England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Morton on the Hill St Margaret

The Parish

The parish of Morton on the Hill lies in eastern central Norfolk roughly 8 miles northwest of the city of Norwich. Morton on the Hill sits about a mile south of the A1067 road, across the course of the River Wensum, which links Norwich with Fakenham. Morton on the Hill is an estate parish, a closed parish where all land was held by a single landowner and inbound migration discouraged. Most of the area of the parish lies within the grounds of Morton Hall, first built in Elizabethan times but much modified in the Georgian era, and carries much woodland. A small community on the A1067 bears the name Morton but is distant from the estate. The economy of the parish was entirely lead by the needs of the estate and unusually for Norfolk only 60% of the acreage was arable according to early gazetteer estimates, the remainder being equal parts pastoral and woodland. Morton on the Hill is drained southeastwards by the River Wensum which, after passing through Norwich, joins the Yare and reaches the North Sea through the port of Great Yarmouth. Morton on the Hill is sited at around 40 metres above the sea, some 30 metres above the Wensum, in gentle terrain land reaches almost 60 metres to its southwest. Morton on the Hill was a small parish covering just 977 acres and would have supported around 150 parishioners. Morton on the Hill is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

Finding the partial ruin of St Margaret is an achievement. The church has been deconsecrated and is now managed by the Norfolk Churches Trust, it sits within the estate just northeast of Morton Hall. The ancient round tower, which would probably have been 11th or 12th century, sadly collapsed in 1959 and whilst a sad event in itself also rendered it undateable. It had a circular window of Anglo-Saxon date before the collapse. The quoins of carrstone in the nave are of similar date and confirm the early origins. Much else is typical of many Norfolk churches in being of the usual mixture of Decorated & Perpendicular styles, the former manifest in the chancel whilst the nave is principally Perpendicular. A typical Victorian restoration repaired/rebuilt the eastern wall and also rebuilt the northern chapel in c1850, the southern porch, also 19th century, may date from this restoration too. Access is from Ringland Lane where a turn to the north bears a sign advertising Morton Hall Farms, the lane curves to the east of that farm and then, at a complex junction, one has to double-back to the northwest, the church then lies to one's right amongst trees. The churchyard is beset with trees but enough space remains around the partial ruin for the photographer.