﻿i«at 



NORFOLK. 



NORFOLK. 



1004 



tbrongh flat manhy Talleja In wUoh u« oonaidaniblf pooli of water, 

 locally desi{^at«d ' broadi ' and ' matra.' 



The atnama of th« wa a te m ride of the oounty belong chiefly to 

 the lyatem of the Onae, whieh toodiea the border of the coiintr n few 

 milea below Ely, and flowa northward 82 miles into the Waali below 

 Lynn. The tide flowa up to DeoTer near Downham, where it ia 

 arreated by alaioee : it formerly flowed up much higher. Thia river 

 raoeirea the Little Ouse, the Wiaaey, and the Nar. The Little Onae 

 riaas at Lopham, in the aame tract of awampy ground aa the Wareney. 

 It joina the Greater Ouae in the marahea near the border of the county. 

 The Wiaaey, or Stoke, ia formed by the junction of two atreams which 

 unite at Baokenham Tofta, north by west of Thatford, and flow into 

 the Ouae near DenTer Sluice. The Xar, or Setoh, risea at Litoham, in 

 the neighbourhood of Kaat Dereham, and flows into the Ouse above 

 Lynn. One of the arms of the Nen forms for several miles the 

 boundary of the oounty ; and the Welney, a stream communicating 

 batweao the Onae and the Nen, skirts the border just above ita 

 junction with the Nen. 



Few parte of England exhibit marks of more remai^ble changes 

 than thia county. The valleys of the Waveney, Yare, and Euro were 

 originally longitudinal basins of chalk ; and it seems probable, from 

 geological considerations, that the valley of the Bure as far as Burgh 

 by Brampton, that of the Yare to above Norwich, and that of the 

 Wavenry to Bungay, were arms of the sea. The low flate north of 

 Yarmouth, in which are so many ' broads,' were also parte of an 

 natuaiy, which probably remained till the time of Alfred, but has 

 ■inoe Men left dry. There are local traditions of the sea having once 

 reached Norwich on the Wensum, and Bungay Castle on the Waveney. 

 The spot on which Yarmouth stands was not dry land till the 11th 

 oentury. 



Navigation <md other Oommunicationt. — The Wensum and Yare are 

 navigable to Norwich for aea-bome veesels. The southern entrance of 

 the Yare, through Lake Lothing, was formerly much used by shipping ; 

 bat a bar of ahingle and sand accumulated at the mouth of it, and 

 this was crowned in 1712 with an artificial bank to prevent the inun- 

 dation of the manbes at high tides. The only navigable entrance to 

 the Yare for centuries after the accumulation of the bar at Lake 

 Lathing waa by Yarmouth, where sea-borne vessels discharged their 

 oargoea; and the communication with Norwich was carried on by 

 riTa-oiaft In 1827 an Act was obtained for making the Yare and 

 Wensum navigable for vessels drawing 10 feet water, and for making 

 a cut from the Yare to the Waveney, and from the Waveney, at 

 Lowestoft, through Lake Lothing to the sea, thus restoring the ancient 

 entrance, and making Norwich once more a port The tide- or sea- 

 lock of this navigation admite vessels 84 feet long and of 21 feet in 

 the beam. The Waveney is now navigable to Beccles for small sea- 

 borne veasels, and to Bungay, a few mUes higher up, for river^jraft. 

 The Bore ia navigable up to Aylsham, 40 miles from the sea at 

 Yarmouth. The Oreater Ouse and the Nen are navigable throughout 

 that part of their oonrae which is within this oounty. Some of the 

 ■mailer rivets are likewise navigable for short distuices from their 

 respective outfalls. 



The Norwich coach-road through Ipswich enters the oounty at 

 Scole on the Waveney, and runs by Long Stratton to Norwich ; that 

 through Newmarket enters the county at Thetford, and runs by Attle- 

 burgh. The road to Lynn and Wells enters the county about 9 miles 

 beyond Hy, and runs l^ Downham, Lynn, Snettish.'uii, and Biimham. 

