Norfolk: Barton Bendish

William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk 1883

[Transcription copyright © Pat Newby]

BARTON-BENDISH is a village of detached houses, 4 miles N. of Stoke Ferry, and 8 from Downham and Swaffham, comprising in its parish the hamlet and enclosed fens of Eastmore, distant only 3 miles N.N.E. of Stoke Ferry, near the great fosse and rampart, now called the Devil's ditch, and extending northward to Narborough. The parish is in Downham union and county court district, Lynn bankruptcy district, Clackclose petty sessional division and hundred, Fincham rural deanery, Norfolk archdeaconry, and Downham polling district of West Norfolk. It had 437 inhabitants in 1881, living on 4390 acres, and has a rateable value of £4626 5s. Only 4033A. 2R. 28P. are in the rate books. The remainder are in roads, wastes, &c.

Sir Henry Hanson Berney, Bart., owns most of the soil, and is lord of the manor; but T. and J. Fielden's executors, T.L. Hase, Esq., Mr. William Hall, and Pembroke and Christ's College, Cambridge, have small estates in the parish. The Hall, formerly a seat of the Berney family, is a substantial dwelling in the Elizabethan style, now occupied by Mr. George Read.

Barton had formerly three Churches; but that dedicated to ALL SAINTS was dilapidated many years ago, and the ruins have long been cleared away. The rectory of All Saints is consolidated with that of St. Mary's, and the united rectories were valued in the King's Book at £11, and are now worth £390, in the patronage of the lord of the manor, and incumbency of the Rev. Stephen Gooch Read, M.A., who has here a good residence, rebuilt and enlarged by the present rector in 1866, at a cost of £1300.

ST. MARY's CHURCH is a small edifice, comprising nave and chancel. The turret was erected in 1871, and contains one bell. The tower fell down in the reign of Queen Anne. The font is handsome, and was given by the late Lady Berney about 1857. The west doorway is a good specimen of Norman work, and above it is a small window, filled with stained glass, in memory of Miss Read. A marble tablet was hung in the church in 1871 in memory of Sir Hanson and Lady Berney. The Registers date from 1726.

ST. ANDREW's CHURCH is a larger building, consisting of nave, chancel, and south porch. The square tower contains five bells, three of which were hung in 1870, at a cost of £200 - one being presented by Sir H. Berney, another by Mr. George Read, and the third by subscription. A clock was given at the same time by the Rev. A. Sutton, M.A., of West Tofts.

The chancel is paved with encaustic tiles, and contains some neat stalls with carved poppies. The nave was newly floored in 1851, and covered with a massive roof of timber and slate, of the original lofty pitch, in 1868, at a cost of £270, which replaced a dilapidated open one of thatch. Several of the windows are enriched with stained glass, and one of them contains representations of the four Evangelists. The doorway to the entrance to the church is a good specimen of late Norman work. A good organ, placed under the tower arch in 1878 at a cost of £250, is mostly the gift of Mr. George Read. The paintings of the Evangelists, at the east end of the chancel, were presented by Mrs. Nelson in 1881. The Registers date from 1695.

The rectory of St. Andrew's, valued in the King's Book at £14, and now at £385, is in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor, and incumbency of the Rev. John Holley, M.A., who has a good residence. At the enclosure of the common and fen lands, in 1777, the tithes were commuted for two allotments, viz. 335A, to St. Andrew's, and 330A. to the consolidated rectories of St. Mary and All Saints.

Eastmore hamlet had anciently a chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist; but it was converted into a farmhouse at the Reformation.

The Wesleyans have a small chapel here, erected in 1875, in lieu of an older one, at a cost of about £300. It will seat 100 people.

The Poor's Allotment, 44A., was awarded at the enclosure. The poor cut turf upon it, but the herbage is let for £25 a year. They have also 3A. left by an unknown donor, and let for £6.

In 1779 the Rev. Richard Jones left £250 three per cent. stock for schooling poor children. The dividends were not received from 1799 to 1831, but the arrears were paid in 1832, when new trustees were appointed. The money received as arrears was laid out in the erection of a School, in which the mistress teaches six free scholars. The School, erected in 1874 by the lord of the manor, is attended by about 60 children.

POST OFFICE at Mr. William Bailey's. Letters arrive at 9 a.m., and are despatched at 4 p.m., viâ Brandon, through Stoke Ferry, which is the nearest Money Order and Telegraph Office.

         Bailey    William            postmaster
         Betts     Mrs Sarah          vict. Spread Eagle
         Blaxter   George             farmer, Eastmore
         Bond      William            estate carpenter
         Cambridge Edgar Hastings     farmer
         Coleby    Miss Georgina      schoolmistress
         Crome     Mrs Mary           farmer
         English   Robert             bootmaker
         Flatt     Mrs Rose           farmer, Eastmore
         Flatt     Thomas             farmer, Eastmore
         Hall      Wm.                farmer and landowner
         Hewitt    Charles Templeman  farmer and landowner, Hill House
         Holley    Rev. John, M.A.    rector of St. Andrew's
         Horn      Robert             carpenter, wheelwright, and blacksmith
         Hudson    John               grocer and draper; and (h) Wereham
         Jackson   John               shopkeeper
         Read      George             farmer, The Hall
         Read      Rev. Stephen
                     Gooch, M.A.      rector of St. Mary-with-All Saints
         Rumball   George             farmer and carrier
         Rumball   William Alfred     plumber, glazier, and painter
         Vince     Edward             farmer, Abbey farm
 

CARRIER - George Rumball, to Lynn, Tues.

Stoke Ferry & Narborough are the nearest railway stations

See also the Barton Bendish parish page.

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Copyright © Pat Newby.
July 2015