England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Norwich St Helen

The Parish

The city of Norwich lies in eastern central Norfolk and is the capital of its county, it is located around 110 miles northeast of London. Norwich sits at the northeastern end of the A11 road which connects it to the capital. Norwich has a long history, a pre-Roman settlement at the confluence of Rivers Wensum & Yare, was expanded by the Romans on a site south of the present location, Venta Icenorum being the main site for controlling the rebellious Iceni tribe of Boudicca fame. The Saxon settlement of "Northwic" was close by the River Wensum but the city was much modified by Norman settlement, the preexisting centre being replaced largely by the Cathedral Close and a new centre built to the west of the Norman Castle. Norwich prospered through the production of cloth, it was England's second largest city in medieval times as a result of that commerce, the manufacture of cloth continued until just after this transcript period when industrialisation of the northern towns killed the industry. Today Norwich is unusual, a city, together with its suburbs, of a 1/4 million folk surrounded by at least 30 miles of agricultural land, light industry and financial services occupy many and the rail line to the capital is especially valuable. Norwich is drained by the Wensum, the Yare which skirts the southern edges, merges just to its east and heads to the North Sea eastwards through the port of Great Yarmouth. Norwich St Helen parish is sited at just a metre above the sea, land rises sharply to the west to the higher parts of the city at almost 40 metres. Norwich was divided into 35 parishes, at one time there were 52 (the old saying is that the city had a church for every Sunday), St Helen occupied the northeastern area of the city immediately north of the cathedral close and hemmed in to the north by the River Wensum which here formed the boundary of the medieval city. In terms of both population & area St Helen parish was one of the smallest in the city (32nd of 35 by population size) and covered just a tiny acreage supported roughly 500 parishioners. In Domesday times Norwich was held directly by King William and its assets not specifically listed were, none the less, highly significant for the King's purse.

The Church

St Helen's church sits on the northern side of Bishopgate as it bends sharply around an extension of the Cathedral Close. The church has unusual origins in that it formed part of the fabric of the Great Hospital. This early hospital, founded in 1249 to care for "decrepit chaplains" and "poor sick people", had a fairly standard monastic infirmary layout with the exception of its southern porch and transept which, together with a tower formed St Helen's church. Early 13th century in origin, much of the church structure was rebuilt in the later part of the 15th century in the Perpendicular style, the tower having been added around the turn of the 14th into 15th centuries. In the 20th century a narthex (enclosed vestibule) was added to complete today's building. The church is somewhat hidden from Bishopgate by a tall wall but is accessible to visitors albeit a somewhat tricky piece to adequately photograph.