 Another road to Wells enters the oounty just beyond Brandon in 

 Suffolk, and runs by Swaffham, Fakenham, and Great Walsingham. 

 Tbo road to Cromer branches off from this beyond Brandon, and runs 

 by Watton, East Dereham, and Reepham. One road to Yarmouth 

 branches off from the Norwich and Ipswich road at Scole, and follows 

 the valley of the Waveney ; but the main road does not enter the 

 county until it reaches Yarmouth. 



The county is reached trom London by the Eastern Counties rail- 

 way through Colchester and Ipswich, and by the other great line 

 belonging to the same company through Cambridge and Ely. From 

 the Uaughley stetion, midway between Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds, 

 a line runs northward into the county at Diss, and passes through 

 Barston to Norwich. From Ely the Norfolk railway runs north-east, 

 and entering this county at Brandon, passes Thetford and Wymond- 

 ham to Norwich, and is continued eastward to Heodham, with branches 

 thsooe to Yarmouth and Lowestoft Another line, the East Anglian, 

 runs from Ely northward down the vaUey of the Ouse through Down- 

 ^"JV"'* *" J^""*'* Lynn, where it turns eastward, and, passing 

 Bwi^am aad East Dereham, joins the Norfolk railway at the 

 WyndHam stattoa A branch trom the East Anglian line running 

 northward fromEMt Deraham to Welle is completed as far aa Faken- 

 J?"^-, ^ "*•«»• west of the county is crossed by a short Ime from 

 tba WBtHogteastetion on the East Anglian railway to Wisbeach, 

 M«MS otbar eroas lines run to Peterborough, connecting the railroads 

 of this eoonty with the Gnat Northern and other lini* 



OUMtt^ JoA, md AfrieMUmrt.— The cUmate ia somewhat colder 

 Om that of the sonthsn and western counties of England. The 

 «oi^ is exposed to Um aorUMsst winds. Except in a smaU portion 

 of tile oounty on ite wsstsn boondaiy, aad a strip along the southern 

 part which are marshy, the air is dnr and healthy. The soil may bo 

 diridsd into three cla sses : Ught Mads of various qualiUes, chiefly in 



the north-west of the oounty ; low allavial days and loams^ on the 

 borders of Linoolnahira and Cambridgeshire; and loams of various 

 qnalitiaa, chiefly light, inonmbent on a mariy clay, in the centre and 

 eastern part There is a strip of peat and marab along the ooorsss of 

 the Ouse and the Waveney on the southern boundary. 



Much unproductive land in this county has been brought into culti- 

 vation and made equally productive with those which are naturally 

 fertile. This has been effected chiefly by laying oooaidarable portions 

 of the marly clay, found a little below the surface, on the poorer soil 

 which was at the aurfaoe, and by an excellent system of tila-draining 

 where the subsoil is impervious to water. The crop which is raised 

 in the greatest perfection in Norfolk is barley; but all the uaual 

 grains, with turnips, mangel-wunel, poUtoes, and the ordinary roots, 

 are extensively cultivated. The principles of Norfolk agriculture 

 generally are those of a judicious rotation of crops, known aa the 

 Norfolk system ; the production, by rich manure, of a few inohea of 

 thoroughly good earth ; a careful garden cultivation ; and, to provide 

 sufficient manure for the corn-crops, half the land ia devoted to raise 

 food for cattle. 



On the light lands large flocks of sheep are kept The old homed 

 and black-legged breed, long peculiar to the coimty, are now in a great 

 measure superseded by the Leicester and South Devon breeds. The 

 Norfolk aheep are good, and their fleah superior to most other mutton, 

 at a proper age, but they are great wanderers. The favourite oxen 

 of the Norfolk farmer are the small Scotch breeds. Few large dairies 

 are now found in the coimty. The cows kept for private use are 

 mostly of the polled Suffolk breed. Many farmen in Norfolk breed 

 horses from their working mares; and excellent hunters and coach- 

 horses are sometimes produced by a cross with a good bony blood 

 horse. Pigs are bred in great numbers. Great numbers of turkeys 

 and geese are reared for the supply of the London market Game is 

 abundant, but less so than formerly. 



