Alethorpe
Alethorpe is a deserted mediæval village site to the south-east of Little Snoring, and around two miles north-east of Fakenham and 23 miles north-west of Norwich, north of A148 road. The village is one of around 200 lost settlements in Norfolk.
The village was abandoned in the 16th century, probably because the landlord enclosed the land. It is occasionally referred to as 'Althorp' in historical literature. In 1931, the parish had a single resident.[1]
History
The village of Alethorpe is mentioned in the Domesday Book,[2] under the name of Alatorp, a small settlement with a taxable value of 0.6 geld.[3] The land was held by The King.[3] A late Saxon disc brooch was discovered on the site in 1985.[4]
Alethorpe was recorded in the Nomina Villarum surveys.[4][5] In the surveys, Alethorpe is recorded as hosting thirty houses in 1272, twelve taxpayers in 1329, eleven in 1332, twelve in 1377, and ten households in 1496.[4]
The village was abandoned by the early 17th century, probably due to land enclosure; a 1604 petition by the last inhabitants was delivered to Sir Nicholas Bacon of Stiffkey, Justice of the Peace, against enclosure.[6] The parish church, which was dedicated to All Saints, was in use in 1552. It was used as a barn by 1602 in poor repair.[7][8][9] Three skeletons were unearthed in 1962 in what is assumed to have been the churchyard.[8][9]
By the middle of the 19th century, Alethorpe was classified as an extra-parochial area in the Gallow Hundred.[10][11] From 1858, Alethorpe was a civil parish, although united with Fakenham for religious purposes, until it was abolished on 1 April 1935 and merged with Little Snoring.[12][13][14] The parish covered around 240.0 acres (97.1 ha) and was farmland.
In 1869, the parish consisted of one farm with a population of four. By 1891, it had a population of nine, and by 1911 this had fallen again to five.[12][14][15]
Modern Alethorpe
Alethorpe Hall, a modern building,[4] stands on the village site. A tree stands on the site of the church.[8] A few low and generally indistinct earthworks remain, along with possible trackways and a house platform, whilst a flint-built barn at the hall dates from 1677.[4] A small row of cottages, named Alethorpe Cottages, lies along the A148 road to the south-east of the site.
Location
- Location map: 52°50’38"N, 0°53’38"E
- Streetmap: TF948313
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Alethorpe) |
- Alethorpe in the Domesday Book
References
- ↑ "Population statistics Alethorpe CP/ExP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10068733/cube/TOT_POP. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ↑ The Domesday Book, England's Heritage, Then and Now, (Editor: Thomas Hinde), Norfolk, page 186, Alethorpe, ISBN 1-85833-440-3
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Alethorpe in the Domesday Book
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Alethorpe deserted mediæval village, Norfolk Heritage Explorer
- ↑ Blake W, 'Norfolk Manorial Lords in 1316', Norfolk Archaeology, volume 30, 1952: 277 & 8.
- ↑ 'The Papers of Nathaniel Bacon of Stiffkey Vol 5' pub.2010: 112 & 3.
- ↑ Batcock N (1991) The Ruined and Disused Churches of Norfolk, East Anglian Archaeology vol. 51, p.182. (Available online)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Parish summary: Little Snoring, Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Site of All Saints' Church, Alethorpe, Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
- ↑ History, Gazetteer & Directory of Norfolk, 1854, Francis White, p.690. (Available online. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ↑ "History of Alethorpe in North Norfolk". A Vision of Britain through Time. https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/2651. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Kelly E R (ed) (1869) The Post Office Directory of Cambridge, Norfolk and Suffolk (Part Two), p.204. (Available online. Retrieved 8 November 2016).
- ↑ "Relationships and changes Alethorpe CP/ExP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10068733. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Kelly's Directory of Norfolk, 1896, p.25 (Available online. Retrieved 8 November 2016).
- ↑ Kelly's Directory of Norfolk, 1912, p.28. (Available online
[[Category:Lost villages of Norfolk]]