Place:Runcton Holme, Norfolk, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

The Ordnance Survey Map of Norfolk for 1900 shows the parishes of South Runcton and Runcton Holme adjacent to each other with Runcton Holme to the west. The two parishes are directly south of King's Lynn with only the parish of Watlington in between. This agrees with the excerpt from Wilson's Gazetteer of 1870-72 quoted below:

"HOLME-NEXT-RUNCTON, a parish in Downham [registration] district, Norfolk; adjacent to the Ely and Lynn railway, and near the river Ouse, 1½ mile SSE of Watlington [railway] station, and 4¼ N by E of Downham-Market. Post town: Watlington, under Downham. Acres: 1,096. Real property: £1,884. Population: 273. Houses: 56. The manor belongs to Mr. Cox. The living is a rectory, annexed to the rectory of South Runcton, in the diocese of Norwich. The church has a tower, and a memorial window. There are a national school, and charities £20."

There is also an excerpt describing South Runcton:

"RUNCTON (South), a parish in Downham [registration] district, Norfolk; 4 miles N N E of Downham [railway] station. Post-town: Downham. Acres: 831. Real property: £1,266. Population: 139. Houses: 30. The manor belongs to Gonville and Cains College, Cambridge. The living is a rectory, united with Holme and Wallington, in the diocese of Norwich. Value: £650.* Patron: E. Peel, Esq. The church is modern, and includes a fine Saxon arch."

The South Runcton excerpt was tucked away in a secondary file; a basic search for South Runction brings up Runcton Holme.

In 1935 the two civil parishes merged and the merger also included a third parish, Wallington cum Thorpland, which was located south of the two parishes in 1900. The new parish is named as South Runcton on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1945. But there must have been some local objection to naming the merged parish South Runcton because Wikipedia states:

"Runcton Holme is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 13.89 km2 (5.36 sq mi) and had a population of 676 in 288 households at the 2001 UK census, the population reducing to 657 at the 2011 UK census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the District of King's Lynn and West Norfolk."

South Runction does not appear in Wikipedia. Wallington is on the list of lost settlements in Norfolk.

The reason for changing the name of the new civil parish may be the comment in the article from William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk 1845 (reproduced by GENUKI) which states that the church at Runcton Holme (dedicated to St. James) was consolidated with South Runcton and Wallington as a united rectory before 1831.

The three parishes have been so closely related for such a long period of time that they have all been combined together as this one article here in WeRelate.

North Runcton parish is quite a bit to the north; it immediately to the east of King's Lynn.

Research Tips

• GENUKI provides a list of references for Runcton Holme and also South Runcton and Wallington cum Thorpland. Some entries lead to free online transcriptions of registers and censuses.
• A map illustrating the individual parishes of Clackclose 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.