Thorney – June 2022

In late June I travelled to Thorney in Cambridgeshire, home of one branch of my ancestry, since my tenth great grandfather d’Isaac Sigié moved there, probably from Leiden in Holland, in the mid 1600s to work to drain the fens. He was one of “The French” so called because of their dialect. They were – protestants (Huguenots) – who were prosecuted by the Catholics who would not let them worship in peace.

Opposite is a map showing that Isaac had been allowed to lease land on Green Drove, along with others of “The French”. There is a photo of Green Drove as it is today at the top of the post – in my view it is indistinguishable from the rest of the surrounding, very flat, landscape so I cannot reconcile d’Isaac’s plot to the photo.

I have included a photo, right, of the road sign at Hangman’s Corner, a virtually 90° turn in the road, which leads to Green Drove, and my ancestor’s land. As described above this was leased and was on Green Drove.

I stayed in the Dog and Doublet hotel near Thorney. It was dog friendly, which is why I chose to stay there as I had my lovely and cute Norfolk Terrier Maisie to accompany me. I was also to visit in Saffron Walden one of my dearest and longest known friends. – Geoff – who I first met at Accrington College on ONC in Engineering aged seventeen in 1964. We were friends for the next five years at college until sadly we lost touch until Geoff came to Leyland to find me in the 1990s. The hotel was full of quirky paintings of dogs in human guise like the photo – left.

My ancestors worshipped in Thorney Abbey and I have included a couple of photos below. One of the exterior and one of its interior.

My Great Great Grandmother, Rose Anna Sigee, (the surname was slightly anglicised over the generations) was born in 1823 and was still alive and living at 53 Wisbech Road, Thorney according to the 1911 census – shown right, the first house from the left-hand side. My Great Grandmother Alice Chapman, born 1856, (my Great Great Grandfather being John Chapman – Rose Anna’s husband) moved to Longridge in Lancashire to become a domestic servant before marrying my Great Grandfather John Emmett in 1877. So, she probably moved there as a teenager unless she moved to Lancashire specifically to marry John Emmett, which I doubt. I can’t get my head round why a young woman would make this journey on her own at around 20 years of age.