Owing to illness there was a change to our speaker this month. Reepham WI members enjoyed a presentation by Helen Murray who, on a previous visit, spoke about her forebears’ summer house, Newhaven Court in Cromer.

At Helen’s first book signing in October 2022 her cousin gifted her a leather journal, with the inscriptions “Cromer” and “J.M.S.” on the cover. This book, dated 1883/4, contained sketches of daily life on Cromer beach. Given Helen’s earlier “detective” work, her quest for further information about the artist was ignited.

By coincidence, another copy of the sketch book came up for auction which Helen later procured. This edition was annotated by a previous owner with clues as to the surname of the artist and also of the folk featured in the sketches.

By painstaking research, Helen determined the paintings were done by Juliet Seebohm, the granddaughter of a German immigrant, of Quaker stock. Juliet, her parents and siblings spent summer holidays with their cousins, the Barclays – members of the “Cromer Set”. In those days, Cromer was a genteel “fishing port” frequented by wealthy families such as the aforementioned Barclays and the Gurneys, Hoares among others.

During the summer of 1883, when Juliet was in her 20s, she spent time capturing, through her exquisite drawings, the activities of working folk and visitors alike.

Helen’s book, Fishermen, Bathers and Beach Folk, contains comprehensive historic detail. The most fascinating anecdotes were about “Old Billy”, a well-known local crab fisherman who, despite having “clubfoot” and not being able to swim, up to his 80s gave swimming lessons to youngsters, as well as goat and donkey rides on the beach.

Another standout was Lucy Miller, an entrepreneurial lady, who owned a number of bathing machines. Women, wearing cumbersome crinolines, were relieved on hot summer days to rent a bathing machine in which they changed into hired (wool!) bathing costumes, before the contraption was wheeled out into the sea for a refreshing dip.

Other fascinating characters touched on in the book are Professor Vinogradoff, an academic, the sailor Mayes Brothers and fisherman Gilbert “Leather” Rook, as well as giving an insight into Victorian life in what is still a popular seaside town.

Reepham WI’s next meeting will be held at St Michael’s, Reepham at 7.30 pm on Thursday 10 April – a week earlier than usual – with a talk by Peter Goodrum on 250 years of Jarrolds.

Dee Taylor

December’s meeting kick-started festivities with an entertaining and informative talk on “The Sentiments of Christmas” by James Stebbing from Dereham.

James’s presentation included a number of seasonal images such as a variety of weird and wacky Christmas trees, made from all sorts of bizarre materials; for example, one in Wells made from 200 lobster pots which took two days to build.

There were other memorable tales, the most moving of which was of the Christmas truce held during the First World War, when English and German troops briefly ceased gunfire, played football, exchanged greetings and together sang Stille Nacht/Silent Night.

James gave further insight to other memorable Christmas traditions; for instance, White Christmas, originally recorded by Bing Crosby and covered by numerous other artists, has sold more than 100 million copies over the years; that the origins of Oh Holy Night are about slavery; and how Gilbert first met Sullivan and went on to have a successful partnership. He also cited the Longfellow poem I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day: poignant words but sadly too long to quote here.

James closed his presentation with bygone images of horse-drawn sleighs dashing through the snow – happy days indeed when children used to skate on frozen ponds and build snowmen without fear of any climate change disasters.

The first meeting of this year was the annual debate on which national WI campaign to support. Four topics were tabled: “Let’s talk about incontinence”; “Bystanders can be lifesavers (knowledge of CPR)”; “Join the repair revolution (upcycling clothes)”; and “Eliminate landfill of medication packaging”.

The 33 members in attendance voted on their preferred resolution. The one with the most votes will be put forward for consideration, alongside submissions from other WI groups nationwide, with the most popular being adopted by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes at its AGM later this year.

Thereafter members had time to socialise; some played board games and enjoyed refreshments before the meeting was brought to a close.

The next meeting of Reepham WI will be held on Thursday 20 February at 7.30 pm at St Michael’s, Reepham. Following the AGM, guest speaker Angela Bishop will give members “A trip down memory lane”.

Dee Taylor

In October, Andrew Sankey, garden designer and historian, gave an entertaining talk to Reepham WI on the evolution of the English cottage garden, from medieval times to the modern day.

He introduced his talk by sharing that he has given talks in America on the cottage garden, where they have formed a romanticised vision of what a typical English cottage garden is, influenced by the watercolour paintings by the Victorian artist, Helen Allingham. Her “chocolate box” images often include a young maiden in a bonnet, outside a thatched cottage surrounded by pretty flowers, with no vegetables or compost heaps in sight.

The medieval cottage garden could not be further from this perception. The dwellings, home to some 90% of the population who were peasants, were small, often housing a family of up to 13 children, with livestock sharing the inside warmth during winter months.

The land surrounding the cottage was laid out with raised beds, planted solely with produce to sustain the family, such as onions, cabbages and leeks. Herbs were important, used for flavouring the basic one-pot meals, as well as for medicinal purposes.

It was not until around 1557 that Thomas Tusser wrote a book on good husbandry, and under the influence of Henry VIII gardens became more elaborate with fruit trees and flowers introduced for more decorative uses. Rare species were brought to the UK from countries such as China, Turkey and South America.

Potatoes were not introduced until 1830; shrubs did not make an appearance until 1870/80. This period was the high point of the English cottage garden, with productivity and utility, as well as beauty, of equal importance.

County Life magazine came into being around this same, igniting the creation of “show” gardens – with space gradually given over to lawns and ornaments there was little space for growing vegetables. But as times and diets changed gardeners once again yearned to grow their own produce, hence the creation of allotments, certainly a popular pastime in Reepham.

Reepham WI meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7.30 pm at St Michael’s, Reepham. The next meeting on Thursday 21 November will be the AGM, followed by an interactive quiz hosted by Brenda Gostling.

Dee Taylor

The last few months have provided Reepham WI members with diverse and interesting events.

At the end of April, walks around Reepham took place to support the Associated Country Women of the World, followed by tea and cake in the Bircham Centre.

In May, we held a final debate on the 2024 Resolution on Dental Matters, in which government should be called upon to increase investment in the training and retention of dentists.

Thereafter, we were given a talk by Saffron Summerfield, a musician/song writer, who, while artist in residence at Rye Harbour, nurtured her passion for birdsong. Saffron shared her fascinating knowledge of when and why birds sing.

The incredible work done by the Medical Detection Dogs charity was the topic at June’s meeting. Norma Howell explained how Bio Detection Dogs are trained to detect odours associated with diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s and bacterial infections. The Medical Alert Assistance Dogs support people who have complex health conditions and are in danger of having a potentially life-threatening medical event.

Last week our members listened to a terrific tale about Newhaven Court, Cromer, a book written by Helen Murray who shared the story of her forebears’ home and the intriguing list of characters who stayed there between the wars, including Einstein, Shackleton, Tennyson, Oscar Wilde and others too many to mention.

Helen’s story of how she researched the history of the house and its occupants for her book is quite remarkable in itself. Who knew Cromer held so many secrets?

A number of WI ladies produced delicious cakes and helped with refreshments at the Norfolk Day festivities with games and fun for young and old alike.

Our next meeting, on Thursday 15 August, will be our annual summer social, to be held in the Bircham Centre garden from 2.30−4.30 pm. Our speaker will be Angela Bishop, taking us on a trip down memory lane.

Dee Taylor