Norfolk: Roydon (near Diss)

William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk 1883

ROYDON, on the north side of the Waveney, 1½ mile W. of Diss, is a parish in Guiltcross union, Diss county court, petty sessional division, polling district of South Norfolk, and hundred, Ipswich bankruptcy district, Redenhall rural deanery, and Norfolk archdeaconry. It had 612 inhabitants in 1881, living on 1217 acres (exclusive of fenland and common), and has a rateable value of £2742 5s.

The parish lies in the manors of Roydon Tufts and Gissing Hall, of which George Edward Frere, Esq., F.R.S., J.P., is lord. He is the present head of the Frere family, and elder brother of Sir Henry Bartle Frere, Bart., K.C.B., F.R.S. He resides at Roydon Hall, a large modern red-brick mansion, surrounded by extensive grounds, situated in the village on an eminence above the river. The lord of the manor, and Messrs. C. Chase, R. Websdale, F. Taylor, and C. Farrow, are the principal owners of the soil. Messrs. Aldrich Brothers' matting factory is just within the parish.

The CHURCH (St. Remigius) is an antique fabric, comprising nave, chancel, south aisle, and tower. The latter contains three bells, and is round at the base and octagonal above. The east window of stained glass was inserted in memory of Miss Susanna Frere, and in the church are several memorials to the Frere family. A new organ by Norman, of Norwich, was erected in 1873.

The rectory, which was valued in the King's Book at £9, and is now in the incumbency of the Rev. Thomas Charles Hose, who has a handsome residence with extensive grounds, in which is a very fine avenue of lime trees; and in the parish are some splendid Pollard oaks. Here are 40 acres of glebe, and the tithes were commuted in 1839 for £456 a year.

Roydon School Board, established in 1872, consists of the Rev. T.C. Hose (chairman), and Messrs. G.A. Clark (vice-chairman), C.S. Alger, Charles Collins, and Henry Scott. Mr. Stephen Newson is clerk. The National School was enlarged and rented from the churchwardens at £11 per annum; the average attendance is about 80.

The Church Land, 6A. 2R. 27P., and two cottages, are let for £21, which is applied in the service of the church. The aged poor of the parish have the dividends of £905 2s. three-and-a-half per cent stock, left by Margaret Blowers, in 1815. In 1708, Robert Horner bequeathed to the rector for the time being a close of 5 acres, on condition that he should preach a sermon on Good Friday, and distribute four sums of 10s. each to four widows on that day. A yearly rent-charge of 20s., left to the poor of Roydon, by William Kettleborough, is paid out of the White Hart public-house on Easter day. In 1839, Miss Susanna Frere left £400, the interest to be applied in equal parts towards ornamenting the church and providing warm clothing for the married poor.

POST OFFICE at Mr. Edward Knight's. Letters arrive at 6.45 a.m., and despatched at 6.30 p.m., viâ Diss, which is the nearest Money Order and Telegraph Office.

	Atkins    Edwin           Board schoolmaster &
	                            organist at parish church
	Battley   George          farmer
	Blomfield Miss Mary       Roydon cott
	Bloom     Robert          farmer, Darrow farm
	Bobby     James Horatio   draper (J.H. & Sons), Norfolk house, Diss
	Bryant    Beniah          dealer
	Burroughs Frederic        miller and corn merchant, Shelfanger road
	Chase     Chas.           fmr.; h Walcot hl, Diss
	Clark     George Adams    estate agent to G.E. Frere, Esq., J.P.
	                            The Old Parsonage
	Collins   Charles         farmer
	Crutchley Mr Wm.          Manor house
	Frere     George Edward,
	            Esq.,
	            F.R.S., J.P.  Roydon hall
	Frere     John Tudor,
	            Esq., J.P.    Roydon hall
	Fisher    James King      carpenter
	Girling   Rd.             farmer, Blue Pump farm
	Howard    James           fowl dealer
	Knights   Edward          shopkeeper, deputy parish clerk
	                            and post office
	Mattholic Edward          farmer
	Noble     Charles         higgler
	Orford    Alfred          farmer, Glebe farm
	Orford    Thos.           fmr. Blackburn's farm
	Osborne   Isaac           miller, Tothington; and builder, Diss
	Pike      Henry           shoemaker
	Porcher   Frederick       shoemaker
	Reeve     Absalom         blacksmith and vict. White Hart
	Rix       Wm.             farmer; h Palgrave
	Scott     Harry           carpenter
	Scott     Mr Henry
	Seamon    William         carpenter & builder, Tothington
	Spink     Walter          farmer, assist. overseer and colr.
	                            surveyor of highways, and butcher
	                            at Denmark street, Diss
	Thurlow   Arthur          bleacher & farmer
	Websdale  Robert          farmer

Copyright © Pat Newby.
August 2009