Melton Constable, Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
MELTON-CONSTABLE (St. Peter), a parish, in the hundred of Holt, W. division of Norfolk, 5½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Holt. Melton Constable St Peter is an Ancient Parish in the Holt deanery in the Diocese of Norwich.

St. Peter's in Melton Park, was first consecrated in 1092 and has a central Norman tower. A Norman window on the north side of the church has survived. There is a low-side window and a curious window-seat in the chancel. The south transept was built in 1681 and contains the Astley family pew and a number of family memorials. Above the alter is a Flemish triptych, attributed to Rubens.

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.


 * Erpingham 1837-1869
 * Walsingham 1869-1938
 * Fakenham 1939-1974

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

Norfolk Record Office reference PD 656

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tinstaafl/Church_Pages/melton_constable.htm transcripts Norfolk Baptism Project

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.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=78583 British History online

http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-223975-church-of-st-peter-melton-constable British Listed buildings

http://www.northnorfolkimages.co.uk/location/meltonconstable.html for information about the village and history of the village

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