festival of Gardens on Sunday 21 st June gave many the opportunity to visit ten gardens displaying a wide variety of styles and sizes. The joint organisers were the Village Hall Improvement Committee and the church. The school again won national honours with the presentation of a curriculum award at the Barbican Centre, London. A copy of the Tasburgh village sign was fixed to the Linden school wall in memory of Ken Ransome, a founder member of Eurolink. At the Ipswich Road bus stop the parish council erected a most welcome bus shelter. With the twin objects of providing a social centre and raising money for the village hall improvements a Social Club committee was formed, chaired by Bob Bush.
1993 To provide a clubroom for the proposed Social Club, alterations were made to the front block of the village hall and legal moves made with a view to opening the club in 1994. Extensive repairs to the church were completed including the refurbishment of the tiles and exterior walls the cost being met from church funds, grants, a loan and a general appeal to all parishioners. Following the move from the parish of Rev D. Harrison the local parish grouping was changed, Tasburgh and Tharston remaining linked as they had been since 1948 but Forncett and Flordon were detached to be replaced by Saxlingham and Shotesham.
Postscript-1994 Barely had this booklet been written when history overtook it with the purchase by the Norfolk Archaeological Trust of the field containing much of the ancient hillfort from which the village takes its name.
The Trust intends to preserve the site for posterity. it will be put down to grass, then made open for public access with interpretation panels in the field and in the churchyard, this also being within the fort.
Tasburgh Parish Council and the Parochial Church Council have given full support for the scheme. The Parish Council are prepared to act as stewards of the field thereby helping to provide a further amenity for the villagers.
