High House
In the early 1800s the piece of land where High House stands was Plot No 350, a house and garden of 1 rood, 25 perches, and was owned by John Allen who also occupied Plot No 354, a garden of 9 perches, opposite the church gates. At this time Plot No 354 does not appear to have a building on site. These two plots were stay in the same ownership for many years.
There had been Allen's at Norton for the previous two hundred years but it can't be established if there is a direct family line running to John. There was a John and Mary Allen at Norton in the 1740s when they both died. John was a blacksmith. Later there was a John and Ann Allen; he died in 1792 aged 82 years, she died in 1796 aged 80 years and their grave is still readable just to the right of the path outside the church door. At the time of her death widowed Ann was living at Yesher(?), Hereford.
The property was to be sold at auction by John Allen at the New Inn, Longford, on 23 March 1812 when it was described as; "a brick, sashed, dwelling house, with a large garden planted with choice fruit trees, and a small piece of land adjoining, in quantity about a quarter of an acre. The Premises, which are freehold, adjoin the churchyard, at Norton, and maybe entered upon at Ladyday next". At the time of the sale John Allen was living at Chaxhill, near Westbury on Severn. Perhaps the property didn't sell but in August 1812 another auction was advertised, providing a fuller description of the property and with John Allen still being the owner;
“To be sold by auction by James Lees, on Tuesday, the 1st day of September, 1812, precisely at 4 o’clock, at the New Inn, in the parish of St Catherine :- a freehold messuage, with a large garden, well planted with choice fruit trees, and about one quarter of an acre of land, adjoining the premises. The house is pleasantly situated in the parish of Norton, near the church, and within a short distance of the Turnpike Road, leading from Gloucester to Tewkesbury, distant 4 miles from Gloucester and 6 miles from Tewkesbury. The house is well built with brick, and sash windows, and is in perfect repair, and contains 2 rooms on the ground floor, 2 rooms on the second floor, and 1 large room on the attic floor. The premises are exonerated from all taxes, except the window tax, and possession will be given on the 29th day of September next. For a view of the premises, apply to the tenant, and for further particulars, to Mr Allen, the proprietor”.
In 1838 when a ‘terrier and valuation of the messuages, lands, and other hereditaments liable to poor rate in the parish of Norton’ was compiled, Plot No 350 was still 0-1-25 in area and was described as being ‘at Church, cottage, garden and orchard’; it was owned by John Weston of The Leigh and let to John Baylis. There were a number of John Baylis around the village in the early nineteenth century but this John cannot be positively identified and he wasn’t here by 1841.
The earliest reference I have found to a property by the name of High House was at the time of the 1851 Census when it was in the occupation of William Freeman, wife Elizabeth and children Benjamin and Eliza Ann. William was employed as a wagoner.
By the time of the 1st edition of the Ordnance Survey 25ins map of Norton, which was surveyed in 1883, the layout of High House is more clearly portrayed, on Plot No 243, and there is now also a property on Plot No 354, then Plot No 242.
In 1900-01 Ernest J Saxby was at High House although possibly in the attached cottage as his address is recoded differently in different sources. Ernest was on the electoral list at High House but an advertisement from June 1900 suggests Church Cottage; "Wanted, situation as cellarman, well up in bottling beers, wines and spirits - E J Saxby, Church Cottages, Norton".
In 1910 the house was occupied by a Mrs Quickly and owned by Mrs Marks, presumably a relation of the vicar, Rev Marks.
The next identified residents were the Davis’. Wilfred was born in 1882 at Hartpury, son of Thomas, a farm labourer, and Emma Davis. When old enough, Wilfred joined the army and in 1899 was serving with the Gloucestershire Regiment based at Harrow, Middlesex. Wilfred returned to Gloucestershire where he married Alice Vaughan at Tewkesbury in 1910. Alice was born in 1882 at Boddington, daughter of Henry and Eliza Vaughan. In 1911 Wilfred and Alice were living at Deerhurst where Wilfred was employed as a labourer with Gloucestershire County Council. They must have come to Norton shortly afterwards as in February 1913 they were at High House when their son Charles Albert Wilfred was baptised at St Mary’s.
The next resident I have was Walter Rogers, born in September 1882 at Llanelli. He married Emily Creefe at Llanelli in 1914 and by the following year they had arrived at Norton and were living at High House with Walter employed a motor mechanic and driver for J R Pope, Milliners, Westgate Street, Gloucester. Walter later served in the Royal Army Service Corps (Motorised Transport) as Private No M2/102141 during the First World War and his service is discussed under the 'Military' tab of this site.
