Norfolk: Bressingham

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Bressingham is about 2 miles N.W. of Diss.
See also Bessingham.

Cemeteries

Church of St John the Baptist: Transcriptions of gravestones in the churchyard.

Census

1891: Surname List

Church Directories

In 1883 the parish was in the Deanery of Redenhall, in the archdeaconry of Norfolk.
It could have been in a different deanery or archdeaconry both before and after this date.
The parish church is dedicated to St John the Baptist.
Nearby Churches of all denominations.

Church History

Church of St John the Baptist: Description and pictures.
Church of St John the Baptist: Services, etc.
Cotton, Simon; and Tricker, Roy: St John the Baptist, Bressingham: a brief guide.
[Norfolk Churches Trust, 1980s]
Methodist Church: Minister, services, picture, etc.
Follow the link to the home page, then search for the church.

Church Records

Campling, Arthur: Index of Marriages, Bressingham, 1559-1755.
[Norwich Local Studies Library, Handwritten document, 1930s]
Marriages: These are included in Boyd's Marriage Index.
They are not included in Phillimore's Marriage Registers.

Civil Registration

For the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths between 1837 and 1902 (and for the censuses of 1851 to 1901), Bressingham was in Guiltcross Registration District.

This district was abolished on 1st April 1902 and, from then until 1930, Bressingham was in Depwade Registration District for civil registration.

Description and Travel

Bressingham and Fersfield: Parish council, organisations, news, pictures, etc.
Handy, Elizabeth: Behind the view: portraits of a Norfolk village, Bressingham, then and now.
[ISBN 0952754908, Bressingham, 1996]
Bressingham Common Smock Mill: Description, history and map.
Bressingham Fen Street Smock Mill: Description, history and picture.
Bressingham Lopham Road Smock Mill: Description, history and picture.
Bloom, Alan: Steam alive: the story of Bressingham steam museum.
[ISBN 0948251565, Picton Publishing, 1992]

Directories

1845: White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk
1854: White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk
1878: Harrod's Directory This is a link to an archived copy.
1883: White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk
1900: Kelly's Directory of Norfolk This is a link to an archived copy.

Historical Geography

Bressingham is in Diss Hundred.

Parish outline and location.: See Parish Map for Diss Hundred
Description of Diss Hundred: 1845: White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk

Land and Property

Great Britain: Statute: Bressingham and Fersfield Inclosure Act, 1799.
An act for dividing, allotting, and inclosing, the Lammas meadows, fen grounds, commons, and waste lands, within the parishes of Bressingham and Fersfield, in the county of Norfolk, and for extinguishing all rights of common, sheepwalk, and shackage, in, over, and upon, all the lands and grounds within the said parishes.
[1799]

Maps

Modern and Historical Maps: Maps of the parish.

Military Records

War Memorial: World Wars 1 and 2.
This is a link to an archived copy.

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc

After 1834 Bressingham became part of the Guiltcross Union, and the workhouse was at Kenninghall.

Population

These figures are from the population tables which were produced after the 10-yearly national censuses. The "Families" heading includes families and single occupiers.

Year   Inhabited
Houses Families Population

1801   75 108 650

1811   84 122 635

1821   88 126 702

1831   91 155 655

1841 132 -- 647

1851 145 -- 674

Year   Inhabited
Houses Families Population

1861 137 -- 596

1871 138 138 595

1881 125 125 509

1891 124 124 553

1901 118 118 482

1911 -- 129 504

There may be more people living in detached parts of the parish (if there were any) and, if so, the number may or may not be included in the figures above. It is quite difficult to be sure from the population tables.

1831 Census: "The Parish of Bressingham has experienced a decrease of Population (47 Persons), partly attributed to Families emigrating to the United States."
1861 Census: "GUILTCROSS. The decrease of population in most of the parishes of this District is attributed partly to the migration of labourers to towns and manufacturing districts. In some parishes it has also been consequent upon the failure of hand-loom hemp-cloth weaving."
1901 Census: "Including Bressingham Common, and Fen Street."

Voting Registers

See Norfolk Parish Links: Voting Registers

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