Ramsbury,
Wiltshire |
A
picturesque village on a wide stretch of the River Kennet. The river
flows through the park of Ramsbury Manor, built in 1680 by; John
Webb, the son-in-law of Indigo Jones. It was in this house that
Cromwell laid his plans for the subjugation of Ireland. The town
has many Jacobean and Georgian buildings, and an impressive parish
church with Anglo-Saxon foundations. |
Littlecote,
nr. Ramsbury, Wiltshire |
This
house stands in its own grounds near Ramsbury and may well be where
Edward Alexander was groom and Ann Edwards was a servant. |
Hinderclay,
Suffolk |
HINDERCLAY
is a parish and small village. 7 miles north-northwest from Finnington
station on the Ipswich and Norwich section of the London and North
Eastern railway and 11 north-west of Eye, in the Bury St. Edmunds
division of the county, Blackburne hundred and petty sessional division,
Stow union, Eye county court district, rural deanery of Blackburne,
archdeaconry of Sudbury and diocese of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich;
the parish extends to the river Waveney and the county of Norfolk.
The church of St. Mary, situated on an eminence, is an ancient edifice
of flint, chiefly in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, and
consisting of chancel, nave, large south aisle, wooden south porch
and lofty embattled western tower containing 6 bells: the chancel
was restored in 1881: the interior was reseated in 1848 and in 1904
the church was restored and underpinned, at a cost pf £600, and
has 250 sittings.
The register dates from the year 1567. The living is a rectory,
net yearly value £365, including 26 acres of glebe, with residence,
in the gift of G.R.H. Wilson esq. J.P. and held since 1928 by the
Rev. Leonard Armitage Gilbert M.A. of St. Catherine's College, Cambridge.
There is a Primitive Methodist chapel here.
The
fuel allotment of 29 acres of fen land is for the benefit of the
poor of the parish; there are also 7 acres of land and one cottage,
producing £15 yearly, which is expended in the repairs of the church.
George R. Holt Wilson esq. J.P. is lord of the manor and principal
landowner, but there are several small owners. During 1907-8 a number
of Roman coins of the early Caesars were found here. Near Thelnetham
church, but within the border of this parish, is a perennial spring,
known as St. Mary's well; the water is said to possess healing qualities
especially beneficial to weak eyes. The soil on the upper part of
the parish is heavy, the lower part neing principally light; subsoil,
clay, and on the lower part of the parish there is black sand ans
some gravel. the chief crops are wheat, barley, beans, peas and
clover. The area is 1,488 acres; the population in 1921 was 236.
From
Kelly's Directory - Suffolk - 1929
|
Great
Malvern, Worcestershire |
The
town began in the 11th Century with the foundation of a Benedictine
priory. The fine Priory Church of Saint Mary and Saint Michael still
stands although it was rebuilt by medieval craftsmen in 1460. The
most dominant features are the magnificent stained-glass windows,
the choir stalls, and the tiles on the floor, walls and apse. The
discovery of a kiln suggests the tiles were made in situ.
In Priory Park is a fishpond which was used by the monks 400 years
ago. Great Malvern grew in importance as a spa resort in the 19th
Century. Malvern Water was first used medicinally 200 years ago
by Dr. John Wall. A Pump Room and baths were built between 1815
and 1819 and hotels appeared on the grounds around the priory. Traces
of the original spa can still be found in such establishments as
the Georgian Mount Pleasant Hotel and the Regency Foley Arms Hotel.
In the 19th Century Malvern became a traditional spa attraction
when Dr. Wilson and Dr. Gully introduced hydrotherapy - the Water
Cure - from Austria. Malvern Water can still be obtained from several
wells, including two of the oldest - Holy Well, so called because
its waters are said to have performed miraculous cures and St. Ann's
Wells, above the priory church.
The
opera singer Jenny Lind, the 'Swedish Nightingale', who settled
in England, is buried in Great Malvern Cemetery. Great Malvern Railway
Station is a magnificent Victorian building with fine wrought ironwork.
|
Shipdham,
Norfolk |
SHIPDHAM
is a paish and a large and well built village 4 miles south-west
from Yaxham station on the Wymondham and Dereham section of the
Great Eastern railway and 5 south-by-west from Dereham, in the Mid
division of the county, Mitford hundred, Mitford and Launditch petty
sessional division and union, Dereham county court district, rural
deanery of Hingham (Mitford division), archdeaconry of Norfolk and
diocese of Norwich. The church of All Saints is a spacious edfifice
of flint with stone facings in the Early English style, consisting
of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch and an embattled western tower
surmounted by a wooden cupola and spire, and containing a clock
and 6 bells : over the porch is a parvise containing a collection
of rare books, chiefly on theology, bequeathed by a former rector:
this church possesses one of the finest original wooden lecterns
in the county, of unusual design and great beauty: the shaft, which
rises from a base of three members, resting on lions sejant, is
triangular, and consists of three butresses, the angles between
which are ornamented from the base, upwards with a series of quatre-foils:
the desk is of a double form, very richly carved: there are two
stained windows, one being a memorial to a former rector: the church
was extensively altered in 1845, and in 1884-7 was thoroughly restored,
new-roofed and entirley re-seated : in 1889 and 1890 the exterior
of the church, with the exception of the tower, was carefully renovated:
there are 580 sittings.
The
register dates from the year 1558. The living is a rectory, net
yearly value £650, including 42 acres of glebe, with residence,
in the gift of the Rev. George Deanes Dundas Watt M.A. of 2 Park
road, Forest hill, London S E, and held since 1885 by the Rev. George
Augustus Quentin M.A. of St. John's College, Oxford. There are Congregational,
Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels. There is a public cemetery
of 2 acres, with a chapel, opened in 1879, and now controlled by
the Parish Council. A market was established here in the reign of
Henry III, by one of the Bishops of Ely, who built a hall for the
purpose; but the market has long been obsolete. The Town Hall, built
in 1875, is now used as the Oddfellows' Hall.
