| The life of the Horne's of Mattishall is vast.
The whole story would take up many words. I am following
a particular branch of their family tree. The main
men in our story are printed boldly. Other
family members are mentioned and can be seen on the
Family Tree.
In The Beginning
In 1755, William Horne was christened in
East Dereham at St. Nicolas, Church of England. Little
is known of his childhood or education, what is known
is that at the time of his marriage 25th January 1791,
again at St Nicolas, to Mary Tennent, is that neither
he or his wife could write their names. It is recorded
that they 'made their mark'. They went on to have
5 children of which 3 survived. William Horne,
born 18th September 1801, Ann Horne 3rd February
1804 and Thomas Horne 15th November 1807. All were
baptised at St Nicolas in Dereham.
The Mattishall Connection.
Around this time in Mattishall a man by the name
of John Carter, a ministerial academic from East Tuddenham
and a Non Conformist, came back from college to found
the Old Moor Chapel7 on Badley Moor. This saw the
nearest Non-Conformist Chapel (other than the Quaker's
in Baxter Row in Dereham) to Norwich. Non Conformists
were often married baptised and buried in Church of
England Chapels. It was illegal at this time to perform
and ceremonies at an Independent church. Today a registrar
is still needed if a ceremony takes place in an Independent
Church. However, John Carter was a pioneer of The
Congregationalist movement and fortunately for Mattishall
he found a small but willing congregation.
This man, possibly, is the key to the beginning
of the Horne family coming to Mattishall from Dereham.
William Godfrey was born in Mattishall in 1801 the
same year as William Horne. His father, Clement
Godfrey, was an early member of the Old Moor Chapel,
Mattishall's Congregational Chapel. Ann Horne was
to marry William Godfrey in 1827 at St Nicolas's,
Dereham. Although William Godfrey was a Congregationalist,
it was tradition that the wedding took place in the
Bride's birthplace. At the time of their marriage,
William was a Cooper8 and Ann was a Straw Bonnet Maker.
There was a brewery at this time in Mattishall but
William was self-employed. His father was a large
landowner, some of it on Badley Moor where the Old
Moor Chapel was built. The couple leased a cottage
from him, possibly in Yaxham Road, as this is where
the couple lived in 1851.
William Horne, the younger, had also married.
Mary Ann Mann from Swanton Morley. William was a Tailor
Journeyman at this time, which would have taken him
across the County. He possibly met Mary Ann on his
travels selling cloth. There is no record of their
marriage, they may never have, but their first son
George Horn 10 was born 26 May 1827. This family came
and settled in Mattishall. Whether it was due to Ann
being in Mattishall or whether it was again down to
the wish to be a member of the Congregational Chapel,
we will never know. I think it was probably a bit
of both. The Mattishall connection grew even stronger
when Thomas Horne married Esther Lark, a resident
of Mattishall. They were married second April 1832
at All Saints Church in Mattishall, Church of England
and very opposed to the Congregational movement. Esther
Lark proved difficult for me to follow as no birth
or death records have been found. However, in 1833
one year after their marriage both were admitted to
Mattishall Congregational Chapel and Esther was baptised
in 1845. In the extensive notes that were taken from
all manner of meetings and services it is noted that
when they joined it was " from Independent Church
in Dereham". This was probably a Baptist church as
Esther's parents were Baptists.
The Growth of the Horne Congregational
Family
William and Ann Horne had been admitted to
the Congregational Chapel in 1828, William
becoming Deacon the same year. William and Ann Godfrey
may have attended their church infrequently but the
records show their admittance in 1848, much later
than the other two Horne families. All the three original
Horne siblings had their children baptised at the
Congregational Chapel.
