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Costessey

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"COSTESSEY, or Cossey, is a large village, 1½ mile in length, pleasantly situated in the vale of the Wensum, 4 miles N.W. by W. of Norwich. Its parish contains 1074 inhabitants, and 2648 acres of land, exclusive of a common of 270A. Lord Stafford owns the greater part of the soil, and is lord of the manor, (fines arbitrary,) which extends into several other parishes. . . . The parish CHURCH (St. Edmund,) is a large structure, with a square tower, surmounted by a wooden spire. It had formerly three guilds, and has a florid Gothic screen between the nave and chancel. The rectorial tithes,&c., belong to the Great Hospital in Norwich together with the patronage of the perpetual curacy, which is certified at £40, and now enjoyed by the Rev. Thos. Watson, with 51A. of glebe. In the village is a Baptist Chapel, and also a handsome Catholic Chapel. The latter is dedicated to St. Walstan, and was finished in 1841." [William White, History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk (1845) - Transcription copyright © Pat Newby]

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The name is pronounced, and may also be spelled, Cossey.
It includes Old Costessey and New Costessey.

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Census

  • Link "https://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/NORFOLK/2003-10/1065424598" to 1841: Surname List: Part 1 - Fails and not found on wayback machine.
  • Link "https://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/NORFOLK/2003-10/1065424648" to 1841: Surname List: Part 2 - Fails and not found on wayback machine.
  • 1891: Surname List (this is a link to an archived copy)

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Censuses

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Church Directories

  • In 1883 the parish was in the Deanery of Hingham, in the archdeaconry of Norfolk.
    It could have been in a different deanery or archdeaconry both before and after this date.
  • The parish church in Old Costessey is dedicated to St Edmund.
    The parish church in New Costessey is dedicated to St Helen.
    There is also a Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to St Walstan.
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Church History

Church of St Edmund, Old Costessey
Description and pictures.
Church of St Edmund, Old Costessey
Services, etc.
Church Bells
Church Bells, as described in 1874.
Maurice, David Powys
The Parish and Church of St Edmund, Costessey.
[Church Publishers, 1960s]
 
Church of St Helen, New Costessey
Description and pictures.
Church of St Helen, New Costessey
Services, etc.
 
Roman Catholic Church of St Walstan
Services, newsletter, etc.
Roman Catholic Church of St Walstan
Description and pictures.
Jerningham, Stafford H.
Costessey: A few brief notes on the doings of Catholics at Costessey down to 1809.
Centenary celebration of St Augustine's Chapel, Costessey Park, 1909.
[Privately published, 1909]
Jolly, W.T.F
An Account of St Walstan's, Costessey.
[King's Lynn, G.P. and M. Broughton, 1974]
 
Costessey Baptist Church
Description, meetings, pictures, etc.
 
Methodist Church
Minister, services, picture, etc.
Follow the link to the home page, then search for the church.
Norwich Road Methodist Church
Opening and dedication of the new church, 2nd May 1964.
[Norwich, The Church, 1964]
 
Primitive Methodist Church
Description and history.
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Church Records

Parish Register Transcripts
Church of St Edmund: Baptisms 1813-1880
Archdeacons' Transcripts or Bishop's Transcripts
Church of St Edmund: Baptisms, Marriages and Burials.
Marriages
These are not included in Boyd's Marriage Index or Phillimore's Marriage Registers.
 
Smith, John Peter
The Catholic Registers of Costessey or Cossey Hall, Norfolk: the seat of the Jerningham family, baronets: 1785-1821.
[Catholic Record Society Miscellanea XII, 1921]

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), Costessey was in Forehoe Registration District.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Civil Registration

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Description & Travel

Costesssey Town Council
News, councillors, meetings, minutes, pictures, etc.
Costesssey.
Description, history, hall, events, people, map, etc.
This is a link to an archived copy.
Costessey Community Site
Local news and information.
Costessey Post Mill
Description, history and pictures.
Costessey Water Mill
Description, history and pictures.

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Description and Travel

You can see pictures of Costessey which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Historical Geography

Costessey is in Forehoe Hundred.

Parish outline and location.
See Parish Map for Forehoe Hundred
Description of Forehoe Hundred
1845: White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk
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History

Gage, Ernest G.
Costessey: A Look into the Past.
[ISBN 0954211308, Norwich, 2002]
Extracts and pictures (this is a link to an archived copy)
Norgate, Thomas Bladwell
The History of Costessey.
[ISBN 0950102628, 1972]
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Land & Property

Great Britain: Statute
Annual Inclosure Act, 1857.
An act to authorize the inclosure of certain lands (including Costessey, Holme-next-the-Sea, Hunstanton and Dersingham, for which provisional inclosure orders were made between 30 October and 4 December 1856) in pursuance of a report of the Inclosure Commissioners for England and Wales: 21st March 1857.
[London, George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1857]
 
Author unknown
Old Costessey: a study of village settlement on the fringe of Norwich.
[Typescript in Norwich Local Studies Library, University of London Thesis, 1965]
Gunton, Henry E.
Old Properties in Costessey.
[Typescript in Norwich Local Studies Library, 1960s]
 
Gage, Ernest G.
Costessey Hall: a retrospect of the Jernegans, Jerninghams and Stafford Jerninghams of Costessey Hall.
[ISBN 0951749404, Norwich, Colin L. House, 1991]
Extracts and pictures (this is a link to an archived copy)
Costessey Hall
Description and pictures.
 
Costessey Brickworks (this is a link to an archived copy)
Description, history and pictures.
Gunton, Henry E.
Costessey Brickworks.
[London, Newcomen Society Vol XLI, 1969]
Lucas, Robin
Neo-Gothic, Neo-Tudor, Neo-Renaissance: the Costessey Brickyard. (Including Costessey Hall)
[London, "Victorian Society Journal", 1997]

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Land and Property

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TG171117 (Lat/Lon: 52.659726, 1.208839), Costessey which are provided by:

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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   91 128   604
1811   98 144   636
1821 110 190   824
1831 136 224 1098
1841 230 --- 1074
1851 232 --- 1025
Year   Inhabited
Houses
Families Population
1861 244 --- 1047
1871 229 243   943
1881 229 229   960
1891 213 213   881
1901 217 230   880
1911 --- 226   895

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.

1831 Census
"The increase of Population (274 Persons) in the Parish of Costessey is temporary, a number of Handicrafts being now employed in building, by Lord Stafford (Duke of Sutherland)."