The
fuel allotments awarded in 1809 comprise about 126 acres, producing
£75 15s, a year, which is distributed among the poor in coals; Mowling's
charity of £2 5s, Rawling's of 10s, and Master's of £2, are given
away in doles of 1s, each on St. Thomas' Day (21 Dec.) annually.
The chief landowners are Eton College, King's College, Cambridge,
and Lord Cranworth, of Letton Hall. The soil is loam and clay; subsoil,
gravel and clay. The chief crops are wheat, barley and turnips.
This parish is of considerable extent, covering the space of 5 miles
from north-east to south-west. The area is 4,623 acres of land and
11 of water; rateable value, £5,598; the population on 1891 was
1,471.
From
Kelly's Directory - Norfolk - 1900
|
Breckles
(also spelt Breccles), Norfolk |
The
church of St. Margaret is
a building of building of flint, in the Early English style, consisting
of chancel, nave, south porch and a round western tower, with octagonal
belfry stage, containing 2 bells, and was restored in 1862: the
fine Norman font is ornamented on one side with figures of the four
Evangelists, and there is also a good Norman arch; the chancel retains
a piscina, and the doorway and steps to the rood loft are in good
preservation: the chancel and nave are divided by a handsome carved
oak screen, with an hour gla ss:
the pulpit is of carved oak and the open oak benches have carved
poppy heads: in the chancel is a memorial slab of black marble,
with the arms of Webb impaling Richardson, to John Webb esq. ob.
1658, and Mary, his wife, daughter of Sir Thomas Richardson kt.
of Honingham, ob. 1626: there is also fastened, as it were, to this
slab, by a strap and buckle, cut in the stone, a small oval of black
marble with the words "Stat ut Vixit Erecta", which covers
the grave of Ursula (Webb), wife of Sir William Hewyt kt. who was,
by her own desire, buried in an upright position, ob. 1658: adjoining
is a slab of black marble, with the arms and crest, to Sir William
Hewyt kt. ob. 1667. The church affords about 130 sittings. The register
dates from the year 1538. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value
£25, including 21 1/2 acres of glebe, in the gift of the Hon. Charles
Bateman Hanbury, and held since 1850 by the Rev. William Smyth Thorpe
B.A. of Wadham College, Oxford, who is also incumbent of Tompson
and resides at Shropham Villa, Shropham, Thetford........
From Kelly's Directory
- Norfolk - 1900
|
Postwick,
Norfolk |
POSTWICK
is a parish and village lying in a pretty vale, 2½ miles west from
Brundall stations and 2 east from Whitlingham junction station,
both on the Norwich and Yarmouth section of the Great Eastern railway
and 4 east-by-south from Norwich, in the Eastern division of the
county, Blofield and Walsham petty sessional division, Blofield
hundred and union, Norwich county court district, rural deanery
of Blofield and archdeaconry and diocese of Norwich. The navigable
river Yare flows on the south of the parish. The church of All Saints,
is an ancient building of flint and stone, in the Early English,
Decorated and Perpendicular styles, and consists of chancel, nave,
south porch and an embattled western tower of considerable height
containing a clock and 3 bells : at the west end is a mural brass
and a memorial window to Archibald John, fourth Earl of Robebery
K.T., P.C., D.C.L. d. 4 March 1868 : the lych gate at the entrance
to the churchyard was presented by Peter Hansell esq. in memory
of a departed member of his family : the church was restored in
1866, when the nave was new-roofed, and a vestry and organ erected
: in 1868 the nave was reseated with open benches : the chancel
floored and the fittings rearranged in 1895 : the church now affords
130 sittings. The register dates from the year 1570. The living
is a rectory, net yearly value £330, including about 52 acres of
glebe, with residence, in the gift of the Earl of Rosebery K.G.,
K.T., P.C. and held since 1894 by the Rev. Edward Shuttleworth Medley
B.A. of Kings College, Fredericton. A sum of £18 derived from
land is distributed yearly to the poor in fuel. The Earl of Rosebery
is lord of the manor and owner of nearly the whole parish. The soil
is mixed. The chief crops are wheat, barley and turnips. The area
is 1,813 acres of land, including a detached marsh near Yarmouth
of 346 acres, and 32 of tidal water; the rateable value, £3,685;
the population in 1891 was 301.
From
Kelly's Directory - Norfolk - 1900
For
further reading:
POSTWICK - The Story of a Norfolk Village by Anne Carter
published 1987, reprinted 1991 ISBN 1 873495 00 5 |
Hilgay,
Norfolk |
HILGAY
is an extensive parish and large village, 3½ miles east from Hilgay
Fen station on the Ely and Lynn section and 1 south from Ryston
station on the Downham and Stoke Ferry branch of the Great Eastern
railway, 4 south from Downham and 83½ from London, in the South
Western division of the county, hundred and petty sessional district
of Downham, rural deanery of Fincham (east division), archdeaconry
of Lynn and diocese of Norwich. The river Wissey, a tributary of
the Ouse, runs past the village, and the Ouse itself bisects the
parish. An iron bridge crossing the Wissey was erected in 1899.
The church of All Saints is a large building of freestone, consisting
of chancel, nave, south aisle and an embattled western tower of
brick containing a clock and 8 bells, rehung in 1877, at cost of
upwards of £200; the chancel and nave are Decorated and the south
aisle Perpendicular : the organ was presented in 1881 by the rector
: the church is approached by a long and fine avenue of trees, at
each end of which is a handsome oak lych-gate, erected at a cost
of £160 by Miss Beechey : the church has been restored, and contains
300 sittings. The register dates from the year 1583. The living
is a rectory, net yearly value £700, including 85½ acres of glebe,
with residence, in the gift of Hertford College, Oxford, and held
since 1900 by the Rev. Joseph Hooper Maude M.A. fellow of Hertford
College, Oxford, and examining chaplain to the Bishop of St. Albans.
