Norwell

The Library at Newark will prove useful in your research.

The Library at Southwell would also be a good resource.

The church graveyard was extended in 1924.

Three Norwell vicars are buried in the churchyard: Edmund HERRING, James Morris MAXFIELD and William HUTTON.

Ian S. has a photograph of Saint Laurence's churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2020.

• The parish was in the Kneesal sub-district of the Southwell Registration District.
   
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
   

• There was a priest here at the time of the 1086 Domesday Survey, but the wooden Saxon church has long ago disappeared.
   
• The Anglican parish church of Norwell is dedicated to Saint Lawrence (usually spelled as "Laurence").
   
• The church was built in the late 12th century in the Early English Style.
   
• The church chancel was restored in 1857.
   
• The rest of the church was restored in 1874-75.
   
• The church seats about 400.
   
• Electric lighting was installed in the church in 1948.
   
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of St. Laurence's Church on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2006.
   
• Carlton had an Anglican chapel of rude construction, but great antiquity.
   
• The chapel stood until 1849.
   
• A replacement church was built in 1851 and dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin.
   
• The Carlton church could seat 250.
   

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1865 and is in good condition.
   
• The church was in the rural deanery of Southwell.
   
• The church is currently in the Newark and Southwell Deanery.
   
• The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here in 1845.
   
• The Methodist chapel closed in 1989.
   
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of the former Methodist Chapel on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2012.
   

• The parish was in the Kneesal sub-district of the Southwell Registration District.
   
• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
   

Norwell is a parish comprised of three townships; Norwell, Norwell Woodhouse and WIlloughby, about 8 miles north-east of Southwell, 7 miles northwest of Newark-on-Trent and 131 miles north of London.

Norwell has for many centuries been a poor farming parish. A few landowners might be considered wealthy, but most of them only owned the land they lived on. Bishop HOSKINS commented in 1911, "The occupation of the whole population in this deanery is connected with agriculture. Upon the farms work many labourers, who are hired from year to year ... It was sad to hear of the way in which farm lads, who may have passed the fifth standard, forget how to sign their own name, and lose the power even to read ..." School-leaving age at that time was 14 years.

Willoughby is about .75 miles north-north-east of Norwell village. Norwell Woodhouse if about 2 miles west-north-west of Norwell. Carlton is a former chapelry of Norwell, about 3 miles north-east of Norwell. Carlton-on-Trent has its own parish profile on Genuki. If you are planning a visit:

• By automobile, take the A1 trunk road north out of Newark-on-Trent. Exit to the left at Cromwell and turn left in the centre of that village and follow the road out to Norwell (about 1 mile).
   
• Alex MacGREGOR has a photograph of the Village Sign on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2013. Clearly they could use your artistic talent and marketing know-how to create a more enticing sign.

• Geograph
• Flickr

• We have an extract from White's 1853 Directory relating to this parish.

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Norwell to another place.

• This village has Saxon roots and was mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book.
   
• For a well-researched history of the parish, see the Nottingham History pages for Norwell.
   
• In 1256, Henry II granted the village the right to hold an annual three-day fair and a weekly market on Thursdays.
   
• On 11 November 1360, John Le PARKER, a felon of Norwell appeared in the church before the king’s escheator and promised to leave the kingdom forthwith, while his worldly goods were publicly seized by the crown.
   
• A few years later in 1369, another criminal, John STRYNGER of Mansfield, who had killed a man, took sanctuary in Norwell church, which he too was allowed to quit on condition that within 7 days he would leave the country via Dover.
   
• Nearly two hundred years later, in 1526, on the eve of the Reformation, the two vicars of Norwell were called to adjudicate in a local quarrel in which the wives of John WILLA, Richard WALBANK and William BROWNBERDE had mutually slandered each other. Along with two parishioners, Richard SMYTH and John GREEN, probably the churchwardens, the vicars, Richard MARTEN and Richard AWBYE, brokered a settlement with the husbands agreeing to pay 40s to the Fabric of the church if their wives did not abide by it.
   
• Richard CROFT captured a photograph of the Pinfold Plaque on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2015.
   
• Neil THEASBY has a photograph of the Pinfold on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2020.
   
• Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of The Plough pub. on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2014. Reportedly a good place for catching up on local gossip.
   
• Neil THEASBY also has a photograph of the Plough Inn on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2020.
   
