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Sprowston

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"SPROWSTON is a scattered but well-built village, 2 miles N. by E. of Norwich. The parish contains about 2700 acres of land, and has increased its population, since 1811, from 310 to 1235 souls; many handsome villas and houses having been erected here . . . and is commonly called New Sprowston. The manor anciently belonged to the Corbets, but was sold by Sir Thos. Corbet, (the last baronet of his family,) in 1645, to Sir Thos. Adams, from whose family it passed, by sale, to Sir Lambert Blackwell, who was created baronet of Sprowston, in 1718. It was held by three successive baronets of this family; but the last,  ... sold it to Mr. Boycott, of Norwich, whose grandson, John Morse, Esq., sold it in 1802; and after passing through the hands of Alderman Davey and others,  ... the manor-house and principal part of the estate were sold to Thos. Woodruffe Smythe, Esq., of Stockwell park, Surrey, whose executors sold the manor and Hall estate to T.H. Head, Esq., their present owner. The Hall, said to have been erected in 1559,  ... is now occupied by E. Steward, Esq. Sprowston Lodge,  . . .  is the seat of John Stracey, Esq., . . . Here are several other rural seats, occupied by their owners; and near Sprowston Cottage are the remains of St. Magdalen's Chapel, . . . The CHURCH (St. Margaret,) is an ancient structure, . . . In the interior are  ... several monuments and effigies of the Corbet family; one of whom was Miles Corbet, Esq., . . . The benefice is a curacy, ... but was augmented in 1790 and 1794 with £400 of Queen Anne's Bounty, laid out in land; and in 1824, with a Parliamentary grant of £1000, now at interest. The Rev. Henry Banfather, B.D., of Norwich Grammar School, is the incumbent, and the Dean and Chapter of Norwich are the patrons and appropriators; . . .  The fair, formerly held here on August 2nd,  . . . The Huntingdonians built a Sunday-school here in 1839. " [William White History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk (1845) - Transcription copyright © Pat Newby]

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Cemeteries

Church of St Mary and St Margaret
Transcriptions and photographs of gravestones in the churchyard.
Not all gravestones may be included, even when a site is marked as complete, for example when stones are not legible enough to be photographed.
Sprowston Cemetery
The map shows that this is near the church of St Mary and St Margaret.
Transcriptions and photographs of gravestones in the cemetery.
Not all gravestones may be included, even when a site is marked as complete, for example when stones are not legible enough to be photographed.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Cemeteries

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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 Taverham, in the archdeaconry of Norwich.
    It could have been in a different deanery or archdeaconry both before and after this date.
    Until 1857 it had been in the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Norwich.
  • The parish church is dedicated to St Mary and St Margaret.
    There is also a church dedicated to St Cuthbert.
  • The parish is ecclesiastically united with Beeston St Andrew which does not have a church.
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Church History

Churches of St Mary and St Margaret, and St Cuthbert
Description, history, pictures, services, etc.
Tricker, Roy
Parish of Sprowston: Churches of SS Mary and Margaret and St Cuthbert: A short guide.
[Sprowston, 1976]
 
Church of St Mary and St Margaret
Description and pictures.
Church of St Mary and St Margaret
Services, minister, picture, etc.
 
Church of St Cuthbert
Description and pictures.
Church of St Cuthbert
Services, minister, picture, etc.
 
Roman Catholic Church of St George
Description and pictures.
 
Sprowston Methodist Church
Minister, services, picture, etc.
Follow the link to the home page, then search for the church.
Sprowston Methodist Church
Services, news, events, organisations, pictures, etc.
Sprowston Methodist Church
Description and pictures.
Sprowston Methodist Church
Sprowston Road Methodist Church, Norwich: 1909-1959 golden jubilee souvenir handbook.
[Norwich, 1959]
Sprowston Methodist Church
Opening and dedication of the new church, 20th September, 1958.
[Sprowston, 1958]
Sprowston Methodist Church
Sprowston Methodist Church: 25 years at Wroxham Road: 1958-1983.
[Norwich, 1983]
Sprowston Methodist Church
Sprowston Methodist Church: Jubilee! celebrating life and witness over 50 years at Wroxham Road, 1958-2008.
[Norwich 2008]
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Church Records

These include Beeston St Andrew.

Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms 1813-1880
Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms, Marriages and Burials.
Marriages
These are not included in Boyd's Marriage Index or Phillimore's Marriage Registers.
Churchwardens' Payments, or Disbursements
Payments for church repairs, communion bread and wine, etc.
1665-1795.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Church Records

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Civil Registration

For the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths between 1837 and 1930 (and for the censuses from 1851 to 1901), Sprowston was in St Faith's Registration District.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Civil Registration

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Description & Travel

Sprowston History
Description, history and pictures.
Sprowston Heritage
Sprowston Heritage: a community archive.
Photographic archive of images of Sprowston through the ages.
[Sprowston, Sprowston Heritage, CD, 2005]
Sprowston Town Council
Councillors, meetings, minutes, services, schools, etc.
 
Macfarlane, Thelma
Threads of time: Sprowston history in fabric and thread: a personal record.
[Sprowston, Sprowston Heritage Millennium Embroidery, 2007]
Sneddon, Peter (editor)
Brickmaking in Sprowston.
[Sprowston, Sprowston Heritage Community Archive, 2006]
Nuthall, Trevor
The Lazar House, Norwich: 900 years of history.
[ISBN 090318107X?, Norwich, Norfolk County Council, Assist Trust, 2005]
 
Sprowston Post Mill
Description, history and pictures.
Harrison, Herbert Clifford
The mill house and thereabouts: recollections of an idyllic childhood in Sprowston, Norfolk.
[ISBN 0948400676, Larks Press, 1998]
Harrison, Herbert Clifford
The story of Sprowston Mill.
[London, Phoenix House, 1949]
Sprowston Road Post Mill
Description.
Sprowston southern Tower Mill
Description and history.
Sprowston eastern Tower Mill
Description and history.
Sprowston northern Tower Mill
Description and history.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Description and Travel

You can see pictures of Sprowston which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Heraldry

Sneddon, Peter
Heraldic arms of families connected to Beeston St Andrew and Sprowston.
[Sprowston, 2006]
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Historical Geography

Sprowston is in Taverham Hundred.

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

Best, Geoffrey
A history of Sprowston: one view of our past.
[Sprowston, 2000]
Sneddon, Peter
Sprowston: historical points over the past 1000 years.
[Sprowston, 2000]
Sprowston Heritage
Publications by members of Sprowston Heritage: Bringing the history of the village to life.
[Sprowston, Sprowston Heritage, 2007]
Tillett, Edward A.
Norwich Scrapbooks: Norwich Hamlets: Vol.3: Catton, Sprowston, Thorpe, Trowse, Bracondale, and Lakenham.
Newspaper articles, photographs, postcards, extracts from Blomefield, etc.
[In Norwich Local Studies Library, 1900s]
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Land & Property

Great Britain: Statute
Sprowston Inclosure Act, 1800.
An act for dividing, allotting, and inclosing the commons and waste grounds within the parish of Sprowston, in the county of Norfolk.
[1800]

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Land and Property

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TG247119 (Lat/Lon: 52.657852, 1.320761), Sprowston which are provided by:

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Military Records

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Names, Personal

Sneddon, Peter (editor)
Sprowston surnames.
Church burials - 16th century, parish register, 1721-1812, White's Norfolk directory 1845, Sprowston people 1851, Census of 1861, Shoe and brick workers 1881, Kelly's Norfolk directory 1888, etc.
[Sprowston, Sprowston Heritage, 2007]
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

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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.

Year   Inhabited
Houses
Families Population
1801   42   46   248
1811   56   56   310
1821 171 176   832
1831 243 255 1179
1841 269 -- 1235
1851 307 -- 1308
       
Year   Inhabited
Houses
Families Population
1861 339 -- 1407
1871 389 395 1580
1881 420 425 1782
1891 486 490 2165
1901 520 522 2359  a
  -- 168   749  b
1911 -- 212   906

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.

1821 Census
"Manufactory has increased at Sprowston within the last four or five years."
1831 Census
"The Parish of Sprowston has increased in Population (347 Persons) attributable to its proximity to the City of Norwich."
1861 Census
"ST. FAITHS. The decrease of population in most of the parishes comprised in the District of St. Faiths is attributed to the migration of labourers and their families to the manufacturing districts."
1901 Census
"Including New Sprowston, and part of George Hill."
a - These figures are from the 1901 population tables.
b - These figures (for 1901) are from the 1911 population tables.
1911 Census
Out of the population of 906, 20 were in one institution or large establishment.
"By the Norwich (Extension) Order, 1907, which came into operation on the 9th November, 1907, part of St. Faith's Rural District (viz., parts of Catton and Sprowston Civil Parishes) was transferred to Norwich County Borough (and Civil Parish)."