England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Santon Downham St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Santon Downham lies in the extreme northwest of Suffolk forming an extensive part of the border with neighbouring Norfolk. Santon Downham sits on the banks of the River Little Ouse roughly 3 miles east of the market town of Brandon. Once a substantial village, Santon Downham suffered from inundation from wind-blown sands in the 17th century which saw most of its population leave, the present village sits, deep within the forestry of Breckland, a little over a mile north of the B1107 road which connects Brandon with Thetford. The area has extremely poor soils and land was largely set either to waste or was used for sheep and, in particular, rabbit warrens, a small local industry in flint-knapping persisted into modern times from the Neolithic. Santon Downham is drained westwards by the Little Ouse which heads out into the Fens to join its larger namesake and reach the North Sea through The Wash. Santon Downham is sited at just 15 metres above the sea but land rises steadily and gently into the forest to its south reaching a little over 40 metres within a mile or so. By Suffolk standards Santon Downham parish was quite extensive, a result of its poor quality land, and covered around 3,900 acres supporting a small population of only a little over 50 parishioners. In Domesday times Santon Downham was a much more middling sort of place, the majority held by Thetford Abbey with Ely Abbey having a minor holding, collectively their assets were 8 ploughs, small meadows and a profitable fishery.

The Church

St Mary's church sits towards the eastern end of the village on the eastern side of Mark Lane which leads to the crossing over the Little Ouse. The church has its origins in the 12th century and is largely Norman Romanesque in style. Like most churches there has been modification over the centuries but the southern and priest's doorways are good examples of the style. Many of the windows of the chancel reflect later investment, lancets in the Early English Gothic style of the 13th century and a single Decorated style window of the early 14th. The thin and un-buttressed western tower is the latest addition and is Perpendicular in style and probably late 14th or early 15th century. The church originally had both northern and southern chapels but these have been removed at some time in the past. For once Pevsner does not mention a Victorian restoration so if one occurred it was light and sensitive. A gravelled driveway leads to wooden gates in the flint and brick boundary wall enabling easy parking. The village is surrounded with forestry and trees make the churchyard, too, a difficult challenge for the photographer to adequately capture the church.