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

The Parish

The parish of Thurlton lies in the extreme southeast of Norfolk, indeed it forms part of the border with neighbouring Suffolk. Thurlton is located about 4 miles east of the small market town of Loddon. Thurlton is a small and compact village lying in lanes about a mile north of the B1136 road which connects the A146 (Norwich to Beccles) road with the A143 (Beccles to Great Yarmouth) road. Thurlton sits on the very edge of extensive grazing marshes which spread out from the combined flood plains of the Rivers Yare, Chet & Waveney. Thurlton would have had a mixed economy at the time of this transcript, grazing and wildfowling as well as reed-cutting from the flood plains, a small river traffic from its staithe plus arable agriculture on the drier lands of the parish. Thurlton is drained northwards by Boyce's Dyke, a man modified tributary of the River Yare and reaches the sea through the port of Great Yarmouth. Thurlton is sited at just 5 metres above the sea, just sufficient to keep its feet dry above flood levels. Norfolk parishes are rather small and Thurlton parish was no exception, it covered just under 1,200 acres and would have supported a population of around 400 parishioners. In Domesday times Thurlton was shared by no fewer than 7 landholders, quite amazing as it was just a small place, collectively the holdings could offer just 3 ploughs and small very small meadows.

The Church

All Saints' church sits in the southeastern corner of Thurlton on the southern side of Church Road and opposite the village school. The church has its origins in the 12th century Norman period, the church retains its southern doorway from that period. Other than this early feature the church shows a mixture of two architectural periods. The chancel is from the late 13th century and shows the lancet windows characteristic of that Early English Gothic period. The nave, western tower and some replacement windows are all from the Perpendicular period of the 14th and 15th centuries and represent a significant rebuild of the church during that era. For once the Victorians made little impact in their restorations leaving a pleasant village church showing its age as a result. The church is screened from Church Road by a row of thick trees with a gravel parking area, access is by a pair of metal gates and a gravel driveway. The church is quite hemmed in by trees to its south but otherwise there are few restrictions to photography.