Fens and family
Here you can find stories and photographs about the history, places and families around Upwell parish in the fens of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. These pages include links to my family history of Brighton, Burton, , Carnson, Copeman, Mott, Watson and many other families that came from that area – it includes Welsh, Australian, Irish, US and Canadian cousins.
If you are looking for something specific, try the search box. If you pick a tag, this will list everything that has that keyword. Otherwise, please click on the the site map at the top of the page to find a list of articles.
One of my main reasons for putting this site together was to share many of the stories and photographs that people have given me, rather than have them mouldering in a cupboard! I will also be adding links to anything I find useful for finding more information.
Feel free to add any comments, or any stories about the area, in the comments boxes. Please enjoy; I would love to hear from you.
I started building my first website after my Mum Audrey Carnson and her friend Rita Cuss organised four talks and a display on the local history of Three Holes. This was for a Millennium Year 2000 project for the local Acorn Club. In a rash moment, I volunteered to write it up (I imagined a page or two) if someone felt like taking notes. Somehow, this was translated as: “Anne is writing a book on Three Holes.”
The idea spread, and documents, photographs and amazing historical bits and pieces appeared for what turned out to be an event called Three Holes: portrait of a village. Over 100 people visited the displays in the afternoon and the same number in the evening. The Fens list on the internet brought in family historians from Wales, California and Australia. The couple of pages I was expecting turned out to be several large boxes, including tapes of the talks.
The village has no architecturally important buildings, no church, graveyard, village square or cinema. It has a bridge and a weed-infested dyke – all that remains of the Old Croft River – the original drainage channel through the swamp and a lively community with a strong feeling for the land. The number of households on the electoral role in 1999 was 81.
These pages now include links to our family history as well as families that came from that area – it includes Welsh, Australian, Irish, US and Canadian cousins, with more appearing daily!
Shops in Three Holes
Warby’s shop Murrell Warby the 3rd, son of John and Katherine, grandson of the original Murrell, became a shopkeeper, running a grocery and draperystore in Three Holes. It is likely he was apprenticed at the shop and later took it over. In April 1859 he married Elizabeth Sims, who was the daughter of Henry Sismore…
Farmers and families in Three Holes village in 1851
The censuses give information about farmers and farming in Three Holes over the years. It is easy to find on databases now but when I started I had to get the microfilm and check it all by hand, which was hard work, but a bit more exciting than just looking it up on line. I…
Life in the Country
This poem was written by Lorna Lunn, a member of the Acorn Club, in Three Holes, who writes poems to commemorate events: Life in the Country The countryside is the place to live Where the air is fresh and clean. No high-rise flats to spoil our view And the hedges and trees are green. Three…
Three Holes in the 1851 census
The census of 1851 gives us a picture of families in Three Holes; what jobs they had and where they came from. Surprisingly, even so long ago, the majority of heads of households came from far and wide. Mumberries Drove was very busy with 13 families listed. There were several Dawson families. They included William…
Farmers and farming in Three Holes village
Mr Knight farmed at the top of Gooseberry Lane – Fred Hills took over later. When Mrs Knight died, my great grandmother Maria (Ria) Watson promised she would look after him, which she did until he died. She did not do housework for herself but she kept his home spotless! This is one of the pictures…
Three Holes corn mill
One of the earliest buildings that we know about was the corn mill on Middle Drove (now Mudd’s Drove). William Richards was the occupant master miller in Three Holes Mill from 1830 until 1860. In 1851, he was helped by two men from Doddington and a servant, Charles Sparkes, from Morbeam in Essex. He and…
Three Holes carpenters
Carpenters have been around in Three Holes since the early days. John Seba, age 25, was a carpenter from March working in Three Holes in 1851, according to the census. His wife Mary was a local and they had a 4-month-old son John W. One of his jobs was building the mill, called Old Betty,…
40 years of Upwell Gilbert and Sullivan
Obituary for my dad Stuart Carnson
Justin Davies wrote an obituary for my dad in the local magazine, Welle-in-Touch. “Born 24th September 1923 Died 27th January 1999 Stuart [Malcolm Stuart Maxwell] Carnson was the second son of a Methodist Minister. The family, with the three children, Burton, Stuart and Hilary, had to move house to a new posting every 3 years.…
Where is Three Holes village
Three Holes is a ‘blink-and-you-miss-it’ village in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, depending on which side of the road you live. It is at the junction of the Popham’s Eau and the Middle Level 16 Foot River, between Upwell and Welney on the A1101. It includes the main road, Gooseberry Lane, Mumby’s (or Mumberries) Drove, Squires Drove,…
St Peter’s carved angels
St. Peter’s Church in Upwell is justly famous for its carved angels which appear to hold up the roof and the magnificent pulpit with its figure of St Peter. The North gallery was added and the West gallery enlarged between 1836 and 1838, costing more than £6000, most of which came from the Ecclesiastical Court…
St Peter’s Church, Upwell
Every time I go back to Upwell I try to go to the Church as it feel so familiar and is the one unchanging thing that I find when I visit. It is a fine stone building, with angels in the roof and spectacular carvings on the front of the balconies. For many years, a…