Norwich St James with Pockthorpe, Norfolk Genealogy

England Norfolk  Norfolk Parishes  St James with Pockthorpe

Parish History
Norwich St James with Pockthorpe is an Ancient Parish within the city and Dioces of Norwich.

"St. James’ Church, in Cowgate, includes Pockthorpe in its parish, and was a well endowed rectory till 1201, when it was appropriated to the Cathedral Priory. "

POCKTHORPE, ahamlet-chapelry in Norwich,St. James parish, Norfolk; within Norwich city. Real property, £3, 239. The living is a p. curacy, annexed to the living.

"St. Catherine’s Chapel stood upon Mousehold, about a mile north-east of the barracks, was founded about the time of the Conquest, and was deemed a parochial chapel while it was standing. At the Dissolution this chapel was demolished and the parish united with that of St. James."

By 1256 the White Friars settled on the site that would become St James Mill, but the White Friars order was dissolved in 1543 and the site split up.

"A General (Arminian) Baptist Church was formed in Norwich in 1686 by the learned and zealous Thomas Grantham. They purchased a part of the White Friars’ Priory in St. James’s, on the site of which they built the Meeting House now known as the Priory Yard Chapel. From this Church several members separated at a very early period and formed the Particular (Calvinistic) Baptist Church."

Cowgate street in this parish was so named because cows were driven along it form pastures in nearby Cowholme.

Around 1791, on Barrack Street, there was brewery and the Horse or Cavalry Barracks. "The Calvalry Barracks were the home of the Scots Greys regiment. In 1826, they were in action against a crowd of weavers who were rioting in Norwich."

In the 1800s mills were built in Norwich for the spinning of silk, woollen, and mohair yarns, and also for weaving those yarns into all kinds of fabrics. In the early 1800s "Norwich became the largest silk producing centre in England and was noted for designs made from both cheap and luxurious maerials. The fashionable Norwich shawl was first made of cotton and worsted, then silk and worsted and, finaly, one of pure silk. In the year 1833, a company [Norwich Yarn Company] was organised for those manufactures [to prevent the collaspe of the textile trade]. A large capital of £40,000 was raised, and ultimately two factories were built, one in St. Edmund’s and one in St. James’. The former became a factory for spinning yarns, and the latter for weaving goods. In St. James’ factory two coupled engines of 100-horse power were put up to drive the machinery."

In 1836-39 St James Mill was built. There was a further downturn in the state of the industry in Norwich and the Yarn Company was forced to let space in the Mill to other companies in the textile trade."

The population in St James in 1861 was 3,408.

In 1869 Pockthorpe was described as "originally part of Thorpe, but when severed in the time of the Conqueror, with the parishes of St. James and St. Paul, took the name of Paucus Thorpe or Little Thorpe, corrupted into Pockthorpe. The place is apparently wedded to poverty, with no Divorce Court to grant it relief. It is chiefly inhabited by poor weavers or spinners, who still adhere to an old pastime, the rearing of pigeons, as appears from many coops at the broken windows. The brewery here is an old well-established concern, and sends out about 100,000 barrels of beer yearly."

This medieval church was declared redundant and converted in the 1970's to become the Norwich Puppet Theatre the building is in the care of the Norwich Historic Churches Trust and receives over 10,000 visitors a year to performances.

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

Pockthorpe chapelry registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

Civil Registration Districts

 * Norwich

Poor Law Unions
Norwich Poor Law Union

See also England Norfolk Poor Law Union Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Norfolk Poor Law Unions

Census records
Find my Past census search 1841-1901

Probate records
Court of the Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Norwich

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * George Plunkett Map of Norwich Parishes
 * Norwich Ordnance Survey Map (Incl 1838, 1898-1899, 1922 and present day). www.cassinimaps.com
 * Vision of Britain

Websites

 * Historic Photographes on George Plunkett website
 * St James Mill on Norwich 12, An initiative of the Heritage, Economic &amp; Regeneration Trust. The mill was a major employer in the 1800s.