Diss

"DISS, which gives name to this hundred, is a small but pleasant and well-built MARKET TOWN, on the acclivities of a deep lake, or mere, on the north side of the vale of the river Waveney, which divides it from Suffolk, 22 miles S.S.W. of Norwich, 23 miles N. by W. of Ipswich, and 91 miles N.E. by N. of London. The projected Ipswich and Norwich Railway is intended to pass through Diss, and it has been proposed to extend a railway from Diss to Beccles and Yarmouth. The parish of Diss has increased its population, since the year 1801, from 2246 to 3205 souls, and contains 3382 acres of land; of which 243 acres were enclosed in 1814. The soil is generally fertile, belongs to a great number of proprietors, and lies in the four MANORS of Diss-cum-membris, Heywood, Heywood Hall, and the Rectory manor. . . . The MERE, or lake, round which the town is built, is a large natural pool. . . . The CHURCH (Virgin Mary,) is a large and handsome Gothic structure, consisting of a nave, chancel, aisles, north and south porch, and a square tower at the west end . . . . The rectory, valued in the King's Book at £33. 6s. 8d., is in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. Wm. Mauning [sic], M.A. . . . There are in the town six Dissenters' chapels; two belonging to the Baptists, and one each to the Wesleyans, Independents, Unitarians, and the Society of Friends." [William White, History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk (1845) - Transcription copyright © Ann Duncan]