Kath and her husband, Jack, came to live in Hunstanton in 1996 when
they both retired and are now established members of the community. Kath is editor
of St Edmunds parish magazine and secretary of the local gardening association as
well as being involved with several local charities. She is also kept busy with visits
from children and grandchildren and enjoys walking in the countryside around Hunstanton.
Born and educated in Yorkshire, Kath began her career as an infant teacher.
After marriage she and Jack moved house several times, finally settling in Cheshire.
Following an Open University degree in Social Sciences she taught adult students until
early retirement gave her an opportunity for further
study.
History was always her favourite subject and so she undertook research into the history of
the village where she lived as part of her O.U. Honours. She published two books based on
this, "The Farmers and the Rest" and "From
Glazebrook to Hollins Green". She has continued her interest in local history with
research into the L'Estrange family and the town of Hunstanton. |
Kath Fryer
Author of
'A Fine Strong Boy'
The Life and Times of
Henry L'Estrange Styleman le Strange (1815-1862)
'A Fine Strong Boy' is the result of three years research into the
le Strange family archives. It tells the life story of Henry, the descendant
of two prominent North Norfolk familites, the Stylemans of Snettisham and the L'Estranges
of Hunstanton and the godson of Thomas Coke of Holkham Hall.
| Henry was a great landowner, a wonderful family-man and a talented
artist. The book recounts how he inspired the creation of the new town of
Hunstanton, how he designed and painted the ceiling of Ely Cathedral and how he improved
the poverty-stricken lives of his tenants. |
 |
His life at Hunstanton Hall and abroad contrasted
with that of his agricultural labourers who lived such a precarious existence at that
time. His daughter Jamesina, one of six children, wrote of the village at Hunstanton
that there was " no resident clergyman, no school, small wonder that things religious
and moral were at a low ebb; the labourers fared hard and the children were brought
up anyhow, the women dressed in men's clothes and spent much time on the beach mussling
and doing other outdoor work to the detriment of the house and children".
Whereas at the Hall, she recalled, "Mother always wore a low
gown" for dinner. Sometimes the children were allowed down to meet the guests
and have dessert with them. For this she had to dress in a "short much-starched
white frock, low neck, short sleeves, coral necklace and broad red sash tied behind".
Her brother Hamon, two years older, wore a black velvet jacket with a short silk
petticoat of blue and white stripes over long white trousers. She admired her father
who invariably wore a tail-coat of dark blue cloth with brass buttons that "shone
like gold" with black trousers and evening shoes.
Anyone interested in the social history of rural nineteenth century
communities will find this book fascinating. Anyone who knows the North Norfolk area
will find it an enthralling insight into the life of the countryside and the people who
lived there. |
