No Itinerant Musicians, Or Females Of Doubtful Reputation...Only Bob And Me At The Station!

Did you visit anywhere significant during the ten days of HODS? While we were at Anglesey Abbey we met families visiting a National Trust property for the first time, simply because it was free entry there last week. I popped briefly to Bishop Bonner's Museum - but only to drop off some resources for children's crafts to my friend Katie. I had just the one thing on my list this year - The County School Station at North Elmham. 

This huge school, for 300 pupils built by the local rector went up in 1874, to provide an education for 'the sons of Norfolk farmers and artisans'. As the railway line passed close by, a special railway station was erected. Except there was a decline in agriculture, and few boys attended - it was seven years before they had 100 on the roll, and by 1891 there were just 16 boys. It closed in 1895 - and re-opened in 1903, as Watts Naval College - designed as a school to  equip Barnardo's boys to serve in the Royal Navy or Mercantile Marine. The Maths teacher was Lewis Mills, and his son was born here in1908 - [Sir] John Mills, of the acting dynasty. The school closed in 1953, and was demolished- the land returning to agricultural use. All that remains is the County School Station -now part of Mid Norfolk Heritage Railway. And it was due to be open on Sunday as part of HODS. I marked it in the diary. We drove over after lunch [no pudding, we can get a cake in the tea room I said]
We arrived at 1pm, driving down the lane past the "Station Tea Room Open" sign, and parked in an empty car park. Absolutely nobody there!! And a sign saying sorry, tea room was shut. We pootled around a bit.

I was intrigued by that milk churn - on the top it says "North Elmham, then Romford Dairy". I believe the LNER railway ran milk trains from Elmham down to Lucas Dairy [later part of United Dairies] in Romford. I was rather amused by the sign in the window of the Waiting Room

Another would-be-HODS-visitor turned up. He too lamented the lack of tea and cake. We talked about HODS week. He had done the Shoebox Experience, and a talk at the Cathedral. The three of us walked down the path behind the station to the Stationmaster's Orchard. We passed the wartime Anderson Shelter and beautiful flowers and shrubs full of bees and butterflies.

It had been very windy on Saturday night, and there were so many apples lying on the grass under the trees. Bob and the guy were picking up small ones and sampling them. I took half a dozen "Norfolk Beauties" This cooker was developed 200 years ago at North Walsham, close to Blickling Hall, and went into commercial production in 1902.

If I had room for another apple tree in the garden [I don't] I think I would want one of these.

We went home, and I made Bob the cake he was hoping for!