Friday 28 July 2006

The Littleport riots

Those of you who read my journal regularly ,will know I am interested in the history of the fens ,and have been looking at various things since we moved here nearly two years ago ,and I have shared much of it with you ,Remember I told you about the posts that had been sunk in the Holme fen ,in the eighteen hundreds and are now about fifteen feet above ground proveing how much the fens are shrinking ...I looked at bog oaks ,and a fen blow ,we recently went to Ely cathedral affectionately called the ship of the fens ......well now we have our noses into something else ,which is interesting us ........

 You will remember last month we went to my cousin Alans birthday lunch in Northampton, Maurice was talking to my late cousin Doff's son David ,they were talking motor bikes,Maurice had recently sold our Dragstar ,but David still rides,they were talking about shows and rallys ,Pete (Pete is my sister Jeans husband )introduced to the conversation ,he thought somehow he might be related to the famous Harleys ,of Harley Davidson . A Harley went to America after some riots at Littleport,near Ely.

This fired Maurices imagination,so with the help of his friend Chris ,and armed with facts from Pete (Harley is the maiden name of Petes late mum ),they checked electoral registers ,and yes we think we may have a connection !

As you know we went to Ely cathedral ,affectionately known as ,'the ship of the fens 'and when we went in ,we were greeted by a delightful Lady welcoming us to the cathedral ,Maurice was chatting to her ,about the cathedral and the area and in the course of conversation Littleport came up and the riots and she told us there was was a gentleman called Bruce Frost who lives in Littleport who could tell us more,and that there is a  plaque in the church yard of St Marys church ,near the cathedral ,to the men who had been hung ,after the cathedral ,we went to look around the church ,and though we searched, we didnt find the plaque.......

The following Monday ,I looked up and found the telephone number for Mr Bruce Frost ,and what an interesting man he is ,he told me lots of interesting things ,and that there was to be an open day ,of a Historical society,that he participates in ,is world wide and he invited us to join ,which I plan to do ,the open day is tomorrow and church records will be on view plus lots of data ,and he told me the plaque at St Marys was a replica ,he will show us were the original is, in a barn in Littlport ,that I'm sure we will find interesting ,unfortunately Maurice has to work,but Pete has offered to take Jean and I....so watch this space        Well I hope you all have a great weekend  .....

With Love From Jan xx

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

 

 

 

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21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll be watching......Linda in WA        

Anonymous said...

Jan that was all really interesting ~ Love the picture ~ now I look forward to your visit tomorrow to the open day ~ that should be interesting ~ Ally

Anonymous said...

Sounds good, I'm sure you'll have a fascinating time. Look forward to hearing all about it. B. x

Anonymous said...

hi Jan...

My daughter "SH" her friend "ASH" and they are taking little "Z" with them to Northampton tomorrow,they will be camping there and will be back Sunday evening, it is "Zs" first camping trip...take care and hope you have a great weekend...waiting to see your pics! love the flower graphic...

Astra!

Anonymous said...

This is VERY interesting. I'm an American and would enjoy knowing more about this. I think we touched upon it in college but can't remember much. I studied English but enjoy history.
Dianna

Anonymous said...

~Thats very interesting hope you have a good day tomorrow. Love Joan.

Anonymous said...

I remember the picture you put up of the posts Jan, what a super sleuth you are, you've found out lots of interesting facts.  Have a lovely day tomorrow digging into history. Rache

Anonymous said...

All of your entries are interesting hun!

Great writing,

Lv Ste
xx

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you're digging up  lot of interesting facts here! I hope you, Pete and Jean will be able to delve further into it! Have a great weekend! Jeannette xx  

Anonymous said...

Hi, always love it when you mention the history of the 'fens' as it was my birth place, also the 'Harley' reference, must tell my brother as he rides one. Motorbikes scare me, the only one I rode in my youth was my eldest brother's Honda 90, when he joined the army. I fell off and was rescued by a handsome farmer from the farm at the bottom of our hill. I was carried home in his 'strong' arms and mum went mad because I had blood over my new jodpurs..ha ha..
luv
Rach.xxxx

Anonymous said...

Ah, Ely. A wonderful place. Is the Old Fire Engine House still the best restaurant in town?

Peter (Spub)

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan, finally got around to checking out your blog and found it very interesting and an enjoyable read. Love the graphics, see you soon neighbour. Debbie

Anonymous said...

How interesting!

Anonymous said...

Interesting to delve into local hisory, or any history, so fascinating to know what went before. There is campaign on at the moment set up by the National Trust, English Heritage & the BBC called History Matters.....Pass it On and I think that says it all.
http://journals.aol.co.uk/irisclyde/LaDolceVita

Anonymous said...

Love your history lessons, Jan.  The UK is just loaded with such interesting historical tidbits.  Have a good weekend!  HUGS  Chris

Anonymous said...

Ohhhh how exciting...If he is related then he could try wangle a freebie harley LOLOL...Love the graphic   Caff xxx

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the comment! I got your journal link on my other journals section.  I will be making a new blog for my graphics, sometime tonight.  And I will post the link tonight whenever.  Hope your having a good weekend and take care!

Samantha

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan ,It was a fantastic day,we enjoyed your company as always.Think its abit cooler today and the grass has gone greener since the rain,it will maybe need cutting again soon !!!!!.Enjoy the rest of the weekend ......Love Jeanxx

Anonymous said...

How exciting!  Can't wait to read the next entry!

Jackie

Anonymous said...

Youv'e got us all interested in the fens now, I love it! Linda xx

Anonymous said...

very nice Jan!
love,nat