The land upon which the bungalow stands was originally part of Briston Great Common. In 1864 under a procedure authorised by Act of Parliament some of the common lands of Briston were enclosed and divided up between the landowners of the parish. New roads and other rights of way over the enclosed land were set out. The award of the former common lands to various parties was completed in 1869 and sealed on 25th January 1870. One, Thomas Paul of Briston, who owned a property in Hall Street, Briston, and other cottages and gardens, was awarded a piece of Briston Great common extending to 2 roods 8 perches (1 rood = 1/4 acre, 1 perch = 30 1/4 sq yds - ergo, total size of plot = ½ acre + 242 sq yds).
He was ordered to maintain fences on its southeast and southwest sides and as well as next to the public, Great Common Road by its northwest side. In those days the Great Common Road ran through from Briston Great Common to the Reepham Road. On an 1886 map it shows that he had acquired an oblong shaped piece of land with a shorter side fronting the southeast side of the loke coming back from the railway line to a 1/3 of the way to Reepham Road. Between his plot and Reepham Road was the long side of another oblong shaped plot that fronted on to Reepham Road. The land on the other side of the loke was divided into two plots, one smaller than the other, with the smaller one fronting the loke opposite Paul's property.
In 1883 the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, the M&GN, or affectionately known to the locals as the "Muddle and Get Nowhere Line", established its base at Melton Constable, which was to serve as a junction for lines west to the Midlands, north to Cromer, south to Norwich and east to Great Yarmouth. The complex consisted of a main engineering works, a coach building section, marshalling yards and a large turntable for the steam engines. The railway yards provided work for the locals and nearby Briston in consequence the population of Melton Constable expanded rapidly from 100 to 1000. When the line to Yarmouth was laid down it truncated the Great Common Road so the road north of the line was diverted north westwards to follow the north side of the track to the Hall Street/Reepham Road/Craymere Beck Road junction and railway level crossing and it was renamed Stone Road. The section of the, now old, Great Common Road that continued southwards to connect with the Reepham Road was no longer considered to be a road but only a loke and was later named The Loke or, sometimes, Railway Loke. The loke, of course, much later became officially named Mack's Loke.

Thomas Paul did not farm or develop his piece of land and following his death on 7th December 1888 his will noted that he had bequeathed "the Allotment made to me in the Inclosure (sic) of Briston Common unto my grandson William Pye of Briston aforesaid Labourer his Heirs and Assigns for ever". We know that on 5thApril 1891 William Pye was living in his grandfather's old cottage in Hall Street, Briston, however, some time after Pye's admission to the copyhold site of Macks bungalow in 1891, the site was enfranchised as freehold property quote: This fact is merely indicated by the word "enfranchised" placed in the margin by the entry of 1891, but no reference is made to the date this was done or by whom. An official report, dated 24th April 1997, had been prepared on the bungalow and who owned the land but it was unable to continue any further beyond 1891 as apparently the trail ran cold. The researchers could only establish from the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map that some time after the mid 1890s, and certainly by 1905, a well on the site had been marked on the map and this would presumably indicate that the bungalow must have been erected in conjunction with the sinking of the well or soon after. The reasoning of the researchers was indeed correct as I believe the erection of the bungalow may have commenced in 1904 but it was definitely completed by 1906 and the Ordnance Survey map for that year confirms this. As the report was prepared in 1997 the researchers could have consulted the surviving members of the Mack family and I cannot understand why they did not, it would not have been difficult to trace them. My father, Robert (Roy) Mack was residing in Hitchin, Herts, and Hazel (Joan) Mack lived locally and had never moved from Norfolk. Both were children of George and Bessie Mack. Roy was four years old when the family moved into the bungalow from Horse Shoe Corner, Briston, having been born on 9th May 1904 and Joan was born in the bungalow in 1913. Either of them would have been able to provide them with the information that they were seeking. The report then continued with details of our family gleaned only from the Census, Parish Registers and the like and prepared by some one who had no feeling for or knowledge of our family. Over the years I had many conversations and discussions with my father, Roy, about our family and our family's history. Fortunately I made notes on some of our chats and with the help of his memories I am able to continue and complete the researchers report. I can record that William Pye, like his grandfather, did not farm or develop his property, and that the freehold property was bought from William Pye by our Great grandfather Jonathan Cletheroe. I cannot be specific on the date when the transaction took place but I was given to believe
that it was c1895. At the time Jonathan Cletheroe owned and lived in a bungalow on a plot of land on the other side of Reepham Road directly opposite the entry to the loke where in later years the Wegg family was to reside. He bought Pye's land at the far end of the loke and the loke, if not actually owned, then was certainly under the jurisdiction of the Railway as it was necessary for them to have access from Reepham Road to the Melton Constable/Yarmouth railway line.