A new rectory house is (1900) in course of erection, from plans
by Mr. H. J. Green (Norwich). The district church of St. Mark, erected
in 1847, is a plain edifice of brick, consisting of nave only and
a turret containing one bell : there are 140 sittings. Adjoining
is a burial ground of half an acre. Phineas Fletcher, author of
the "Purple Island" (a poem in the style of Spenser) and
other poems, was rector here from 1621 and probably till his death
in 1650, but there is no trace of his burial in the register. There
are two Wesleyan and two Primitive Methodist chapels, one being
on the Ten Mile Bank. The Church of Temperance Institute contains
a reading room and small library. A dole of 40 sixpenny loaves is
distributed on St. Thomass day : 168 acres of land, yielding
on an avergae £260 yearly, have been left for the poor; and, for
the repairs of the church, 52 acres, producing a rental of about
£120 yearly. A fair is held here on May 1st. Here is an ancient
Hall, formerly one of the seats of the Abbots of Ramsey, to whom
the estate belonged before the Dissolution of that monastery in
1537, when it was granted, by Henry VIII, together with the advowson
of the living, to James Howe esq. whose daughter brought it in marriage
to Sir John Willoughby knt. from whom it passed to the Wrays and
Sandersons, and, in course of time, by sale, to Captain G. W. Manby
F.R.S. inventor of the rocket, and other apparatus for saving life
from shipwreck, and afterwards to William Jones, formerly marshal
of the Queens Bench prison, in whose family it continued till
1878, when it was purchased by the late Major Mchael Stocks, of
Woodhall (d. 1895), and is now the property of his son, Michael
Stocks esq. of Woodhall. The pumping station and dam, constucted
near Hunts sluice for the Feltwell and Methwold drainage commissioners,
was opened in 1884 : from these works about 100 tons of water per
minute can be pumped into the river Ouse. At Ten Mile Bank is an
engine erected in 1842 for the Littleport and Downham drainage commissioners,
working in connection with one nine miles distant, in the Isle of
Ely : togther these drain 30,000 acres; the wheel is 43ft. 8in.
in diameter and contains 50 ladles, with an average dip of 4ft.
emptying the water into the river Ouse at the rate of about 130
tons a minute. Michael Stocks esq. of Woodhall and Upper Shibden
Hall, Halifax, Yorks, who is lord of the manor; Edmund Peel esq.
of Bryn-y-pys, near Ruabon, Flint; Sir Joseph Thellusson Rowley
bart. of Tendering Hall, Suffolk, and William Henry Rose esq, are
the principal landowners. The soil consists of upland and fen, the
former a rich clay and gravel, the latter peat with good clay underlying.
The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats and beans. The area is 6,750
acres, of which a large proportion is fen; there is also 66 of water;
rateable value, £7,799; the population in 1891 was 1,491.
Ten
Mile Bank, a hamlet on the Ouse, which is crossed by an iron bridge
here, is about 2 miles south-west and one mile from Hilgay Fen station.
From
Kelly's Directory - Norfolk - 1900
|
Downham
Market , Norfolk |
DOWNHAM
(or Downham Market) is a market and union town, parish, and the
head of a county court district, with a station on the Lynn and
Ely section of the Great Eastern railway and a branch line to Stoke
Ferry,88 miles from London 59¼ west from Norwich, 15¾ north from
Ely and 11 south from Lynn, in the south Western division of the
county, Clackclose hundred and petty sessional division, rural deanery
of Fincham (eastern division), archdeaconry of Lynn and diocese
of Norwich. By Order of the County Council, Downham was in 1896,
divided into two parishes, the rural part called Downham West, and
the urban, Downham Market. The town is seated on the eastern acclivity
of the vale of the navigable river Ouse, over which and the neighbouring
county is a fine uninterrupted view; the river is here crossed by
an iron lattice girder bridge with two piers erected at a total
cost of £3,500, from designs by Mr. David Oldfield C.E. and opened
9 Feb 1879.
Downham
Market is governed, under the provisions of the "Local Government
Act, 1894" (56 & 57 Vict. C. 73), in place of the board
of Improvement Commissioners, constituted under 5 & 6 Wm. IV.
c. 52, amended by 39 & 40 Vict. 20, by an Urban District Council.
The main streets and roads are well paved, and the town is lighted
with oil lamps: the Downham Gas and Coke Company Limited, formed
in 1840, have extensive works near the railway station. The church
of St. Edmund is an ancient pile, originally Norman, but rebuilt
in the Early English Period, and since extensively altered; it now
consists of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch and a low embattled
western tower of carr or rag stone, with buttresses and quoins of
freestone, surmounted by a slender spire, which with the tower,
was restored in 1896, at a cost of £340: in the tower are 8 bells,
rehung in 1896: in 1884 a stone reredos was erected and the chancel
floor relaid, and in 1886 a stone statuette of St. Edmund the Martyr
was set in a niche over the entrance to the south porch and a brass
lectern placed in the church, both at the cost of the late Mr. Henry
Oakes : the stained east window was placed in 1873 by J. Wortley
esq. of Skeyton, in memory of his wife's family, and there are several
other memorial windows, and four stained windows, erected during
the period 1896-9: during the building of the new organ chamber
in 1873 an original Norman window was discovered, built up in the
wall behind the chancel arch, on the north side: the figures of
the saints and angels in the roof; which had been left in a mutilated
state by Cromwell's soldiers, were restored in accordance with the
original designs in 1899: in 1886 the arms of the ancient family
of Bardolph and those of Ramsey Abbey, formerly on the church were
carved in stone and replaced the arms of the sees of Canterbury
and Norwich and those of Thomas Leigh Hare esq. J.P., D.L the present
lord of the manor, being added: the curious old font has been repaired
and re-set: the church was repaired in 1855 at a cost of £700 and
affords 700 sittings. 200 being free. The register dates from the
year 1551 The living is a discharged rectory, net yearly value £230,
together with 29 acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of
the trustees of the late Rev. Edward Robert Franks B.A. rector (1850-82),
and held since 1894 by the Rev. William Beaufoy Stillman M.A. of
Worcester College, Oxford, chaplain of Downham union, and surrogate.
