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Fakenham

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"FAKENHAM is a flourishing and well built market town, pleasantly situated on the north side of the Wensum, 9 miles S. of Wells, 12 miles W.S.W. of Holt, 23 miles E.N.E. of Lynn, 25 miles N.W. by W. of Norwich, 16 miles N.N.E. of Swaffham, and 109 miles N.E. of London. The parish, exclusive of the small liberty of Alethorpe, already noticed, has increased its population, since the year 1801, from 1,236 to 2,240 souls, and contains 2,106a. 3r. of land, all arable, except 240a. of grass, and 140a. of heath. . . . The town was much injured by an accidental fire on August 4th, 1738, which destroyed 26 houses. It has been greatly enlarged and improved during the last thirty years, by the erection of new houses, some of which are large and handsome. . . . The Church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a spacious and handsome structure, on elevated ground, above the Market place, and consists of nave, chancel, side aisles, and lofty embattled tower, with pinnacles, and eight bells. . . .The patronage is vested in Trinity College, Cambridge ; and the Rev. John Philips Higman, M.A., and F.R.S, is the incumbent. The Independent Chapel, in Chapel Street, is a handsome edifice, built in 1819. The congregation is under the pastoral care of the Rev. Wm. Legge. The Baptists have a Chapel in Swan Street, erected in 1808, of which the Rev.S. B. Gooch is the pastor. The Primitive Methodist Chapel, in Oak Street, was opened in 1825." [Francis White, History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk (1854) - Transcription copyright © the late A.J. Carter]

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Archives & Libraries

Fakenham Museum of Gas and Local History
Description, pictures, etc.
Eastern Gas
Fakenham Gasworks.
[1974]
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Census

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Censuses

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Church Directories

  • In 1883 the parish was in the Deanery of Burnham, in the archdeaconry of Norfolk.
    It could have been in a different deanery or archdeaconry both before and after this date.
  • The parish church is dedicated to St Peter.
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Church History

Morison, Ernest Frederick
The story of Fakenham church.
[First published Gloucester: British Publishing Co, 1950]
[ISBN 0950229601, Revised by G.F.S. Gray and Rev. Hugh Buckingham, 1971]
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Church Records

Fakenham Marriages 1719-1837
See Phillimore's Marriage Registers, Volume 6.
Parish Register Transcripts
Marriages.
Parish Registers
List of Surnames of People who come from other Parishes
(these people are often known as "Strays")

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Church Records

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Description & Travel

Web Sites

Fakenham
Description, history and pictures.

Other Resources

Lamont, Gerald
Swaffham to Fakenham: a portrait in old picture postcards.
[ISBN 1857700406, Seaford: S.B. Publications, 1993]
Lingwood, Lemmon
The illustrated guide to Wells-next-the-Sea, including Holkham, Walsingham, Fakenham, and Districts: containing full description of Lord Nelson's birthplace.
[London, Jarrold, (18-?)]

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Description and Travel

You can see pictures of Fakenham which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Historical Geography

Fakenham is in Gallow Hundred.

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

Baldwin, Jim
Fakenham: Town on the Wensum.
[Cromer, Poppyland Publishing, 1982]
Baldwin, Jim; and Van Damme, Ellen
Another look at Fakenham: a look at the town in the first thirty years of this century.
[ISBN 0950906018, Fakenham, 1984]
Baldwin, Jim; and Tickle, Alan
Memories of Fakenham Lancaster.
[ISBN 0948899042, Fakenham, 1991]
Fletcher, Elaine
A Norfolk quiverful: Celebrating 100 years of archery in the Fakenham area.
[ISBN 0948400234, Dereham, Larks Press, c1994]
Gray, George F.S.; Morison, Ernest F. and Buckingham, Hugh
The story of Fakenham and its church.
[ISBN 0950229601, Fakenham, 1971]
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Land & Property

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TF921304 (Lat/Lon: 52.836477, 0.850324), Fakenham which are provided by:

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Schools

Baldwin, Jim
Hard forms and homework: A short history of schools in Fakenham.
[ISBN 0953606406, Fakenham High School and College, c1999]
Eckersley, Stanley
Fakenham Grammar School 1923-1973.
[Fakenham, 1973]