Little Hautbois

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A small hamlet in North Norfolk, part of the parish of Lamas. The name is pronounced 'Hobbis', and can be seen thus spelled on a memorial on the outside of nearby Lamas Church. In the Middle Ages the settlement of Great Hautbois was the head of the navigation on the river Bure, and it is thought Little Hautbois developed from that. Little Hautbois currently consists of eight dwelling-houses, one of which is a holiday cottage rented out by the owner. The Church of Little Hautbois, once owned by the monks of St. Benet's Abbey, fell into ruin in the 15th century when the parish was amalgamated with that of Lamas. Although ruins were still visible in the eighteenth century now no sign of the building remains above ground. The only trace of its existence is a depression in the grounds of Little Hautbois Hall. Little Hautbois has the feel of an isolated rural community now, but two main transport routes of the past pass through it. The River Bure, canalized in the 18th century to allow navigation up to Aylsham, and the Bure Valley Railway, now a light steam railway but formerly a full-sized railway. Little Hautbois had a public house, the Adam and Eve, until the middle of the twentieth century. During the Second World War it was a popular drinking-place for personnell of the nearby RAF Coltishall airfield. Today the Adam and Eve is a private house, but the house's past is preserved in its name of Adam and Eve House. The remains of a pub sign-board are visible beside the front gate of the house's large gravel forecourt. Adam and Eve House has a fine three-bay frontage, the upper floor being lit by three dormer windows. The brick is diapered in a simple chequerboard pattern. Adam and Eve House was built in the 18th century as a farmhouse. It was originally thatched, as was the barn (now converted into a house called Eden Cottage) beside it. The roof of the house was replaced with pantiles in the twentieth century after a fire seriously damaged the barn. Little Hautbois Hall, set in its own grounds by the river Bure, is not so much a mansion as a large farm-house. It was built in the reign of King Eward VI and remains a splendid example of a Tudor farmhouse with pretensions. Three stories in height and four bays in length, it is only one room deep. Tall chimneys and finials on gables and dormer windows increase the building's height, while stone mullioned windows and diapered brickwork add to the building's impressive appearance. It has been little altered since it was first built and while a private house it may be seen from the Bure Valley railways and the footpath that runs alongside the track. Bridge Farmhouse, by the railway bridge, displays simple diapering on the wall that faces the road, and Foxwood has a Georgian front built on to a house with older origins. The present bridge over the river Bure is built over the remains of an older bridge that lifted up to allow wherries to pass underneath. The old bridge, built around the fifteenth century, is of two arches and built of brick. It incorpoates two strange arched niche-like structures that have been variousli interpreted as shelters for travellers caught in the rain and as lurking-places for excise-men.

Source: The author is a local resident. Much of this information was obtained orally from older local residents. Architectural information is the result of the author's personal observation.