Stratton Strawless, Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
STRATTON-STRAWLESS (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Aylsham, hundred of South-Erpingham, E. division of Norfolk, 4¾ miles (S. S. E.) from Aylsham.

Stratton Strawless St Margaret is an Ancient Parish in the diocese of Norwich. The Grade 1 listed building dates back to the 13th century with a broad tower from 1422. The oldest feature is a Norman doorway leading to the chancel. The church is full of artifacts which include 17th century alabaster monuments dedicated to the Marsham family.

From the 13th century to the end of the 19th century Stratton Strawless hall has been the home of the Marsham family. Robert Marsham (1707–97), the phenologist was their most famous son. During his lifetime Marsham is believed to have planted two million trees on the estate. Most of the plantings were cleared for much needed timber for the First and Second World War. A few ancient trees remain, and in particular The Great Cedar ( planted in 1747 ). The current two story hall was completed in 1800, in 1960 the top story was removed. During the Second World War the hall was used as a station by the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). Today, the hall has been converted into residential flats and part of the grounds have been turned into a caravan park

Stratton Strawless is a village and civil parish in the county of Norfolk and district of Broadland for local government purposes. Located close and to the east of the A140 road and being 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of the market town of Aylsham and some 7 miles (11 km) north of Norwich. Much of the parish has been given over to the growing of arable crops, but there are still substantial amounts of mixed woodland to be found.

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

Norfolk Record Office reference PD 423

Parish registers, 1562-1900 Microfilm copies of original records in the Norfolk Record Office, Norwich.

Baptisms 1562-1695, 1765-1812 Marriages 1563-1694, 1754-1900 Burials 1564-1695, 1766-1812 Banns 1754-1767 FHL BRITISH Film 1657226 Items 37-41

Archdeacons transcripts

Baptisms and burials 1600-1607, 1623-1633, 1665-1812 Marriages 1600-1607, 1623-1633, 1670-1811 FHL BRITISH Film 1526781 Item 1

Poor Law Unions
Aylsham Poor Law Union

Norfolk Poor Law Unions

Churchwardens' accounts and rates Microreproduction of original records at the Norfolk Record Office, Norwich.

Norfolk Record Office Reference: PD423/34.

Rates, which are taxes, are determined by property valuation, therefore church and poor rates list owners and occupiers of properties. In some cases, they are listed alphabetically by surname.

Parish chest materials which are identified in these records as chiefly churchwardens' accounts and/or vestry minutes, can contain a variety of records including accounts, minutes, lists of parish officers, church and/or poor rates, payments made to the poor, lists of charities, donors to special collections, terriers (identification of parish boundaries and properties), description of church silver or plate, copies of wills and various other records pertaining to the history and life of the parish.

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
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