Place:Houghton, Norfolk, England

Watchers
NameHoughton
Alt namesNew Houghtonsource: Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72 of 1870-72
Houghton-in-the-Brakesource: Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales
Houghton-next-Harpleysource: Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish
Coordinates52.8274°N 0.6542°E
Located inNorfolk, England
See alsoGallow Hundred, Norfolk, Englandhundred in which it was located
Docking Rural, Norfolk, Englandrural district in which it was located 1894-1974
King's Lynn and West Norfolk District, Norfolk, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974
source: Family History Library Catalog


NOTE: Houghton should not be confused with Houghton St. Giles or Houghton on the Hill (both also in Norfolk).


the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Houghton is a small village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 7.64 km2 (2.95 sq mi) and had a population of 69 in 36 households at the 2001 UK census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. It is the location of Houghton Hall, a large country house built by Robert Walpole (1676-1745), the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The old village of Houghton was demolished in 1722 to make way for the construction of Houghton Hall and the associated parkland. In 1729, the village was rebuilt on the edge of the estate and called "New Houghton"; the 33 surviving houses are all now Grade II listed buildings. It is one of the locations claimed to be the inspiration for Oliver Goldsmith's poem The Deserted Village. In 1872, the parish had 53 houses and 227 inhabitants. Other names for the village were Houghton-in-the-Brake and Houghton-next-Harpley. The parish church is inside the park and dates from the 13th century, although it was heavily restored in the 18th century when the tower was added. Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford and Horace Walpole (1717-1797) are buried in the church, which is a Grade I listed building.

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Houghton from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"HOUGHTON (NEW), HOUGHTON-IN-THE-BRAKE, or HOUGHTON-NEXT-HARPLEY, a village and a parish in Docking [registration] district, Norfolk. The village stands 9½ miles W by S of Fakenham [railway] station; and has a post office, of the name of Houghton, under Rougham. The parish comprises 1,495 acres. Real property: £1,322. Population: 227. Houses: 53.
The property, with Houghton Hall, belongs to the Marquis of Cholmondeley. Houghton Hall was built by Sir Robert Walpole, after designs by Ripley; presents a principal front of 166 feet with a cupola and lantern at each angle; has wings connected by a Tuscan colonnade, making a total frontage of 450 feet; contains a staircase by Kent, a hall of 40 feet by 40, a saloon of 40 feet by 30, a library of 22 feet by 21, and other spacious apartments; is enriched with noble and costly works of art; had a collection of pictures which was sold, in 1779, for £45,500, to the Empress Catherine of Russia; stands in rather a flat park, with many fine old beech and other trees, of Sir Robert's planting; was inhabited, for ten years, by Sir Robert Walpole; and was visited, in 1814 and 1818, by the Duke of Wellington.
"The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Norwich. Value: £110. Patron: the Marquis of Cholmondeley. The church was repaired by Sir Robert Walpole; consists of nave, chancel, and aisles, with a small tower; and contains an effigies of a prior of Coxford, of the time of Edward I. The church vault contains the remains of fifteen generations of the Walpole family."

Houghton is still a separate civil parish, but its population is under 100 and thus the count is added in to that of an adjoining parish, in this case, West Rudham.

Research tips

  • GENUKI provides a list of references for Houghton. Some entries lead to free online transcriptions of registers and censuses.
  • GENUKI also supplies a map illustrating the individual parishes of Gallow Hundred.
  • GENUKI also advises that the following lists for Norfolk are to be found in FamilySearch:
  • Ancestry.co.uk has the following lists as of 2018 (UK or worldwide Ancestry membership or library access required). With the exception of the index to wills these files are browsible images of the original documents. The files are separated by type and broken down into time periods (i.e., "Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812" is more than one file). The general explanatory notes are worth reading for those unfamiliar with English parish records.
  • Index to wills proved in the Consistory Court of Norwich : and now preserved in the District Probate Registry at Norwich
  • Norfolk, England, Bishop's Transcripts, 1579-1935
  • Norfolk, England, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812
  • Norfolk, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915
  • Norfolk, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1990
  • Norfolk, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1940
  • FindMyPast is another pay site with large collection of parish records. As of October 2018 they had 20 types of Norfolk records available to browse including Land Tax Records and Electoral Registers.


This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Houghton, Norfolk. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.