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Wymondham in Norfolk County England History and GeographyWYMONDHAM, or WINDHAM, a parish in the hundred of FOREHOE, county of NORFOLK, 9 miles (W.S.W.) from Norwich, and 100 (N.E. by N.) from London, comprising the market town of Wymondham, which forms the in-soken, and the divisions of Downham, Market-Street, Silfield, Suton, Towngreen, and Wattlefield, which form the out-soken, and containing, according to the last census, 4708 inhabitants, since which the number is supposed to have increased to nearly 7000. This town derives its name from the Saxon words Win Munde Ham, which signify 'a pleasant village on a mount,' and is indebted for its importance to the foundation of a priory of Black monks, at first a cell to the abbey of St. Albans, by William d'Albini, or Daubeny, in the reign of Henry I. This monarch endowed the monastery with lands and with the privilege of appropriating all wrecks between Eccles, Happisburgh, and Tunstead, and with an annual rent, in kind, of two thousand eels from the village of Helgay. About 1448, it was elevated to the rank of an abbey, and at the dissolution its revenue was valued at £72. 5. 4. The two Ketts, who disturbed this county in the reign of Edward VI., were accustomed to assemble their followers under an oak, of which part yet remains, in the vicinity of the town; after their defeat by the Earl of Warwick, the elder was hanged in chains on the castle of Norwich, and the younger upon the lofty steeple of the church of Wymondham, of which town they were both natives. In 1615, three hundred houses were destroyed by fire; and in 1631, the plague raged with great fury among the inhabitants. The town, which is situated on the main road from Norwich to London, is of considerable extent, and is well supplied with water from springs; it has much improved of late years. Different branches of weaving are carried on in private houses, from ten to twelve hundred persons being employed by Messrs. Tipple and Son, the only firm in the town; the chief articles are bombazines and crapes. The market, granted by charter of King John in 1203, is held on Friday: the fairs are on February 14th and May 17th, principally for cattle, horses, and pedlary; statute fairs for hiring servants are held occasionally: in the market place is an ancient cross. A court leet is held annually for the appointment of constables, and manorial courts are held as occasion requires: the inhabitants enjoy the privilege of exemption from serving on juries at assizes and sessions. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Norfolk, and diocese of Norwich, rated in the king's books at £10. 14. 4½., and in the patronage of the Bishop of Ely. The church, which comprises the eastern part of the abbey church, and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is a fine structure in various styles of architecture, with the remains of the central tower, and another at the west end. Amid the ruins of the ancient conventual edifice are some Norman arches with low massive columns, and fragments of old walls: the more modern parts of the building are the north aisle, porch, and towers. In the interior is a large font, adorned with carved work, and elevated on steps; in the chancel is the tomb of the founder, who died in 1156, and several sepulchral memorials to the d'Albini family and other noble persons. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists. A free grammar school was founded in the reign of Elizabeth, and endowed with part of the property of the guilds belonging to the collegiate church: a scholarship in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, was attached to it, in 1574, by Archbishop Parker; another, in 1580, by John Parker, Esq.; and, in 1659, a share in an exhibition for scholarships to the same college, given by Edward Coleman, Esq.: the scholars must be natives, and have continued at the school for two years without intermission, and be fifteen years of age: the master's salary is about £60 per annum. There is also a bequest of a house and land, by a person unknown, producing about £100 per annum, for this school, part being distributed among the poor. The school is kept in an ancient chapel, dedicated to St. Mary and Thomas ? Becket, at the bridge. The Rev. John Hendry, in 1722, bequeathed £400 to be vested in the purchase of land and the rental to be given to the vicar, on condition that two sermons be preached in the church every Sunday throughout the year; also a rent-charge of £13. 10. for preaching a sermon every Friday in Lent: the same benefactor bequeathed a small estate for the use of the charity school, chargeable with the payment of fifty shillings annually to indigent old maids of Wymondham, and ten shillings to the poor of Crownthorpe. A charity school in Churchgate-street, for educating, &c. an unlimited number of children, is supported by voluntary subscriptions. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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