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Wells-next-the-Sea
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"WELLS, or Wells-next-the-Sea, is an irregularly built sea-port town, 5 miles N. by W. of Walsingham, 10 miles N. of Fakenham, 29 miles N.E. of Lynn, 32 miles N.W. of Norwich, and 118 miles N.N.E. of London. Its parish has increased its population since the year 1801, from 2,316 to 3,504 souls, and contains 1,606 acres of land, lying in four manors, viz:- Wells-late-the-Duke's, Normans, and Walsingham Priory, of which the Earl of Leicester is lord; and Binham Priory, of which Sir R.J. Harvey is lessee lord, under the Bishop of Norwich. The common was enclosed in 1811. . . . Its commerce has been for many years in a declining state, but efforts are now making to revive it, by improving the harbour; and it is intended to form a Railway from the town, to join the Norwich and Brandon line, near Thetford. . . The CHURCH (St. Nicholas,) is a neat fabric, . . . The south gallery was erected by the present incumbent, in 1833, at the cost of £320, with pews for 140 hearers," [William White, History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk (1845) - Transcription copyright © Pat Newby]
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Not all memorials may be included, even when a site is marked as complete, for example when stones are not legible enough to be photographed.
- Church of St Nicholas (Findagrave)
- Transcriptions and photographs of memorials.
- Church of St Nicholas (Gravestonephotos)
- Transcriptions and photographs of memorials.
- Congregational Church (Findagrave)
- Transcriptions and photographs of memorials.
- Congregational Church (Gravestonephotos)
- Transcriptions and photographs of memorials.
- Wells Town Cemetery, Market Lane (Findagrave)
- Transcriptions and photographs of memorials.
- Wells Town Cemetery, Market Lane (Gravestonephotos)
- Transcriptions and photographs of memorials.
- Polka Road Cemetery (Findagrave)
- Transcriptions and photographs of memorials.
See also Norfolk Parish Links: Cemeteries
New Chapel, Wells next the Sea, Independents - Congregational |
Cemetery (Market Lane), Wells next the Sea, Cemetery |
Cemetery (Polka Ln), Wells next the Sea, Cemetery |
Meeting House, Wells next the Sea, Society of Friends |
- 1793: Heads of households, and number of people in each household.
- 1891: Surname List (this is a link to an archived copy)
- 1891 part 1
- 1891 part 2
See also Norfolk Parish Links: Censuses
New Chapel, Wells next the Sea, Independents - Congregational |
Cemetery (Market Lane), Wells next the Sea, Cemetery |
Cemetery (Polka Ln), Wells next the Sea, Cemetery |
Meeting House, Wells next the Sea, Society of Friends |
- In 1883 the parish was in the Deanery of Walsingham, in the archdeaconry of Norwich.
It could have been in a different deanery or archdeaconry both before and after this date. - The parish church is dedicated to St Nicholas.
- Church of St Nicholas
- Description and pictures.
- Church of St Nicholas
- Services, etc.
- Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea
- Description and pictures.
- Methodist Church
- Minister, services, picture, etc.
Follow the link to the home page, then search for the church. - Primitive Methodist Church
- Description, picture and map.
- Friends Meeting House
- Description, services and picture.
- Parish Register Transcripts
- Baptisms 1813-1880
- Marriages
- These are not included in Boyd's Marriage Index or Phillimore's Marriage Registers.
- Edmonds, Jenifer A.
- Norfolk Non-Conformist Burials, 1700s-1800s.
Wells Independent Meeting House (1817-1837).
See Great Ellingham
See also Norfolk Parish Links: Church Records
For the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths between 1837 and 1930 (and for the censuses from 1851 to 1901), Wells was in Walsingham Registration District.
- Wells Town Council
- Councillors, meetings, minutes, etc.
- Wells
- Description, history and pictures.
- Wells
- Description, pictures and map..
- Wells Harbour
- Description, pictures, information for mariners, etc.
- Wells Lifeboat
- News, events, description, history, pictures, etc.
- Wells
- Organisations, holidays, pictures, etc.
- Wells Black's Lane Post Mill
- Description, history and map.
- Wells Mill Farm East Post Mill
- Description, history and map.