By 1828 The Congregational Chapel had seen the retirement
of the well loved John Carter, and in 1817 Richard
Fairbrother of Abingdon had followed as the 2nd minister
of the Chapel he was the husband of John Carter's
granddaughter. Thomas Wilson became the pastor; it
is because of him that the diligently kept records
of life in their congregation are so precise. He stopped
his work for a while due to illness and the records
slip in quality and quantity. He recovered and took
up his old position and after 25 years as pastor Mr
Wilson became Minister in charge at Mattishall. Again
he was a respected man and when the suggestion of
worship place nearer the centre of the village was
opened up for discussion. He sowed the seed resulting
in the Lecture Hall at Welgate10 to enable better
attendance figures at evening service. If you look
on the map Old Moor Chapel is quite a distance to
travel to worship, however it did need a certain amount
of isolation because of the bad feeling that reared
up every now and then between opposing faiths. The
Lecture Hall was opened on 12th October 1856. A Miss
Taylor (who I believe leased a property to Thomas
Horne and family) had donated the land. Shortly after
this Mr Wilson became ill again and retired. Rev.
Henry Kiddle of Cadham was appointed in 1859 and he
was to prove a thorn in the side of the Horne's.
In the 1851 Census the families I am following are
shown;
1851: - Mattishall Census: page 45: Schedule no
198: Yaxham Road
William Horne, Head, Married, Aged 49 Tailor
& Draper (employing 5 men),
born East Dereham.
Mary Ann Horne, Wife, Married, aged 43, born Swanton
Morley
George Horne, Son, Unmarried, aged 23 tailor,
born Mattishall.
1851:- Mattishall Census: page 40 : Schedule No
175: Yaxham Road.
William Godfrey, Head, Married, aged 50, Cooper, born
Mattishall
Ann Godfrey,Wife, Married, aged 46, born East Dereham
Eliza Godfrey, Daughter, Un-Married, aged 21, Apprentice,
born Mattishall
William Godfrey, Son, aged 14, born Mattishall
Elizabeth Godfrey, Daughter, aged 8, born Mattishall
Clara Godfrey, Daughter, aged 5 born Mattishall
1851:-Mattishall Census: page 38: Schedule No
165: Yaxham Road
Thomas Horne, Head, Married, aged 43 Tailor journeyman,
born East Dereham
Esther Horne, Wife, Married, aged 45, born Mattishall
Anna Horne, Daughter, aged 11, Scholar, Born Mattishall
John Horne, Son aged 3, born Mattishall
The figures from the 1851 Religious Census:-
Morning Attendance 114 (scholars 55) Held at Old Moor
Afternoon Attendance 226 (scholars 55) Held at Old
Moor. Evening Attendance 64 Held at the new Lecture
Hall
A Change in Direction
By 1853 William Horne's wife, Mary Ann, had
died. She was buried 10th August, at Old Moor Chapel.
There is a gravestone in her memory in the burial
ground of the Chapel. The same year on 26th of September
George Horne, William's son married Susanna
Harriet Poll of North Tuddenham. The marriage took
place in North Tuddenham; a stone throw from Mattishall,
at the Parish Church.
George had been admitted to The Congregational
Chapel in 1844. Susanna was admitted in 1861 but we
can assume she attended regularly with her husband
and ever expanding family as the 1871 census will
show. George's father William was in
1862 appointed treasurer by Rev. Kiddle and formed
a committee to arrange for the purchase of a Manse.
With William being more involved in the running
of the church, he and his son George seem to
have rubbed Rev. Kiddle up the wrong way. The clash
of personalities came to a head. William resigned
his office as Treasurer and Deacon and his new wife
Elizabeth were shown to have left with him. George
and his wife Susanna became 'excluded'. The notes
show George and Susanna "Excluded February
27th 1862 for non-attendance and manifestation of
an unchristian spirit". William and Ann Godfrey seem
to have stayed but Thomas and Esther do seem to have
gone also, notes are vague here but by Esther's name,
it says, "Left with Husband to attend the Primitives".
Strangely, on 28th April 1864, George and
Susanna were readmitted to the Congregational Chapel
and continued to attend. Until notes from the Methodist
Chapel, that talk of the main preaching families of
Mattishall, " Mr. George Horne received a 'Note
of Liberty' in September 186514. A note of Liberty
was given to those of a high standard of preaching.
