Saxlingham, Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
SAXLINGHAM (St. Margaret), a parish, in the union of Walsingham, hundred of Holt, W. division of Norfolk, 3¾ miles (W. by N.) from Holt.

Saxlingham St Margaret near Holt is an Ancient Parish in the Holt Deanery of the Diocese of Norwich.

Saxlingham is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it is listed under the names ‘Saxelinghham' and 'Saxelingaham'. The main tenant of the manor was Bishop William Peter de Valognes.

The Parish Church of Saint Margaret was constructed mainly in the 15th Century. The Church was extensively restored by a benefactor, Sir Alfred Jodrell, in 1896 giving it the appearance of far more recent construction. Inside is a font which dates from the 15th century and an example of an ironbound chest dating from the same period. In a niche is an alabaster figure of an Elizabethan lady kneeling on a tasselled cushion. She was the daughter of Sir Christopher Heydon. To the east of the church is the former ruin of Heydon Hall, the home of Sir John Heydon before he decamped to Baconsthorpe Castle. It was recently restored and renamed, and is now a private residence.

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:

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

Norfolk Record Office reference PD 557

The Norfolk Record Office reference PD 557/5 Marriages1813-1853 Entries from 1840 duplicate those in PD 557/6. The images contain both volumes which are distinct but duplicate volumes.

Known Issues

The microfilm conversion for this parish has given rise to some questions about the Marriage register for period 1840-1905 which are visible. The Norfolk Record Office reference PD 557/6 applies to the volume described as 1840-1901 ( register to 1924) The images have been displayed with and date as close as possible to the year 1901. The final entry number 70 in fact is for a marriage in 1905, number 69 was performed in 1901.

The microfilm for this volume has adopted the filming practice of filming two mariage entries and a partial image of the next page through the volume. The marriages are all available in consecutive order and the technique can at fit give rise to concerns that information is missing due to cut off images. The filming for many parishes in the diocese was undertaken in this way and the framing and dimensions of the register give rise to the filming sequence which in turn foms digital images on conversion.

The burial register images 1758-1812 are offered in a duplicate image set to try to assist viewing the water damaged and faded entries on image 4 &amp; 12 in the sequence of 16. By inverting the image the second of the two offered images may assist to read entries which although faded are legible (barely). The burials are taken from Norfolk Record Office PD 557/2 Baptisms and Burials 1758-1812

Census records
http://www.btinternet.com/~e.c.apling/1891Census/Saxlingham.htm for transcript of 1891 census

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/saxlingham-st-margaret/ Saxlingham St Margaret

http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-224742-church-of-st-margaret-field-dalling British listed building

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51257 British History online

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