Beeston, Norfolk Genealogy

England Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
St Mary Beeston-next-Mileham is an Ancient parish in the diocese of Norwich. It was combined with LIttle Bittering to make Beeston-cum-Bittering and is now about 7 miles west of East Dereham. The church is now isolated from it's congregation some two miles away, but in the 14th century it was a substantially wealthy community and the church reflects this. The present brick spire replaces the original lost in a storm in the 1870s. BEESTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Mitford and Launditch, hundred of Launditch, W. division of Norfolk, 2 miles (S. S. E.) from Litcham.

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.


 * Mitford 1837-1938
 * East Dereham 1939-1974

Church records
parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

Norfolk Record Office reference PD 377

Known Issues

Due to an error in the film header of the original microfilm for this parish made at the Norfolk record office the images appear under a waypoint Baptisms, marriages and burials, 1829-1872 are in reality 164 images of the early registers for Beeston-next-Mileham 1539-1695.

Item 10 relates to 1539-1695 although incorrectly labelled with the spurious year range 1829-1872 which years are covered in three distinct volumes of later registers on another filming.

Poor Law Unions
Mitford and Launditch     http://www.institutions.org.uk/workhouses/england/norf/mitford_and_launditch_workhouse.htm

Records of the Mitford and Launditch Poor Law Union1776-1948 Norfolk Record Office C/GP 14 Extent 137 pieces The following parishes comprised the 1836 union: Bawdeswell, Beeston, Beetley, Billingford, East Bilney, Bintry, Brisley, Bylaugh, Colkirk, Cranworth, East Dereham, Great Dunham, Little Dunham, North Elmham, Elsing, Foxley, Great Fransham, Little Fransham, Garvestone, Gately, Gressenhall, Guist, Hardingham, Hockering, Hoe, Horningtoft, Kempstone, Letton, East Lexham, West Lexham, Litcham, Longham, Lyng, Mattishall, Mattishall Burgh, Mileham, Oxwick with Pattesley, Reymerstone, Rougham, Scarning, Shipdham, Southburgh, Sparham, Stanfield, Swanton Morley, Thuxton, Tittleshall, East Tuddenham, North Tuddenham, Twyford, Weasenham All Saints, Weasenham St Peter, Wellingham, Wendling, Westfield, Whinburgh, Whissonsett, Wood Rising, Worthing, Yaxham. All fifty parishes of Mitford and Launditch Hundreds were incorporated in 1775 under the terms of An act for the better relief and employment of the poor within the hundreds of Mitford and Launditch, 15 Geo. III, cap. 59. In 1801 the parish of East Dereham separated from the Incorporation, but in 1836 all fifty original parishes plus ten from Eynesford Hundred joined together in a new union. The House of Industry belonging to the old incorporation, built at Gressenhall in 1776-1777, was repaired and altered in 1836 to become the new Union Workhouse. Mitford and Launditch Union Board of Guardians was replaced by Guardians Committee No. 10 in 1930. Acquisition Received by the Norfolk Record Office on unknown dates, 6 June 1979 (numbered C/GP 14/1a (part)), 3 February 1984 (numbered C/GP 14/136), 21 July 1989 (numbered C/GP 14/137), 18 May 1976 (numbered C/GP 14/47-49, 82, 101, 104 110-113), 18 March 1976 (numbered C/GP 14/105), and 15 August 1978 (numbered C/GP 14/135).

Norfolk Poor Law Unions

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

 * Beeston cum Bittering on GenUKI