Great Snoring
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(photo by David Williams)
Great Snoring is a rural village in North Norfolk by the River Stiffkey, in the East of England, UK[1] at . Its population in the 2001 census was 168, a dramatic decrease since 1841 when it was 556 (this included 81 people in the Walsingham Union Workhouse).[2]
At the centre of the village is the 13th century Church of St. Mary and the old Rectory.[1] There is a rather narrow main street with houses built of brick and flint.[3] Behind the Church stands The Manor House which was built in about 1490, and which is now a hotel, accommodating up to 16 guests.[4]
The nearest inn and shop are in the larger village of Little Snoring which is about two miles away.[3]
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[edit] History
1086 - The Domesday book calls the village by the Saxon name Snarringes, named after an inhabitant called Snear.[3] The book includes mention of a water mill, which now is featured on the village sign.[1]
1611 - Sir Ralph Shelton, lord of the manor, sold Great Snoring to Lord Chief Justice Richardson. Sir Ralph is reported to have said "I can sleep without Snoring".[3]
1854 - Francis White's History, Gazetteer and Directory of Norfolk[5] describes the village as having:
- 99 houses, with a total population of 656
- John Dugmore, Esq as lord of the manor
- The Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary with a "fine tower" (formerly a spire), containing curious old brasses of the Skelton family
- The rectory house, built by the Skelton family, described as a "fine specimen of ornamental brick work", valued at £24 and occupied by Rev. D. H. Lee Warner
- Walsingham Union House, a workhouse with 164 staff and occupants
1914-1918 - the Great Snoring War Memorial lists 22 men who died in the first world war[6]
[edit] Population
| Year | 1841 | 1854 | 1861 | 1871 | 1891 | 1911 | 1921 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 556 | 656 | 594 | 598 | 543 | 484 | 413 | 168 |
The historical population figures are from http://www.the-snorings.co.uk
[edit] The Walsingham Union Workhouse
On 12th April 1836 Walsingham Poor Law Union was formed, and a new Walsingham Union workhouse was built at Great Snoring in the same year to accommodate up to 250 inmates. The architect was William Thorold, and he based it on Sampson Kempthorne's model cruciform plan published by the Poor Law Commissioners in 1835. Four accommodation wings were joined to a central supervisory area, allowing segregation of different categories of inmate. Areas between the wings were used as exercise space. Workshops and service buildings around the edge gave the overall site an octagonal shape. To the east of the site a chapel was built.[7]
Since the closure of the workhouse, the buildings have had various uses: as a smallpox hospital in the 1930s; by the Civil Defence in the 1950s; and most recently, plans to convert the building into 35 flats were approved in 1961. But no conversion was carried out and the buildings have now been demolished. [8]
A map and photographs can be seen on [8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Great Snoring Norfolk, village information, holidays, cottages, bed and breakfast, pubs and businesses. Glaven Valley. Retrieved on 2006-03-31.
- ^ William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk 1845. GENUKI: Norfolk: Genealogy: Towns and Parishes: Snoring, Great: White's 1845. Retrieved on 2006-03-31.
- ^ a b c d Great Snoring in Norfolk. NorfolkCoast.co.uk. Retrieved on 2006-03-31.
- ^ Manor House (The), a B&B in Great Snoring, Norfolk.. information Britain. Retrieved on 2006-03-31.
- ^ White, Francis (1854). History, Gazetteer and Directory of Norfolk. pages 714-715 viewed at [1] on 15th April 2006
- ^ Ernie Rusdale (2004). Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Great Snoring. Retrieved on 2006-04-15.
- ^ Great Snoring and Little Snoring in Norfok, England - Walsingham Union Workhouse. Great and Little Snoring. Retrieved on 2006-04-16.
- ^ a b Peter Higginbotham (2001). Walsingham Poor Law Union and Workhouse. History of the Workhouse in Britain. Retrieved on 2006-04-16.
