Southacre, Norfolk
Historical Description
Southacre, a parish in Norfolk, 4 miles N by W of Swaffham station on the G.E.R. Post town, Swaffham; money order and telegraph office, Castle Acre. Acreage, 2511; population, 78. The manor belongs to the Fountain family, who are chief landowners. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Norwich; gross value, £433 with residence. The church is an ancient building of flint and stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, N aisle, N porch, and an embattled western tower, and containing some ancient and interesting tombs and monuments.
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 | Southacre St. George | |
Hundred | South Greenhoe | |
Poor Law union | Swaffham |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1561.
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 Southacre:
Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
---|---|---|---|
1561-1812 | 1561-1812 | 1575-1904 | 1575-1853 |
Churches
Church of England
St. George (parish church)
The church of St. George is an ancient edifice of flint and stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave of three bays, north aisle, north porch and an embattled western tower containing 3 bells: the windows in the north aisle have been restored by A. C. Fountaine esq.: a part of the old oak roof was restored in 1911 at a cost of £230: in the church are brasses to Sir John and Lady Harsick, dated 1584, and to Thomas Leman, 1534: there are also undated monuments to Sir Edward Barkham kt. lord mayor of London in 1621, to his relict Frances (Napier), afterwards the wife of Henry (Richardson), 3rd Baron Cramond, buried here 19 Nov. 1706, and to Sir Eudo Harsicke, dating from about 1248: the chancel retains a piscina with shelf, and there is a large stone font with a raised oak cover: the communion plate was presented by Lady Jane Barkham in 1642: there are 130 sittings.
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 Southacre from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Southacre (St. George))
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.