Church Lane

Last Updated: 12/05/2018

Church Lane runs southwards from the top of the Causeway opposite the church to join up with the southern end of Brook Street at Rectory Farm.  It was previously known as Workhouse Lane and is called this on the 1886 ordnance survey map.  It may be been called Workhouse Lane because Low Farm, which stands at the at the southern end of  it, was a workhouse or because the footpath that continued on from the southern end of the lane led to Caxton where there was a workhouse.  The lower part of Church Lane also seems to be referred to as "Howlatt's Causeway" in census records from the late 19th century.
There were cottages along the lane mostly on the higher eastern side of it but few of these now remain.
In the 20th century two bungalows were built by a farmer called Schofield along the eastern side, one of which later became a farmhouse owned by the Bishop family who farmed land around the village, and the other was at one time owned by the Smith family.  Both of these bungalows were demolished in the 1980s and replaced with new houses.



Rectory Cootage in the 1920s

View from the junction between Church Lane and the top of the Causeway showing Rectory Cottage in the 1920s.

Rectory Cottage

Rectory Cottage on the corner of Church Lane and the Causeway in the 1950s.

Rectory Cottage in the early 1950s

The front of Rectory Cottage, possibly in the early 1950s.

View from the top of Church Lane

The view from the corner of Church Lane and the Causeway showing the bakery and old farmyard.  The bakery and farmyard were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s

Rectory Cottage in the 1950s

The front of Rectory Cottage showing the thatched outbuilding on the side.  This was destroyed by a fire in 1972.

Rectory Cottage from the south in the 1950s

Rectory Cottage from the south in the 1950s showing the small gable window which was the only window in the second bedroom.  The back door then opened on to a galley kitchen.

View across Church Lane

The view across Church Lane looking south from Rectory Cottage in the 1950s showing number 3.  The farmhouse belonging to Harold Bishop is visible in the background.

View of numbers 1 and 3 Church Lane in the 1950s

The view across Church Lane from Rectory Cottage showing numbers 1 and 3 in the 1950s.  Both are still there today, but with some modifications.  On the right of the picture the bungalow belonging to the Bishop family in visible.

Number 3 Church Lane in 1930s

Number 3 Church Lane taken in the early part of the 20th century and in a dilapidated state.  At this time it was at least two cottages but was made into a single house in the 1970s.

Church Lane fron the north

Church Lane from about half way down looking south, showing a pair of cottages on the western side now demolished and a cottage on the eastern side that remains.

South end of Church Lane

The south end of Church Lane around 1900.  At this time Church Lane is barely more than a track. The cottage in the centre of the picture was occupied by the Murdens at the time.

Souther End Church Lane

Southern end of Church Lane showing the old footbridge and the barn at Low Farm, now demolished.  Some cottages on the eastern side are visible, with one surviving today.

Dilapidated cottage in Church Lane

The photograph seems to be of a cottage visible in the far background of the two photos on the left, now in a dilapidated state.  It may have occupied the site later used to build Bishop's farmhouse.




Corner of Church Lane in 1988

The view of Rectory Cottage on the corner of Church Lane in 1988.

Rectory Cottage in the 1980s

Rectory Cottage on the corner of Church Lane and the Causeway in the late 1980s.  The post office can be seen in the background.

View of the Causeway from Church Lane around 2000

The view from the corner of Church Lane and the Causeway around 2000.

Rectory Cottage

Rectory Cottage in the 1990s.  A caravan port built onto the garage can be seen at the far left.  It has since been demolished.

Rectory Cottage around 2000

Rectory Cottage around the year 2000 showing the new build from 1972.  The cottage had recently been rethatched.

No 3 Church Lane in the 1990s            No 3 Church Lane

Number 3 Church Lane in the 1990s after it had been converted into a single house and modernised.  Number 1 Church Lane, which is joined on to number 3 but itself was originally two houses, can be seen in the left hand picture.

Number 3 Church Lane in the 1990s

Number three Church Lane probably in the 1990s during winter.  The house was originally three houses converted into a single house in the 1970s.  The house backs on to the churchyard.

New bungalow on Church Lane          Woolf bungalow


A new bungalow on Church Lane built on the site of a previous bungalow which belonged to Reg Richardson (see Elsworth People). Two more bungalows built in the late 1960s on a paddock which originally existed between Rectory Cottage and the old bungalow can be seen in the background.


Upperfield in the 1990s

Upperfield in the 1990s.  The house was built on the skyline close to the churchyard boundary on land that used to belong to a farmer called Bishop.  The land probably belonged to the church previously and there is still a small gate through the churchyard wall onto the land.

Bungalow on the site of Bishop farmhouse

This bungalow on the east side of Church Lane was built on the site of an old single storey farmhouse built in the 1940s and owned by the Bishop family.

Ashcombe in the 1990s

Ashcombe on Church Lane in the 1990s.  This house was built on the garden of the small farmhouse (now demolished) that stood on the crest of the valley above the lane.

Bungalows

Two semi-detached bungalows built in the 1960s on the former site of a pair of old thatched cottages, one of which was occupied by Walter "Swimmer" Brand and Annie Brand.   

Number 24 in the 1990s

This house (number 24) was built in the top half of the former paddock behind Low Farm.  Two bungalows were built on the lower half of the paddock and the lower half of the neighbouring plot in the 1960s.

New house on the site of an old bungalow

This house (seen in the 1990s) replaced an old bungalow built in the 1950s.  Before the bungalow was built a cottage may have stood on the same plot, visible in the photo of Church Lane from the south (above).

Original Cottage at South

Cottage at the southern end of Church Lane in the 1970s looking northwards.  At one time this cottage was occupied by the Lateman family.

Cottage at the south end of Church Lane

A cottage at the south end of Church Lane that has been restored and extended.

Building work in Church Lane

Cottage at the southern end of Church Lane in the 1980s with a newly built house visible behind it.

Farm manager's house

Farm manager's house at the south end of Church lane.

Farm manager's house in the 1990s

The chalet style house on the right of the picture used to be occupied by the farm manager of Rectory Farm nearby.  It has since been renovated.


Beech House in the 1990s

Beech House at the end of Church Lane in the 1990s.  Previously a cottage stood on the plot higher up the slope, long since demolished.



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© Elsworth Chronicle 2016