The Back Family
On the left is Sir Thomas Back who was Lord Mayor of Norwich in the 19th century and above Lt Col Back is presented to Princess Margaret at the presentation of colours to the Royal Norfolk Regiment in the 1960s. Below Caryl's grandfather with a judge at the annual flower show held in Hethersett Hall - again in the 1960s.
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THE Back family are one of the most famous in the history of Hethersett. Originally from Foulsham they number amongst them numerous Norfolk luminaries including a number of high ranking army officers and a former Lord Mayor of Norwich.
As part of our history of the family, Caryl Wright (nee Back) gives us her memories of The Backs and Hethersett Hall.
"I have a family tree which goes back to the 1500s. The Backs originally lived in Foulsham and there are many graves in the churchyard there. Thomas Back was a merchant and became Lord Mayor of Norwich in 1809. He lived at the Curate House on Gentleman’s Walk, and was responsible for the split in the family when he put the family crest on the beer and whisky bottles. The landowners ended up at Hethersett, while the other side of the family involved in brewing have flourished in other parts of the county. Our side will die off completely in the next 20 years as there are no descendants to carry on the line. A great shame.
I was born in 1951 when Hethersett was quite a small village, and members of my family lived in three houses! My grandparents, Henry and Yvonne lived at The Hall, Henry’s unmarried sisters lived in Orchard Lodge (Sybil and Dreda were the last remaining two, Sybil died in the 1960s and Dreda, or Etheldreda died in 1972, hit by a car on her way to church in a snow storm). My father Humphrey and my mother Jean lived at Church Farm. There is a room at the village hall named after Humphrey, who died in 1994. When I was a child, we had milking cows, beef cattle and 600 pigs. It was a mixed farm with arable land as well as animals and employed 12 men.
Before moving to the Hall, the family had lived at Hill House, a house demolished to make way for the straightened main road in the late 1960s (I think). It was on the left going towards Norwich, just before Orchard Lodge. During my childhood it was a residential home for men.
There may be people still living in the village (apart from Duncan Pigg!) who remember my Grandparents and parents? I hope so! My grandfather was Churchwarden and every Sunday morning we sat in the third row from the front on the south side of the church, behind the Old Hall School girls. I remember being fascinated with the Headmistress, Miss Lewin’s fox fur stole. The head of the poor animal was always over her right shoulder in front of me! Grandad often read the lesson, and as the years wore on, I think we all dreaded the Old Testament lessons involving complex names including Methusalah!
The Hall always intrigued me – much more room than my grandparents needed, and filled with things which were a little creepy! My grandfather collected stuffed birds in cages, and these were everywhere – up the stairs and in all the main rooms. The room on the left as you go in through the front door was called the Gun room and was his office (and where he kept his guns!). The room with the veranda was the drawing room, and the room opposite the front door, with the beautiful stone fire place was called the Morning Room. My grandmother spent the mornings in there and I have the refectory table she used write her letters on. The kitchen was off to the right behind the stairs, and lunch and supper were eaten in the wood panelled room opposite. Beyond the kitchen was a corridor leading to the garage at the back of the house. Upstairs, my grandparents’ bedroom was the one with the bay window above the dining room (to the right of the front door) and I slept in the room opposite that. When they ere children, my father and his siblings had a nursery through a door half way up the stairs. My father and his brother went to boarding school aged 7 and only ever saw their parents at tea time, being looked after by a nanny all the rest of the time. As well as Humphrey and David there were two older sisters, Rosi who worked on the farm when I was a child but later got a farm of her own at Reymerston, and Betty who worked for the Foreign Office in London. My grandparents lived a life which to a large extent excluded their family. They were lovely, but not cuddly!
My mother’s parents owned the King’s Head from 1940-1950, and my grandparents were not pleased that my father intended to marry the publican’s daughter! My mother remembered having to be introduced to the family and quizzed at length about herself. She said the aunts from Orchard Lodge all wore ancient and not very clean clothes, covered in diamond jewellery! I think my grandparents eventually came round to my lovely mum as a good wife for their son, but it took some time!