• These are the names associated with The Plough in various directories:
   

• See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK772618 (Lat/Lon: 53.147758, -0.847179), Norwell which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

• The War Memorial is a 12ft. high Runic Cross in the churchyard, just west of the church. This cross was dedicated in September, 1921, by the Rev'd. B. S. AINLEY and unveiled by Lt.-Col. R. F. B. HODGKINSON.
   
• Ian S. has a photograph of the War Memorial Cross on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2020.
   
• Inside the church there are wooden boards inscribed with the names of all who served in both World Wars.
   
• The parish apparantly lost a single serviceman in the Malayan conflict of 1952.

For another photograph of the War Memorial and the list of names on the plaques, see the Southwell Churches History Project site.

According to the Commonwealth War Grave Commission website, there are no C.W. Graves for WWI in Norwell churchyard.

These are the names listed on War Memorial cross:

Alfred HEATON's death on HMS Invincible was at the Battle of Jutland when his ship was sunk on 31 May 1916.

Robert ("Bert") JACKSON's death is noted in the Newark Great War Bulletin of 19 July, 1915.

Ernest CHILVERS's death is noted in the Newark Great War Bulletin of 8 November, 1915.

The War Memorial inscriptions read as follows:

North side:

1914 - 1919
ERECTED BY PUBLIC
SUBSCRIPTION
IN MEMORY OF

HERBERT BAINES
SAM BALDWIN
ERNEST CHILVERS
CHRISTOPHER ETCHES
BERT FAULKNER
JOHN HENTON
ALFRED HEATON
ROBERT WILSON JACKSON
HARRY MARSTON
ARTHUR PARR
HENRY WILSON

WHO COUNTED NOT THEIR LIVES DEAR
UNTO THEMSELVES, BUT DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE
IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, TRUTH AND PEACE.

South side:

IN HONOURED MEMORY OF
JAMES ADAMSON
WILFRED ALAN CARY
FRANK FRECKNALL GREASLEY
WHO FELL IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR
1939 - 1945

O VALIANT HEARTS WHO TO YOUR GLORY CAME

JAMES F. BRITNELL
1952
MALAYA

The wooden Roll of Honour board to east of the south door in the church commemorates the First World War.

1. ASH.F
2. BAINES. HERBT (FALLEN)
3. BAINES. H.
4. BALDWIN.S. (FALLEN)
5. BENNETT. J.W.
6. BROWN. H.
7. CHILVERS. E. (FALLEN)
8. COBB. A.
9. DOBBS. H.
10. DODD. A.L.
11. DODD. C.T.
12. ELKINGTON. E.
13. ETCHES. C. (FALLEN)
14. FAULKNER. B. (FALLEN)
15. FRECKNALL. H.
16. FRECKNALL. W.
17. HAZZARD. A.
18. HEATON. ALFD. (FALLEN)
19. HEATON. A.
20. HEATON. B.J.
21. HEATON. H.
22. HEATON. T.
23. HEMPSALL. A.H.
24. HEMPSALL. F.A.
25. HEMPSALL. J.W.
26. HEMPSALL. L.W.
27. HENTON. J. (FALLEN)
28. HOMER. J.T.A.
29. JACKSON. R.W. (FALLEN)
30. JACKSON. P.J.
31. JACKSON. B.N.
32. KIRKHAM. G.
33. LEESON. G.H.
34. MARSHALL. B.
35. MARSHALL. E.
36. MARSHALL. G.
37. MARSTON. H. (FALLEN)
38. MARSTON. R.
39. NORMAN. W.
40. PARKIN. JOS.
41. PARKIN. J.H.
42. PARR. A. (FALLEN)
43. PARR. R.
44. REYNOLDS. H.
45. ROBB. H.S.
46. SHELDON. T.
47. TEMPLEMAN. F.
48. TURNER. A.
49. TURNER. G.
50. TURNER. J.W.
51. WARD. F.
52. WILLOWS. H.
53. WILLOWS. S.
54. WILSON. H. (FALLEN)
55. WILSON. J.

