The 19th century saw a huge increase in population rising to a peak of 1297 in 1851. (Today we are just about back to that number). Most of the houses were timber-framed and thatched and many were divided into two or three dwellings to house several families. This was obviously a fire hazard and a local fire brigade was formed to deal with that problem. New dwellings, filling in gaps between the old, were built of red brick and slate (now transported cheaply by rail).
In 1819 the remaining common grazing land at Cranmer Green and Allwood Green was enclosed and numerous footpaths, used as short cuts, were stopped up. The Enclosure Map of 1819, a slightly earlier Parish Map of 1817 and the Tithe Map of 1842 show hundreds of small fields used for a mixture of arable crops and pasture surrounded by miles of hedges. The maps also give a first accurate indication of who lived where and what land they owned and/or occupied.
In the first directory of Suffolk, Walsham is shown to have a milliner, thatcher, baker, plumber, cooper, gun-maker, brewer, maltster, smith, shoemaker, saddler and rope-maker. The village was a hive of activity with shops and workplaces meeting most of the residents’ needs.
Printed sources, in the form of census and county directories, begin to give accurate information. This evidence is from Harrod’s Directory of Suffolk for 1864.
1870 – The Stevens family who were smiths, coopers and wheelwrights living and working at the house now called Dages.
Infants outside the National School.
The infant school was founded in 1872 although the younger children were taught in the village before that date. The Martineau family financed the site and building, which is now a private house. Parents paid a penny a week per child. The main school was founded in 1848. The site, the building, the furniture and the books were provided by trustees at a total cost of £395 18s 2d. It became the National School in 1870 when education became compulsory.
In 1877 Harry Nunn established a large building firm. By 1896 he employed fifty local men and built the attractive and substantial mock-Jacobean cottages with the carved texts for the employees of John Martineau. The lych gate at the entrance to the churchyard extension is an example of his workmanship. By 1908, Kelly’s Directory lists his concerns as builder, agent for agricultural implements, ironmongery, timber, sawing and grist mills, acetylene gas and electric house bell installation, posting establishment, undertakers and garden produce.
