Houghton on the Hill, Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk



Parish History
Houghton on the Hill St Mary the Virgin was an Ancient Parish in the Cranwich deanery of the Diocese of Norfolk. It became abandoned in the 1930's the last service held in 1944. The church then became a ruin until a restoration by Bob Davey and supporters.

The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin (most commonly called St Mary's) stands on top of the hill in Houghton, on the outskirts of North Pickenham near Swaffham. Of the small hamlet once described as Houghton Town, only the church and Houghton Farm remain intact.

The Church is now used for services again.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Norfolk Record Office Parish Records of Houghton on the Hill reference PD554

Images of the parish registers may be found online at FamilySearch Historical Records.

See Also

England Norfolk Church of England Parish Registers and Bishops’ Transcripts (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Index for the Census may be searched at FamilySearch Historical Records

http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

Poor Law Unions
Swaffham Poor Law Union

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Norfolk Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.

http://www.saintmaryschurch.org.uk/ For history and restoration

http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/houghton/houghton.htm Norfolk Churches website