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Little Ouse

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"LITTLE OUSE, 6 miles north-north-east from Littleport station and 10½ south-east from Downham, is an ecclesiastical parish, formed from detached and outlying portions of the parishes of Hilgay, Feltwell St. Mary and St. Nicholas, Littleport (Cambridge) and the entire parishes of Feltwell Anchor and Redmore, both formerly extraparochial, by Order in Council, in 1866. It is in the rural deanery and diocese of Ely and the peculiar archdeaconal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Ely. The church of St. John is in the Early English style, of flint, with stone dressings, having chancel, nave, vestry, organ chamber and tower with bells and clock, and was built at the sole expense of the late Rev. Canon E. B. Sparke: it is situated on the south bank of the Little Ouse river, about 2 miles above its confluence with the Great Ouse. The register dates from the year 1868. The living is a vicarage, value about £300 yearly, in the gift of the Bishop of Ely and held since 1882 by the Rev. John Frederick Taylor Morse B.A. of Corpus Christi college, Cambridge. The vicarage house, adjoining the church. is a substantial building of red brick. Here are two chapels for Primitive Methodists. . . . The soil is peat and sand; subsoil, clay and gravel. The chief crops, wheat, beans, oats and roots. The area is 12,042 acres; and the population in 1881 was 921." [Kelly's Directory for Cambridgeshire, Norfolk & Suffolk (1883) - Transcription copyright © E.C. “Paddy” Apling]

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Little Ouse is about 17 miles S. of King's Lynn.
It was formed in 1866, from Feltwell Anchor, Feltwell Fen Farms and Redmere, and detached and outlying parts of Feltwell and Hilgay in Norfolk, and part of Littleport in Cambridgeshire.
Redmere may also be spelled Redmore and Redmoor. It was transferred to Cambridgeshire between 1892 and 1896.
See also Feltwell, Hilgay, Hockwold, and Littleport.
Little Ouse is also the name of a river.

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Church Directories

  • In 1883 the parish was in the Deanery of Ely, in the peculiar of the Bishop of Ely.
    It could have been in a different deanery or archdeaconry both before and after this date.
  • The parish church was dedicated to St John.
    It was declared redundant in 1976.
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Church History

Church of St John
Description and picture.
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Church Records

Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms 1866-1880 at the Iron Church (this was part of Hilgay until 1866)
Marriages
These are not included in Boyd's Marriage Index or Phillimore's Marriage Registers.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Church Records

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Civil Registration

For the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths between 1866 and 1930 (and for the censuses from 1871 to 1901), Little Ouse may have been in Ely Registration District, Feltwell Anchor was in Thetford Registration District and Redmere was in Ely Registration District.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Civil Registration

You can see pictures of Little Ouse which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Historical Geography

In 1883 Little Ouse may have been in Ely hundred, Feltwell Anchor was in Grimshoe hundred, and Redmere was in Clackclose hundred.

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

Description, history, people, pictures, etc, of Little Ouse
and other parishes near Downham Market.
Shaw, Christopher
Fordham, Hilgay and Ten Mile Bank, Little Ouse, Ryston and Roxham, Southery: a brief history for local and family historians.
[Spindrift Print and Publishing, Series: Downham Market and around: Book 1, 2009]
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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TL620890 (Lat/Lon: 52.474891, 0.383776), Little Ouse which are provided by:

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • In 1883 Little Ouse may have been in the Ely union and the workhouse was at Ely, Feltwell Anchor was in the Thetford Union and the workhouse was at Thetford, and Redmere was in the Ely Union and the workhouse was at Ely.
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Population

These figures are from the population tables which were produced after the 10-yearly national censuses. The "Families" heading includes families and single occupiers. The figures for Little Ouse for 1881, 1891 and 1901 are from Kelly's and White's directories.

Little Ouse   Feltwell Anchor   Redmere
Year   Inhabited
Houses
Families Pop'n
1861 --- -- ---
1871 190 -- 1018
1881 --- --   921
1891 --- --   924
1901 --- --   892
1911 --- -- ---
 
Year   Inhabited
Houses
Families Pop'n
1861 13 -- 70
1871 12 12 61
1881 10 10 47
1891   8   8 57
1901 11 12 64
1911 -- 11 66
 
Year   Inhabited
Houses
Families Pop'n
1861 5 -- 18
1871 5 5 34
1881 8 8 39
1891 9 9 44
1901 -- -- --
1911 -- -- --

There may be more people living in detached parts of the parish (if there were any) and, if so, the number may or may not be included in the figures above. It is quite difficult to be sure from the population tables.

1861 Census for Feltwell Anchor
"Feltwell Anchor and Feltwell Fen Farms, described as extra-parochial, and returned with the parish of Feltwell St. Mary and St. Nicholas [in 1851?], are presumed to be subject to the provisions of the Act 20 Vict.c.19."
There were 11 inhabited houses and 62 people in Feltwell Anchor, and 2 inhabited houses and 8 people in Feltwell Fen Farms, "viz.:- Wood's and Jacob's".
1861 Census for Redmere
"Redmore, described as extra-parochial, and returned with Hockwold-cum-Wilton in 1851, is presumed to be subject to the provisions of the Act 20 Vict.c.19."
1871 Census for Little Ouse
Of the 190 inhabited houses, 88 were in Littleport in Cambridgeshire.
Of the population of 1018, 459 were in Littleport.
1901 Census for Little Ouse
Of the population of 892, 459 were in the Isle of Ely.
1901 Census for Redmere
Redmere had been transferred to Cambridgeshire between 1892 and 1896.