Great Ryburgh, Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
RYBURGH, GREAT (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Walsingham, hundred of Gallow, W. division of Norfolk, 4 miles (S. E. by E.) from Fakenham. The Wesleyan Methodists have a place of worship.

Great Ryburgh St Andrew is an Ancient Parish in the Toftrees deanery of the Diocese of Norwich.

St. Andrew’s, Great Ryburgh is a cruciform round tower church dating back to the Saxon period before 1066. Both the tower and the church walls provide evidence of the church’s Saxon origins. The transepts were added in the 14th century, as was the octagonal belfry. It is thought to be one of the oldest round towers in the Diocese and visitors are fascinated by the shape of the church, each arm of the cross being almost equal.

The windows were an early part of the Victorian restoration and are the work of William Wailes from the mid 1860s onwards.

At the time of the restoration, the floors were lowered to their original level so as to do justice to the proportions of the building and particularly to the Saxon arch at the West end of the Nave

Sir Ninian Comper reordered the chancel in 1910. Much admired are his scheme for the ceiling with its painted angels and his alabaster reredos of 1912. Comper was responsible for relaying the floor, using original fourteenth century tiles and pamments in the sanctuary and around the font.

The screen of St. Thomas’s Chapel was erected to the memory of those who fell in the First World War. It was entirely the work of Norfolk craftsmen and all but two of the saints depicted are of East Anglian origin. There is a strong impression of colour when you go into the church, the Millennium Project kneelers worked by village residents matching the tones in the stained glass windows.

The cruciform design of the building gives a feeling of intimacy and it is a wonderful place in which to hold both church and community events. The bells were rehung in 1891 and are now rung regularly and well maintained.

The churchyard wall was built by subscription in 1869 to provide a boundary for the newly extended churchyard, the Rector of the time having given some glebe land to provide additional space for burials.

St.Andrew’s stands at the entrance to the village, close to the bridge over the River Wensum. It is a distinctive feature of a village that is essentially a working community with a maltings, some light industry and a shop that is being retained as a community venture thanks to the initiative of local residents.

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.ukPD

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

Norfolk Record Office reference PD

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tinstaafl/Church_Pages/ryburgh_great.htm for transcripts of Baptisms and images of the church Norfolk Baptism Project

Census records
http://www.btinternet.com/~e.c.apling/1891Census/GreatRyburgh.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

 * Norfolk: Great Ryburgh on GenUKI
 * Parish Info
 * British Listed Building
 * British History
 * Great Ryburgh on Norfolk Churches