Jonathan Cletheroe was a carpenter and wheelwright by trade and the bungalow that he erected on the site was in kit form and had been purchased from Bolton and Paul of Norwich. It consisted of a "best" or front room with fireplace, a sitting room/kitchen with fireplace/stove, a laundry, a large bedroom with fireplace (2 feet higher in level than the rest of the rest of the building) and a smaller bedroom. The sections were delivered to the site by rail possibly via Melton Constable to be collected but it is more likely the train would have stopped and the sections unloaded at the site itself as the site was hard against the tracks. The idea of living in a kit home, made of a more stylish corrugated iron than the usual for those days, with internal walls of horizontal wood panels and sawdust insulation was very original for the time. The kit bungalows were unique, each of individual design, and are still a rare sight today. Whether Jonathan Cletheroe's was the first or one of the first that later dotted the Norfolk landscape I am unable to say, (there is another one of more simple design still surviving near Briston - the Church of St Mary's in Melton Constable), but certainly it was different from anything previously seen in rural Norfolk and although the preponderance of residential constructions were bungalows at the time, the design of John Cletheroe's bungalow was unusual enough to have earned the special and particular name "The Bungalow". This was confirmed and recorded as part of the Mack's address in the Census for 1911. In fact its official postal address was "The Bungalow", Reepham Road, Briston, Melton Constable, Norfolk, England. To include in its address The Loke, (although occasionally people would say Railway Loke), was optional, and it remained "The Bungalow" until Bessie Mack moved out in 1958. So why on earth anyone would conjure up the name of The Tin House escapes me. Historically its name is, and it still should be, simply "The Bungalow".

Whether Jonathan Cletheroe owned any further land on either side of the loke I cannot say with certainty, but I do believe he owned the smaller of the two plots on the other side of the loke, that is to say, the plot which was directly opposite his own property. However, because his bungalow was the only residence in the loke and it fronted on to the loke, as did the smaller plot on the other side, and because the other two plots had their frontages on the Reepham Road, he decided to claim the loke as his own private thoroughfare and even had the audacity to put up 2 gates at the Reepham Road end of the loke - a larger one that he kept locked to prevent the loke from being used as a through road past his property by horse drawn vehicles, or farmers with their herds of cattle or flocks of sheep, and the other a smaller gate that was for pedestrians which was not locked. The Railways, however, quickly ordered him to have them removed as he was impeding the free passage of their own vehicles. Following the dismantling of Jonathan Cletheroe's gates the Railway authorities themselves erected a level crossing gate at the end of the loke but beside the Cletheroe property. The gate was kept padlocked to prevent members of the public with vehicles and/or animals from using the loke as a short cut and crossing the track without proper control. This pleased Jonothan Cletheroe as it had the desired result that he had originally intended with his own gates. Actually Jonathan Cletheroe built the bungalow for his son Harry but unfortunately during its construction Harry married, became a Mormon and emigrated to Salt Lake City, USA. Jonathan Cletheroe died in 1908, around the time the bungalow was completed. He and his first wife Hannah (nee Pointer) had had 7 children - Mary, Agnes, Thomas, William, Ellie, Harry, and our grandmother Bessie (Mack) but there was another daughter, Grace, by his second wife Rosina Caroline. Whether anyone lived in the residence in the year or two before his death I do not know but on Jonathan's death, Harry returned to England to claim his inheritance and, as expected, the bungalow had been left to him in his father's will. Harry had no intention of moving back to England so he decided to sell the bungalow. His sister, Bessie (Mack), asked if she could buy it from him but he refused to sell to her privately, hoping to get a better price at open auction, and he told her that she would have to bid for the bungalow against all others. This she did and the price she had to pay for the property absorbed most of the money that her father had left her in his will. I was told that the property fetched just over 100 pounds but I cannot confirm the amount. Whether it was a reasonable price for the property for that time I have no idea. Although it was Bessie Mack's money that bought the property the law in those days precluded her from owning it as her husband, George Albert Mack, was the Head of the family, so he, not Bessie, became the owner of the bungalow and land.

