Gressenhall, Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
GRESSENHALL (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Mitford and Launditch, hundred of Launditch, W. division of Norfolk, 2¾ miles (N. W.) from East Dereham.

Gressenhall St Mary including Great Bittering is an Ancient Parish in the Brisley deanery of the Diocese of Norwich. Bittering Magna has also been part of Gressenhall.

The main buildings of the Gressenhall workhouse were built in 1777 when it was a house of industry. Here paupers would work under quite a strict regime in return for accommodation. This changed after the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834: as a result the building underwent numerous changes to comply with the Act. The workhouse was a poor law institution. Its purpose was to provide a home and work for the poor local people who had nowhere to live. Gressenhall was constructed in 1776 and took one year to open

The Gressenhall Workhouse buildings form the Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse Museum of Norfolk Life.

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 236

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

http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/gressenhallwc/gressenhallwc.htm Norfolk Churches website Gressenhall Workhouse Chapel

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.

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: Gressenhall on GenUKI
 * Gressenhall Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on A Church Near You
 * Parish Info
 * for photograph of the church
 * Norfolk baptisms Project link
 * British Listed Buildings
 * Norfolk Churches website
 * for information about the Museum of Norfolk Life