Place:South Lopham, 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

South Lopham is a civil parish in Norfolk, England. It covers an area of 7.91 km2 (3.05 sq mi) and had a population of 371 in 157 households at the 2001 census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the District of Breckland.

The settlement is first recorded in the Domesday book of 1086 as Lopham, held by Roger Bigod, later becoming known as Lopham Parva to mirror the existing village of Lopham Magna (now North Lopham), and then finally becoming known by its present name of South Lopham. The name Lopham originates from the Old English for 'Loppa's homestead'.

The manor house in the vicinity of the two Lophams was held by the Bigod lords until 1302 when the land was surrendered to the crown. In 1310 King Edward I in turn granted the manor to his brother Thomas of Brotherton who became Earl of Norfolk in 1313. The manor passed to Brotherton's daughter in 1375 who was subsequently created Countess of Norfolk in 1313. On her death in 1399 it passed to her grandson Thomas de Mowbray, first Duke of Norfolk, remaining with the Mowbrays until 1506 when it passed to the Howard family. It was eventually sold in 1872 to Henry Edwin Garrod of Diss.

From the earliest Domesday records the vicinity of the Lophams was noted as ploughland. Agriculture has continued to be the principle occupation in the area throughout its history including arable, cattle and sheep farming on the manorial land, common land, freeholdings and copyholdings.

There is evidence of linen production in the Lophams from 1400 and the villages became famous for the quality of their linen in the 19th century before the decline of this cottage industry in favour of mechanised production.

Research Tips

• GENUKI provides a list of references for South Lopham. Some entries lead to free online transcriptions of registers and censuses.
• GENUKI also supplies a map illustrating the individual parishes of Guiltcross Hundred. Parishes labelled with letters should be identifiable from the Ordnance Survey Map of 1900.
• 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.