The family moved into their new home early in 1908 and the Census of 1911 states that George and Bessie were living there with 5 of their children - Albert, Elsie, Jonathan, Robert and Ivy. Hazel was yet to be born. Before her marriage to George Mack, Bessie Cletheroe lived on Reepham Road opposite the loke with her twice widowed father, Jonathan Cletheroe and her three youngest siblings Ellie, Harry and half sister Grace. George Mack had returned home from the army in early 1890 after serving 5 1/2 years with the 9th Regiment of Foot, the Norfolk Regiment, and was working as a labourer/sawyer at the railway yards of Melton Constable. He was living at Horse Shoe Corner, West End, Briston with his father, Robert Mack, a retired farmer and carpenter who had been widowed for the third time. Making up the household was Robert's daughter Agnes (and first born) with her son George aged 2, and Rachael Bussey a domestic servant. Agnes was married to a William Norton but for some reason she had retained the name Mack although her son was a Norton. Why her husband was not living with her and where he was I do not know. As a point of interest, Agnes had 3 children - Elizabeth Ann Mack-Norton, George Albert Norton and John Ernest Norton. Elizabeth was not living with her mother and John had yet to be born, but like his brother he was a Norton. I have also not been able to discover the significance, if any, of Elizabeth's use of the hyphenated surname Mack-Norton. When George and Bessie were married in 1891 Robert Mack moved out of the Mack residence at Horse Shoe Corner, Briston to live in House Street, Holt, and George and Bessie set up their first home in Horse Shoe Corner. Whether Agnes and her son continued to live there, again I have no knowledge. It was there that their first seven children were born - Octavia Sardinia Grace, Bessie Elizabeth, Albert Daniel, Elsie Ruby, Margery Agnes Hannah, Jonathan and Robert (Roy) George. Ivy Sylvia and Hazel Joan were born in The Bungalow. The trains would regularly stop at the level crossing gate to unload small local goods rather than carry them all the way to Melton Constable. These were later picked up by the railway workmen and delivered to the recipients in Briston. When the family moved into the bungalow Bessie was made the official gatekeeper and entrusted to hold the key to the gate lock and no one could cross the railway line, whether railway staff or any other person, without calling at the bungalow first and asking her to unlock the gate. Fortunately traffic through the loke was minimal in those days so it was not an arduous task. George erected a small gate in the corner of his property alongside the track for ease of access by the family to the land beside the tracks and to the Great Briston Common beyond. The trains continued to halt at the gate to deposit the smaller freight but gradually this practice died out although the engine driver or fireman would often throw out individual parcels addressed to members of the family as they clattered and rumbled along the line with sooty smoke streaming from their stacks, always giving a toot on the whistle if they saw anyone in the garden. When the family returned from day trips to the seaside at Yarmouth they would jettison out of the windows all their bathers and seaside paraphernalia and any purchases that they had made as the train passed their home so that they would not have to carry them on their 3 mile trek all the way back from Melton.

George remained in the employ of the Railways at Melton Constable until he retired in his position as a coachbuilder. My father, Robert (Roy), at the age of 16/17 years, also spent some time with M&GN first as an "engine cleaner" and then as a trainee fireman. Unfortunately his future as a fireman was sharply curtailed when he was given the sack for 'skylarking' just before he was due to go out on his first run. He and another lad were caught
throwing lumps of coal at each other. Apart from the Mack's property the land on either side of the loke remained undeveloped. Jonathan, son of George and Bessie, later purchased the plot on the other side of the loke opposite the Mack property. That was still the position in 1946 when our branch of George Albert Mack's family, that is Robert (Roy) George, his wife Daisy and sons Roy and Cyril, returned to England from China after WWII and stayed for some months with Grandad George and Grandma Bessie now living alone in The Bungalow.