We must assume here that George had taken up with
the Methodist's possibly in 1862 and continued to
preach and attend at both Chapels.
This takes our journey in a slightly different direction
now.
Robert Key, Pioneer of Methodism
Primitive Methodists, like the Congregationalists,
were a branch of the Independent churches. Rev. Robert
Key influenced Methodism in Mattishall. He was an
influential preacher in Mid-Norfolk in 1830. His base
became Mattishall; he hired a small cottage and lived
frugally. He went out to the entire small towns and
villages of mid-Norfolk spreading the word of the
Primitives. In some places, he was a little too primitive
but he went on with unrelentless spirit. Robert Key
found a derelict Chapel in Garvestone Road, which
had once been a Congregational Chapel. It was restored
and he hired it for a time. It was used until 1852
when it was put up for sale and the Vicar of All Saints
bought it from under Robert's feet to the amusement
of the Church of England Congregation! So instead
a small school- room just 50 yards from All Saints
(still standing behind the present butchers shop,
Church Plain.) was purchased and replaced in 1856
by a larger Chapel with 90 seats. Can you imagine
the Vicars face everytime he passed it? This brought
Independent worship to the heart of the village. One
thing stays in my mind as I research this history
of religion in Mattishall; there was an enormous amount
of notes taken by the Independent religions on the
welfare and state of mind of all their congregations.
I unfortunately cannot go into the depths of these
notes in this project but it's enough to say they
show how deeply involved these worshippers were in
each others lives and how much personal thought was
told to their Ministers. Here is an Example from 1842
at a Local Preachers' Meeting to discuss the reprimands
given to their local Preachers.
"1. One brother was removed from the plan for various
reasons including that of 'going to America without
informing his wife'.
2.One of the Travelling Preachers were reprimanded
for boxin his son's ears too soundly.
3. A preacher was suspended for six months for wasting
time sitting in a public house.
4.Four Preachers did 'sink one place' and 'two places'.
5. Another Preacher was admonished for agitating
the Bawdeswell society.
Our Journey Continues
I return to the Horne Family. I am going to follow
William, Elizabeth, George, and Susanna,
as this is the ancestral line, which will take me
through to the present Horne's of Mattishall. I am
going to skip a few decades to 1881 and the Census
of this year gives me a good idea of the families.
1881:- Mattishall Census: page 5: 9 Dereham Road
William Horne, Head, Married aged 79, Tailor and Draper
(employing4 men), born East Dereham
Elizabeth Horne, Wife, Married, aged 80, born Yaxham.
1881:- Mattishall Census: page 5: 10 Dereham
Road.
George Horne, Head, Married, aged 53, Tailor
and Draper, born Mattishall.
Susanna Horne, Married, Wife, aged 49, born North
Tuddenham.
Emma M. Horne, Daughter, Unmarried, aged 25 born Mattishall.
Eliza J. Horne, Daughter, Unmarried, aged 24, born
Mattishall
William M. Horne, Son, Unmarried, aged 23,
Tailor Journeyman, born Mattishall.
George A. Horne, Son, Unmarried, aged 20, Carpenter
and Joiner, born Mattishall.
Anna A. Horne, Daughter, Unmarried, aged 16 Drapers
Assistant, born Mattishall.
Herbert E. Horne, Son, Unmarried, aged 14 Tailors
Apprentice, born Mattishall.
Ellen M. Horne, Daughter, Unmarried, aged 13, Scholar,
born Mattishall.
Walter H. Horne, Son, aged 12, Scholar, born Mattishall.
Katie S. Horne, Daughter aged 8, Scholar, born Mattishall.
Frederick C. Horne, Son, aged 6, Scholar, born Mattishall.
We can see here the inherited trades of Tailors
and Drapers and a new profession of Carpenter and
Joiner. Since we know that George was preaching
at the Primitive Methodist Chapel in 1865, we must
assume that he and his whole family was attending.
