New Houghton (Houghton-next-Harpley), Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
HOUGHTON, NEW, or Houghton-by-Harpley (St. Martin), a parish, in the union of Docking, hundred of Gallow, W. division of Norfolk, 7 miles (N. by W.) from Rougham.

New Houghton St Martin is an Ancient parish in the Burnham deanery of the diocese of Norwich. The church stands in the park of Houghton Hall, the country house built for Sir Robert Walpole. The church was restored and at the same time a brand new tower was built. The re-faced flint walls contain a medieval building which was refurbished in the 16th century and partially rebuilt in the 18th century. It is a Grade 1 listed buuilding by English Heritage in common with the other buildings in Houghton Park.

It should not be confused with Houghton St Giles, Norfolk or Houghton on the Hill, Norfolk

The modern parish of Houghton-next-Harplet St Martin is a church within the united benefice of Eastand West Rudham helhoughton etc in the Burnham and Walsingham deanery of the Diocese of Norwich. The church is used for services for limited months in the year.

NEW HOUGHTON (or HOUGHTON-IN-THE-BRAKE, or HOUGHTON-NEXT-HARPLEY) is a parish and village 7 miles from Docking railway station, 14 north-east-by-ast from Lynn and 10 west from Fakenham, in the Western division of the county, Gallow hundred, Docking union, Little Walsingham county court district, rural deanery of Burnham, archdeaconry of Norfolk and diocese of Norwich. Houghton Hall, one of the seats of the Marquess of Cholmondley, is of freestone, having two principal fronts, ornamented with cupolas at each corner, the front, with the colonnades, being 450 feet long: it was built by the celebrated minister Sir Robert Walpole, first Earl of Orford, and stands in a domain of 1,400 acres, of which 700 are wood and 760 park: the Hall stands low, and is surrounded by beautiful grounds with some fine old trees : the architect was Ripley, and it occupied thirteen years in the building. The church of St. Martin, standing in the park, is a structure of flint and stone, in the Perpendicular style, and consists of chancel, nave, aisles and a small tower containing 1 bell: the tower was built by the great Sir Robert Walpole, who died in 1745: the church contains some old monuments: it was repewed in 1855: the chancel was restored in 1867 by the Marquess of Cholmondeley, the lay rector, when an aumbrie was discovered, which still remains. The register dates from about 1650. The living is a vicarage, yearly value £108, with 6 acres of glebe, in the gift of the Marquess of Cholmondeley and held since 1845 by the Rev. John Henry Broome, of Queen's College, Cambridge, who has rooms in the Hall. The Marquess of Cholmondeley, with a few residents in the neighbourhood, distribute several prizes annually for the best cultivated gardens and allotments. The Marquess of Cholmondeley is lord of the manor and sole landowner.

Kelly's Directory for Cambridgeshire, Norfolk &amp; Suffolk, 1883, p.356.

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 Free BMD


 * Docking

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

Norfolk Record Office Parish Records of Houghton-next-Harpley reference PD 413 The parish is also referred to as New Houghton Microfilm copies of original records in the Norfolk Record Office, Central Library, Norwich, Norfolk, England.

Item 26 Baptisms, burials, marriages 1654-1740 Item 27 Baptisms and burials 1740-1812 Item 28 Baptisms 1831-1905 Item 29 Marriages 1755-1812 Banns 1755-1810 Item 30 Marriages 1813-1843 Item 31 Marriages 1837-1903 Item 32 Banns 1827-1903 FHL BRITISH Film 1596368 Items 26-32 Burials 1814-1906 FHL BRITISH Film 1597077 Item 20

Archdeacons transcripts, 1725-1811

Baptisms and burials 1725-1810 Marriages 1725-1811 FHL BRITISH Film 1526790 Item 6

Poor Law Unions
Docking Poor Law Union, Norfolk

Probate Jurisdictions
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
England Jurisdictions 1851

Web Sites

 * Norfolk: Houghton on GenUKI
 * Literary Norfolk website
 * Church of St Martin on British Listed Buildings