England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Buckenham St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Buckenham lies in southeastern Norfolk about 4 miles southwest of the large village of Acle and 9 miles southeast of the city of Norwich. Buckenham is a very small place little more than a scatter of farms and cottages lying in lanes about 3 miles south of the A47 road which links Norwich with the port of Great Yarmouth. Buckenham is located on the northern banks of the River Yare. Buckenham would have been a remote place with an economy derived from a mixture of arable & pastoral agriculture with some wildfowling thrown in on the watermeadows of the Yare flood plain. Today Buckenham is noted as a refuge for wildfowl and is dominated by its reserve famous for its wintering flock of Bean Geese. Communications have improved with the placing of the railway line from Norwich to Lowestoft & Great Yarmouth through the parish and Buckenham still possesses its tiny station. The River Yare, together with numerous man-made ditches and dykes, drains the parish eastwards to reach the North Sea through Great Yarmouth. Buckenham is sited at just 10 metres above sea level although much of the parish is lower than that. Parishes in Norfolk's Broadland are very small on a national scale and Buckenham is no exception, it covered around 900 acres and supported a population of just over 50 parishioners. In Domesday times Buckenham was largely shared between the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds and one Bishop William of Thetford, the parish could offer 5 ploughs as well as meadows and pastures.

The Church

St Nicholas' church sits on the higher ground of the parish and is accessible only by footpath from the southern end of Church Road. The church has a mixture of ages but all are early for a church in Norfolk. Some evidence remains for a Norman origin for the church but Pevsner suspects the features have been reset in place after restoration. The tower is certainly an unusual feature being octagonal throughout its entire height, Pevsner is loath to place a date but tentatively suggests it is late 13th century. Both chancel and nave are built in the Decorative style so pre-date the major church building era of the county and they are probably from the first half of the 14th century. Much was, however, altered in 1841 when a major restoration took place and the roofing dates from that period as well as the aforementioned resetting of early features. Church Road terminates at a farmhouse and the firm path heading westwards takes you across fields to the church sitting enclosed within trees. There are a few restrictions to photography but this is not unduly restricted.