An
Outline of the History of Our Village
On
an old map of Norfolk in Roman times there is only one place on the coast
between the Roman station at Branodunum (Brancaster) and that at Rising
(Castle Rising). It is "Holm a British town". Our village has indeed
connections with the very distant past, and appears to have been a place of
some importance over two thousand years ago. Our historical show-piece
is, of course, the Peddar's Way, that ancient, mysterious road which runs
south from Holme, over the hill to Ringstead and on to Castle Acre and beyond.
North of the village it disappears in the marshes, at a place where low
earthworks are still visible. Much
has been written about the Peddar's Way, and many a battle of words has been
waged in the local press as to its origin. Most historians agree that the Way
was there before the Romans came, but there is considerable doubt as to how
far it ran. We believe that it did in fact lead across the Wash. to
Lincolnshire. This is a bold Statement, but if you will look across the Wash
from the top of Ringstead Hill when there is a "dead neap" tide, you
will see nearly as much sand as water between you and Lincolnshire. Remember, too, that all along this coast there are the
remains of an ancient forest, now submerged. We believe that when the Britons
lived in Holme the wash was much smaller than it is now, and that well to the
North of our village, beyond the trees, there was a ferry across to what is
now Skegness. Today, the
Peddar's Way has been ploughed up in places, in Ringstead, for example, but we
understand that it was perfect in 1797, when a new map of Norfolk was made. From
time to time, relics of the Britons have been dug up near the Peddar's Way,
and in 1861 fragments of Roman pottery were found in Holme. It has been
suggested that the rectangular form of the present village is the result of
Roman occupation, but there is little evidence to support this.
The village was probably given its name by invaders from across the
North Sea, after the Romans left Britain. "Holm" is an Anglo-Saxon
word meaning " a watery vale"; "Holme" is Danish or
German, and "Holmi" Swedish or Icelandic. There is a Holme in
Denmark today, and Ringstead is known to have been an early Danish settlement. We
can only guess at what was happening in Holme during the four or five
centuries before the Norman invasion. No doubt like other places on this coast
it was visited frequently by the invaders from Scandinavia and elsewhere.
After the Norman conquest we learn from the Domesday book that land in
Holme was held by Godric, and it is recorded that the Abbot of Ramsey had a
gibbet here soon after the arrival of the Normans. From the eleventh century
onwards we can get brief glimpses of life in this village from various records
and rolls. One of the most
striking facts revealed is that Holme was then considered a port and a
"Keeper of the port of Holm" was appointed. This office was held in
1297 by Nicholas de Hopi who, with the Hunstanton "keeper" Robert de
la Roche took money from the Envoy of the King of Denmark, whose ship was
"stormbound" at Holme. The Danish gentleman, it appears, complained
to higher authorities, rind Nicholas and Robert were ordered to repay the
money. A few years later, in 1308, the Patent Rolls of Edward II tell of an
event which must have set tongues a-wagging more than usual in this district.
