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Thorpe, Bishop's (St. Andrew)

THORPE, BISHOP'S (St. Andrew), a parish, partly in the county of the city of Norwich, but chiefly in the hundred and union of Blofield, E. division of Norfolk, 2 miles (E.) from Norwich; containing 2197 inhabitants, of whom 1156 are in the county of the city. The parish comprises 2592a. 2r. 11p., of which 1520 acres are arable, 831 meadow, pasture, and common, 174 woodland, and 67 in roads and waste. The village is beautifully situated on the western and southern acclivities of a hill whose base is washed by the navigable rivers Wensum and Yare, which, uniting their streams within the parish, flow together to Yarmouth: the vicinity is ornamented with rich plantations, and interspersed with handsome villas occupied by opulent Norwich citizens. The Norwich and Yarmouth railway passes through the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £8, and in the gift of the Rev. A. Herring: the tithes have been commuted for £612, and the glebe comprises 26 acres. The church is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower, and contains some good monuments. Here is a place of worship for dissenters; also a free school, founded in 1587 by subscription, and augmented with forty acres of land by the Rev. Samuel Chapman in 1700. About 61 acres of land were allotted to the poor for fuel, at the time of the inclosure; and there are a few small bequests for distribution. On a hill above Bishopgate Bridge are some remains of a chapel dedicated to St. Michael, which is also called Kett's Castle, from the rebels under that leader having encamped near it. In the parish are likewise vestiges of a convent dedicated to St. Leonard, which occupied an area of eight acres, inclosed with walls of great thickness. The county lunatic asylum is situated here.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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