Communities in their own right and yet part of the greater Norwich conurbation, four villages on the city's northern rim form my archive feature this week.
1 A farm wagon passes along Church Street, Old Catton, with the manor house and tower of St Margaret's church in the background, on its return journey to Hall Farm in April, 1952.
2 Villagers admire a new wooden cat for the top of Old Catton village sign in March, 1956 after the first two were stolen, one of them reputedly crossing the Atlantic by air. The new cat was given by Mr W Klinger, a Dane, in appreciation of the pleasant time he spent when living in the village.
3 An almost deserted village scene at (Old) Costessey in July, 1955. The photo was taken from the mill, looking towards the White Hart pub. The recent development of the newer part of the parish had, as with Catton, given rise to the designations Old and New.
4 A general view of the workshop at S&G Sergent of Costessey in November, 1958. They were makers of surface planes, wood-turning lathes, circular saw units and machines used in Occupational Therapy.
5 The Costessey firm of S&G Sergent had just taken on four apprentices in November, 1958. One of them, Brian Womack, is seen in the foreground fitting a circular saw.
6 LW Starling of Costessey provided a specialist service of recasting lead for local buildings. In our picture from October, 1966 Brian Moates and Robert Dawson – known as church plumbers – are recasting lead for the Norwich church of St Peter Hungate. Working together to avoid splashing, the
two men each ladle three stone of molten lead into the leadpan until it is full.
7 In the cucumber houses of Mr SW Hannent's nurseries at Spixworth ducklings were used to keep down wood lice and other pests. Our picture dates from May, 1954.
8 A country lane near Spixworth on a wintry morning in early January, 1967.
9 Norfolk farmers make a tour of the trial plots at the Norfolk Agricultural Station in Sprowston during its annual summer inspection in July, 1953. The Station is now known as Morley Agricultural Foundation and is based at Morley near Wymondham.
10 Before the builders moved in later in 1962: the overgrown site of the future Shipfield development in north Norwich, seen from Sprowston Road.
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