The older dwellings on Block Hill are, however, the twelve cottages. Block Hill was purchased by George Gowing on 22 January 1848 and comprised just over 5 acres. It was bounded on the north by the Kirby Bedon Road and on the south by the old Bungay Road. Gowing immediately commenced constructing the cottages and, as can be seen from the census returns of 1851, this well-known local farmer and landowner quickly installed his workmen and their families. At number 1 lived Robert Hovell and his family of four. Robert was a shepherd who, no doubt, tended the sheep that grazed on the land at the top of the hill.

                At number 2 lived Robert Stone, an agricultural labourer, with his family of five. George Tate, a gardener, lived at number 3 with his wife Elizabeth, their daughter Maria and their two infant children. In number 4 lived Nathaniel Moul, a wheelwright, his wife Jesterah, their daughter Martha and a 66 year old lodger – a carpenter by the name of William le Grice.

                The first three families were still living at the cottages in 1861, and the appearance of eight additional families in the census return, coupled with the fact that Gowing took out a mortgage with Harvey’s Bank of Norwich on 5^th January 1854 for the purpose of building some cottages, leads us to suppose that he built the remaining eight just before, or around, the time that the Crown Point Tavern was being built.

                In 1860 George Gowing sold eight of the cottages to John Betts and the remaining four to Samual Base – but a condition of both sale documents was that the tenants had unrestricted access at reasonable times to the one water pump serving all twelve cottages and that the expense of upkeep of the pump and its gearing would be borne proportionally by the new owners. The land to the east of Block Hill continued to be owned by the trustees of the Great Hospital.

                In 1864 John Betts sold his eight cottages to Sir Robert Harvey for £100 each. With the exception of a coachman, Samuel Killington, and his family who were living at Number 1, all the other tenants had changed. The cottages were now let on a normal commercial basis rather than predominantly homes for agricultural labourers working on the owner’s land.

                Such occupations as rural letter carrier, tailoress, railway signalman, shoemaker and teacher appear, but this was all to change when in 1872, Sir Robert Harvey took his own life by gunshot, reputedly in Trowse Woods, following the failure of his banking business. As he had been the owner of the substantial Crown Point Estate, there was much speculation as to what would happen to the land and buildings. There was great concern that it would be broken up and sold piecemeal – with disastrous effect on local employment and economy. In July 1872, these fears were heightened when the estate came up for auction at the Royal Hotel in Norwich in 25 different lots. The room was crowded with both potential buyers and the simply curious. It must not be forgotten that Crown Point and Whitlingham – all included in the estate – had, for many years, been the favourite spot for travellers arriving by ferry, opposite Whitlingham White House. Tours around Whitlingham caves and the “Heights” behind the White House were extremely popular. There were fears that the new owners would withdraw access to what was, principally, private land.

                The main lot under the hammer comprised the Crown Point Mansion, Whitlingham White House, Lodges Boat House and part of over 400 acres, which together with other lands including Whitlingham Heights and the ruins of St. Andrew’s Church (Whitlingham Parish Church until 1630), made up 993 acres in all. The agent had put an estimated value on the mansion of £5,000 even though construction costs had exceeded £20,000 including improvements.

                The first bid of £35,000 for the whole progressed until £51,000 had been obtained. At that point the auctioneer broke the seal of the official list of reserved prices and confirmed that the latest bid of £55,700 by a mysterious Mr. Capps of London would be completed if there were no further offers. The sale went through accordingly.

                Mr. Capps was not known to anybody in the room but it was subsequently learned that he was, in fact, the agent working for Messrs J & J Colman. It was presumed that had it been known at the time who the prospective purchaser was that it may have pushed up the value of the estate. In the event, all the citizens of Norwich were reputedly relieved at the outcome of the sale as the Colman Family had already done much for the general improvement of the city and its level of employment. Full public access to the beauty spots continued and, in co-operation with the Board of Health, the Colman’s contributed in no small measure to the general improvement of Health in the city as a whole.

                Block Hill cottages, therefore, fell into new ownership, with the tenants either working on the farms or in the mills of Messrs J & J Colman as, indeed, they were to do for the next hundred years.