Little Snoring
It turns out that, in Norfolk, England, there is indeed a village called "Little Snoring" (map here). We're told that the name merely means that it's the place of the people who followed a man named Snear, as though that makes it better somehow. Among other interesting facts: Little Snoring is bigger than Great Snoring, which would seem fitting for a culture that describes its private schools as "public schools", although you have to go to Great Snoring to find a manor house.
We know now about Little Snoring because Isaac was looking for images to use on on a church bulletin at work and this somehow lead to his reading about churches in Norfolk. In particular, he seemed delighted by St Andrew, Little Snoring. From the photos provided it looks like a charming little church, one that I am certain we would visit if we happened to be passing through Little Snoring. St Andrew, it seems, has a distinctive tower but I'll not give away its secret–you can follow the link to find out and learn a little Norfolk history and culture at the same time.
It's not clear just how old the church is, but there is a list of the rectors of Little Snoring that records names back as far as 1292, when John de Waltham was rector. This I found on a lovely site about Great & Little Snoring, which has more historic information about the villages. Under "places" you'll find more information about St Andrew's, of course. In "Records" you can find names of people baptized (starting with Alice Marshall on 23 October 1559) or buried (starting with Robert Colls, on 1 September 1559).
Also in 1559, Thomas Heldridge married Margerie Thirkyng, and Thomas Colles married Joane Man. One wonders whether Thomas Colles was related to Robert Colls, who died that year. Thomas and Joane, by the way, had a child, William Colles, who was baptized on 19 March 1563. Sadly, Thomas and Joane apparently had no more children, but their son William seems to have had quite a number: Alice (1588), Richard (1589), Marie(1591), Anne (1593), William (1596), Agnes (1599), and Sarah (1609); it's not clear from the baptismal record whether their mother was the same in each case.
What a nice time I've had visiting Little Snoring this evening.
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on Tuesday, 15 April 2008 at 08.06
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notice that the records start in the mid 1550s – that's the Tudors for you, once they took over the churches from the naughty bishop of Rome, they started good record keeping.
as to little and great – well, that's a function of growth rates after the names got fixed. i was born in the midlands – northampton, to be exact; and near there you'll find the pair of little billing and great billing (on maps I have, "billing parva" & "billing magna"), there's also "church brampton" and "chapel brampton", for those of different ecclesiastical traditions. [the church in question is St Botolph's]. unfortunately, I can't tell from the web sources I have which of the Billings is larger.
my old parish (st mary the virgin, east barnet), is likewise quite old (1080). I looked when I was last there in February and it confirmed my memories of previous years: NO poodles of god. I suspect the same dearth of poodles applies at st andrew's, little snoring.
on Thursday, 17 April 2008 at 00.01
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Delightful. There will always be an England, and that scepter'd isle will always amuse and delight with often elegant quaintness, ancient and contemporary.
Our national heritage resides there, which explains some things quaint and elegant on our side of the pond.