Hide
Norfolk: Ormesby St Margaret
hide
Hide
William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk 1845
ORMESBY (GREAT,) or Ormesby St. Margaret, is a large and handsome village, about one mile from the sea, and 5 miles N. by W. of Yarmouth; and has annexed to its parish the hamlet and manor of SCRATBY, which lies about ¾ of a mile to the north-east. They contain together 776 inhabitants, of whom 645 are in Ormesby, and 131 in Scratby.Ormesby St. Margaret comprises about 1600 acres of land, belonging to a number of freeholders, some of whom have neat mansions here; but the Rev. Gibson Lucas and the Rev. Charles Lucas are joint lords of the manor, which anciently belonged to the Ormesby family. One of the four co-heiresses and daughters of the last Sir Thomas de Ormesby, gave birth to Alice, the famous mistress of Edward III. The village is said to have been anciently a market town, and the inhabitants are exempt from toll in Yarmouth, and from serving on county juries.
Ormesby Hall, the seat of the Dowager Lady Lacon, relict of the late Sir Edmund Knowles Lacon, Bart., is a large handsome mansion, in the plain Gothic style, erected since the year 1810, and standing in a verdant and well-wooded park of 60 acres, commanding a fine view of the sea and the surrounding country. The Lacons were originally settled in Shropshire, and afterwards at Otley, in Yorkshire. Sir Edmund Lacon, who died in 1820, was created a baronet in 1818. Sir E.H.K. Lacon, the present baronet, resides at Ormesby House, in Ormesby St. Michael.
The large and pleasant mansion of R.G. Bosanquet, Esq., was purchased by him, in 1839, of the Rev. J. Symonds, and has recently been repaired at a considerable expense.
The Church, dedicated to St. Margaret, has several monuments of the knightly family of Clere, and a fine tower, surmounted by the figures of four monks in lieu of pinnacles.
The vicarages of Ormesby St. Margaret and Scratby, were consolidated with the curacy of Ormesby St. Michael, in 1548, and valued in the King's Book at £10. 10s., and in 1831, at £451, being augmented, in 1719, with £210, given by N. Symonds, Esq., and £200 of Queen Anne's Bounty. The rectorial tithes have been commuted for £796, and the vicarial tithes for £304 per annum. The Rev. Richard Foster, M.A., is the vicar, and the Dean and Chapter of Norwich are the patrons, and appropriators of the rectorial tithes, which are now leased to Sir E.H.K. Lacon.
There were anciently four churches in the united parishes, but two of them have been long in ruins, viz., St. Peter's, on an eminence between the two Ormesbys; and All Saints, at SCRATBY, a manor of 300 acres, with about 20 scattered houses, belonging to various owners.
Scratby Hall, now the seat of the Rev. Richard Foster, M.A., was purchased by him of Lady C.B. Hamilton. It was formerly the seat of the Earl of Home. It has a lofty tower at the angle of its south and west fronts, and is approached by a fine avenue from the church.
Scratby Cliff commands one of the finest sea prospects in England. The Commons of Ormesby and Scratby were enclosed under an act passed in 1842.
The FREE SCHOOL at Ormesby, for eight poor girls, was founded in 1723, by Jonathan Symonds, Esq. The endowment now consists of only three roods of land, adjoining the school, and an acre at Mautby, but is said to have originally comprised about 20 acres. It is now conducted as a National School, and the Rev. J. Symonds, the Dean of Norwich, the Vicar of Ormesby, and others, are the trustees.
The poor parishioners have six chaldrons of coal yearly from Sir E.H.K. Lacon, Bart., in consideration of a road and two pieces of [waste] land which his family were allowed to enclose in 1818 and 1828.
In the following Directory, those marked * are at SCRATBY, and the rest at ORMESBY ST. MARGARET:-
Beck George corn miller
Black Captain Wm., R.N.
Bosanquet Richard Godfrey,
Esq
Boycott Miss Emily
Carr Thomas pork butcher
Clowes Jno. solicitor (& Yarmouth)
Derry Stephen blacksmith
Dunt John tailor and draper
Elliott Thomas butcher
Fellowes Wm. Manning gent
Ferrier Richard Wm. corn miller
* Foster Rev Richard, M.A. vicar, Scratby Hall
George John vict. King's Arms
Hallock Chas. plumber, glazier, &c
Kidman J. plumber, glazier, &c
Kitton John basket maker
Lacon Dowager Lady Ormesby Hall
Lacon John Edw. Esq. Ormesby Hall
Lacon Captain H.
Manship Benjamin Overseer
Moss Miss Elizabeth M.
Nichols John gardener
Nichols Robert pork butcher
Page Charles bricklayer
Page Joseph schoolmaster
Page Thomas farrier & cow leech
Shalders Samuel shopkeeper and carrier to
Norwich, Saturday
Skoyles Thomas vict. Royal Oak
* Sloman Wm. Waters gent. (chief constable of East Flegg)
Tennant Wm. thatcher
Underwood Wm. & Jph. bricklayers
Watlow John gardener
Wright John blacksmith
Boot & Shoe Mkrs. FARMERS.
Flegg James Agus Wm.
George Jacob * Catchpole N.
Harris George Chapman Wm., Manor House
Nichols Robert Cockerill Samuel
Read Robert Cooper Wm.
Simnet Robert * Dyball Christms
Wassey David * English Mattw.
* Gedge Jonathan
Joiners. Goodwin David
* Green John
Clark Richard, Page Chas. (and beerhouse)
parish clerk Page Thomas
Nichols John Parker Robert
Shreeve John Tennant John
Shrimplin James Tennant Martha
* Tongate James
Wheelwrights. * Woolston Benj.
* Woolston B. jun
Derry Wm. * Woolston Robt.
Skoyles Thomas Woolston Rt. jun
See also the Ormesby St Margaret parish page.
These pages are for personal use only. They may not be copied, and the links within them may not be harvested for use on your own web pages. Please see the Copyright Notice.
Copyright © Pat Newby.
October 2004