England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Wroxham St Mary the Virgin

The Parish

The parish of Wroxham lies in eastern Norfolk roughly 7 miles northeast of the city of Norwich. Wroxham sits on the A1151 road which connects Norwich to Stalham, at and southwest of that road's crossing of the River Bure. Wroxham is a much expanded village, early maps show a concentration around the church and a separate concentration at the bridge over the river. Wroxham has expanded as a commuter settlement for the nearby city with large modern developments eastwards almost filling the meander of the Bure. At the time of this transcript Wroxham would have been a typical Norfolk arable settlement, some exploitation of the Bure's resources for thatch and wildfowling would have supplemented incomes. Wroxham's growth has been stimulated by the growth in pleasure cruising on the Bure and the remainder of the Broads, extensive moorings and boat-yards now crowd the riverside. Modern developments have added to this growth, the railway line from Norwich to Cromer passing through although it was Hoveton across the Bure that acquired a station. Wroxham is drained eastwards by the Bure which gather together with the other Broadland rivers at Breydon Water to pass through Great Yarmouth to the North Sea. Wroxham is sited at around 10 metres above the sea in its valley setting, land rises only gently away from the river to local high points rarely much above 20 metres. Wroxham parish was typically sized for a Broadland parish, they are tightly packed and small, covering just 1,300 acres and supporting a population of around 350 parishioners. In Domesday Wroxham returned 47 households sufficient to place it amongst the top 20% of settlements in the land, the assets recorded, however, show a more modest settlement largely held by Ralph de Beaufour it could muster just 12 ploughs backed by meadows and woodland.

The Church

St Mary's church sits on the western edge of Wroxham almost on the banks of the meandering Bure and squeezed between rover and railway. Whilst most of the church is fairly typical of Norfolk being a mixture of 14th & 15th century fabric St Mary retains a remarkable 12th century Norman southern doorway. Pevsner was moved to describe the doorway as "barbaric and glorious" with highly decorated capitals, abaci and arches, a wonderful piece of early craftsmanship. The chancel is a mixture of the Decorated and Perpendicular styles indicative of a build from early to mid 14th century. Also Perpendicular is the western tower but this is late and probably from a century later in the mid-15th century. The intervening nave is somewhat debated in its date with one expert claiming it to be 16th century whilst another states it as being "modern", more certainly in its southern aisle which was rebuilt during a typical 19th century restoration, Pevsner neglects to specify the date thereof. Church Lane heads west from the A1151 crossing the railway, St Mary's Close continues that direction terminating at the churchyard which has a broad triangular verge for parking. The church is sheltered by trees from that parking area but once within sits within a churchyard with no significant obstacles for the photographer.