Happisburgh, Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk

Parish History
Happisburgh St Mary is an Ancient Parish in the Waxham deanery of the Diocese of Norwich.

The tower of the 15th century St Mary's church is an important landmark to mariners warning of the position of the treacherous nearby sandbanks. In 1940 a German bomber released a trapped bomb from its bays during its return to Germany and the shrapnel from the bomb can still be seen embedded in the aisle pillars of the church. The church's octagonal font, also of the 15th century, is carved with figures of lions and satyrs.

The part of the village near the coast regularly experiences severe erosion and houses that used to be over 20 feet from the sea now sit at the edge of a cliff and will later fall into the sea. Sea defences were built in 1959 to stop the tide from eating away at the coast. Changes in government policy, however, have discontinued management of coastal erosion in North Norfolk

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.


 * Tunstead 1837-1869
 * Smallburgh 1870-1938
 * North Walsham 1939-1974

Church records
Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Images of the parish register for this parish are available at FamilySearch Historic Records (formerly Record Search) Norfolk Record Office reference PD 516/1-7

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

http://www.btinternet.com/~e.c.apling/1891Census/Happisburgh.htm transcript of 1891 census

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Norfolk Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
http://www.achurchnearyou.com/happisburgh-st-mary/ for information about the parish.

http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/happisburgh/happisburgh.htm Norfolk Churches website