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

The Parish

The parish of South Pickenham lies in the western portion of central Norfok roughly 4 miles southeast of the market town of Swaffahm. South Pickenham sits on the B1077 road which links Swaffham with Watton. South Pickenham is an estate village with land dominated by the parkland of Pickenham Hall, today's hall is a neo-Georgian mansion dating from the turn of the 20th century and its manicured parkland lies on the western banks of the River Wissey. Most properties making up the small village line the B1077 as it heads northwards towards Swaffham. South Pickenham occupies boundary land between the rich arable lands of mid-Norfolk and the poorer soils of Breckland to its west, early gazetteers estimate roughly 2:1 in favour of arable with the balance equally divided between pastures and managed woodland. Today the village receives visitors hiking the Peddars' Way & Norfolk Coast National Trail which has a circuitous route through the parish since the ancient trackway which is its theme has been ploughed away in this area. South Pickenham is drained initially southwards by the infant Wissey which eventually turns westwards and into The Fens where its course has been diverted for drainage purposes, eventually the Great Ouse is reached and that passes through King's Lynn  and The Wash to the North Sea. South Pickenham is sited on gently sloping ground which rises from 30 metres at the Wissey's bridge to 50 metres on the western fringes, land is at or close to that height for some distance thereafter in very gentle terrain. South Pickenham parish covered just over 1,800 acres not dissimilar to many others in the area and would have supported a population of close to 150 parishioners. Whilst both South & North Pickenham are recorded as a single entity in Domesday Book it is readily apparent from the volumes of landholders and especially the assets that the entry is a regional one and not specific to the two manors.

The Church

As the B1077 passes through the parish it performs an abrupt tight-angles bend outside the estate of Pickenham Hall, a land heads onwards westwards from that junction and the church sits on its southern side just within the boundaries of the park. All Saints is one of Norfolk round towered churches which are indicative of an early building, here it doesn't disappoint as 12th century Norman Romanesque work is prominent in the basal stages of the tower and the tower arch to the nave, the octagonal top stage is a later addition which Pevsner dates to the 14th century on the basis of its cusped Y-tracery. The same tracery is found on the northern side of the nave and southern side of the chancel indicating they were originally contemporaneous. The discrepancy for the nave can be explained by the collapse of its roof in 1604 which required a rebuild. The chancel's eastern window of 4-lights is also early 14th century having differing tracery, here it is reticulated. One strange feature sits on the church's northern side, a circular chimney attached to the northern aisle, Pevsner can offer no explanation. Restoration did not arrive until the early 20th century in 1907 which had as its major piece of work the second rebuilding of the nave. Broad verges allow safe on-road parking outside the metal gates granting entry, a visit on a cloudy day is recommended as the southern aspects are totally removed by close-set trees with only views from the north available to the photographer.