Place:Thorpe Parva, Norfolk, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

Thorpe Parva was an ancient parish in the southeast corner of Norfolk, but was no longer a parish by 1540. One family was known to have lived there in the 18th century. Most records (such as exist at all) are with Billingford (near Scole) now absorbed into Scole.

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

"THORPE-PARVA, a parish in Depwade [registration] district, Norfolk; 1¾ mile E of Diss [railway] station. Post town: Scole. Acres: 349. Real property: £487. Population: 21. Houses: 4. The manor belongs to G. H. Wilson, Esq. The living is a rectory, annexed to Billingford."

A Vision of Britain through Time states that Thorpe Parva was abolished as a parish in the middle of the fifteenth century.

GENUKI says that the parish church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, but is now in ruins. Residents after the beginning of civil resigistration in 1837 should be found in Depwade Registration District. The parish is adjacent to the parishes of Billingford (near Scole) and Thorpe Abbots. Source: A Vision of Britain through Time).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lost_settlements_in_Norfolk#T includes Thorpe Parva in a list of deserted settlements in Norfolk.

"Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the parish was united with Scole in 1482 and the church demolished in around 1540, with the tower remaining as a dovecote. One family lived in the village by 1739. "

Research Tips

• GENUKI provides a list of references for Thorpe Parva. Some entries lead to free online transcriptions of registers and censuses.
• A map illustrating the individual parishes of Earsham Hundred may be useful. Other sources place Thorpe Parva in Diss Hundred.
• 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.