Snettisham, Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
SNETTISHAM (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Docking, hundred of Smithdon, W. division of Norfolk, 11 miles (N. N. E.) from Lynn. This place, formerly called Snetham. There are places of worship for Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans.

Snettisham St Mary is an Ancient parish in the diocese of Norwich.

St. Mary's Church in the village has a 14th century, 172-foot (52 m) high spire. Nikolaus Pevsner called it "perhaps the most exciting decorated church in Norfolk".

The Snettisham Hoard is a series of discoveries of Iron Age precious metal, including nearly 180 gold torques, 75 complete and the rest fragmentary, found in the area between 1948 to 1973. In 1985 there was also a find of Romano-British jewellery and raw materials buried in a clay pot in AD 155. Although this latter find has no direct connection with the nearby Iron Age finds, it may be evidence of a long tradition of gold- and silver-working in the area.

Snettisham has a complex entry in the Domesday Book where it is divided in ownership between William de Warenne and the Bishop of Bayeux. Related berewicks are West Newton and Castle Rising, moreover Weston Longville is said to be in Snettisham's valuation. The name of the manor is spelt in four different ways, two very similar to the present pronunciation, one of Snesham and one of Nestesham.

Snettisham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located near the west coast of Norfolk, some 5 miles (8.0 km) south of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, 9 miles (14 km) north of the town of King's Lynn and 45 miles (72 km) north-west of the city of Norwich.

For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. Snettisham looks across the square-mouthed estuary of The Wash at the county of Lincolnshire, only 15 miles (24 km) away. The River Ingol runs to the south of the village upon which stands the now unused Snettisham watermill.

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.

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

Norfolk Record Office reference PD 304

Parish registers for Snettisham, 1682-1901Microfilm copy of original records in the Norfolk Record Office, Norwich, England.

Baptisms, 1682-1732, 1755. Marriages, 1682-1732. Burials, 1682-1732. Baptisms &amp; burials, 1760-1812. Baptisms, 1813-1859. Marriages, 1754--1791. Banns, 1754-1781, 1786. Marriages, 1791-1900. Burials, 1813-1900. Banns, 1791-1812, 1823-1900. FHL BRITISH Film 1657179 Items 26 - 39 Baptisms, 1859-1901. FHL BRITISH Film 2299762 Item 22

Archdeacons transcripts, 1725-1812

Baptisms and burials 1725-1812 Marriages 1725-1811 FHL BRITISH Film 1526810 Item 8

Parish chest materials of Snettisham, 1468-1834 Microreproduction of original records at the Norfolk Record Office, Norwich. Norfolk Record Office nos.: PD 24/1, 1(S); Le Strange NE9 and Box 25. Rates, which are taxes, are determined by property valuation, therefore church and poor rates list owners and occupiers of properties. In some cases, they are listed alphabetically by surname.

Churchwardens' accounts, 1468-1684 (not in chronological order) and typed transcripts (to p. 242 - it appears that previously used paper was used in typing the transcript). FHL BRITISH Film 2149227 Items 7 - 8 Typed transcript of churchwardens' accounts, 1468-1684 (contd. from p. 242); Poor rates, 1817-1822; Overseers' accounts, 1830-1834. Vault BRITISH Film 2149228 Items 1 - 3

Census records
Index for the Census may be searched at FamilySearch Historical Records

Poor Law Unions
Docking Poor Law Union, Norfolk

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.norfolkchurches.co.uk/snettisham/snettisham.htm Norfolk Churches website