There are Wesleyan, Baptist, Strict Baptist and Primitive Methodist
Chapels. Mount Tabor Free Methodist chapel, Bridge street, erected
in 1859, will seat about 260 persons. The Wesleyan chapel, in Lynn
road, was thoroughly repaired and two vestries built in 1864, and
in 1876 a new organ loft was added: it has 450 sittings; the school-room
was rebuilt in 1895: Zion chapel, in Parson's lane, was rebuilt
in 1874, and seats 170 persons. A Cemetery of 2 acres, with two
mortuary chapels, was formed in 1856, at a cost of about £1,600,
and in 1884 was enlarged by the addition of 2½ acres, at a cost
of £500: it is under the control of a joint committee appointed
by the Urban District Council and the Parish Council for Downham
West. The Town Hall, erected in 1887-8, at a cost of £1,730, occupies
a site facing the Market place and Bridge street, and is a structure
of white and moulded brick, relieved by brown carr-stone panels
in the Renaissance style, from designs by Mr. J. J. Johnson A.R.I.B.A,
architect, of London: it comprises a large hall, 74 by 33 feet,
with a platform 12 feet wide, a corn exchange, reading, committee
and retiring rooms, library, lavatories and offices: the hall will
seat 500 persons, and has two ordinary entrances and special exit
doors. The Literary Institute and Stanley Library now occupying
rooms in the Town hall, was established in 1865, on the foundation
of the Mechanics' Institute, dissolved in December, 1865, and provides
in the reading-room most of the daily and weekly London papers,
weekly local papers and the principal periodicals; the extensive
and carefully selected library was formed from a nucleus of £50,
given by the late Earl of Derby K.G. when member for King's Lynn
(1848-69), and supplemented by subscriptions: the members number
between 80 & 90: the subscription is merely nominal. The Conservative
Club, opened 8 Aug. 1890, occupies premises in Bridge street, formerly
tenanted by the Literary Institute: it is well supplied with most
of the daily and weekly papers, and has about 200 members. Three
large fairs for horses and cattle are held yearly, Winnold fair
on or about March 1st and the three following days, and other fairs
on the first Friday in May and the 2nd Friday in November; and Statute
fairs for the hiring of servants are held on the Saturday fortnight
before and the Saturday after Old Michaelmas Day, but they are now
nothing more than pleasure fairs. The Downham Market Market Company
Limited was formed in 1856. The market is held every Friday in the
Market square, where stands a clock tower, presented to the town
by James Scott esq. in 1878: it is in the Gothic style, from the
designs of Mr. William Cunliffe, of London, and the main and lower
portions being octagonal, with a rectangular clock chamber above,
presenting four illuminated dials, lighted automatically: the roof
of the tower is relieved by tracery and surmounted by a vane. The
County Police Station, in Church road, has detention cells and a
charge room; the deputy chief constables residence adjoins
police station. There are three large brick yards here, where a
superior class of white bricks and pantiles are made; an extensive
roller flour mill owned by Messrs. F. and A. Bird; large malt-houses,
belonging to T. H. Wenn and Co.; and a brewery. The American nurseries
of Messrs. Bird and Vallance, near the railway station, cover 29
acres, well stocked with fruit forest and ornamental trees and American
plants, ferns &c.: the inhabitants, by permission of the proprietors,
are allowed to use the nurseries as a promenade during the summer
months. In the town are two good hotels, the Crown hotel, in the
market place, and the Castle hotel, High street, both old established
and well-appointed houses. There are charities of about £86 yearly
value, for distribution in fuel, clothing and provisions: this amount
includes a sum of £66, being the proportion assigned to this parish
from the Hundred Acres charity, the income derived from which is
equally divided between the parishes of Wimbotsham, Stow and Downham;
there is also a sum of about £20 from the Batchcroft charity, and
consisting of the rent of land; and there are other estates, the
produce of which is applied in keeping the church in repair and
maintaining the bridge over the river Ouse. Thomas Leigh Hare esq.
M.P. of Stow Hall, and Edward Roger Murray Pratt esq. of Ryston
Hall, who are the lords of the several manors, J. Wortley esq. Thomas
Lancelot Reed esq. of Crow Hall, Denver, and Messrs. Robert Haylett,
sen., Edward Hyde, John Wortley, of Frettenham, Harry Wayman, William
Pope, and the trustees of the late Joseph Kemp are the chief landowners.
The area of Downham Market parish is 951 acres; rateable value,
£10,809; the population in 1891 was 2,537, including 89 officers
and inmates in the workhouse. The area of Downham West parish is
1,840 acres of land, 6 of water, 38 of tidal water and I7 of foreshore;
rateable value, £2,382; the population in 1891 was 469.
Sexton,
George Neal, Lynn road.
From
Kelly's Directory - Norfolk - 1900
|
|
|
Nordelph,
Norfolk |
NORDELPH,
or Northdelph, is a hamlet, 4 miles west from Downham and about
the same distance from Upwell village and is the converging point
of five different parishes viz Dowoham, Denver, Upwell, Outwell
and Stow Bardolplh: the hamlet is intersected by the Well creek,
over which there is an iron bridge. Holy Trinity, church erected
by the Rev. William Gale Townley M.A. in 1865, as a chapel of ease
to the parish church is an edifice of brick, consisting of chancel,
nave, vestry, south porch and turret containing one bell : the east
window is stained, and there are also 250 sittings. The Rev. Edward
James Teesdale M.A. of Oxford University, has been curate in charge
since 1897. There are Wesleyan and Free Methodist chapels.
