![]() He received around £18,000 a year from dividends from the Brewery, and had just been made a baronet in 1900. Walter Greene, the Chairman of Greene King, was one of the country's super rich at this time. The extra ornamental detailing probably indicated a higher priced dwelling than normal.īury still voted Conservative, this time electing the very well known brewer, now Sir E Walter Greene, Bt, who lived his life as a wealthy sporting country gentleman. Houses were largely built in pairs, or small terraces, like the pair of grandly named "villas" illustrated here in Hospital Road. A good builder might make £10 profit on a house sold for £100. Most house building was by small local builders. In Bury St Edmunds it was decided to celebrate the occasion along with the Queen's birthday on 24th May, and the Mayor had to quickly get arrangements made for a School holiday and a half day shop and business closure.īury was home to about 16,000 people, and building continued to be needed to house them. When news reached home the streets were full of celebrating crowds in towns and cities all over the country. Colonel Baden-Powell had led a masterly defence, until a relief column finally arrived on 17th May, 1900, after a 217 day siege. Things had not being going well in South Africa since Mafeking had been under siege since 13th October 1899, the day after the independent Boer Republic declared war. Not surprisingly, it was also used by carriers coming to and from the market. The Castle was an inn next to Moyse's Hall, with a sizeable yard in Brentgovel Street. In 1900 some 10 carrier's wagons used it as the base to and from the villages on market days. Like the White Lion nearby it was not a coaching inn, but was a major Carrier's House because it was next to the Great Market. This very long established inn stood on the Cornhill at the top of St Johns Street. Not far from the White Lion stood the Griffin. The White Lion on the corner of Short Brackland was removed to make way for the Cornhill Walk shopping development. Its yard in Brentgovel Street still saw up to 16 wagons pull in from the villages on market day mornings. The White Lion was still an important Carriers' House in 1900, despite the decline of the Wagonners and Carters over the past 50 years since railways. Water mills along the river were finding it hard to compete with newer steam driven roller mills.īury Market on Wednesday and Saturday were important days for country folk to come to town to sell or buy produce. He had been unable to raise more capital, and began to sell off the assets. By September 1900 it was clear that the Receiver who was managing the Eastern Counties Navigation and Transport Company Limited, had decided to throw in the towel. Rural life was however, in decline as foreign food imports undermined agricultural prices and thus wages.Īlso in decline was the use of water for transport as well as power. Haverhill, like Thetford, had around 4,000 people. Most people lived in the 500 villages and towns of under 5000 people. ![]() In 1900, Suffolk was still a deeply rural county. They joined the Suffolk Regiment at Middleburg. Meanwhile on 23rd March, the 2nd Volunteer Company left Bury for Capetown, where they arrived on April 14th. On May 12th they joined the 1st Battalion The Suffolk Regiment, at the Vet River. At 5.30 am, in a blinding snowstorm, they were cheered off at Bury train station by hundreds of local people. They left for South Africa on February 11th. ![]() Thirty men from the 2nd Volunteer Battalion joined others from East Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Cambridge University to train at Bury. The Boers gave the area the name of Suffolk Hill in recognition of their courage.īack in Bury, January saw a rush to raise a Volunteer Company to go to the Cape. The Suffolks' first battle was to assault Red Hill near Colesburg in January 1900 with heavy losses. This token of goodwill is well known from the First World War, but it was also a feature of the South African War. Patriotism ran high in these days of Empire, and Queen Victoria sent consignments of chocolate to the troops wishing them a Happy New Year for January 1st, 1900. In the first few months the British suffered many reverses. The First Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment was in England when the South Africa War broke out in October 1899, and was mobilised and sent to the Cape. Please click here if you want to look back to 1899 and earlier in our local history of St Edmundsbury. St Edmundsbury Local History - St Edmundsbury in the early Twentieth Century
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