Five Dutch merchants bearing English names: "Hugh de Wykelf, Ralph
Russel, John de Fenne Andrew Baggard and Stephen de Penteneye", had
chartered a ship to carry a cargo of herring and other food from Yarmouth to
Boston. The vessel was damaged in a storm and appears to have been in great
distress East of Gore Point close inshore. "Divers inhabitants of
Deepdale, Thornham, Brancaster, Holme and Tichwell," the record runs,
" did plunder the vessel and drove out the crew." The owners lodged
a complaint, but nothing is known of what followed. Lawlessness indeed: In 1322, we read (once again in the Patent Rolls) of a grant of safe conduct to Ralph de Warham, merchant, in a ship called " La Garlaund of Holm" on a journey to the South of the Realm and foreign lands. In 1326, Holme was ordered to supply two ships, each with forty armed men, and food, for the defence of the realm, " to remain off St. Edmundsnesse, for the repulse of the King's enemies." The cost of this was to be borne, by the men remaining at home, so we can assume the scheme was hardly popular: Whether our two vessels saw any action is uncertain, but it seems probable, for Queen Isabella did in fact land with 2,000 men from France on the Suffolk coast. In the following year, the unhappy King Edward resigned his crown and died soon afterwards. Two Holme men came into the limelight in 1338, when Edward III was preparing for war against the French. Two boats belonging to Robert and John of Holme were requisitioned by Admiral de Mauny " for the King's passage to parts beyond the seas." The two men pleaded that the boats were intended only for fishing and His Majesty was pleased to release them. An old list of the names of the inhabitants of Holme in the 15th century includes the following: Dike, Godfrey, Gray, Bokenham, Bell, Fowler, Potter, Johnson, Stone, Dene, Love And Warbeis. During Tudor and Stuart times Holme seems to have been undisturbed by the many exciting events of those years. It is likely that the interest of the Royalist Le Strange family in the village resulted in a fair amount of excitement during the time of Cromwell, and that some men of Holme took part in the fighting in King's Lynn. On the whole, however, it is likely that the chief interests of our ancestors were connected with the sea and with smuggling. The
Whale But we must include here Holme's own fishing story
if such it can be called, the story of our great Whale of 1626, In December of
that year, it is recorded that a whale was cast ashore here, " the wind
being strong from the North-west, 57ft. long, the breadth of the nose end
8ft., from nose to eye, 150ft. The eyes were about the same bigness as those
of an ox, the lower chap closed... therein were 46 teeth, like the tusks of an
elephant. The breadth of the tail was 13 ft. The profit made of it was
£217.6,7 and the charge of cutting it up and managing it £100 or more."
This is the account given in Blomefield's History of Norfolk and we can
imagine the excitement caused in the district at this time. As for smuggling,
there are at least two houses in the village which have close links with the
smugglers of last century and before. We understand that wine and money were
brought from the beach across the Marsh to Smugglers' Cottage, on Eastgate
Road, to be hidden upstairs in a tiny room which was bricked up for
concealment in such a way that a few bricks could be quickly removed if
necessary. This space has now been opened up to form a small corridor, but
even today the house abounds in nooks and
crannies which suggest its use in the old days. Other tales are told of the
men who headed inland up Chalkpit Road from the marshes. They often sorted out
their spoils at a little room in the house (which was then the White Horse),
now occupied by Miss Crowe, on the south side of the coast road. One day an
argument arose, and a fight followed, in which a man was killed. His
companions were arrested, and the License was taken away from the inn. A new
"White Horse" was soon established, however, at its present position
near the Post Office. The marshes to the north of Holme have a very
interesting history. The first sea wall was raised in 1827, and considerably
improved about 40 years later, preventing the sea from coming literally
"up to our doorsteps" at high tides. Before any wall existed
however, there were areas available for use to the North of the village, and
in 1570 there was a long dispute between William Aslacke and the people
regarding grazing rights on this common land. Some of our older inhabitants can remember one
exceptional Spring tide about fifty years ago, when the sea is reported to
have reached the corner by the old blacksmith's shop (next to the house now
occupied by Mr. Sheldrake.) During
the last half-century scientific developments have brought changes to this
village as to all others. The first "wireless" in the village was
owned by Mr. Matthew Nelson who is also reported to have had the first car. At
the time of writing television has not yet come to Holme, the nearest
television set is at Old Hunstanton. Electricity was brought to the village in
1932, and a piped water supply has been provided very recently. At the moment
water from the pipes is suitable for washing purposes only. The two world wars
haves left their mark on Holme as the War Memorial in our Churchyard shows.
During the 1939-45 war, a number of evacuees came to the village, and more
than filled our little school. During the time in which he was Vicar of Holme,
the Rev. G.H. Holley collected a large amount of information connected with
Holme in the past, with particular reference to the old manors and the Church.
His work was not published, and he gave us his manuscripts to study at the
school, after which they are to be kept in the Church. We have not included
the manorial history here, but those who are interested will find many
interesting details in the newspaper cuttings framed on the West wall of the
Church. To some people, history is looked upon as one of those things which
need not be endured after one leaves school. Perhaps these notes on our own
particular bit of history may prove more interesting than even these people
expected. At the least it should prove the importance of the anchor on the
cover of this book, although it is now almost concealed by the implements of
the farm.
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