Three
Holes lies west, and is 4 Miles (by road), and has a Primitive Methodist
chapel, and Lake's End is 4 miles south, where there is also a Primitive
Methodist chapel.
From
Kelly's Directory - Norfolk - 1900
|
Hoxne,
Suffolk |
HOXNE
is a large village and parish, situated on the south bank of the
Waveney and on the borders of Norfolk, 5 miles south-east from Diss
station on the Ipswich and Norwich section and 3 1/2 north-east
from Eye terminal station on a branch of the London and North Eastern
railway, in the Eye division of the county, hundred and petty sessional
district of Hoxne, union of Hartismere, Eye county court district,
rural deanery of Hoxne, archdeaconry of Suffolk and diocese of St.
Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The church of SS. Peter and Paul is a handsome
building of flint with stone dressings, in the Perpendicular style,
consisting of chancel, nave, north aisle, south porch and a lofty
embattled western tower, with crocketed pinnacles, containing a
clock, erected in 1887, and 5 bells: on the north wall of the nave
over the arcade are wall paintings of the second half of the 14th
century; these fall into four groups of subjects, viz., St. Christopher
carrying the Divine Child on his shoulder; the Seven Deadly Sins;
The Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy; the Last Judgement: at the east
end of the aisle is a marble monument with life-size figure to Thomas
Maynard esq. d. 1742: on the south wall is a memorial of Caen stone
to Gen. Sir Edward Kerrison bart. K.C.B., G.C.H. died 9 March, 1853;
also to Sir Edward C. Kerrison bart. deceased 1886, and a marble
tablet to Agnes Burrell, youngest daughter and co-heir to Gen. Sir
Frederick Kerrison bart. G.C.H., K.C.B., who died 13th March, 1918:
there is also a memorial to the men who fell in the Great War, 1914-18:
a stained window has been erected to the memory of the former vicar,
the Rev. J. H. Hodgson M.A. who died 1868: the east window and several
others are filled with stained glass: a carved oak screen was erected
across the tower arch in 1878: on the floor near the chancel are
three brasses to members of the Thruston family, dated respectively,
1606, 1613 and 1640: in Sept. 1870, two flags which belonged to
H.M.S. "Captain" lost in a heavy squall off Cape Finisterre on Sept.
7th, were picked up at sea near Finisterre by H.M.S. "Agincourt",
and presented to Hoxne church by Evelyn Burgoyne: the chancel was
extensively repaired in 1879, and altered and improved in 1906 by
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: in 1906 a new altar table was
given by S. Hall Wood esq. and the old altar slab refixed, and in
1908 a new reredos, constructed in part of the remains of the old
screen, was given by F.W. French esq.: there are 400 sittings.
The
registers date from the year 1581. The living is a vicarage, net
yearly value £400, with 18 acres of glebe and residence, in the
gift of the Rev. W.F. Buttle A.K.C., M.A. and held since 1928 by
the Rev. Claude de la Bere B.A. of University College, Durham who
is also vicar of Denham. The Baptist chapel, erected in 1843, has
been enlarged, and will seat 500. Adjoining the churchyard on the
south-east are five almshouses, erected in 1844 by Gen. Sir Edward
Kerrison bart. Here was anciently a Benedictine priory, founded
by Herbert Losinga, Bishop of Norwich, in 1101, as a cell to Norwich,
and dedicated to St. Edmund; at the Dissolution the revenues were
valued at £18.
In
the centre of a field near Abbey Farm is a stone cross, erected
in 1879 to mark the spot where, according to tradition, stood the
tree against which King Edmund was shot, Nov 20th, A.D. 870; the
tree fell August, 1848, by its own weight. St. Edmund's Hall, a
building of flint stone and red brick, was erected in 1879 by Sir
E.C. Kerrison bart. as a reading room, and presented under trust
for the parishioners in 1924 by Mr. and Mrs. Norton B. Garrard;
the library consists of about 400 volumes; there is also a small
collection of ancient implements of war &c. discovered in the parish.
Many traces of palaeolithic times have been found here, including
flint implements of remarkable quality and fossil bones of elephant,
horse, deer and ox.
A
bridge built by the late Sir E.C. Kerrison bart. crosses the Gold
brook. Depperhaugh is a fine mansion commanding a beautiful view
of the surrounding country; it is now the property and seat of major
Harry Palgrave Raven M.A., J.P. Thorpe Hall, an old moated farmhouse,
about 3 miles south-east from the church, is a fine specimen of
red brick work and has excellent chimneys, and is owned and occupied
by Caleb Last esq. Oak Lawn, half a mile distant, standing in its
own grounds of about 8 acres, is the property of Mrs. Douglas Hamilton
and residence of Sir Ernest Fletcher. Adolphus G. Maskell esq. is
lord of the manor and Messrs, Philip Last, Edward John Saunders,
James Henry Newton and James Lang are the principal landowners.
The land is pf a mixed soil; subsoil, gravel and clay. The chief
crops are wheat, barley, beans and peas. The area is 4,031 acres
of land and 25 of water; the population in 1921 was 769.
CROSS
STREET is a populous part of the parish, about 1 mile south
from the church; other portions of the parish extend in a south-
easterly direction for nearly 5 miles and run between Denham and
Stradbroke. Hilton, under the "Divided Parishes Act", now forms
part of Wilby. Heckfield Green is 1 mile south-east.
From Kelly's Directory - Suffolk - 1929
|
Mattishall,
Norfolk |
MATTISHALL
is a parish and large village, 3 miles east from Yaxham Junction
station on the Wymondham and Dereham section of the Great Eastern
railway and 5 south-east from Dereham in the Mid division of the
county, Mitford hundred, Mitford and Launditch petty sessional division
and union, Dereham county court district, rural deanery of Hingham,
Mitford division, archdeaconry of Norfolk and diocese of Norwich.
