A Bit of Wymondham History

Extract from: “Post office directory of the Norfolk counties; viz.: – Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk [afterw.] Post office directory of Cambridge, Norfolk and Suffolk [afterw.] The Post office directory of Norfolk and Suffolk [afterw.] Kelly’s directory of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk” by Kelly’s Directories, Ltd

Published in 1875

Pages 512 – 513

WYMONDHAM is a market town, railway station, head of a county court district, and polling – place for the Southern division of the county, and an extensive parish, divided, for parochial purposes, into six divisions, viz., Wattlefield, Suton, Silfleid, Downham, Market Street, and Town Green : it is 115 miles by rail from London, 9 south west – by – west from Norwich, 20 north from Thetford, and 11 south – east from East Dereham, in the Forehoe hundred and union, rural deanery of Hingham, archdeaconry of Norfolk, and diocese of Norwich.

The Great Eastern railway from London to Norwich passes close to the town, and here is the junction with the Dereham branch single line, also a station and warehouses for goods.

The town stands in an elevated situation, and the houses are irregularly built, showing some antiquity.

The town is well lighted with gas from the works on Fairland.

The church of St. Mary the Virgin, a large noble edifice, was formerly part of a monastery, a portion of the ruins of which still remains : the octagon tower, at the east end of the church, is in good preservation ; at the west end a spacious and lofty square tower, containing 5 bells, has been built by the inhabitants : the interior has a lofty carved roof, supported by full – length figures of angels, and was repaired in 1845 : there are several handsome monumental tablets to the families of Burroughs and Jermy.

The register dates from the year 1615. The living is a vicarage, the vicarial tithe rent charge being commuted at £799 4. 8d., with some glebe lands, in the gift of the Bishop of Norwich, and held by the Rev. Robert Eden, M.A., of Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

St. Thomas & Becket’s chapel, a commodious building, has been for many years disused, but is now in course of restoration by the trustees of the Town Lands Charity.

A Free Grammar school, for tradesmen’s sons, was established and endowed by Edward VI., and various sums have been subsequently left by benevolent persons: there are 8 to 10 scholars, who are elected by the trustees of the Town Lands Charity, on payment of a capitation fee of £2 28. annually, and who must belong to the parish ; the Rev. Joseph Grisdale, B.A., is the head master.

The Society of Friends, Independents, Methodists, Wesleyans, Baptists, and Brethren have each a chapel here.

A County Court is held at the King’s Head, Market place, once in two months, and petty sessions for the hundred of Forehoe are held the first and third Tuesday in every month.

The following parishes are in the Wymondham County Court district : -Ashwellthorpe, Aslacton, Barnham Broom, Brandon Parva, Bunwell, Carleton Forehoe, Carleton Rode, Coston, Crownthorpe, Deopham, Forncett St. Mary, Forncett St. Peter, Fundenhall, Hackford, Hapton, Hardingham, Hethell, Hingham, Ketteringham, Kimberley, Morley St. Botolph, Morley St. Peter, Moulton, Runhall, Tacolneston, Tibenham, Welborne, Wicklewood, Woodrising, Wramplingham, Wreningham, Wymondham.

The County Female Prison, or House of Correction, is situated at the entrance of the town from Norwich, and is devoted to the reception of female prisoners only who are sentenced to hard labour, where they serve their periods of imprisonment in washing and sewing for the prisoners contained in Norwich gaol.

The old market cross, in the centre of the town, built in 1616, is an octagon building, supported by wooden pillars at each angle: in 1863 it was repaired, and is now appropriated as a news and reading room: it is an object of curiosity, on account of its antique appearance and its carved devices, representing different articles of turnery, which originally formed one of the staple branches of the trade of this place, but is now nearly extinct.

The market, on Friday, is unimportant, and little business is now transacted.

Three fairs are held annually, on the 14th of February, May the 17th for cattle, and on September the 29th for pleasure.

The manufacture of parramatta, nets, satins, and crapes is carried on for Norwich houses.

Here is also an extensive brewery, belonging to Messrs. William Cann & Co., and numerous corn mills are scattered about the parish.

There are several charities left for the benefit of the poor, the principal of which is the Town Lands Charity.

The charity property is invested in the official Trustee of Charity Lands, and administered by 13 trustees, of whom the Earl of Kimberley is chairman : the income amounts to about £250 yearly, out of which £00 is paid to the master of the Free Grammar school, £15 clerk’s salary, £12 for apprenticing one or more boys of the parish, £7 6s. to the poor of Sutton and repairs of Grammar school, master’s house, and other buildings, the balance being added to the fuel allotment.

A sum of about £104 per annum is derived from 53 acres of land, and expended in the purchase of coals, which are sold to the poor at reduced prices, and delivered at their homes.

Stanfield Hall is an ancient mansion in the Tudor style, having a large entrance hall, with richly groined roof, and is encompassed by a mont: it occupies the site of the original manor house, was erected about the twelfth century, and stands in a pretty park of about 70 acres : it is now the property of the heirs of Captain Reginald Gwyn, and in the occupation of Colonel George Wilson Boileau, J.P. Colonel Hobart, of Bath, is lord of the manor.

