England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Little Barningham St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Little Barningham lies in northeastern Norfolk roughly 6 miles northwest of the market town of Aylsham. Little Barningham sits just under 3 miles east of the B1149 road which links Holt with the city of Norwich. Little Barningham is a small village made up of a short run of properties sitting along an east to west running lane, the parish church providing the easternmost property. It was not also so, at Domesday it held 39 households, probably more than today and in the reign of Edward I Little Barningham was granted a charter for a market, it never flourished due to competition from Holt & Aylsham and soon lapsed. This area is strongly arable with early gazetteers estimating almost 75% of the parish acreage as set to that mode of farming, the bulk of the remainder being heath, today the percentage is probably higher. A small stream drains Little Barningham southwards passing through the estate at Mannington before meeting the River Bure, after passing through Aylsham the Bure heads southeastwards through Broadland to meet with that area's other rivers at Breydon Water and to pass through Great Yarmouth to the North Sea. Little Barningham is sited at around 40 metres above the sea in flattish terrain where local high spots reach 79 metres to the west in a wood close to Edgefield. Covering a little over 1,200 acres Little Barningham parish was towards the smaller end of the Norfolk scale but typical of this area of the county which is tessellated with small parishes, that acreage would have supported a population of close to 250 parishioners. Domesday Little Barningham was shared by 4 landholders including King William, himself, the collective assets of 24 ploughs, extensive meadows & woodland and no fewer than 4 mills indicate Little Barningham's relative importance at that early time.

The Church

St Andrew's church is the easternmost building of the short run of properties forming the notional centre of the village, it stands on a low rise above the road height. Like many Norfolk churches it is from the later medieval period of the Perpendicular but it is a church which was heavily restored in Victorian times and thus is difficult to exactly date its build. Neither Pevsner nor Historic England venture a date for its initial construction which by definition of its styling must have been late 14th or early 15th century. Two phases of Victorian work occurred, the first of 1879 thoroughly restored the chancel whilst the second tackled and gave similar treatment to the nave, porch and western tower, one of these restorations also added the northern vestry. Immediately west of the churchyard and before the first cottage there is a small car parking area on the verge, from here a grassy ramp leads up-slope to the churchyard which is open and uncluttered with no obstacles for the photographer.