The church of All Saints is a large building of flint in the Perpendicular
style, consisting of chancel with side chapel, nave, aisles, north
and south porches and an embattled tower containing a clock and
6 bells; the fine wooden lectern is a copy of that in Shipdham church:
the church was partially restored, with the exception of the tower,
in 1890-2, at a cost of about £2,700, and memorial windows erected
to Mrs. George Taylor and to Mrs. C. Mowbray Donne: in June, 1895,
a two-manual organ was erected, gift of Mr. James Bailey, of Shortgrove,
Essex, M.P. who was born in this parish: there are 415 sittings.
The register dates from the year 1656. The living is a discharged
vicarage, with the rectory of Pattesley annexed, joint net yearly
value £220, including 131 acres of glebe, with residence, in the
gift of Caius College, Cambridge, and held since 1896 by the Rev.
Edward Madoc Madoc-Jones M.A. of that college. There are Congregational
and Primitive Methodist chapels, and the Society of Friends have
a meeting house. A new Primitive Methodist chapel is now in course
of erection, at an estimated cost of £700. The charities produce
about £34 yearly for clothing, and there is a fuel allotment of
60 acres, let at £50 yearly. Mrs. Berney, of Morton Hall, near Norwich,
is lady of the manor. The principal landowners are the Rev. Charles
Edward Dunne M.A. vicar of Faversham, Kent, and Edward Bowyer Sparke
esq. of Gunthorpe Hall. The soil is heavy; subsoil, clay and brick
earth. The chief crops are wheat, barley, hay and roots. The area
is 2,316 acres; rateable value, £2,233; the population in 1891 was
836.
The
following is a summary of information from personal observations
and references taken from 'Norfolk Villages' by David H. Kennett
ISBN 0 7091 8129 0.
The
parish register's earliest recording dates from 1656. Wool and its
weaving was the trade of a small part of Norfolk, essentially a
block of villages north of Norwich and the River Wensum, west of
the Broads and going no further west than East Dereham. A few weavers'
villages exist south of the river, around Mattishall on the River
Tud, a tributary which flows into the River Wensum at Hellesdon.
All Saints' Church shows the wealth of the men living in Mattishall,
and how much they lavished on their faith. It is part and parcel
of a more grand design, the virtual wholesale rebuilding of the
church from the wealth of wool in the fifteenth century, All Saints'
being rebuilt between 1413 and 1422 approximately. The church is
dated by the arcades separating nave from aisles; polygonal projections
without capitals facing inwards and outwards while the arches have
semi-circular posts with capitals. There seems no sound reason why
the church should not be contemporary with the remains of its rood
screen to which a fourteenth-century date has been applied. Before
the reformation the ceiling of the easternmost three bays of the
hammer-beam roof was for the rood loft. Of the rood screen at Mattishall
only the lower part, the dado, remains. The chalice and paten are
dated 1567-8.
The
wool broggers, the brokers between sheep farmers and weavers, met
at Mattishall, south and west of most of the wool villages but despite
its isolated position on the River Tud convenient for the exchange
of fleeces. The enclosure of land benefited the farmers and tradesmen,
especially the upper tradesmen. Eighteenth century society was the
first to require an army of professional people and they acquired
some of the tastes of those whom they served. Solicitors, physicians,
veterinary surgeons, masters of academies, rectors, they built the
elegant, small, eighteenth century houses in the village.
There
was a village cooper in Mattishall in 1950, a necessary profession
in a village of over a thousand people. At this point in time the
manufacturing side of the village had been entirely replaced with
a total support of agriculture. Malting and corn-grinding were two
occupations and farming operations required the assistance of many
others. Farming in the early Victorian years was largely un-mechanised
and jobs such as sowing and harvesting, let alone weeding, required
hands by the score. Above the labouring population there was a stratum
of village skill: some recognised as individual trades, some less
easily quantified. Baker, butcher, blacksmith, carpenter, corn miller,
grocer, plumber and painter, saddler, shoemaker and wheelwright
along with farrier, a veterinary surgeon and a tailor. In 1845 a
watchmaker was resident and a surgeon in 1850. By the early Victorian
years, the Anglicans were not the only resident clergy as there
were also independent ministers. The advent of the railways saw
a significant decline in the population between 1841 and 1901, from
1155 to 746. Mattishall is now largely a commuters village of the
late twentieth century.
The
council built houses between 1930-31, the choice of material, red
brick, was good; it has weathered well and conveys the settled feel
of central Norfolk in a most evocative way. Thus the village has
the large church as its central point with houses emanating out
from it reflecting the different periods of building. The graveyard
has been extended from the church to a further plot within walking
distance.
From
Kelly's Directory - Norfolk - 1900
|
Topcroft,
Norfolk |
TOPCROFT
is a parish and scattered village 6 miles south-east from Flordon
station on the Ipswich and Norwich section of the Great Eastern
railway, and 6 north-west from Bungay, in the Southern division
of the county, Loddon hundred, Loddon and Lcavering petty sessional
divisional and union, county court district of Beccles, rural deanery
of Brooke, eastern division, archdeaconry and diocese of Norwich.
The church of St. Margaret is an ancient edifice of flick and brick
with stone dressings, in the Perpendicular style, consisting of
chancel, nave, south aisle, south porch and an embattled western
tower, round at the base and octagaonal above, containing tree bells:
in the south aisle a piscina, and there are the remains of stairs
leading to the rood loft; outside the porch is a stoup; there are
several marble tablets, with arms to the Smyth family, formerly
owners of the Hall, 1743-1808; and other tablets to Thomas Cooke
esq. d. 1747; Benjamin Frost M.A. formerly rector here, d.10 January
1764; and to Richard Wilton, d.1637: the church was rebuilt in 1712,
and restored and reseated in 1861 at a cost of £750, and in 1876
the chancel was restored by a grant from Queen Anne's Bounty: there
are 260 sittings.
