Hempstead (near North Walsham), Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk

Parish History
Hempstead St Andrew (with Eccles or Eccles next the Sea) is an Ancient Parish in the Waxham deanery of the Diocese of Norwich.

It is consolidated with Eccles by the Sea in some records, and is known as Hempstead with Eccles. See also Hempstead by Holt. It was anciently known as Hempstede. This parish should not be confused with Hempstead (near Holt), Norfolk or parishes in Essex.

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
Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Images of the parish register for this parish are available in historic records (formerly Record Search) Norfolk Record Office reference PD 273/1-4

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

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
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=78550 British History online

http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/hempstead/hempstead.htm Norfolk Churches website