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West Bradenham

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"BRADENHAM (WEST) is a parish of dispersed houses, separated from the above [Bradenham, East] by a small rivulet, 2½ miles W.N.W. of Shipdham, and 6½ miles E. of Swaffham. It has 364 inhabitants, and 1703A. of land, mostly the property of W.M.R. Haggard and Barry Girling, Esqrs., the former of whom is lord of West Bradenham, and the latter of Bockenham Hall manor. The CHURCH (St. Andrew) stands on an eminence,  . . . The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the King's Book at £7.1s.10d., and in 1831 at £296. It is now enjoyed by the Rev. R.J. King, of Wisbech, who is also lessee of the rectorial tithes, under the Bishop of Ely, the patron and appropriator. West Bradenham Hall,  . . . the pleasant seat of W.M.R. Haggard, Esq., was built in 1772, by T. Smyth, Esq.,   . . . It was purchased of the Smyths, by the grandfather of the present Mr. Haggard, one of whose ancestors, Sir Andrew Ogard, held the manor in the reign of Henry VI., after which it was held by the Clifton, Knyvet, and Devereaux families. Col. Mason has an estate in the parish."[William White, History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk (1845) - Transcription copyright © Paddy Apling]

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The name may also be spelled West Braddenham.
See also East Bradenham.

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Cemeteries

Mid-Norfolk Family History Society
St Andrew's Church, West Bradenham: Memorial Inscriptions, with index.
[Dereham, 1990s]

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Cemeteries

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Census

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Censuses

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Church Directories

  • In 1883 the parish was in the Deanery of Cranwich, in the archdeaconry of Norfolk.
  • The parish church is dedicated to St Andrew.
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Church History

Church of St Andrew
Description and pictures.
Church of St Andrew
Description, services, location, pictures, etc.
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Church Records

Marriages
These are not included in Boyd's Marriage Index or Phillimore's Marriage Registers.
Churchwardens' Rates
Principal property occupiers and the amounts paid.
1786.
Valuation of 1823
Names of people.
Extracts from Parish Register Transcripts
Ministers, names, and newspaper cuttings.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Church Records

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Civil Registration

For the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths between 1837 and 1930 (and for the censuses from 1851 to 1901), West Bradenham was in Swaffham Registration District.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Civil Registration

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Description & Travel

Dewing, Rita
Bradenham: A Popular History of a Norfolk Village.
[2005]
No author
Bradenham Bygones: Photographs of Bradenham over the last 100 years.
West Bradenham Mill
Description, history and map.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Description and Travel

You can see pictures of West Bradenham which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Historical Geography

West Bradenham is in South Greenhoe hundred.

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History

Carthew, George Alfred
A history, topographical, archaeological, genealogical, and biographical, of the parishes of West and East Bradenham, with those of Necton and Holme Hale, in the county of Norfolk, from the Public Records, Court Rolls, Wills, Parish Registers, and private sources.
[Norwich, Agas H. Goose, 1883]
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Land & Property

West Bradenham Hall
Description, history, gardens, pictures, etc.
Inclosure
See Holme Hale

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Land and Property

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Maps

Parish outline and location.
See Parish Map for Swaffham Registration District, 1836
and nearby places.
This is a link to an archived copy.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TF914083 (Lat/Lon: 52.639001, 0.827235), West Bradenham which are provided by:

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Military Records

Mid-Norfolk Family History Society
The Bradenham Book of Remembrance: the men of East and West Bradenham who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars.
[2004]
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Names, Personal

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

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Population

These figures are from the population tables which were produced after the 10-yearly national censuses. The "Families" heading includes families and single occupiers.

Year   Inhabited
Houses
Families Population
1801 48 59 300
1811 71 91 307
1821 58 79 385
1831 82 83 370
1841 85 -- 364
1851 91 -- 422
Year   Inhabited
Houses
Families Population
1861 88 -- 387
1871 83 86 326
1881 75 76 305
1891 66 66 279
1901 65 65 274
1911 -- 65 272

There may be more people living in detached parts of the parish (if there were any) and, if so, the number may or may not be included in the figures above. It is quite difficult to be sure from the population tables.

1901 Census
"Including West End."

This has been found by the Norfolk transcribers for FreeREG, on page 25 of the West Bradenham register of baptisms 1791-1812.

Return of the Population of West Bradenham A.D. 1813
Number of Houses Inhabited  50
Do of Families  72
Do of Persons 323