England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Croxton All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Croxton lies in the extreme south of Norfolk not too far from the county's border with neighbouring Suffolk. Croxton is located roughly 2 miles north of the town of Thetford and sits about a mile north of the A11 road which links Norwich with Newmarket and which now bypasses Thetford to the west. Croxton is a linear settlement running for a little over a quarter mile along the lane headed northwards from the A11, further north sits the impressive 18th century house of Croxton Park which has a 7-bay facade. Croxton sits firmly within the area of Breckland, an area of glacial deposits of infertile sands and gravels wholly unsuited to the normal arable profile of a Norfolk parish. Instead Croxton specialised in rabbits and flint, the warrenries were extensive and nibble to bowling green smoothness, the flints were harvested for making sparks as part of flint-locks, lighters and the like. The whole area is pocked with ancient flint workings from Stone Age times. Croxton has little surface drainage, the soil being porous water heads the short distance westwards to the River Little Ouse which also marks the county boundary, the Little Ouse heads out into Fenland, meets the Great Ouse and turns north to reach the North Sea through King's Lynn and The Wash. Croxton is sited on rising ground from 20 to 50 metres above the sea, the south of the village being the higher, there is no higher ground within several miles. Because of the infertile soils it required over 4,600 acres for the parish to support its population of around 300 parishioners. Domesday Croxton was a small manor held by King William, assets of just 2 ploughs and a meadow were supplemented by a mill.

The Church

All Saints' church sits on the eastern side of the lane that forms the spine of the village and sits in the higher southern part of the run. The basal stages of the western tower being round are usually indicative of an early church and here Historic England confirm that the tower base is 12th century Norman Romanesque, Pevsner speculates that its contrasting polygonal top stage and slated spirelet are probably additions of the 14th century. The main body of the church is difficult to adequately date as medieval fabric is reused in the 1856 & 1884 restoration/rebuilds. The 13th century priests' door to the chancel may be genuinely 13th century and most of the windows of both nave and chancel date from c1300. The 3-bay arcade is 14th century and the clerestory Tudor. The earlier Victorian restoration of 1856 was a less intrusive affair than that which followed in 1884, that work rebuilt the chancel, reusing much from the medieval, rebuilt the southern aisle and opened up the 14th century 3-bay arcade. Whilst The Street is broad enough for careful parking, Harefield Road provides too. The churchyard stands at some height above the road with a ramped footpath leading into it from both south & north, whilst the churchyard is open and uncluttered it must be noted that the tower is perilously close to the western edge albeit a low wrought iron railing prevents careless steps.