The Little Egret is white with a black beak and yellow feet, its smaller than the Great White Egret which is the size of a Heron. Back to Wildlife
The Great White Egret is the same size as a Heron and has a yellow beak and black feet. See also Little Egret. Back to Wildlife
Charles Boughen and David Bates
On 21 October 1870 Charles Boughen aged 19, a farm labourer, walked to the bone mill to take dinner to his cousin David Bates. Whilst there he offered to help the workmen who were digging out manure from a 12 ft high heap. As Charles was filling a skip, the heap gave way and a large quantity of ground up manure fell on him, knocking him over and injuring him. He was taken home and despite the care of the doctor he died the same night. It had only been the end of the previous year that Charles’ mother Phoebe had died and been buried in Narborough churchyard where Charles was also buried on 24 October 1870.
Charles had been born in 1851, the son of William Boughen of Narborough and Phoebe (nee Bates). Phoebe’s brother James, who had married Hannah Hobbles in 1838, were the parents of David Bates, who was the cousin Charles had been taking the food to.
The Boughen family lived at The Meadows, in Narborough. Before his birth, Charles’ parents and their two daughters can be found on the 1851 census and by 1861, Charles is now there with his family, and two of his sisters aged 16 and 19 are listed as working in the field and Charles’ father William is an agricultural labourer.
On the 1881 census, William, a widower for 12 years is aged 70, still working as a labourer and living with a son and daughter in Everett’s cottages, the Meadows in Narborough. William lived to the age of 85 and was buried in 1895 in Narborough churchyard.
Charles’ cousin David who on the 1871 census aged 23 can be found living with his parents in Narborough and working as a Corn Porter. In 1881 David, now working as a carpenter is living at The Row in Narborough with his wife Lavinia (nee Dye). By 1891 he and Lavinia are living at Glebe Cottage in Narborough.
On the 1911 census the couple can be found living in Hastings Buildings in Pentney. The record tells us they never had children and were married in 1877. Ten years on, in 1921, they are living at Crossways, Pentney. David is 73 and a retired old aged pensioner, he dies in 1929.
James Skerry was baptised in May 1848 in West Bilney, and was one of at least seven children of farm labourer Humphrey Skerry (born in Grimston) and Mary (nee Eagle).
The family can be found in 1851 and 1861 living at Lodge Road Cottage, West Bilney.
By 1867 James had moved from West Bilney to Pentney as this was the year he married Mary Ann Dye.
In 1871 James aged 22 and Mary Ann aged 20 are living in Grays Buildings in Pentney along with their one year old son Charles and Mary Ann’s widowed mother, Rebecca Dye.
In 1881, still in Pentney, the family have grown with children Charles, Louise, Arthur and Ethel. James gives his occupation as agricultural labourer.
By 1891 James is a widower with two more mouths to feed – son William and daughter Dora aged 4. James’ wife Mary Ann had died the previous year aged 39 and is buried in Pentney churchyard.
In 1901, aged 52, James gives his occupation as machine minder at the bone mill. This is an interesting fact as it was believed the Bone Mill had stopped production not long after 1884 so it seems it continued for longer than originally thought. James’ daughter Ethel is living with him as his housekeeper at Gray’s cottages.
By 1911 the household consists of James plus daughter Ethel and her husband of two years, James Herbert Bland (born Gayton, known as Jack). The couple who had married at the end of 1908 have a one year old son Leslie. The two men are working as farm labourers. Jack Bland gave the original photo of the bone mill to David Turner for us to display and remembers collecting bricks from the mill after it was dismantled.
The 1921 census finds James Skerry still living in Pentney and still in the same cottage. He still lists his occupation as a labourer and his employer is a Miss Howlett but says he is out of work.
There is a separate listing on the 1921 census for his daughter Ethel and husband James Bland. They are in Pentney and now have three children – Leslie, Marjorie and Eric. James is working as a corn porter at the Maltings, his employer is Vynne and Everett.
In 1923 James Skerry and two friends are travelling in a horse and cart and are involved in an accident with a speeding car, where James is thrown out of the cart. He obviously was made of a strong constitution as he went on to celebrate his 86th birthday in 1932. He even gets a mention and his photo in the Lynn Advertiser where it mentions that he has lived in the same house for 68 years and can still ride a bike!
James Skerry died in 1936 at the Infirmary at Gayton and his funeral was very well attended at Pentney Church. See newspaper clipping.
In 1939 Ethel and James Bland are living in West Cottage, Pentney. Their son Eric is living with them working as a Bricklayer’s labourer.
Ethel passed away in 1962 and is buried in Pentney churchyard, husband James Bland died aged 94 in 1980.
Bone Mill Employees Bone Grinding & Boiling The Maltings
William, Thomas & James Coates
It was on 4th October 1862 that William Coates met his demise at the Maltings complex in Narborough. The Bone mill and the Maltings were owned by the Marriotts and William and his brothers Thomas and James all worked for them at the Maltings in Narborough. William, who had worked for the Marriott brothers for many years had been working as a porter and was coupling up loaded wagons – one being stationery and one moving. According to reports William was caught between the buffers and couldn’t get out of the way in time and his chest was crushed and sadly he died shortly afterwards aged 54.
The Coates brothers were from Pentney, the sons of John and Mary (nee Valentine) who had married in Pentney in 1802. William was born in 1808, Thomas in 1811 and James in 1815 and they can all be found on various census records living in Narborough and close by to each other.
William had married Charlotte Ollett in 1838 and in 1861 they can be found in Narborough along with their children Emma, Robert, Elizabeth and Amelia. Next door is William’s brother James, who was a corn porter at this time, living with his wife Maria (nee Drew) and their children.
Thomas and his wife Phoebe and children are living just along from the Ship Inn in 1861. Thomas had married Phoebe Palmer on 7th November 1841 in Pentney.
In 1871, nine years after their brother’s tragic death, brothers James and Thomas and their families are living close by to each other in Narborough and by 1881, both families are living on the Lynn Road in Marriotts Cottages, both men working at the Maltings.
In 1891 Thomas can be found with Phoebe still living on the Lynn Road but is now listed as working as a Manure Labourer at the Bone Mill. By this time Thomas would have been 79 years old. The census record has him as being 78 but he was baptised in March 1811 so would have been 79. It is four years later, in November 1895 that Thomas dies and is buried in Narborough churchyard.
His brother James in 1891 is still working at the Maltings as a porter but by 1901, aged 86 is living at The Meadows in Narborough and is on poor relief. James passes away in 1906 age 90 and is buried in Narborough Churchyard.
There is another baptism for a son Robert born to a John and Mary Coates in 1818 but no census records for a Robert are to be found in Narborough or surrounding area. There is a death of a Robert Coates in 1838 in the district which may be him.
Bone Mill Employees Bone Grinding & Boiling The Maltings