The principal landowners are the Earl of Kimberley, William Robert Clarke, esq., Colonel Hobart, the Trustees of the late H. N. Burroughes, esq John Cann, esq., and the Misses Cann.

The number of seres is 10,613 ; rateable value, £22,739 108.; the population in 1871 was 4,644, of whom about 3,300 are in the town.

WATTLEFIELD is 3 miles south, and has a chapel, built by John Mitchell, esq., and used as a chapel of ease. Wattlefield Hall is a building of the present century, in the Elizabethan style, and stands in about 50 acres of pasture and wood, and is the seat of William Robert Clarke, esq., J.P.

SUTON adjoins the town on the west, SILFIELD on the east, and DowNHAM on the north, each extending about 3 miles from the town. Downham Grove is the seat of William Atkins Bignold, esq.

Parish Clerk, William Blyth.

Letters received from London & all other POST & MONEY ORDER & TELEGRAPH OFFICE, Savings Bank & Government Annuity & Insurance Office (open) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.).- Sparham Pison, postmaster, Market place, places by night mail at 2.30 a.w. & by day mail at 12.30 p.m. & dispatched to London & ce, by night mail at 9.50 p.m. & day mail at 10.30 a.m.

A foot post at 6 a.m. to Hethersett, Barnham Broom, Tacolneston, Wreningham, Morley, Attleborough Road, Wicklewood & Barford, & returns at 8 p.m.

Box closes at 9 p.m.

Letters received until 9.30 p.m. with an extra stamp affixed

COUNTY MAGISTRATES for the petty sessional division of Forehoe, who sit at Wymondham :

The Earl of Kimberley, of Kimberley house, Wymondham
Hy. Wm. Bartholomew Edwards, esq. of Hardingham ball

The Rev. Charles Beauchamp Cooper, of Morley rectory

John Bathurst Graves Browne, esq. of Morley hall

Rawdon Hunter Muskett, esq. of Hingham ball

William Robert Clarke, esq. of Wattlefield hall, Wymondham
Thomas Beevor, esq. of Hingham
Clerk, F. J. Howlett

INSURANCE AGENTS :
Accident, W. H. Taylor, Market place
Church of England, D. W. Hughes, Market street
County Fire, F. W. Standley, Town green
General Hailstorm, J. Cann, Town green
Imperial Fire, T. 8. Taylor, Damgate street
Life Association of Scotland, W. H. Taylor, Market st
London & Lancashire, S. Fison, Market place
London Provincial Law Life, G. C. L. Knight, Vicar at
Northern, J. R. Forster, Market street
Norwich Union, J. Cann, Town green
Pelican Life & Phaniz Fire, A. West, Market place
Provident Life, F. W. Standley, Town green
Reliance Life, A. Glasspoole, Town green
Royal, W. S. Death, Market place
Royal Farmers ‘ & General, W. H. Taylor, Market place
Star Life, T. Lambert, Market place
Sun Fire, W. H. Taylor, Market place
Whittington, J. Smith, Town green
PUBLIC ESTABLISHMENTS :
County Court, held at King’s Head, ‘ Market place, once in two months ; E. P. Price, esq., Q.c., judge ; George Custance Leak Knight, deputy registrar, Vicar street ; Charles Crane, sen. high bailiff
House of Correction, Norwich road, Rev. Joseph Grisdale, B.A. chaplain ; Miss Emily Greenfield, matron
Inland Revenue Office, King’s Head, Robert Dodsley, officer, Market place
PUBLIC OFFICERS :
Clerk to School Board, George Plumstead
Clerk to Forehoe Union, G. C. L. Knight, Vicar street
Inspector of Nuisances for the Forehoe Union, Frank Winfield, Hingham
Inspector of Weights & Measures, Wm. Alpe, Town grn
Assistant Overseer & Poor’s Rate Collector, Geo. Plumstend, Town green
Registrar of Births & Deaths for Wymondham District, Arthur Glasspoole, Town green
Relieving Officer, George Fisher Dawes, Hawthorn cottage, Northfield
Stamp Distributor, Mrs. Jane White, Fairland street
Inspector of Police, William Alpe, Town green
Superintendent Registrar of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Francis John Howlett
Town Crier, Robert Harvey, Damgate street
SCHOOLS :
Free Grammar, Rev. Joseph Grisdale, B.A. master
Board School. Norwich road, Richard Charles Shockley, master ; Miss Jessie Mann, infants’ mistress
Board School, Spooner row (mixed), Thos. Day, master
Board School, Common (mixed), Miss Lilias Lindsay, mistress
Railway Station, George Cecil Paynter, station master
CONVEYANCE – A fly to & from railway station to meet every train, from King’s Head, Market street
CARRIERS :
Charles Harrison, Damgate street, cart carrier to & from Norwich, mon. wed, thurs. & sat
Charles Mallows, Church street, carrier to & from Norwich, mon. wed. & sat
Samuel Gooch, from Town green, mon. wed. & sat
Foulsham Hurrell, from Thetford, fri. returning same day, calling at the Sun inn, Damgate street