Our final coach trip of 2025 was to Thetford and the Charles Burrell Museum.
Charles Burrell Museum
Founded by Charles Burrell in the late 18th century the museum is housed in the original paint shop on part of the three remaining factory buildings. Over 4,000 steam traction engines were produced here until its closure in 1928. These magnificent machines were used in agriculture for harvesting and threshing, the sheer weight of the vehicle made them difficult to manoeuvre. The great travelling showmen used them for towing fairground attractions. Burrell’s produced steam wagons for use in the Boer War up to and including the First World War. Traction engines produced in the works at Thetford have been exported all over the world. Run by volunteers who are extremely friendly and knowledgeable, it’s an interesting glimpse into the past, the time of the Industrial Revolution which changed our world. There are three Burrell engines which are lovingly maintained here and we were lucky to see and hear them being fired up ready for an outing to the Weeting Steam Engine Rally.
This museum also houses Jones’s van from the iconic BBC TV series Dad’s Army, built in 1935 we listened with great interest to the history of this vehicle which evokes such comical memories of this popular television series.
Ancient House Museum
Walking through the old streets of Thetford we all made our way to the Ancient House Museum which was founded in 1924 by Maharajah Duleep Singh’s son Prince Frederick who was very generous in purchasing the property and presenting it to Thetford Corporation for the purpose of the town’s museum.
The early history of the property is unknown but it is said to be the best example of an early Tudor town house in East Anglia, built around 1500, and home to a wealthy merchant.
We settled ourselves down and enjoyed a very interesting talk on the last Maharajah Duleep Singh who by the age of ten was deposed following the second Anglo Sikh-War when the annexation of the Punjab occurred. On his arrival in England Queen Victoria befriended Duleep Singh and she became the Godmother to several of his children. Duleep Singh converted to Christianity which was rather controversial as he was under the age of 15 years, he later had doubts regarding his conversion and re-converted to Sikhism. Duleep Singh’s story is a complicated one but very interesting. He settled in Elveden Hall which makes his story local to Norfolk. Duleep Singh died in 1893 leaving behind his son Prince Frederick who was a great contributor to Thetford, and daughters who fought for women’s votes during Edwardian times. Their stories are yet to be told.
The day was complete and the weather was kind to us. For those who joined us, I would like to thank you for your support.