- Wells Mill Farm Tower Mill
- Description, history and map.
- Wells Mill Lane Post Mill
- Description, history and map.
- Wells Northfield Smock Mill
- Description, history and map.
- Wells West End Early Post Mill
- Description, history and map.
- Wells West End Post Mill
- Description, history and map.
- Anckorn, Gordon
- A West Norfolk camera: King's Lynn, Wells and Wisbech in old photographs.
[ISBN 0906798086, Ashgrove Press, 1981] - Banham, Eleanor
- Wells town trail.
[Norwich, Norfolk County Planning Department, 1980] - Lingwood, Lemmon
- The illustrated guide to Wells-next-the-Sea, including Holkham, Walsingham, Fakenham, and Districts: containing full description of Lord Nelson's birthplace.
[London, Jarrold, (18-?)] - Perkins, Geoff
- Wells on Sea - A Town and All Its People As It Once Was: Photographs from the late 1800s to the 1950s.
[1996] - Rouse, Michael
- Hunstanton and Wells-next-the-Sea through time.
Photographs of the west Norfolk coast from Hunstanton to Wells.
[2011?]
- 1845: White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk
- 1854: White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk (this is a link to an archived copy)
- 1883: Kelly's Directory for Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk (this is a link to an archived copy)
See also Norfolk Parish Links: Directories
- Ask for a calculation of the distance from Wells-next-the-Sea to another place.
Wells is in North Greenhoe Hundred.
- Parish outline and location.
- See Parish Map for North Greenhoe Hundred
- Description of North Greenhoe Hundred
- 1845: White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk
- Arguile, Roger
- Wells-next-the-Sea: A little history.
[ISBN 80946148998, Poppyland Publishing, 2013] - Arguile, Roger
- Wells-next-the-Sea: A small port and a wide world.
[ISBN 81909796102 and 81909796119, Poppyland Publishing, 2014] - Pooley, Graham
- The port of Wells: 1100 years of history.
[ISBN 0951612018, Fakenham, 1992] - Stammers, Michael
- Shipbuilding in Wells in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
[Wells Local History Group Occasional Publications, 2011] - Stephenson, Frank
- The story of Wells-next-the-Sea: with a brief commentary on the adjoining countryside.
[ISBN 090288705X, Blakeney, 1972] - Walker, Graham B
- The memoirs of William John Harman, 1854-1944: Shipwrecks and rescues off Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk.
[ISBN 0952599104, Wells, 1995] - Woods, Sheila
- Out with the tide: recollections of Wells-next-the-Sea 1918-1939.
[ISBN 0946148422, Poppyland Publishing, 'East Anglian memories' series, 1989]
- Inclosure
- See Warham All Saints
- Welland, Michael
- The History of the Inns and Public Houses of Wells.
[Wells Local History Group Occasional Publications, 2012]
- Town and Area Maps (this is a link an archived copy)
- Street maps, etc.
You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TF917433 (Lat/Lon: 52.952568, 0.851868), Wells-next-the-Sea which are provided by:
- OpenStreetMap
- Google Maps
- StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
- Bing (was Multimap)
- Old Maps Online
- National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
- Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
- English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
- Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
- GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)
- All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Roll of Honour
- World Wars 1 and 2.
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Wells Cemetery
- World War 2.
- After 1834 Wells became part of the Walsingham Union, and the workhouse was at Great Snoring.
- Charities
Summary published by Zachary Clark in 1811
These figures are from the population tables which were produced after the 10-yearly national censuses. The "Families" heading includes families and single occupiers.
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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
- "In the Parish of Wells-next-the-Sea, all Men employed in Registered Vessels are properly excluded from the Return; hence the small proportion of Males 20 Years of Age."
- 1861 Census
- "The decrease of population in the parishes of Wells-next-the-Sea and Holkham is partly attributed to the depression of the shipping trade, owing to the facilities of railway communications, and partly to the fact that a number of labourers and artizans were temporarily employed in 1851 on Lord Leicester's estate at Holkham."
- 1901 Census
- These figures are for Wells Urban District.
- Wells Local History Group does not appear to have a website although they still have talks - use search engine.
- Meetings, membership, research, newsletters, holdings of parish register and census data, etc.