Great times were had at the new Methodist Chapel .A
converted actress in the 1880's Miss Grace Knowles
was a resounding success and a large number of conversions
took place. It must have seemed very modern and exciting
experience have been involved in such a religious
community. In 1875, William and Elizabeth had
returned to the Congregationalist Chapel. Perhaps
they were one of many who saw the Primitives as too
much for they restrained beliefs.
In 1882, George's son William Mann Horne
married Bertha Dann of Great Witchingham. Again, he
was a Journeyman selling cloth so he possibly met
Bertha as George had met Susanna. These were
the first Horne's to be married in a Primitive Methodist
Chapel in Sparham. They went on to have Herbert, Eva,
and Flora. By 1887 possibly May, William Horne
was dead and he was buried in Old Moor Chapel
burial site. Next to his name, it states 'died full
of hope May 1887'. His wife Elizabeth was on the 1881
Census but did not appear again. No record of her
death except for a Horne, buried August 10 1895, this
could have been Elizabeth.
In 1888, Kelly's Directory of Norfolk- under Mattishall
shows William Mann Horne as a Grocer. He must
have wanted a settled life rather than the travelling
he was used to. For in 1889 a son was born, Arthur
Edward Horne came into the world on 1st January.
Sadly, 13 weeks later, Bertha died of a flu epidemic;
she was 30. She was buried in All Saints Graveyard
and was the last person to be buried there. This left
William Mann on his own with a new baby and 3
children under 6. He must have had a large family
network to support him, including his sister Katie
Selina who went on to marry fellow Methodist and local
builder, Lebbell King. Lebbell always had a soft spot
for the unfortunate Arthur and was to prove
important in his future. In addition, his religion
must have been a comfort during this difficult time.
However, he met and married within 18 months of Bertha's
death. Alice Arthurton a farmers daughter from Mattishall.
Again, he married in Sparham Methodist Chapel on 7th
October 1890. Alice was in all probability one of
the congregation at the Methodist Chapel in Mattishall.
To William Mann and Alice Horne, daughters
followed; Ellen Maria, Kate Millicent, Agnes May,
and finally Edith Emma at the turn of the century.
During this time, the Methodist Chapel in Church Plain
became far too small and in 1895, it was decided to
build another. On the main road a pub and a row of
cottages stood. In 1896 William and Sarah Horne, William
Mann Horne's uncle and aunt, bought the Duke of
Edinburgh Public House with the cottages and the land
for £175 from Steward and Patterson. Part of the property
and land in the front of the pub was sold for something
over £80 to build the new Methodist Chapel. It was
Lebbell King, a master builder and undertaker and
a beloved member of the society, who built the church.
It cost about £700. The foundation stone was laid
on Easter Monday, 16th April 1900, although heavy
rain interfered so much as to halt proceedings half
way through, the ceremony was finished in the Parish
schoolroom. George Horne was a steward along
with R. Southgate and the membership stood at 50.
The local preachers at this time were:-
George Horne
Lebbell King
Mrs. Sophia King (lebbell's first wife)
William Horne
Tuttle
J. Juby
J. Graves
W. Lusher
The new Chapel was a huge success; people from miles
around came to join in with twice yearly camps. Mattishall
had the largest membership on the circuit, in 1927
it was 63.
A New Chapter for the Horne Family
The Horne family was becoming a very important part
in the community. By 1907 both of George's
sons, William Mann and Fredrick were Parish
councillors. Lebbell King was elected as well, all
Methodists and quite unique for Mattishall Parish
Council. Only in 1894 George had been turned down
as a member of the Parish Council. So times were changing.
In 1903 Susanna, George's wife died. She was 71 and
buried in Mattishall Cemetery. 18 months later George
also died and was buried with his wife, he was 77.