The
register dates from the year 1560. The living is a rectory, net
yearly value £240, including 49 acres of glebe, with residence,
in the gift of the Bishop of Norwich, and held since 1897 by the
rev. George Henry Sykes, of St. Aidan's. The father of Thomas Tenison,
Bishop of Lincoln, 1691-4, and subsequently Archbishop of Canterbury,
was some time rector here in the reign of Charles I, but was deprived
of his living during the Protectorate and, dying in 1671, was buried
in the chancel. The Delf Memorial Congregational chapel was built
in 1898.
The
poor's land, with 3 acres left by R. Goodwyn in 1659, consists of
4a. 1r. 21p. now (1900) let at £4 per year, which sum is distributed
in coals to the poor. Henry Edwin Garrod esq. of Diss, is lord of
the manor of Topcroft-cum-Denton, Alfred Massey esq., George Unwin
esq., and Jeremiah Colman esq. of Gatton Park, Surrey, are the principal
landowners. The soil is heavy, subsoil, clay. The chief crops are
wheat, barley, beans and peas. The area is 1,874 a. 7p; rateable
value, £1,379; the population in 1891, was 344. Parish clerk, George
Moates.
From
Kelly's Directory - Norfolk - 1900
|
Cranworth,
Norfolk |
CRANWORTH
(or Cranworth-cum-Letton) is a village and parish 4 miles west from
Hardingham station on the Dereham and Wymondham section of the Great
Eastern railway, 7 north-east from Watton, and 6 1/2 south from
Dereham, in the Mid division of the county, Mitford and Launditch
petty sessional division, Mitford hundred and union, East Dereham
county court district, rural deanery of Hingham, Mitford division,
archdeaconry of Norfolk and diocese of Norwich.
The
church of St. Mary the Virgin, erected about the middle of the 13th
century, is a small building of flint and stone in the Early English
style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, north porch and embattled
western tower, with spire, containing 3 bells : in the church are
several handsome monuments to various members of the Gurdon family,
of Letton Hall, including Brampton Gurdon esq. M.P. for Sudbury,
who commanded the Suffolk Horse at Naesby, June 14, 1645, and died
1669, and to Mary (Polsted), his wife f. 1679; and Thornhagh Gurdon,
receiver-general of the county of Norfolk, d. 1733, and Elizabeth
(Cooke), his wife, d. 1745 ; there is also a fine monument to Sir
William Cooke bart. M.P. (Norf.), d. at Letton in 1708 : in the
churchyard are buried Brampton Gurdon esq. M.P. (W. Norf.), d. 1881,
and Henrietta Susanna, his wife, daughter of Lord Colborne, d. 1880;
and also the Rev. Philip Gurdon, rector (1832-74) : the chancel
retains a piscina and sedilia : there is a good oak screen and choir
stalls of oak handsomely carved : the church was restored in 1852,
and in 1899 the porch was rebuilt, in memory of the Rev. T. P. Garnier
M.A. hon. canon of Norwich &c. for 21 years rector of the parish,
and affords 250 sittings. The register dates from the year 1653.
The living is a rectory, with the rectories of Letton and Southborough
annexed, joint net yearly value £400, including 38 acres of glebe
residence, in the gift of Lord Cranworth, and held since 1896 by
the Rev. Arthur Tayler Hodgson B.A. of Queen's College, Cambridge.
Here
is a Primitive Methodist chapel. On the church green still stand
the village "stocks", and in good preservation. The poor
have £12 yearly for fuel, derived from the land. Dr. Christopher
Sutton, the celebrated author of "Disce Vivere," and "Disce
Mori," and some time incumbent of Woodrising, was rector here
in 1623. Robert Monsey Rolfe, son of the Rev. Edmund Rolfe, some
time curate of Cranworth and rector of Cockley-Cley, was born in
the rectory house here, December 18th, 1700 ; being afterwards appointed
(December 28th, 1852) Lord High Chancellor of England, he was raised
to the peerage by the title of Baron Cranworth, after the name of
his birthplace, but dying without issue, July 26th, 1868, the title
became extinct. Lord Cranworth, of Letton Hall, is the lord of the
manor and principal landowner.
The
soil is mixed; subsoil, gravel. The chief crops are wheat, barley
and oats. The area is 1,138 acres; rateable value, £1,089; in 1891
the population was 237.
From
Kelly's Directory - Norfolk - 1900
|
Outwell,
Norfolk |
OUTWELL
is a village and parish partly in Cambridgeshire, but principally
in Norfolk, the navigable river Nene passing through it, dividing
the counties; it is 7 miles west from Downham station on the Ely
and Lynn section of the Great Eastern railway, 51/2 south-sast from
Wisbech, in the South Western division of the county, hundred and
petty sessional division of Clackclose, union and county court district
of Wisbech, rural deanery of Fincham western division), archdeaconry
of Lynn and diocese of Norwich. The steam tramway from Wisbech to
Upwell, belonging to the Great Eastern Railway Co has a station
here. The church of St. Clement is a building of stone, in the Perpendicular
style, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, north porch
and a western tower containing a clock and 6 bells: the interior
has been repaired at a cost of £2,200 and a new clock with chimes
was erected in 1887: the church affords 450 sittings. The register
dates from about 1555. The living is a rectory, net yearly value
£350, including 20 acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of
the Bishop of Norwich, and held since 1894 by the Rev. Henry Venn
Ellis, who is also a surrogate. Here are Wesleyan, Free Methodist
and Primitive Methodist chapels. The charities consist of the Town
lands and Town Fen lands (now amalgamated) and Lynne's charity,
left in 1816: the Town Fen Lands, or Norfolk Side allotments of
12 acres, are let in half-acres to the most deserving poor, at rents
of 30s. per half-acre: the Town Lands of nine acres are let upon
the same terms as the Town Fen Lands: the remainder of the town
lands consists of 26a. and 5p. producing a gross rental of £69.
