One occupant was a naval captain who fought the French alongside Nelson.
Another was a veterinary surgeon who treated animals in a room next to his kitchen.
A dynasty of grocers, drapers and bankers was also there, spanning Queen Victoria's reign and stretching beyond the Second World War.
A Historic England investigation has shed light on the secret history of one of north Norfolk’s landmark buildings - the Cedars in North Walsham - and the rich and varied cast of characters who lived within its Grade-II listed walls.
It comes as yet another new chapter beckons for the New Street address, as its owners, North Norfolk District Council, consider who to lease it out to as part of a Heritage Action Zone project for the town.
Emily Cole, Historic England’s senior architectural investigator, said: “It’s been fascinating peeling back the layers of history at the Cedars and discovering more about the architecture and the people who lived and worked there.
“Throughout the house, there are clues to its changes in style and status through the centuries, and we’ve learnt so much about the history of North Walsham as a result of this property and its location in the town.”
The council’s portfolio holder for leisure, wellbeing and culture, Virginia Gay, said Historic England had shown “energy and scholarship”.
Ms Gay said: “The story of the Cedars is not simply the story of an appealing old house. "It's also the story of a market town at the heart of English history.
“Our Heritage Action Zone project is casting a bright light upon the history of North Norfolk's largest town and, as time goes by, there will be more stories to tell. We're looking forward to that.”
Although it is not clear exactly when the Cedars was built, it was first shown on a 1797 map of the area.
The Cedars was possibly constructed as a family home as part of the wider Oaks estate - a large house with substantial grounds which used to be located across the road, but was demolished in 1934.
The Cedars was used as a family home until 1946 and was afterwards bought by North Walsham Urban District Council, who converted it into offices.
Ownership passed to the district council, but the town council continued to use the building until 2016, when it moved ahead of what turned out to be a failed bid for pub chain JD Wetherspoon to take over the building.
The naval captain: Thomas Withers
Withers was one of the earlier inhabitants of the Cedars. He served under Lord Nelson on HMS Agamemnon, working his way up to the role of master’s mate through adventures including the siege of Toulon in 1793, the Battle of Genoa two years later and the capture of the French ship, Ça Ira.
Withers was wounded in northern Italy in August, 1795. Later that year he was part of a crew taken prisoner by the French.
He went on to serve with Nelson on another vessel called the Captain, and was given command of a ship called Expedition in 1803.
It was noted that “Such was the confidence reposed in [Withers] that at one time the tonnage of the transports entrusted to him amounted to no less than 50,000 tons”.
He had grown up in Knapton, and moved to North Walsham after 21 years of service. He probably married Melissa Kemp while living at the Cedars, and they had a daughter in 1824.
The veterinary surgeon: William Shipley
From the late 1830s this animal medic lived and worked at the Cedars along with his wife Eliza and sons William and Joshua.
Shipley was born in Hempnall in south Norfolk, and qualified at London’s Royal Veterinary College.
By 1851, Shipley was describing himself as a ‘veterinary surgeon and smith’, employing two men, a general servant and his son William as his apprentice. The Cedars contained a dedicated veterinary surgery, probably located in the room between the kitchen and the entrance hall.
Both sons went on to work as their dad’s veterinary assistants, with Joshua eventually taking over the business, and William running a second practice at Southtown near Great Yarmouth.
The grocers, drapers and bankers: The Smith family
The Cedars was sold in 1869, after an advert described it as having a ‘capital entrance hall’, ‘good-looking kitchen’ and five bedrooms.
George Smith, a grocer and draper, was the buyer, and after initially leasing out the building, he moved in a decade later with his wife Martha and their retinue of children, apprentices and servants.
Mr Smith got into banking and insurance, and his son, also called George, joined the business. Martha continued to live there until her death 1891, and their daughter, Kathleen, worked at the building as a general servant and housemaid.
George junior, his wife Madeline and their children moved in after his mum died, working as a financier from an adjoining building.
Their two sons died tragically in the First World War – Guy died at Gallipoli in 1915 and Pelham in France in 1918.
George retired in the 1930s and died three years later, but Madeline continued to live at the Cedars up until 1946 when she died, aged 86.
She had apparently been a force in the town, and her loss must have been widely mourned.
Madeline was Captain of the Girls’ Friendly Society, Girl Guides, leader of the girls’ Bible class and president of the town’s Habitation of St Barnardo’s Young Helpers’ League, amongst other voluntary roles.
Her daughter Gladys inherited the family banking business and lived there as well - at the start of the Second World War she was described as ‘branch manager of [the] Savings Bank’.
Gladys remained in that position until her retirement in the early 1960s. She also inherited her mum’s commitment to North Walsham community life, becoming the superintendent of the Sunday School, as well as ‘cubmaster’ and president of the Women’s Institute.
After the town’s urban council remodelled the building, they also converted a former walled garden to the back into a car park and demolished some structures on the site.
The principal façade of the main building was tidied up and a single-storey block projecting forward from the house was removed.
At around this time, the council was developing the site opposite – formerly occupied by the Oaks - to form a public services complex, including a public park, post office and savings bank, telephone exchange, fire station, public library and more.
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