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Fincham

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"FINCHAM is a neat village, forming a long street, with several good houses, on the Swaffham road, 5 miles E.N.E. of Downham, comprising in its parish 807 inhabitants, and 2,884A. 2R. 2P. of land, belonging to several proprietors; but about one-third is owned by Sir Thos. Hare, Bart., the lord of the manors of Fincham-Hall, Curple, Grancourt, Combe, Baynard-Hall, and Littlewell. Part of the parish is in the following manors, viz: - Fareswell, of which the Rev. J. Humfrey, is lord; Talbots', of which Mr. Geo. Aylmer, is lord; and Platers, of which Mr. Wm. Hebgin, is lord. . . . There were anciently two CHURCHES here, but that dedicated to St. Michael, was appropriated to Shouldham priory, in 1350, and no traces of it now remain; the vicarage being consolidated after the Reformation, with the rectory of St. Martin's, a large and well-built church of flint, boulders, &c., with a lofty square tower, having quoins and battlements of freestone, and six bells, erected in 1844, in lieu of the old peel of four. . . . . St. Michael's rectory and St. Martin's vicarage, the former valued in the King's Book at £10, and the latter at £7 6s. 8d., are consolidated, in the incumbency of the Rev. Arthur Loftus, and alternate patronage of the Crown, and the Rev. Edward Gwyn Blyth, of Burnham." [William White, History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk (1845) - Transcription copyright © Pat Newby]

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Fincham is about 10 miles S.S.E of King's Lynn.

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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 Fincham, 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 Martin.
    There was also a church dedicated to St Michael but it was destroyed in 1744.
    There are references to St Martin with St Michael.
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Church History

Church of St Martin
Description and pictures.
Church of St Martin
Description of the bells and picture of the church.
Church of St Martin
Picture of the church.
Church of St Martin (this is a link to an archived copy)
Gargoyles on the church.
Fincham Rectory
Picture of the Rectory.
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Church Records

Marriages
These are not included in Boyd's Marriage Index or Phillimore's Marriage Registers.
Diptheria Epidemic in 1863
From the burial registers.

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), Fincham was in Downham Registration District.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Civil Registration

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Description & Travel

Fincham Village Pages
Description, history, church, pictures, etc.
Fincham Village Pages
Description, history, church, parish council, maps, pictures, etc.
This is a link to an archived copy.
Fincham Post Mill
Description, history and map.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Description and Travel

You can see pictures of Fincham which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Historical Geography

Fincham is in Clackclose Hundred.

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

Blyth, Rev William
Historical notices and records of the village and parish of Fincham in the county of Norfolk.
[King's Lynn, printed by Thew and Son, 1863]
(Contents of the book)
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Land & Property

Great Britain: Statute
Fincham Inclosure Act, 1772.
An act for dividing, allotting and inclosing, the common fields, half year inclosures and commons, and waste lands, within the parish of Fincham, in the county of Norfolk.
[1772]

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Land and Property

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TF686064 (Lat/Lon: 52.62926, 0.489491), Fincham which are provided by:

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Names, Personal

Aylmer
See Norfolk People and Families
Fincham
See Norfolk People and Families
Helsham, Crowe, etc.
See Norfolk People and Families
Musuru
"Madam Musuru, wife of the Turkish Ambassador was taken ill at the Indian House Ball, given to the Sultan, on Friday July 19th 1867, and died quickly."
This was found by the Norfolk transcribers for FreeREG. It was handwritten on a cutting from "THE RECORD" newspaper, stuck to the cover of the Fincham register of burials 1863-1931. The cutting is a philosophical paragraph about The tragic side of life, perhaps chosen for its suitability for a burial register. It is not known what the Musuru connection is with Fincham.
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Poor Houses, Poor Law