My sister and I often went to the Hall and I particularly enjoyed feeding the ducks with Grandad. He loved animals, and always had dogs who followed him around everywhere. He even adopted a big golden Labrador called Sandy who had lived at the Blakeney Hotel but wandered off constantly and had to be rehomed. He still wandered off when he lived at the Hall! There were also peacocks and many (maybe hundreds) of ducks and geese that wandered the grounds and lake. His favourite was a Muscovy duck called Kruschev, who was quite elderly and a bit moth eaten, but always turned up at tea time for a treat. Afternoon tea was always at 4pm, and in the summer was on the verandah. My grandmother always wore a hat when she was outside, even for tea and feeding the chickens. Routine was very strict, especially meal times, and I didn’t enjoy going to stay at the Hall when my parents were away as homework was something Granny couldn’t understand and wasn’t part of her timetable! There was no television and one was expected to practice the art of polite conversation after supper. I also had to sleep in the room which had been my Father’s shared with his elder brother. The beds were their beds and extremely uncomfortable. The last time I stayed there was in 1963 when Grandad asked me at supper time who I thought he had met today. I can remember giving some glib answer to be told he had met Princess Margaret which I dismissed as a joke until I saw the picture in the EDP the following day! Grandad had been a Colonel in the Norfolk Regiment, fighting at Gallipoli, and he was the only member of his regiment still alive who had been present when the last Colour was last presented in 1909. That colour hangs in St Saviour’s Chapel at the Cathedral (where I work) and always makes me think of him. As he never spoke about the war, I think this was quite an eye opener for me.
The church fete and gymkhana always took place at the Hall – probably until the late 1960s. I remember it as always a sunny afternoon and lots of people enjoying themselves.
Every Wednesday my grandparents went to Norwich and had lunch at the Assembly House. It was there that Grandad had a heart attack while eating his lunch in November 1968. He died instantly with so little fuss that most people had no idea what had happened. It was a sad time as my grandmother couldn’t cope without him at all. She ended up in a nursing home in Surrey and lived for about 10 years.
This was the beginning of a time of change for us as a family. My uncle inherited the Hall and most of the farmland, all of which he sold, making arable farming very difficult for my father. I am still amazed at how quickly Steepletower has looked as if it’s been houses for ever, when I can remember it so well as fields! My Father went into local politics. Although a typical Tory-voting farmer, he always stood as an independent on the parish and district councils, and he was chair of the governors at The Old Hall School.
Hethersett Hall was used as a set in an episode of Tales of the Unexpected. I wish I could remember the title, but it was shot in the drawing room and dining room, and the marble pillars in the hall were very evident. I believe it was shot quite soon after my uncle sold the house in around 1972."
As part of our history of the family, Caryl Wright (nee Back) gives us her memories of The Backs and Hethersett Hall.
"I have a family tree which goes back to the 1500s. The Backs originally lived in Foulsham and there are many graves in the churchyard there. Thomas Back was a merchant and became Lord Mayor of Norwich in 1809. He lived at the Curate House on Gentleman’s Walk, and was responsible for the split in the family when he put the family crest on the beer and whisky bottles. The landowners ended up at Hethersett, while the other side of the family involved in brewing have flourished in other parts of the county. Our side will die off completely in the next 20 years as there are no descendants to carry on the line. A great shame.
I was born in 1951 when Hethersett was quite a small village, and members of my family lived in three houses! My grandparents, Henry and Yvonne lived at The Hall, Henry’s unmarried sisters lived in Orchard Lodge (Sybil and Dreda were the last remaining two, Sybil died in the 1960s and Dreda, or Etheldreda died in 1972, hit by a car on her way to church in a snow storm). My father Humphrey and my mother Jean lived at Church Farm. There is a room at the village hall named after Humphrey, who died in 1994. When I was a child, we had milking cows, beef cattle and 600 pigs. It was a mixed farm with arable land as well as animals and employed 12 men.
Before moving to the Hall, the family had lived at Hill House, a house demolished to make way for the straightened main road in the late 1960s (I think). It was on the left going towards Norwich, just before Orchard Lodge. During my childhood it was a residential home for men.
There may be people still living in the village (apart from Duncan Pigg!) who remember my Grandparents and parents? I hope so! My grandfather was Churchwarden and every Sunday morning we sat in the third row from the front on the south side of the church, behind the Old Hall School girls. I remember being fascinated with the Headmistress, Miss Lewin’s fox fur stole. The head of the poor animal was always over her right shoulder in front of me! Grandad often read the lesson, and as the years wore on, I think we all dreaded the Old Testament lessons involving complex names including Methusalah!