Arthur Horne had become apprentice to his
Uncle Lebbell. From diaries kept by Arthur
for most of his life we know that they were kept busy
by both of the branches of their business; building
and undertaking. 1914 saw the death of William
Mann's second wife, Alice. She was buried in Mattishall
Cemetery. At the age of 59, William married for a
third and last time. Alice Benn and William Mann
were married at the Mission Hall in Blofield. His
son Arthur married in 1918 to Elsie Fisher
(another prominent family still in Mattishall today).22
This time the wedding ceremony took place in Mattishall
Primitive Methodist Chapel. The Horne family began
to grow again as Arthur and Elsie produced yet more
daughters, already the predominant sex in the family.
Ivy Elsie, born 1919, Katie (Kay), born1921, Bertha,
born 1923 and finally two sons, Stephen in 1926 and
Russell William in 1929. Unfortunately William
Mann never lived to see his 2 Grandsons.
A Tragic Accident
Entry in Aldergate Magazine:- "In the passing of
William Mann Horne of Mattishall at the age
of 63 the East Dereham Circuit looses one of it's
most loyal members and energetic local preachers.
When quite a young man he accepted the call of the
Church to preach the Word and over 44 years has served
with faithfulness and diligence. His home was ever
graced by the practice of true religion, with the
result that all his sons and daughters are in connection
with the Church of their father, and supporting it's
work by the means within their powers; in the case
of his sons, by emulating the father's love for preaching.
The call came to our brother in a sudden fashion.
A fall from his cart severely injured his spine, and
after a few days of helpless suffering God took him
on May 5th 1921. The funeral service was conducted
by the Rev. A. E. H. Tucker, and the large number
of friends from near and far who followed his body
to it's resting place gave evidence of the esteem
in which he was held." William Mann was 63
and buried in Mattishall Cemetery.
Life Goes On
Arthur and Elsie continued to take an active
part in Methodist and community life. The installation
of their first telephone, in 1936, was greeted by
much excitement, it was noted in Arthur's diary that
Flora Horne, Arthur's sister had phoned them
first. Arthur's diaries have given his surviving
family a massive and interesting look back on the
way life was conducted. Especially since all building
and funeral work was noted in them. However, a sad
day in 1937 brought the village to a close. Lebbell
King 23died at the great age of 86 and was childless.
Arthur inherited the building and undertaking
business that he had been a part of for 35 years.
The Next Generation
Russell, Arthur's youngest son had left school
at 14 and along with his brother Stephen, started
to work for his father. Russell was an enthusiastic
member of the Methodist Church and like his Grandfather,
William Mann, became a preacher. Four generations
of the Horne family had worked to spread the Word.
After the World War Two, Russell, was called
up in 1947 for National Service. He was based at Reading,
and it was here he met his future wife, Irene, whilst
attending a church service. It wasn't until 1953 they
married and started their life together in Mattishall.24
He remained a builder; the undertaking side of the
business petered out. Then the last twist to this
history took place. Little is spoken of when we come
to this chapter of religion in Mattishall. We do know
that in 1968 a group of longstanding Methodists found
a certain amount of contention with the direction
that their Church was going. This lead to a big split
of the congregation. The whole of the Horne family
left to form, with other like-minded families, a church,
which Russell was commissioned to build. Mrs
Allum donated a large piece of land, on the main road
through Mattishall. The first part of The Evangelical
Church was opened the same year and the Horne families
worshipped and preached there for many years. The
Church has since been extended and still is welcoming
members today. A couple of years after the opening
of The Evangelical Church, Arthur's wife Elsie
died the West Norwich Hospital and was buried in Mattishall
Cemetery. She was 78. It was 9 years later that Arthur
died; he was 90 and was buried in Mattishall Cemetery.
The Last Generation
So, what of the Horne family in Mattishall today?
Russell and Irene had over the years, 4 daughters.
They still live in Mattishall, Russell retired from
the building business in 1991 leaving a legacy nearly
as big as his village of buildings and many many funerals
behind him. This is the end of this particular branch
of the tree.
more to come......... |
