England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Haddiscoe St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Haddiscoe lies in the extreme southeast of Norfolk forming part of the border with neighbouring Suffolk, here marked by the course of the River Waveney. Haddiscoe is a small village sitting on the A143 road which connects the Suffolk market town of Beccles with the port of Great Yarmouth. Haddiscoe is a marsh-edge village, sitting just above the sea level line at the edge of extensive grazing marshes leading down to the Waveney, this gives the village a curious shape, a compact centre along the A143 and a dispersed fringe along the edge of the marshes to both northwest and southeast. Haddiscoe's position would have given it a varied economy, arable farming typical of Norfolk on higher ground whilst pastoral farming, wildfowling and thatch harvesting took place on the marshland. Modern developments have come to Haddiscoe, the Norwich to Lowestoft railway line passing through the edge of the parish and giving Haddiscoe a station albeit one a substantial walk from the village. The Waveney drains the parish northeastwards reaching the nearby North Sea through Great Yarmouth. Haddiscoe is sited at between 1 and 10 metres above the sea with land only rising to 20 metres within quite a distance. Haddiscoe parish was fairly typically sized for this area, covering just over 2,000 acres it would have supported a population of close to 400 parishioners. In Domesday times Haddiscoe was altogether a more important place, one of the largest 20% of settlements recorded in that book it was shared by no fewer than 4 landholders with a substantial porportion retained by King William; collectively the parish offered an impressive 27 ploughs together with extensive meadows, pastures and woodland.

The Church

St Mary's church sits on the slightly higher ground to the west of the village squeezed into the angle formed by the A143 and the B1136, which heads for Loddon. This is certainly an ancient church, a fact immediately implied by the presence of the round tower at the western end. This unqiue structure of five distinct pieces is confirmed by Pevsner as having its origins in pre-Conquest times in a Saxo-Norman style and probably 11th century. Also 11th or early 12th century are both northern and southern doorways, the latter containing a rare Norman sculptured figure. Like most churches the building has been extensively modified over the centuries with pieces dating from various periods and styles, the chancel is dateable to c1300 whilst their are 14th century aisles and 15th century windows dotted around. The major restoration of the church came not in Victorian times but in 1908 and was extensive. A narrow and unsurfaced track leads southwards off the B1136 and arrives at a small grassy car park where a short stretch of path leads to the churchyard, this is mostly open and uncluttered albeit a tree does occupy the favoured southeastern aspect thereby reducing that angle for the photographer.