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Reepham

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"REEPHAM is a small but pleasantly situated Market Town, watered by a small stream, 12 miles N.W. of Norwich, and 112 N.E. of London. The town was anciently called Refham, and gave that name to a resident family, on of whom was lord mayor of London, in 1310. It extends into four parishes, which together contain 1,800 inhabitants, of whom 409 are in REEPHAM ST. MARY ; 202 in Kerdistone ; 712 in HACKFORD ; and 477 in WHITWELL. They are all in the Aylsham Union : the first two maintain their poor conjointly, and the others separately. The spacious market place is in Hackford parish ; and in the churchyard are two churches—one for Reepham and Kerdistone, and the other for Whitwell and Hackford ; the latter of which had formerly a separate Church in the same burial ground ; but it was burnt down, with part of the town, in 1500. A weekly market for corn, swine, &c., is held here every Wednesday ; a stock fair on the 29th of June,  . . . The parishes of Reepham and Kerdistone together, contain 2,427 acres of land, including many scattered houses and farms belonging to Robert Blake Humfrey, Esq., William Bircham, Esq., J. P. Leeds, Esq., Sir R. P. Jodrell, lord of the manor, and several smaller proprietors. The Church of Reepham St. Mary, with Kerdistone, consists of nave, chancel, side aisles, and square tower. In the chancel is a fine brass, representing William de Kerdistone and his lady ;  . . . The benefice is a discharged rectory, valued in the King's book at £18 1s., and in 1831, at £700. There are 60a. of glebe, and the patronage is vested in Trinity College, Cambridge ; incumbent, Rev. Fdk. Field.   . . . There was anciently a chapel in Kerdistone, dedicated to the Virgin Mary ; it stood upon a hill called Chapel Close, but no remains of it are now to be seen. The Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyan Reformers have each a chapel here.  . . . In 1847, St. Mary's School, for the use of the parishes of Reepham and Kerdistone, was erected by the present incumbent. " [Francis White, History, Gazetteer, and Directory, of Norfolk (1854) -  Transcription Copyright © the late A.J. Carter]

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The Town of Reepham includes the parishes of Reepham with Kerdiston, Hackford, and Whitwell.
See also Hackford near Reepham, Whitwell, and Reedham.

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Cemeteries

Not all memorials may be included, even when a transcription is marked as complete, for example when stones are not legible enough to be read or photographed.

Mid-Norfolk Family History Society
Memorial Inscriptions of the Churchyard and Churches of Reepham, Norfolk.
(The churches of the Nativity of St Mary the Virgin, and St Michael, and their shared churchyard).
[Mid-Norfolk Family History Society, 2011]
Mid-Norfolk Family History Society
Memorial Inscriptions of the Reepham and Kerdiston 'Old' Cemetery (Norwich Road).
Originally for the parish of Reepham and Kerdiston.
[Mid-Norfolk Family History Society, 2011]
Mid-Norfolk Family History Society
Memorial Inscriptions of the Reepham (Whitwell Road) Cemetery.
Originally for the parishes of Hackford and Whitwell.
[Mid-Norfolk Family History Society, 2011]
Williams, John Foster; and Linnell, C.L.S.
Monumental Inscriptions on the Brasses in the Churches of the Nativity of St Mary the Virgin, Reepham, and St Michael and All Angels, Whitwell.
[Monumental Brass Society, in "Monumental Brass Society Transactions", vol.9, part 4, Nov 1954]

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Cemeteries

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Census

  • 1811 for Kerdiston
  • 1851 for Kerdiston
  • Occupations of Workers in Cromer, Reepham and Melton Constable, from the 1881 Census.
    [In Norwich Local Studies Library, 1990s]
  • 1891: Surname List for Reepham (this is a link to an archived copy)
  • 1891: Surname List for Kerdiston (this is a link to an archived copy)

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Censuses

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Church Directories

  • In 1883 the parish was in the Deanery of Sparham, in the archdeaconry of Norwich.
    It could have been in a different deanery or archdeaconry both before and after this date.
  • The parish church is dedicated to the Nativity of St Mary the Virgin.
    It shares the same churchyard with the church of St Michael and All Angels, which is used by the parishioners of both Hackford and Whitwell.
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Church History

Church of the Nativity of St Mary the Virgin
Description and pictures.
Church of the Nativity of St Mary the Virgin
Services, etc.
Hurst, G.H.
A Brief Guide to Reepham and its Churches.
[Reepham, The Church, 1968]
Sayer, Michael John
Reepham's Three Churches, including an historical account of Hackford, Kerdiston, Reepham, and Whitwell.
[Reepham, The Churches, 1977]
 
Piercy, Wesley
The Story of Reepham Methodist Chapel, 1817-1992.
[Norwich, I and J Watton, 1992]
Reepham and Cawston Methodist Church
Minister, services, picture, etc.
Follow the link to the home page, then search for the church.
 
Primitive Methodist Church
Description, picture and map.
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Church Records

Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms 1538-1903, Banns 1754-1820, Marriages 1539-1902 and Burials 1539-1903.
[Parish Register Transcription Society, Dart Series, 2000?]
Marriages
These are not included in Boyd's Marriage Index or Phillimore's Marriage Registers.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Church Records

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Civil Registration

For the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths between 1837 and 1930 (and for the censuses from 1851 to 1901), Reepham with Kerdiston was in Aylsham Registration District.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Civil Registration

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Description & Travel

The Reepham Archive (The Reepham Society archives)
Description, history, meetings, pictures, Reepham Archive, etc.
Reepham Life
Community Newsletter.
Reepham Town Council
Councillors, meetings, minutes, etc.
Reepham
Description, pictures and map.
Nightingale, Kate (editor)
Harry Hawes' Walk: The Heart of a Norfolk Market Town.
[ISBN 0953985849, Reepham Society, 2003]
Piercy, Wesley
My Town: Essays on the History of Reepham.
[ISBN 0953985857, Reepham Society, 2007]
Rowe, Alec
A Walk around Reepham.
[Reepham Society, 1990]

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Description and Travel

You can see pictures of Reepham which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Historical Geography

Reepham with Kerdiston is in Eynsford Hundred.

Parish outline and location.
See Parish Map for Eynsford Hundred
Description of Eynsford Hundred
1845: White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk
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Land & Property

Cox, Joyce
Fifteen Locals: A Pub Crawl through History.
The histories of Reepham's public houses.
[Reepham Society]
Crisp, Frederick Arthur
Genealogical Abstracts of Deeds relating to Families connected with the parishes of Mattishall and Reepham, in the County of Norfolk.
[1885]

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Land and Property

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TG100230 (Lat/Lon: 52.763758, 1.11109), Reepham which are provided by:

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Military Records

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • After 1834 Reepham with Kerdiston became part of the Aylsham Union, and the workhouses were at Buxton and Oulton. These were replaced by a new workhouse at Aylsham in 1849.