Ludham, Norfolk
Historical Description
Ludham, a village and a parish in Norfolk. The village stands 1½ mile NE of the river Bure, 2 miles SW of Potter Heigham station on the Midland and Great Northern Joint railway, and 12½ NE by E of Norwich, was once a market-town, and has a fair on the Thursday and Friday after Trinity Sunday. It has a post and money order office under Great Yarmouth; telegraph office, Potter Heigham. The parish comprises 3004 acres; population, 767. The manor belonged to the abbey of St Benet-at-the-Holrne, and was given by Henry VIII. to the Bishops of Norwich. A grange of the abbey on it was converted by the bishops into a palace. The palace was in great degree burnt down in 1611, was restored and enlarged by Bishop Harsnet, and after the bishops ceased to occupy it was partly converted into a granary and partly made a farmhouse, now called Ludham Hall. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Norwich; net value, £210. Patron, the Bishop of Norwich. The church is a building of stone and flint in the Perpendicular style; comprises chancel, nave, aisles, and an embattled western tower; and contains a richly carved screen and a beautifully carved font. The interior was restored in 1891. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels. The Bishop of Norwich is lord of the manor.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Norfolk | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Ludham St. Catherine | |
Hundred | Happing |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Norfolk Record Office, have images of the Parish Registers for Norfolk online.
Findmypast, in conjunction with Norfolk Record Office have the following parish records online for Ludham:
Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
---|---|---|---|
1583-1901 | 1583-1901 | 1612-1901 | 1583-1910 |
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Ludham from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Ludham (St. Catherine))
Maps
Online maps of Ludham are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Norfolk newspapers online:
- Norwich Mercury
- Norfolk Chronicle
- Diss Express
- Thetford & Watton Times and People's Weekly Journal
- Norfolk News
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Norfolk 1563, 1589, and 1613 is available on the Heraldry page.