A Mystery House

Well here's a puzzle! Can you help solve it? What is this house? Comments please! I got contacted via the blog by John Coyle in Brisbane Australia...

"I wonder if you can help? My grandmother, Hilda Mary Clarry, was born in Great Saxham in 1891, and kept a photo of a country house all her life. I suspect it was either her birthplace or somewhere very significant to her. I wonder if, as I cannot post a copy here, whether you would be able to contact me on this email address and I could send you a copy and ask if you might be able to identify the house?

In hope!

Regards

John Coyle"

I was intrigued and said I'd be happy to help. John provided further details...

"For background, my grandmother's family seems to have been extensive in the area.  Her maiden name was Clarry, and the 1891 census shows there were 12 members of  two families living in Old Potash St. and Sudge(?) Gate , and, by 1901, 10 in, again, two families.  Eli Clarry, my great-grandfather, was a groom, but I have no idea in whose service.  My grandmother, at 17, was in the service of someone who she always called "Mrs. Jack White": maybe that will help a little!

The photo is attached, reproduced exactly as it appears, with some sharpening, etc to make it as clear as possible (the original was quite small!)."

and

"The 1891 census shows Eli Clarry living at 'Lodge Gate' in the parish of Great Saxham- I am unable to trace that on any map, including OS and Francis Frith, that I can view on-line.  Is it possible to determine where that was/is? The same census shows Simon Clarry, with a wife and 7 children, at Old Potash Cottage - I have been able to identify that location, and assume he is either a brother or a cousin of Eli as he is 44 and Eli is 36.

The 1901 census shows Eli , wife and 5 children now living at Mill Field Cottage, in Barrow All Saints Parish, and again I have been unable to locate this place.

The same census shows a William W. Clarry, Army pensioner, living in the same parish, and at 65 one might assume that this is Eli's father, although it could be an older brother.

I intend to try to locate parish records for both Great Saxham and Barrow, but it can be difficult (and expensive) to do so from Australia."

As it happens, yesterday I was walking with Joyce's group (a blog post that may or may not appear, time permitting) at Ickworth House, only a couple of miles form Great Saxham. At our coffee stop at Ickworth House, I shared John's emails and photo and it got a lot of interest, speculation and ideas, such as asking the staff at Ickworth House if they recognised the house in the photo, the most outrageous was Jane's suggestion that John's grandmother treasured the photo as she had had an affair with the gardener seen cutting the grass in the photo, (Sorry Jane and John. I just had to share that!).

Maybe we could have gone and had a look before driving home, but I was hungry for some lunch and wanted to do a bit of my own research first.

I managed to track down the census record of 1891. (See here).

and a picture of The Lodge (see here)...

Well that is definitely not the building in the picture John sent, but it is where she was living at the age of 2 months. It must have been crowded with all those people living in it.

Here is the listing...

Here is a map showing the location...

I'm pretty sure I've walked past there (e.g. on the second part of this pair of walks and this walk), but I don't have a photo of it or the Hall, surely a prime candidate for the house in question. Maybe somewhere to recce this week when I have time.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd see if I could track down "Mrs Jack White"... and I found something in this history of  nearby Flempton Golf Course, under the listing of founder members...

Hmm. Some further things to explore here I think. Barrow is, of course, somewhere else we have walked several times. Could the house be there?

Time, I think, to get others to help. All comments and suggestions welcome!

To be continued...