Stockton is a small village in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England near the A146, just over 2 miles from

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is located along the A145 r ...

in neighbouring

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. It covers an area of and had a population of 59 in 25 households at the 2001 census. Its church, St Michael, is one of 124 existing

round-tower church Round-tower churches are a type of church found mainly in England, mostly in East Anglia; of about 185 surviving examples in the country, 124 are in Norfolk, 38 in Suffolk, six in Essex, three in Sussex and two each in Cambridgeshire and Berks ...

es in

Mediaeval History

"The little village of Stockton was once the centre of an important lordship," writes Elisabeth Crowfoot (1914-2005) in a note published in the local parish magazine. In Anglo-Saxon times, she notes, it was part of the manor of Earsham, belonging to

Stigand Stigand (died 1072) was an Anglo-Saxon churchman in pre-Norman Conquest England who became Archbishop of Canterbury. His birth date is unknown, but by 1020 he was serving as a royal chaplain and advisor. He was named Bishop of Elmham in 1043 ...

, the Archbishop of Canterbury (1052-1070): "When the Saxon Archbishop Stigand quarrelled with William the Conqueror, his lands, including Stockton, were confiscated by the Crown". In 1140 King Stephen granted Stockton, including the manors of Ellingham, Geldeston, Gillingham, Kirby Cane, Winston and Wyndale (Windle), with the right to hold court and set up a gallows, to Hugh Bigod, the newly created Earl of Norfolk. In 1178, Hugh's son Ralph, the next owner, obtained exclusive fishing rights on the Waveney from Stockton to Shipmeadow, and the right to cut reeds, like those used to thatch the church (it still has a thatched roof today), and to cut rushes for strewing the floors. The manor passed through the last Bigod heir, Elisabeth Bigot, to her husband William Garneys, but Stockton and Geldeston did not remain long in the family's possession. In 1447, the year after the death of Garneys' son Ralph, they were occupied by

William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk (16 October 1396 – 2 May 1450), nicknamed Jackanapes, was an English magnate, statesman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He became a favourite of Henry VI of England, and consequent ...

Parochial records

The Stockton church registers go back to 1561, though some early pages are missing. The “Stockton Town Book”, a manuscript volume containing churchwardens’ accounts for the years 1625–1712, has also been preserved. Among the information included in the Town Book that for the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

(1642-1649) provides a glimpse of a small Norfolk village at the time. Two villagers and the rector went away to fight. Thomas Bande was paid 10 shillings in 1640 “for being content to be a soldier for the Town”; John Bird, parish clerk, received 15 shillings when “impressed” for the same purpose in 1643, and his wife was supported by the parish until he returned “maimed from

Naseby Naseby is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census was 687. The village is north of Northa ...

fight” (14 June 1645). The Rector at this period, William Stannard, went to fight for the Crown against the Scots. Perhaps Stannard did so against the wishes of the parish, because in 1641 the Town refused to pay 30 shillings for the musket he lost in “the northern expedition”. In 1645 they relented and gave him £1, and he stayed on to look after his flock as “parish registrar” under the Commonwealth until his death in 1655."Stockton. Historical Notes", ''Tidings'' online, April 2020

Notes

External links

St Michael's on the European Round Tower Churches website
Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Round-tower churches {{Norfolk-geo-stub

Mediaeval History

Parochial records

See also

Notes

External links