In 1921 Louisa Lawrence was here in a five room cottage. Louisa nee Richards was born in 1867 at Coombe Flory, Somerset, but had married Henry Lawrence at Boddington in 1885. She was recorded as being a married laundress but Henry wasn't present in 1921. Also in residence was young daughter Hilda and young granddaughter Clarice who had been born at Ontario, Canada. Previously the Lawrence family had been at what is now West House, Norton. In 1925 the property was occupied by Louisa Lawrence and in June 1926, Louisa Lawrence was still living at High House at the time of her death and also around this date a Miss Batty lived there.
High House was put up for auction on Saturday 3rd March 1928 at The Bell Hotel, Gloucester, at the same time as Church Cottage which was Lot 2. The following is an extract from the Bruton, Knowles & Co auction leaflet that gives a detailed description of how the property would have been constituted at that time;
“LOT 1 – HIGH HOUSE with COTTAGE adjoining The property is situate near to Norton Church in a high and healthy position near to the main road from Gloucester to Tewkesbury, on which there is an excellent service of motor buses. The house and cottage are substantially built of brick with tiles and slated roofs, the house containing sitting room, back kitchen with furnace; bedroom and box room on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second floor. The cottage adjoins and at small expense could be adapted to form part of the principal house. It contains living room with cupboard, scullery, coal house and two bedrooms. The water supply is from a well. There is a large garden with fruit trees. This Lot is let to Mr L Bird at rents amounting to £31 13s 0d a year”.
Leonard Hobrough Bird was born in 1883 at Alcester, Warks, and in 1911 he was living at Wandsworth, London, employed as a builders foreman. In his household was Cecilia Sarah, recorded as his wife, and three children. Leonard appears to have actually married Sarah Cecilia Penney, originally from County Antrim, Ireland, in 1916 at Gloucester. The Birds appear to have lived at Church Cottage and High House between 1924 and 1929, or maybe several years later. Their son Alan Leonard Bird married Winifred Lilian Taylor in 1931 at the Independent Chapel, Tewkesbury. Their daughter Eileen Muriel married Edwin Thomas South at Twigworth in 1934. In 1939 Leonard and Sarah were living with their daughter in Cheltenham. Sarah died in 1949 and Leonard in 1956, both at Birmingham.
The 1928 auction description refers to a well on the site and the OS map, reproduced above, shows a pump in the garden which presumably marks its position.
In 1933 the residents were Thomas and Ethel May Smith and also Alfred John, Alice Emily and Edward Redding; one family in the house, one in the cottage ?. In 1938, Lionel and Nancy Hyam were in residence, and in 1939 the house was occupied by Harold Percy Wilce, a Corporation labourer, and wife Kathleen Rosa.
I have been told that a family named Cocks lived here at some time. Between 1947-1949 Leonard John and Mildred Martha Cocks were at No 2 Church Cottage and this may be the couple. I had thought this to be part of Church Cottage, opposite the church gates, but may have been here at High House, in the cottage part of the property.
Between approximately 1947 and 1985 Charles and Nora Hipwell were at High House, Charles dying in 1964.
The following photo was taken in the early 1970s and shows High House to the left with a lean-to attachment on the right where I have been told there was a separate entrance to the cottage.
Was marketed by Taylors Estate agents, Churchdown, in July 1993 to be auctioned at the Kings Head on 8 September; "detached cottage in need of renovation".
The Citizen newspaper, 14 October 1993; “Sales of country houses are still attracting a good deal of attention. Bidding was brisk at the recent auction of High House, Priors Norton. It attracted a good fathering at the Kings Head in Norton where auctioneer Richard Courtney Lord, on behalf of Gloucester estate agents Taylors, eventually knocked it down to a bid of £62000 to a young couple who plan to renovate the property and live there. Parts of the house are believed to date back 400 years. Bertie Armstrong, manager of Taylors’ Gloucester office, revealed there had been great interest in the house before the auction. He said many applicants had visited High House and he felt that it proved the point that if the property was right it would always sell at auction”.
In 2002, when the following photo was taken, Robert David and Eileen Joyce Chandler were resident here.
When the house was renovated/extended in 2007 an archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Gloucestershire County Council Archaeology Service on 22 May 2007 in connection with the construction of an extension and a conservatory. No finds or features of archaeological significance were recorded. The site archive was to be deposited with Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum (Source Work 8985).
From 2018-2023 the property was owned by Richard and Mary Bateman.
[2023]