The income from these lands is disposed of in the following manner
-£10 to the repair of the fabric of the parish church; a sum not
exceeding £25 for general parochial purposes, and a sum sufficient
to provide about 50 stone of bread, distributed annually on the
6th of January; by the trustees to the managers of the National
and Infant schools. Lynne's charity of 9a. or. 7p. producing £23,
is distributed in flour to poor persons resident in Outwell (Norfolk).
A sum of £100, paid by the Great Eastern Company for 15 perches
of land taken from the Isle Side allotments, for the purposes of
their tramway from Wisbech to Upwell, has been re-invested in the
purchase of 1a. 2r. 15p. of arable land in Upwell. All these charities
are controlled by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners, which came
into force on the 31st January, 1880. Near the church once stood
a hermitage, dedicated to St Christopher. Outwell possesses a fire
engine, which is manned by volunteers and supported by voluntary
contributions; the keys of the engine house are kept by the Parish
Council. The Rev. Charles Francis Townley M.A. rector of Christchurch,
Upwell, Cambridge, who is lord of the manor, H. H. Allenby esq.
Nathan Booth esq. H. Dawbarn, Arthur Wellesley Healey and Edward
Fordham Newling esqrs. are chief landowners. The soil is loamy;
subsoil, clay. The chief crops are wheat, oats, potatoes and fruit.
The population in 1891 of the portion in Cambridgeshire was 351;
acreage, 556; rateable value, £1,391; the portion in Norfolk, population,
882; acreage, 2,380; rateable value, £4,434.
From
Kelly's Directory - Norfolk - 1900
|
Upwell,
Norfolk |
UPWELL,
formerly a market town, is now a large village and very extensive
parish, situated con either side of the river Nene and partly in
Cambridgeshire, with a terminal station on a steam tramway from
Wishech opened in September, 1884, and is 4 miles south from Emneth
station and 61/2 south-east from Wisbech station both on the Great
Eastern railway, in the Sons Western division of the county, petty
sessional division of Clackclose, partly in the hundred of Wisbech,
in the Isle of Ely, a large portion being also in the hundred of
Clackclose (Norfolk), union and county court district, of Wisbech,
rural deanery of Fincham (East division archdeaconry of Lynn and
diocese of Norwich. By the Divided Parishes Act detached portions
of this parish were amalgamated with Welney in 1884, and at the
same time a detached part of Welney was added to the parish. The
following relates only to the portion in Norfolk : the Cambridgeshire
portion of this parish is given in Kelly's Directory of that county,
of which Christ Church, a separate ecclesiastical parish, form part.
The church of St. Peter is a large building of stone in the Perpendicular
style, with some traces of Early English, and consists of chancel,
nave with clerestory, aisles, north porch and an embattled western
tower, with octagonal belfry containing a clock, and bells: the
fine oak roof is adorned with figures of angels carved in oak: in
1887 the chancel. which retains a piscina and sedilia, was restored
and fitted with choir stalls : the east window is stained, and there
is another at the west end, erected in 1898 at the cost of the rector:
in the chancel wall is a brass dated 1621 with kneeling figures
of eight males and five females to Jane (Coltropp) wife of Linulphus
Bell esq. ob 15 February, 1621: another brass records the visitation
of cholera in 1852, when 67 persons died of this malady. and there
are also two brasses with figures of priests vested: the church
affords 547 sittings. The register dates from the year 1650. The
living is a rectory, net yearly value £1,500, including 3 acres
of glebe, with residence, in the gift of the Rev. Charles Francis
Townley M.A. rector of Christ Church, Upwell, Cambs, and held since
1870 by the Rev. John Beauvoir Dalison M.A. of Morton College, Oxford,
and J.P. Isle of Ely. Here is a Baptist chapel, built in 1844, with
350 sittings; there are also Wesleyan and primitive Methodist chapels,
each seating 150 persons. The Almshouses, erected by the late Mr.
James Lee, in 1819, are for five poor widows. The Public Hall, erected
by a limited company, will hold 500 persons: there is also an Odd
Fellows' Lodge (Manchester Unity), the meetings of which are held
fortnightly on Mondays. The Church Institute occupies the old National
school. There is a fire engine, belonging to the joint parishes,
and manned by volunteers. Fairs are held here on June 29th and 30th.
The Ecclesiastical Commissioners are lords of the manor of Wisbech
Barton, which extends into this parish, and the Rev. Charles Francis
Townley M.A. is lord of the manor of Beaupré Hall. The principal
landowners are the Rev. C. F. Townley M.A. George Croft Huddleston
esq. Tristram Frederick Croft Huddleston esq. of Cambridge, Jackson
Hunt esq. of 23 Montagu square, London W, the trustees of the late
Rev. John Fenwick, rector of Thorning (1858-90). Charles Elworthy
seq. John Cabread Jones esq. of Colville House, Wishech, the trustees
of the late Thomas Wright esq. Mrs. Gambier, James Gay esq. of New
Hall, Aldborough, and Dr. Charles Orton. The soil is loamy, in many
parts highly fertile, and the subsoil, clay. The crops are wheat,
potatoes, peas, beans and oats, with other produce. The area of
the Norfolk portion is 9,289 acres of land, 64 of water, 7 of tidal
water and 4 of foreshore; rateable value of Norfolk part, £15,114;
the population of the entire parish in 1891 was in Norfolk, 2,197;
Cambridgeshire, 1,387.
From
Kelly's Directory - Norfolk - 1900
|
|