Place:Snettisham, Norfolk, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Snettisham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located near the west coast of Norfolk, some 5 miles (8.0 km) south of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, 9 miles (14 km) north of the town of King's Lynn and 45 miles (72 km) northwest of the city of Norwich.

The civil parish has an area of 28.03 km2 (10.82 sq mi) and in the 2001 UK census had a population of 2374 in 1097 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the District of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. The civil parish population had increased to 2,570 at the 2011 UK census.

Snettisham RSPB reserve, on the coast of The Wash some 2 miles (3.2 km) to the west of Snettisham village, is a nature reserve in the care of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The Snettisham coast around the reserve is often said to be "where Norfolk stares at Lincolnshire". This is because, unlike much of Norfolk's coast where the sea stretches to the horizon, Snettisham looks across the square-mouthed estuary of the Wash at the county of Lincolnshire, only 15 miles (24 km) away. The River Ingol runs to the south of the village upon which stands the now unused Snettisham watermill.

St. Mary's Church in the village has a 14th-century, 172-foot (52 m) high spire.

Snettisham has a complex entry in the Domesday Bookof 1086 where it is divided in ownership between William de Warenne and the Bishop of Bayeux. Related berewicks were West Newton and Castle Rising, moreover Weston Longville was said to be in Snettisham's valuation. The name of the manor is spelt in four different ways, two very similar to the present pronunciation, one of Snesham and one of Nestesham.

Research Tips

• GENUKI provides a list of references for Snettisham. Some entries lead to free online transcriptions of registers and censuses.
• A map illustrating the individual parishes of Smithdon Hundred may be useful.
• GENUKI also advises that the following lists for Norfolk are to be found in FamilySearch:

• England, Norfolk, Parish Registers (County Record Office), 1510-1997
• England, Norfolk Archdeacon's Transcripts, 1600-1812
• England, Norfolk Bishop's Transcripts, 1685-1941
• England, Norfolk Marriage Bonds, 1557-1915
• England, Norfolk Non-conformist Records, 1613-1901

• 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.