St. Martins Court (Jan 08)

Alice Grange/St Martins Court: Why Alice Grange? Well most people realise the land the Grange Farm development is built on was farm land. The Farmhouse pub is the original farm house and was the home Alice Jolly and her husband William bought in 1922. Alice was born in 1874 and her father was a Lincolnshire farmer. She met William Oliver Jolly in London where he was serving his apprenticeship in the tea trade.

They married in 1899 at St Martin in the Fields and it is for this reason that St Martins Court, just across the road from Alice Grange, is so named. Moving first to Westerfield, Alice and William came to Kesgrave as their five children began to grow up. Alice moved with her 15 year old daughter into a building which was in such a state that it could only be occupied on the ground floor — the upper floors being used for farm storage. Alice and her daughter had no proper sanitation, no electricity, no running water and had to cook over an open fire for months while the Grange was made habitable and indeed mains water was not put on to the Grange until the 1950’s — drinking water was collected from the roofs and a well the garden.

Alice, who died in 1956, remained very close to her family and apart from this devoted herself to charitable work. Much of this was involved with the Roman Catholic Church, but other aspects included such things as buying a bungalow in Kesgrave to house a Jewish family fleeing fro Austria in 1938. The Jolly family are delighted to have Alice remembered in this Care Home, built on land close to her home.