The wooden board to the west of the south door in the church commemorates those who served in the Second World War:

TO THE GLORY OF GOD
and in honour of the men &
women from NORWELL and
NORWELL WOODHOUSE
who served their King and
Country in the Second World War
1939 - 1945

1. ADAMSON, James - Fallen
2. ADAMSON, Maurice
3. ANDERSON, John
4. BAINES, Elsie
5. BROOKS, Leslie
6. BROWN, Charles H.
7. CARY, G. Francis
8. CARY, Wilfred A. - Fallen
9. CLARKE, E. Margaret
10. DOBBS, Harold
11. DODD, G. William
12. DOUGHTY, Robert B.
13. FARMER, Boyd D.
14. GREASLEY, Frank F. - Fallen
15. HEMPSALL, George A.
16. HEMPSALL, Mark E.
17. HINDE, G. Ernest
18. HOUGH, Leonard
19. HOWARD, Denis
20. KEMP, Albert E.
21. NEEDHAM, Betty H.
22. PASK, Eustace
23. SHELDON, Benjamin
24. SHELDON, Henry
25. SHELDON, Walter
26. SMITH, Henry
27. SMITH, J. Thomas
28. SMITH, William H.
29. TEMPLEMAN, John
30. WILLOWS, Barbara J.

On south side of the church chancel arch, a brass plate records:

To the Glory of God
and
in loving memory of
Harry Marston
of the 2/4th Lincs. Rgt.
son of William and
Mary Ann Marston,
killed in action at
Roisel, April 3rd 1917.
Interred at
Templeux le Gerrard
aged 23 years.
R. I. P.

On the church wall leading to the south transept, a brass plate on a marble base records:

TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND IN MEMORY OF
GEORGE HALLIBURTON
VERE-LAURIE
1906-1981
LIEUTENANT COLONEL 9TH LANCERS,
HIGH SHERIFF,
DEPUTY LIEUTENANT
AND JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
IN THIS COUNTY.
LORD OF THE MANOR
OF WILLOUGHBY IN NORWELL,
IN THIS PARISH.

To the right of the Monument above, under a window, a brass plate reads:

TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF
ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL DENNISTOUN WHO DIED AT
CARLTON HOUSE CARLTON ON TRENT SEPT. 22ND 1882
AGED 82 YEARS AND OF MARY DENNISTOUN HIS WIFE
WHO DIED AT FLORENCE OCT. 18TH 1877 AGED 72 YEARS

On the east wall of the church at the entrance into the south transept, a convex marble wall tablet with moulded base and curved head, probably originally erected on a pillar records:

Erected to the Memory of Willm.
Hawkins the Son of THOMAS
and ANN HAWKINS
Of Wandonend in the Parish of
King’s Waddin in Hertford Shire
His mother was the Daughter to
MR EDMUND STURTEVANT
of Pallace Hall
and he was Nephew to ye Present
MR THOMAS STURTEVANT
of Pallace Hall
he Departed this Life Janry the 14th
In the Year of our Lord 1755
In the 31st Year of his Age

• The ancient "well" that gave Norwell its name has left no trace or even memories.
   
• In the 1086 Domesday Book, the village is rendered as "Northwell".
   
• Locals pronounce the name as "Norrell." (Thank you, Brian Binns, 2013).
   

• This place was an ancient parish in Nottingham county and it became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
   
• This parish was in the southern division of the county in the northern division of the Thurgarton Hundred or Wapentake.
   
• Carlton township was separated from the rest of this parish in May, 1875, and was incorporated as its own Civil Parish.
   
• You may contact the Norwell Parish Council regarding civic and political matters, but they are NOT funded to help you with family history searches.
   
• District governance is provided by the Newark and Sherwood District Council.
   

• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Newark petty session hearings.
   
• In 1768 Margaret STURTEVANT provided for £3 to be paid a year to a baker for supplying weekly 15 penny loaves to be distributed after Sunday service by the Churchwardens to any deserving poor. The same sum was still being assigned for this purpose until well into the twentieth century.
   
• The Common Lands were enclosed here in 1826.
   
• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act reforms, this parish became part of the Southwell Poor Law Union.
   

Year	Norwell	Woodhouse	Carlton
1801	468	-	308
1851	599	127	231
1881	417	87	-
1901	372	71	172

• A schoolhouse for six children was built in 1727, the ‘Old’ charity school founded by Thomas STURTEVANT. Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of that schoolhouse on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2014.
   
• A National School (mixed) was built here in 1871 on a site given by Lord Ossington.
   
• The current Church of England School opened in 1966.