| Northrepps lies two miles south-east of
Cromer. It's a charming village
with many flint and brick
cottages and an impressive church - however St. Mary's
is
not quite on the same scale as St. James' at nearby Southrepps.
Northrepps Hall
© Mr Whiskey
The veteran author Verily Anderson (1916-2010) lived in the village for many years.
She is probably best known for
her 'Brownies' children's stories such as: The
Brownies and the Wedding Day and Brownies on
Wheels. However, she had a varied career and also wrote the
screenplay for No Kidding - based on her book
Beware of the Children. The role of Mr Anderson was
played by Lesley Phillips in the film.
Verily's first husband was the military historian
Capt Donald Clive Anderson - who she married in 1940.
After Anderson's death and a move to Northrepps in 1965
she married the distinguished architect Paul Paget. (Sir
John Betjeman was the best man at their wedding.)
Verily Anderson
Verily was also a local historian and in The
Northrepps Grandchildren (1968)
she documented the lives of her grandparents - who were
members of the Gurney, Buxton and Barclay families who lived
for many generations at Northrepps Hall. The
families, who were Quakers, inter-married and became a
significant banking dynasty.
The Gurney family originally hailed from Gurney Court
on Magdalen Street in Norwich before moving out to
Earlham Hall on the outskirts
of the city. The prison reformer Elizabeth Fry (a
daughter of the Gurney's) - who was Verily's great-great
aunt - was born in the Court - as was
the authoress Harriet
Martineau. Many of the Gurney family are buried in
the Quaker Cemetery at Gildencroft in Norwich.
Anna Gurney (1795-1857), the Anglo Saxon scholar and
philanthropist, lived for many years at Northrepps
Cottage. When she was10 months old she contracted polio
which left her confined to a wheelchair for the rest of
her life. She purchased a Manby Mortar for the town of
Sheringham to help save the lives of shipwrecked
sailors. (The Mortar later became the breeches buoy.)
She has wrote a poem commemorating the launch of the
town's first lifeboat - entitled:
Poem
Written for the Launch of the Augusta, Sheringham's
First Purpose Built Lifeboat, In 1838.
|
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by Norfolk Tourism