Divinotu, Tovm, Ac. — The county is divided into East Norfolk and 

 West Norfolk, and into 33 hundreds, 13 of which ore in the eastern 

 division, and 15 in the western. The hundreds in the eastern division 

 of the county are — Bloiield, central ; Clavering, south-east ; Depwade, 

 central ; Diss, south ; EUrsbam, south ; North Krpingham, north-east ; 

 South Erpingham, central ; Eyusford, central ; East Flegg, east ; West 

 Flegg, east; Forehoe, central; Uappiog, east; Hensteod, central; 

 Uumbleyard, central ; Loddon, south-east ; Taverham, central ; Tun- 

 8tea<l, north-east ; and Walsham, east. In the western division are 

 the hundreds — Brotheroross, north ; Clockclose, west ; Freebridge 

 Lynn, west ; Freebridge Marshland, west ; Gallow, central ; North 

 Greenhoe, north ; South Oreenhoe, central ; Grimshoe, south-west ; 

 Giiiltoross, south ; Holt, north; Launditch, central ; Mitford, central ; 

 Shropham, south; Smithdon, north-west; and Waylaud, central. 

 Besides these hundreds are the city and liberties of Norwich, con- 

 stituting a oounty of a city, the boroughs of King's Lynn and Thet- 

 ford, and part of the borough of Great Yarmouth. The county 

 returns 12 members to the House of Commons, 2 for each division of 

 the county, 2 for the city of Norwich, and 2 each for the parlia- 

 mentary boroughs of Lynn, Thetford, and Yarmouth. Norfolk is in 

 the diocese of Norwich, of which it forms the arehdeaooiu^ea of 

 Norwich and Norfolk. It is included in the Norfolk circuit Assises 

 and quarter sessions are held in Norwich ; county courts in Attleburgh, 

 Aylsham, Downham Market, East Dereham, Holt, King's Lynn, 

 Norwich, Swaffham, Thetford, North WaUham, Little Walsingham, 

 Wymoudham, and Great Yarmouth. The coimty jail and lunatic 

 asylum are in Norwich ; there are houses of correction at Swaffham, 

 Little Walsingham, and Wymondham, and borough jails at Norwich, 

 Yarmouth, King's Lynn, and Thetford. The maritime jurisdiction 

 of the county is under the direction of the vice-admiral of Norfolk 

 (generally the lord-lieutenant of the county), who is appointed under 

 a commiaaion from the lords of the admiitilty, and is invested with 

 power to hold a court of admiralty for tho county, with judges, 

 marshals, and other officers. 



Norwich, the capital of the coimty, is dssoribed in a separate 

 article. Notices of ATTLEBcaoH, Atubak, BLorau), East DBRaHAM, 

 Diss, Dowkbam, Loddon, Lynn, SwArrHAii, THrrroBO, Walbucoelui, 

 and Yarmoctb, will be found under their respective heads. Of the 

 other towns the more importent are given here ; the population is 

 that of ISfil. 



New Bttckenham, population of the parish 766, is rituated 16 miles 

 S.W. from Norwich, near the source of the Taes. Old Buckenham 

 had a castle at the time of the Conquest ; but thia castle was pulled 

 down and an Augustinian priory built from iU ruina, in the time of 

 Stephen or Henry II. by William de Albini, who erected a new castle, 

 round which grew up the town of New Buckenham. There are a 

 National school and on almshouse for four persons. The church, 

 dedicated to St Miurtin, was partly rebuilt near the dose of the 16th 

 century. It has a riohly-carved screen sod soma interesting monu- 

 ments. Wesleyan and Primitive Hethodisto have chapela in the town. 

 Fairs are held on tiie last Saturday in May and November 22nd. 



Bamham, 82 milea N.W. from Norwich, is distinguished as Bumham 

 Westgato from several neighbouring parishes with a similar designa- 

 tion. The population of the parish was 1241 in 1851. Burnham 

 Ulph and Sutton and Bumham Norton are so close to Burnham West- 

 gate aa to form with it one town. The town is situated on the left 



