Alethorpe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Alethorpe | |
|---|---|
 The site of Alethorpe | |
  Alethorpe Location within Norfolk | |
| OS grid reference | TF948313 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FAKENHAM |
| Postcode district | NR21 |
Alethorpe is a deserted medieval village site and former civil parish, now in the parish of Little Snoring, in the North Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. It is south-east of Little Snoring, around 2 miles (3.2 km) north-east of the town of Fakenham and 23 miles (37 km) north-west of Norwich, to the north of the A148 road.[1] The village, which is one of around 200 lost settlements in Norfolk, was abandoned in the 16th century, probably as a consequence of the land being enclosed by the landlord at that time. It is occasionally referred to as Althorp in historical literature. In 1931, the parish had a population of one.[2]
The village of Alethorpe is mentioned in the Domesday Book.[3] In the survey, Alethorpe is recorded under the name of Alatorp and was a small settlement with a taxable value of 0.6 geld.[4] The land was held by King William.[4] A late Saxon disc brooch was discovered on the site in 1985.[5]
Alethorpe was also recorded in the Nomina Villarum surveys.[5][6] In the surveys, Alethorpe is recorded as being a village of thirty houses in 1272, twelve taxpayers in 1329, eleven in 1332, and twelve in 1377. It was recorded that there were ten heads of families in 1496.[5]
The village was abandoned by the early 17th century, probably due to land enclosure; there was a 1604 petition by the last inhabitants to Sir Nicholas Bacon of Stiffkey, Justice of the Peace, against this.[7] The parish church, which was dedicated to All Saints, and was in use in 1552, was being used as a barn by 1602 and was in poor repair by that date.[8][9][10] Three skeletons were unearthed in 1962 in what is assumed to have been the churchyard.[9][10]
By the middle of the 19th century, Alethorpe was classified as an extra-parochial area in the Gallow Hundred.[11][12] From 1858, Alethorpe was a civil parish in its own right, although united with Fakenham for religious purposes, until it was abolished on 1 April 1935 and merged with Little Snoring.[13][14][15] The parish covered around 240 acres (97 ha) and was farmland. In 1869, the parish consisted of just one farm with a population of four. By 1891, it had a population of nine, and by 1911 this had fallen again to five.[13][15][16]
