Great Dunham, Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
DUNHAM, GREAT, a parish, in the union of Mitford and Launditch, hundred of Launditch, W. division of Norfolk, 5¼ miles (N. E.) from Swaffham. There are places of worship for Wesleyans andBaptists. Great Dunham St Andrew is an Ancient parish in the Brisley deanery of the dioces of Norwich. Great Dunham is situated in the Hundred of Launditch. It was an outlying estate of the important royal manor of Mileham, formerly in the hands of Stigand, Saxon bishop of Elmham (East Anglia) (1043) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1052), but at the time of Domesday Survey held for the king by the Norman, William de Noyers. Domesday Survey records that Reynold the priest had holdings in Dunham, with the daughter of the landholder, Payne. St Andrew's church was among the possessions of nearby Castle Acre Priory. A charter of 1138-45 issued by bishop Everard of Norwich refers to the chapel of St Mary belonging to St Andrew's.

The modern deanery is Dereham in Mitford

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 684

Poor Law Unions
Mitford &amp;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.

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

 * Great Dunham on GenUKI
 * Parish Info
 * Images, etc of Church
 * British Listed buildings
 * Norfolk Churches website