England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Thompson St Martin

The Parish

The parish of Thompson lies in south central Norfolk about 4 miles south of the small market town of Watton. Thompson sits a little over a mile west of the A1075 road which connects Watton with Thetford. A curious settlement, Thompson consists of two distinct settlements, a triangular area grouped around a meeting of lanes together with a smaller patch by the church which lies almost a mile to the east. Thompson sits on the edges of Norfolk's Breckland, an area of poorer soils deposited during the last glacial period, these soils are less suited to arable farming and sheep and even rabbit warrenries were common in this area. The glaciers also left a legacy in the form of small round lakes, "pingoes", formed by isolated ice blocks melting after retreat leaving shallow depressions, the local pingo trail takes in many. Modern developments came and went from Thompson, the Thetford to Watton branch railway line has long since disappeared, a more recent intrusion is the STANTA Battle Area, a swathe of land commandeered during World War 2 by the military and still out-of-bounds due to military training still. A more peaceful pursuit can be found along the Peddar's Way National Trail which follows the western boundary of Thompson parish. Thompson is drained westwards by a small tributary of the River Wissey, the latter heads out to Fenland before joining the Great Ouse and the North Sea through The Wash. Thompson is sited at around 50 metres above the sea on something of a local high point, that modest height not being over-topped for many a mile. Thompson parish was fairly typically sized for Breckland, covering just over 2,200 acres it would have supported a population of just under 500 parishioners. In Domesday times Thompson was a relatively small settlement, despite offering just 7 ploughs and a small meadow it was shared by no fewer than 4 landholders.

The Church

St Martin's church, as already mentioned, sits just over a mile east of the main centre of the village, on the northern side of Church Lane, the more southerly of the two lanes connecting Thompson with the A1075. St Martin has a fairly narrow date range for its initial construction, Pevsner places it firmly into the earliest part of the 14th century giving dates of c1300 - 1340, both dates place the church within the period of the Decorated style of church architecture. This style is shown throughout, except for later addition and modifications. Pevsner cites the chancel as typical of "proper" Decorated style which is echoed in the southern doorway. The western tower, with its battlemented top and chequered flushwork base is remarkably similar to similar instances at nearby Ashill & Caston such that Pevsner speculates them dome by the same mason. In 1450 a southern chapel, for the Shardelow family, was added and in 1648 the chancel was re-roofed. The major restoration was, in this case, not Victorian but early 20th century - between 1910 & 1913. The church sits on the northern side of Church Lane by a triangular junction, the lane is narrow but has sufficient verge for careful and considerate parking, the churchyard, surrounded by a typical Norfolk flint & brick wall, is open and unobstructed for photography.