England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Didlington St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Didlington lies in southwestern Norfolk not too far from its border with neighbouring Suffolk. Didlington is located roughly 7 miles north of the Suffolk market town of Brandon and sits a little over 2 miles north of the A134 road which connects Thetford with King's Lynn. Didlington was a closed parish with all land held by a single landholder, Lord Berners, who operated a restricted access policy which meant no formal village was created. Most of the parish is covered by the estate of Didlington Hall, a parkland landscape typical of such estates, with a mere scatter of farms and cottages elsewhere. Didlington sits within Breckland, its poor sandy soils being somewhat enriched by its valley setting on the northern banks of the River Wissey. Obviously with such a larges dominating estate the economy met the needs of the estate and was mainly agricultural. The Wiisey drains the parish northwestwards and out into the Fens where man-made drainage schemes take over at Denver to channel water to The Wash through the port of King's Lynn. Didlington is sited at just 10 metres above the sea, land rises fairly gently northeastwards away from the Wissey to local heights of 50 metres or so. Didlington parish was small, as are most in Norfolk, covering just 1,000 acres it could support less than 100 parishioners. In Domesday times Didlington was a typical small landholding, shared by William de Warenne and Ralph de Limesy it could offer 6 ploughs, the usual meadows & woodland but held, in Ralph's holdings, both a fishery and a mill.

The Church

St Michael's church is set on the northern edges of the Hall's estate, a fairly typical setting in these estate parishes. The church's origins lie in the 13th century, a century which saw fashions change from Early English Gothic into Decorated style. The church has examples of both these architectural eras, lancet windows in the northern wall of the chancel betray its Early English Gothic origin but the majority of the building is in the later Decorated style. The western tower and four-bay northern arcade are particularly good examples of the latter style. Later, and probably 14th or 15th century changes, saw many windows replaced in a Perpendicular style and, as so often happened, a clerestory was inserted to improve internal lighting. A major restoration over a lengthy period from 1855 - 1873 saw much work including replacing the eastern window as well as attending to the roofs. Access to the church is permitted but seems to baffle quite a few, a lane heads northwards from the A134 towards Foulden, ignoring the gatehouse turning just north of the Wissey a sign points towards Didlington Nurseries, after reaching the latter you head south and then back west to reach a gate which leads to a mown area for parking outside the churchyard. The churchyard is small, compact and beset with trees making for a challenge to the photographer to adequately record the church.