The Hall always intrigued me – much more room than my grandparents needed, and filled with things which were a little creepy! My grandfather collected stuffed birds in cages, and these were everywhere – up the stairs and in all the main rooms. The room on the left as you go in through the front door was called the Gun room and was his office (and where he kept his guns!). The room with the veranda was the drawing room, and the room opposite the front door, with the beautiful stone fire place was called the Morning Room. My grandmother spent the mornings in there and I have the refectory table she used write her letters on. The kitchen was off to the right behind the stairs, and lunch and supper were eaten in the wood panelled room opposite. Beyond the kitchen was a corridor leading to the garage at the back of the house. Upstairs, my grandparents’ bedroom was the one with the bay window above the dining room (to the right of the front door) and I slept in the room opposite that. When they ere children, my father and his siblings had a nursery through a door half way up the stairs. My father and his brother went to boarding school aged 7 and only ever saw their parents at tea time, being looked after by a nanny all the rest of the time. As well as Humphrey and David there were two older sisters, Rosi who worked on the farm when I was a child but later got a farm of her own at Reymerston, and Betty who worked for the Foreign Office in London. My grandparents lived a life which to a large extent excluded their family. They were lovely, but not cuddly!
My mother’s parents owned the King’s Head from 1940-1950, and my grandparents were not pleased that my father intended to marry the publican’s daughter! My mother remembered having to be introduced to the family and quizzed at length about herself. She said the aunts from Orchard Lodge all wore ancient and not very clean clothes, covered in diamond jewellery! I think my grandparents eventually came round to my lovely mum as a good wife for their son, but it took some time!
My sister and I often went to the Hall and I particularly enjoyed feeding the ducks with Grandad. He loved animals, and always had dogs who followed him around everywhere. He even adopted a big golden Labrador called Sandy who had lived at the Blakeney Hotel but wandered off constantly and had to be rehomed. He still wandered off when he lived at the Hall! There were also peacocks and many (maybe hundreds) of ducks and geese that wandered the grounds and lake. His favourite was a Muscovy duck called Kruschev, who was quite elderly and a bit moth eaten, but always turned up at tea time for a treat. Afternoon tea was always at 4pm, and in the summer was on the verandah. My grandmother always wore a hat when she was outside, even for tea and feeding the chickens. Routine was very strict, especially meal times, and I didn’t enjoy going to stay at the Hall when my parents were away as homework was something Granny couldn’t understand and wasn’t part of her timetable! There was no television and one was expected to practice the art of polite conversation after supper. I also had to sleep in the room which had been my Father’s shared with his elder brother. The beds were their beds and extremely uncomfortable. The last time I stayed there was in 1963 when Grandad asked me at supper time who I thought he had met today. I can remember giving some glib answer to be told he had met Princess Margaret which I dismissed as a joke until I saw the picture in the EDP the following day! Grandad had been a Colonel in the Norfolk Regiment, fighting at Gallipoli, and he was the only member of his regiment still alive who had been present when the last Colour was last presented in 1909. That colour hangs in St Saviour’s Chapel at the Cathedral (where I work) and always makes me think of him. As he never spoke about the war, I think this was quite an eye opener for me.
The church fete and gymkhana always took place at the Hall – probably until the late 1960s. I remember it as always a sunny afternoon and lots of people enjoying themselves.
Every Wednesday my grandparents went to Norwich and had lunch at the Assembly House. It was there that Grandad had a heart attack while eating his lunch in November 1968. He died instantly with so little fuss that most people had no idea what had happened. It was a sad time as my grandmother couldn’t cope without him at all. She ended up in a nursing home in Surrey and lived for about 10 years.
This was the beginning of a time of change for us as a family. My uncle inherited the Hall and most of the farmland, all of which he sold, making arable farming very difficult for my father. I am still amazed at how quickly Steepletower has looked as if it’s been houses for ever, when I can remember it so well as fields! My Father went into local politics. Although a typical Tory-voting farmer, he always stood as an independent on the parish and district councils, and he was chair of the governors at The Old Hall School.
Hethersett Hall was used as a set in an episode of Tales of the Unexpected. I wish I could remember the title, but it was shot in the drawing room and dining room, and the marble pillars in the hall were very evident. I believe it was shot quite soon after my uncle sold the house in around 1972."