Diss Family History Group

WINFARTHING is a pleasant village and parish, 3 miles north-west from Burston station, 99 miloes from London, and 4 miles north from Diss, in the South-Eastern division of the county, Diss hundred and county court district, Guiltcross union, rural deanery of Redenhall, archdeaconry of Norfolk, and diocese of Norwich. The church of St. Mary the Virgin is an old building, with square tower; it has nave, south aisle, and chancel: the interior is plain, with an oak roof. The register dates from the year 1614. The living is a rectory, in the gift of the Earl of Albemarle, yearly value £580, with 33 acres of glebe land, and held by the Rev. William James Carber. There is a school in connection with the church, supported by voluntary contributions; likewise a Sunday School. The Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists have chapels. There is an old tradition respecting a sword, called the Good Sword of Winfarthing, kept by the monks in former times, and which had belonged to a thief who had taken sanctuary: it is said to possess such virtues that people came far and near to offer gifts at its shrine. Here was formally a large deer park, containing 1,000 acres, enclosed by the Earl of Arundel in 1604. The Lodge Farm, in the occupation of Messrs. Henry and Leonard Palmer, and on which are two oak trees of extraordinary dimensions, is a portion of this land. The Crown formally held this manor, but it was given to Sir William Montchesny by Henry III; it is now the property of the Earl of Albemarle. The chief landowners are James Mann, esq., of Stoke Newington, London; Richard M. Phipson, Esq., of Norwich; and Thomas Betts, Esq. The soil is heavy; subsoil mostly clay. The chief crops are wheat, barley, beans and peas. The population in 1861 was 615, and the area is 2,620 acres.
Parish Clerk, John Morley.
Post office. - John Morley, receiver. Letters arrive from Diss at 9.30 a.m.; dispatched at 5 p.m. The nearest money order office is at Diss.
INSURANCE AGENT. - Liverpool & London & Globe, Thomas Fox

Bourne Mrs. Winfarthing cottage
Humphrey Rev. Francis (curate)
Ashfield Jacob, shopkeeper
Baker Stephen, farmer
Banham George, bricklayer & farmer
Banhyam Moses, farmer
Barker Robert, farmer
Bateman David, Oak
Betts Thomas, landowner, farmer and cattle dealer, Park Farm
Bobby David, farmer
Brigham Robert, shopkeeper
Burroughs Barnabus, corn miller
Catchpole Elizabeth (Mrs.), farmer
Catchpole John, farmer
Chaney James, farmer
Colman Lester William, farmer, Heath Farm
Driver Robert, wheelwright
Everett Thomas, farmer
Foster John, painter & glazier
Fox Thomas, bleacher and farmer, and agent to the Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Office
Gerrard Allan, farmer
Garrod William, coach maker
George Samuel, farmer
Hammond John, jun. farmer
Harper John, grocer & draper
Hart Samuel, farmer
Holmes David, bricklayer & shopkeeper
Marshall Solomon, farmer
Mason John, farmer
Palmer Henry & Leonard, farmers, Lodge Farm
Rad John, farmer
Reeve Robert, blacksmith
Roper Edward, farmer
Rudd William, farmer
Salter John, boot maker
Sharman John, farmer, Church Farm
Taylor William, farmer
Turner George, farmer
Turner John, farmer
Willon Joseph, blacksmith
Wright Naaman, shoemaker
Wright Thomas, Fighting Cocks
Youngman John, farmer