In those days high, thorny briar hedges lined the sides of the sleepy loke untouched by the passage of time; all was as it was on the day Jonathan Cletheroe bought his property in 1895. The Weggs still lived on the other side of the road from the entrance to The Loke and there were the same few bungalows scattered along the stretch of Reepham Road from the level crossing at Hall Street. The didicoys remain camped on the property further down Reepham Road past The Loke on the left hand side, the large piece of land that they occupied abutting the rear of the Mack property. I think their name was Kidd but that may have been the owner of the land and I stand to be corrected.

The trains, now more powerful, still thundered and pounded along the tracks, steam hissing and fizzing, smoke from their stacks dipping and sweeping across the garden, the bungalow vibrating with their passing. Little had changed since 1895. Grandad and Grandma continued to live in The Bungalow until Grandad became very fragile and was placed in a nursing home in Cromer but Grandma stayed on until Grandad passed away on the 2nd August 1958 in Aylsham Hospital. She would not leave her home whilst Grandad was alive but she was 84 years old and was having difficulty looking after herself. Grandma had never lived outside Briston but in the October of that year, before the winter set in, after 50 happy years Grandma moved out of The Bungalow to live with her daughter Elsie in Bognor Regis and The Bungalow was put up for sale. She had always been a strong willed lady but the wrench of leaving may have been too much for her and on the 8th February 1959, Grandma Bessie went to join Grandad George.

If one studies an aerial map of Briston one can see where once was the Briston Great Common Land. Thankfully it has not been further developed, and also can be seen quite clearly the old path of the railway line, angling in from the east to come to a point at the junction of Stone Road and The Loke, passing close to the old Mack property. A few years ago the Mack's profound presence in the loke was recognised and I have a feeling of family pride when I write that it has been officially named "Mack's Loke". The land on either side of Mack's Loke has now been fully developed and there is a congestion of buildings on both sides of the Reepham Road.

I cannot complete this report without recording our thanks to William Brown and Marie Willey who rescued the bungalow from demolition in 1996 and with dedicated and loving care restored our old family home to its former Victorian beauty. The old Mack property is now divided into two, roughly bisected from the northwest corner to the southeast corner. Sadly where the bungalow stands its view is screened from the old, defunct railway line that played such an important and prominent part in the lives of our family. Gone has the outside bucket toilet that for the ease of the night cart man had its access hatch opening somewhat embarrassingly directly on to the loke and gone has the dilapidated old railway carriage against the loke that served as a hay/feed and tool shed, gone too has the chicken run and the pig sheds, and the primitive urinal sandwiched behind the pig sheds and the hedge, an old iron bucket sunk into the ground with its bottom punctured with drainage holes and overlooked by the passing trains, engine drivers smiling knowingly, tooting, and firemen calling out ribald remarks as they flew past. Gone also are the fruit trees and the flowering bushes and the vegetable garden where Grandad George used to grow all the greens for his family and long gone is the small piece of pasture at the end of the garden for the occasional sheep.

No longer may be heard the whistle of a train or the sound of weary Old Garge's hob nailed boots crunching their way up the loke after a long day at the railway yards, muttering "Hi, ho, thas a rum un" quietly under his breath as he sucked on his pipe of glowing shag; or Grandma Bessie, her work never done, cranking the handle of the heavy mangle in the laundry by the light of an oil lamp after the children had been put to bed. But while their old home is still there, they will always be there - and The Bungalow is still there, proudly and defiantly challenging the passage of time with its well that was sunk in1904. So too has survived the once comfortable, tiled outhouse with its cheery hearth, the haven where the children used to play out of sight of the stern eyes of their mother and where their father
would stretch out in front of a cosy fire on a wintry afternoon and sleep off his visit to the Green Man. While The Bungalow is, the echoes from our family past will continue to linger on.

The breezy call of incense-breathing morn,
The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed,
The cock's shrill clarion, or the echoing horn,
No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed.
For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn,
Or busy housewife ply her evening care:
No children run to lisp their sire's return,
Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share.

"Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard" by Thomas Gray