Hide

Great Walsingham (Old Walsingham)

hide
Hide

"WALSINGHAM, (GREAT) or OLD WALSINGHAM, is a large parish and village, in the vale of the Stiffkey rivulet, 1 mile N. of the town of New Walsingham, containing 426 inhabitants, and 2,367 acres of land, belonging to a number of proprietors; the largest of whom is - the Rev. D.H. Lee-Warner, the lord of the manor, and patron of the CHURCH, (St. Peter,) which is an ancient fabric,  . . . Here was formerly another church, dedicated to All Saints, and standing a little north of St. Peter's, but no vestiges of it now remain. The benefice is a donative, consolidated with Little Walsingham. The joint livings were valued in 1831 at £168, and the tithes were commuted in 1808. Berry Hall, a large ancient mansion, in the vale below the church, is the seat of John Brooke, Esq. . . . In 1674, Robert Ward, charged his estate with the yearly payment of 20s., to each of the parishes of Great Walsingham and Thursford, for the poor. The estate charged, belongs to the Flood family, except one moiety, which they have sold to Sir C. Chad. The poor of this parish have also a yearly rent-charge of 20s., left by Henry Graye, in 1601; and a Fuel Allotment of 12A. 1R. 7P., awarded at the enclosure, in 1810, and now let for £19 a year." [William White, History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk (1845) - Transcription copyright © Pamela Littlefair]

Hide

It is now a small village. Its neighbour, Little (or New) Walsingham, is the location of the Anglican shrine, and is a much larger place.
A reference to "Walsingham" will usually mean "Little Walsingham".
See also Little Walsingham.

Hide
topup

Census

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Censuses

topup

Church Directories

  • In 1883 the parish was in the Deanery of Walsingham, 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 St Peter.
    There was also a church dedicated to All Saints.
topup

Church History

Church of St Peter
Description and pictures.
Church of St Peter
Services, etc.
Linnell, Charles L.S.
A Short Guide to St Mary's, Little Walsingham with St Giles', Houghton and St Peter's, Great Walsingham.
[Fakenham, Lancaster Press, 1960s]
topup

Church Records

Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms, Marriages and Burials.
Marriages
These are not included in Boyd's Marriage Index or Phillimore's Marriage Registers.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Church Records

topup

Civil Registration

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

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Civil Registration

topup

Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Great Walsingham (Old Walsingham) which are provided by:

topup

Gazetteers

topup

Historical Geography

Great Walsingham is in North Greenhoe Hundred.

Parish outline and location.
See Parish Map for North Greenhoe Hundred
Description of North Greenhoe Hundred
1845: White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk
topup

Land & Property

Great Britain. Inclosure Commissioners
Statement of Claims (59): Great Walsingham, Little Walsingham, and Houghton next Walsingham.
Drawn up in pursuance of the Act of Inclosure, 1808.
[1809]
Great Britain. Inclosure Commissioners
Statement of Claims (7): Great Walsingham, Little Walsingham, and Houghton next Walsingham: further claims.
Drawn up in pursuance of the Act of Inclosure, 1808.
[1809]
Great Britain: Statute
Great Walsingham, Little Walsingham and Houghton St Giles Inclosure Act, 1808.
An act for inclosing lands in the parishes of Great Walsingham, Little Walsingham, and Houghton next Walsingham, in the county of Norfolk: 27th May 1808.
[London, George Eyre and Andrew Strahan, 1808]

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Land and Property

topup

Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TF944376 (Lat/Lon: 52.900309, 0.888776), Great Walsingham (Old Walsingham) which are provided by:

topup

Military Records

topup

Poor Houses, Poor Law

topup

Population

These figures are from the population tables which were produced after the 10-yearly national censuses. The "Families" heading includes families and single occupiers.

Year  Inhabited
Houses
FamiliesPopulation
1801  4967289
1811  6869347
1821  6888413
1831  9494434
1841  94--426
1851106--476
Year  Inhabited
Houses
FamiliesPopulation
1861110---512
1871107109480
1881  98104452
1891  91  92422
1901  85  85374
1911---  84351

There may be more people living in detached parts of the parish (if there were any) and, if so, the number may or may not be included in the figures above. It is quite difficult to be sure from the population tables.

This has been found by the Norfolk transcribers for FreeREG, in the Gt Walsingham parish register of baptisms 1719-1782, marriages 1720-1753, and burials 1719-1783.

June the 21st 1770. When Dr. Young, the Lord Bishop of Norwich,
held a Visitation at Fakenham, the Number of Houses in Walsingham
magna was 58, the Number of Men, Women & Children, 255.
M Powell, Minister.
1770.