ALL SAINTS' CHURCH - THREXTON

All Saints' Church at Threxton is located in a shallow valley formed by a tributary of the River Wissey. It is described in White's Directory of Norfolk, 1845 as 'a small antique fabric, set in a romantic dell'. This idyllic setting has somewhat been spoilt by the construction of a screened sewage works adjacent to the church; however, the building remains a gem and has been awarded two diocesan tourism awards.

Location and Local History

The village of Threxton has all but disappeared and now consists of a manor house, a number of small farms and scattered private dwellings. This current dearth of occupation was not always the case, as there has been a substantial human presence in the valley dating back to the Bronze Age.

Half a mile up-stream from the church the Roman Road known as the Peddars Way crosses the stream and here the remains of a large Romano/British settlement have been found. Surface finds indicate that the site was occupied from approximately AD25 to AD408 and that there were two forts, on different locations at different times, adjacent to the settlement.

Evidence of Early Saxon occupation is provided by the discovery of a cemetery, approximately one mile to the south of the church on the higher ground. Late Saxon and mediaeval artefacts have been found on the site of the church and to the south-west, adjacent to the present day farm. This was probably the location of the Saxon village of Trectuna as mentioned in Domesday Book. At this time the parish was divided into two halves, with half being held by Hugh for William of Warenne and the other half by Ranulf for Reynold Son of Ivo.

In the following years the two manors had a number of owners. The manor belonging to William of Warrenne, which subsequently became know as Morehall, passed to Philip le Vealtre. He married Esmond, sister of Ralph de Waucey of North Barsham, who, following her death left all her worldly possessions to the monks at Castle Acre. Following a dispute the manor passed to William le Vealtre, with the advowson being retained by Castle Acre until 1321, when it passed to the Bishop of Norwich.

The second part of the parish was subsequently divided into five manors:-Hemenhale, Ferthing, Pencethorpe, Curlew and Mounteney. They paid their tithes to the rector who annually paid ten shillings to the Prior of Norwich. This money was held at the Honour of Clare.

The following families held manors within the parish during the next three hundred years: Curlew, Fitz-Simon, Hemenhale, Fitz-Richard, Germon and Mountney. The heraldic shields of these families are displayed within the church. By 1572 most of these small manors had been amalgamated into one.

The mediaeval village of Threxton lay in the field to the south of 'Church Farm'. During 1332/1334 it was listed as moderately prosperous, but by 1524 as small. This may have been due to the Black Death; however, the more likely cause is engrossment, where the Lord of the Manor gradually purchased all of the tenements.

Aerial photography has shown that there was once a moated site, to the north-west of the church, alongside the stream. A cut can be seen on the aerial photographs linking the stream to the moat. Traces of a mediaeval kiln site were found when a trench was cut on the site of the adjacent sewage works.

Faden's map of 1797 shows that the site of the old village has been deserted and that the area where the present manor house (Threxton House) stands is listed as 'New Threxton'. Robert Knopwood purchased the whole parish in 1724 and it remained in the possession of the Knopwood and Barton families until well into the twentieth century.

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