Morston, Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
MORSTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Walsingham, hundred of Holt, W. division of Norfolk, 1½ mile (W.) from Blakeney.

Morston All Saints is an Ancient parish in the Holt deanery of the Diocese of Norwich.

Sir Alfred Munnings wrote of the church: “…nowhere could an artist have found a church in a more peaceful setting; a place of repose, a place to dream in.” Famously he was painting a picture of the church on September 3rd, 1939, when Britain declared war on Germany.

All Saints Church is a Grade II listed building and the churchyard contains a Grade II monument to the Butter family dated 1839 in the W of churchyard.

All Saints is famous for its commanding aspect, its 1480 rood screen, its 15th century octagonal font (carved with the Evangelists and their emblems), and its lightning-struck (1743) tower and which contains a single bell..

The west wall is probably all that survives of a Saxon church on this site. The church stands on a Hill and served the agricultural parish; it now has a largely marine population serving the tourists taking boat trips to view seal colonies.

Resources
If you live in Norfolk or near Blakeney then you will have access to a variety of resources; however, for those who live further afield, one can access online records at FamilySearch and other sites mentioned on this page. Additional records (microfilm and online) can be viewed at Family History Centers. Refer to and  in the Family History Library Catalog for available records.

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.


 * Walsingham 1837-1938
 * Fakenham 1939-1974

The Register Office, Fakenham Connect, Oak Street, Fakenham, NR21 9SR. Tel: 01328 850111. E-mail: registration.fakenham@norfolk.gov.uk

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

Norfolk Record Office reference PD 478

Poor Law Unions
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?Walsingham/Walsingham.shtml

Walsingham Union was incorporated under the terms of the 1834 Act, and the union workhouse was built at Great Snoring, but not completed until 1838. The Walsingham Union Workhouse at Great Snoring was opened in 1838. It was situated close to the boundary between the parishes of Great Snoring and Thursford and was sometimes known as Thursford Workhouse. Poor Law Unions were abolished in 1930 and the responsibilities of Walsingham Union Board of Guardians were taken over by Norfolk County Council Guardians' Committee No. 7. From 1930 the former Workhouse became known as Walsingham Public Assistance Institution. On 26 and 27 June 1934 the remaining thirty inmates (including two infants but no children) were transferred to West Beckham and Gressenhall Institutions and Walsingham Institution officially closed on 30 June 1934. The building was subsequently adapted for use as a smallpox hospital. By 1976 the building was derelict and was demolished in the early 1990s. Acquisition Received by the Norfolk Record Office on 26 February 1982 (C/GP 19/192-198) and on unknown dates.

Copies C/GP19/1-6, 131, 133-135, 137, 141, 143-146, 148, 150-151, 173-181 are on microfilm. RelatedMaterial For records of Guardians Committee No. 7 (including the administration of Red House Children's Home in Little Snoring and the boarding-out of children), see C/GC 7. See Public Assistance Sub-Committee minutes, 11 July 1934 and 12 September 1934, C/C 10/455. The records of the County Architect's Department include plans of the alterations for use as a smallpox hospital dated February 1937, see C/AR 1/29-31. The one inch to one mile Ordnance Survey Map of 1954 designates the building 'smallpox hospital'.

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.achurchnearyou.com/morston-all-saints/ for information about the parish

http://www.norwich.anglican.org/church/?church_id=1035 Stiffkey and Bale Benefice

http://www.cvma.ac.uk/publications/digital/norfolk/sites/morston/catalogue.html stained glass

http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-223407-church-of-all-saints-morston British Listed Building

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51160 British History online

http://www.literarynorfolk.co.uk/morston.htm For poem about Morston marshes

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