The parish of Tottington lies in the west of central Norfolk.
The parish is wholly contained by the Army Battle Area (STANTA) and is
unfortunately as a consequence largely inaccessible to the general public.
The parish prior to World War II was a sparely populated Breckland farming
community but all but a few tenant farmers were removed to make way for
the tanks. After the war the land was retained by the army and it remains
so. Tottington lies generally south of the market town of Watton by about
4 miles and west of the A1075 road which links Watton to Thetford.
As a consequence of the access restrictions I have not been able to visit
and get images of the church for this web site. There are images on Simon
Knott's website of Norfolk Churches. St Andrew's church is a mixture
of the Decorated & Perpendicular styles indicative of a 14th or 15th
century date (even Pevsner is unsure). The church was much restored in
Victorian times which always masks the underlying origins. Of more concern
the church has suffered a little from the armies care but great strides
have been taken in recent times to manage the property as it deserves.
The blast-proof sheeting on the roof resembling pantiles are curious but
effective.
A single standard 800-entry register book covers the period of the transcript
and continues until 1882. This register is filmed on Microfilm MFRO401
in the collection of the Norfolk Record Office and from which this transcript
was prepared. The filming is a recent one and benefits from the improvements
in quality achievable today. The images are clear and contrasting and
as a consequence in the main very readable. Subject to the normal caveat
regarding handwriting this was a straightforward transcript to prepare
and it is to be hoped few errors will have crept into its compilation.
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