Hempstead (near North Walsham), Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
HEMPSTEAD (St. Andrew), a parish, in the hundred of Happing, E. division of Norfolk, 3½ miles (N. E.) from Stalham. Hempstead St Andrew (with Eccles or Eccles next the Sea) is an Ancient Parish in the Waxham deanery of the Diocese of Norwich.

It was anciently known as Hempstede.

It is consolidated with Eccles by the Sea in some records, and is known as Hempstead with Eccles. Also known as Hempstead near Stalham.

This parish should not be confused with Hempstead (near Holt), Norfolk or parishes in Essex. Nor should it be confused with Eccles which is about 8 miles northwest of Diss. The church was constructed sometime prior to the end of the 14th century, dedicated to St Andrew. The building still retains almost all of its original architecture, including its completely unrestored, uneven top beam. The real significance of the church comes from the rare quality of the painting on the rood screen. The screen consists of two ranges of eight panels each, the panels arranged in pairs. In February 1982, a thief armed with a screwdriver removed one the priceless painted boards of the rood screen. On it was an image of St Eligius. The panel has never been recovered.

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.


 * Tunstead 1837-1869
 * Smallburgh 1870-1938
 * North Walsham 1939-1974

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

Norfolk Record Office reference PD 273/1-4

Monumental inscriptions
England Norfolk Monumental Inscriptions (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Census records
http://www.btinternet.com/~e.c.apling/1891Census/HempsteadEccles.htm transcript of 1891 census

Poor Law Unions
For Tunstead and Happing see http://www.institutions.org.uk/workhouses/england/norf/smallburgh_workhouse.htm

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

 * Norfolk: Hempstead near Stalham on GenUKI
 * Eccles by the Sea on GenUKI
 * British History Online
 * Hempstead Norfolk Churches website