Buxton, Norfolk
Encyclopedia
Buxton is a village in Norfolk
, located between Norwich
and Aylsham
. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book
of 1085. Buxton is adjacent to the village of Lammas
. The two villages are separated by the River Bure
at Buxton Mill but are otherwise indistinguishable. Together they form the civil parish
of Buxton with Lammas.
Buxton's main claim to fame is as the home village and burial place of Anna Sewell
, author of Black Beauty
. These claims are a little exaggerated. She is in fact is buried at the former Quaker Meeting-House in the village of Lammas
, just over the river, and is more properly associated with the village of Old Catton, now a suburb of Norwich.
The Sewell
family, and their predecessors, the Wrights dwelt at Dudwick Park, a mansion in a private park on one side of the village. This was bought by John Wright (1728-1798), a wealthy Quaker Banker. His endowments founded the present school, as well as the Red House, an institution for young offenders which stood where the Rowan House complex now stands. These were erected by his grandson and heir, the second John Wright (1794-1871). He married a member of the Harford
family, also Quakers, but died without issue, the property passing in 1856 to his sister's eldest son, Phillip Sewell, another Quaker banker. Phillip Sewell, the brother of Anna Sewell, was a major local benefactor, and enlarged the local school, a fact still recorded on a memorial plaque on the old buildings. The Sewells, like many Quaker landlords, were philanthropists, and gave the village a Reading Room, as well as supporting a school and reformatory. Their last gift to the community was the Village Hall, built 1927 and since extended. The Sewell connection ended in 1937, when P. E. Sewell, a Ceylon Tea-planter, died, leaving Dudwick Park to Percy Briscoe, a friend from Ceylon. The house was entirely rebuilt in the early part of the twentieth century, and, externally, no trace remains of the house which Anna Sewell would have known.
The builder Thomas Cubitt
was born here in 1788, and Benjamin Griffin, an Eighteenth Century playwright was the son of a former vicar. Roads in the newer estates in Buxton record the association of the Stracey and Sewell families with Buxton.
The Rev. William Stracey, Vicar, rebuilt the church, lowering the tower and using the flints left over to build Tower House, a pleasing Victorian cottage. His vicarage, a large house later called Levishaw Manor was pulled down to make way for a housing estate, but bridges and some of the associated buildings survive. His personal prayer-book is in the village archives. The Modern vicarage, dating from the 1950s, is a large, red-brick structure. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is largely the product of William Stracey's rebuilding, although some medieval stonework survives. A previous incumbent was ejected for nonconformity
in 1662, and was probably a Presbyterian, since he is not mentioned as among the Congregationalists in the list to be found in R. Tudur Jones
's History of Congregationalism.
Although the Parish Church is the only place of worship in Buxton today, at one time the village possessed a Methodist preaching-room, and an important Baptist
Chapel. The latter was located on the outskirts of the village, and was demolished in 1931. The schoolroom (now a house) and the stables (largely rebuilt) survive. The arrangement, located in a detached portion of the village, is similar to that at nearby Worstead
, where the Baptist Chapel is also located in its own burial ground.
The parish built its own House of Industry in the Eighteenth Century, in order to house and provide work for the poor of the village. In the 1830s, this became a Workhouse
, covered by the provisions of the New Poor Law, attached to the Aylsham Union. The foundations of some of the buildings survive in a wood on the Buxton-Horstead Road (map dated 1906, Norfolk Record Office). The village had two schools, the one founded by the second John Wright in 1833 (the endowment of 1798 was left by the first John Wright), next to the church, and a 'National' (Anglican) school, located in Back Lane, close to the modern vicarage. This is another legacy of the work of improvement done during the incumbency of the Rev. W. Stracey, in 1855. These schools were united into a single school in 1882, although the two buildings were kept open, with the National school building initially housing the Infants' department. On the transfer of the infants' department to the buildings next to the church in 1922, the National School was used for technical instruction, functions later transferred to the old station, although this, too, is now a private house.
A mixture of historic 17th and 18th century houses with new housing estates, Buxton shows some signs of having been a more important centre in its earlier years. Today, it serves mainly as a dormitory for the city of Norwich.
Buxton watermill
, in the lower end of town, is recorded in Doomsday in 1085. William Pepper, a merchant living in Buxton, last rebuilt it as a mill in 1754. The building was constructed of white painted brick and weatherboard with a pantile roof and has been a prominent landmark in the village for many years. The mill was reconstructed after a devastating fire in 1991 and is now 9 luxury apartments. A excellent history can be found at Norfolk Mills l. You can also stay in the apartments, details can be found at http://www.buxtonmill.co.ukhttp://www.buxtonmill.com.
passed through and had a railway station called Buxton Lammas
prior to closure of the line. The Bure Valley Railway
, operating from Wroxham
to Aylsham
, now has a halt called Buxton Lammas
.
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, located between Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
and Aylsham
Aylsham
Aylsham is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Bure in north Norfolk, England, about north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea, although it was only made navigable after 1779, allowing grain,...
. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1085. Buxton is adjacent to the village of Lammas
Lammas, Norfolk
Lammas is a village in Broadland, Norfolk, England. Administratively it falls within the civil parish of Buxton with Lammas.-Location:...
. The two villages are separated by the River Bure
River Bure
The River Bure is a river in the county of Norfolk, England, most of it in The Broads. The Bure rises near Melton Constable, upstream of Aylsham, which was the original head of navigation. Nowadays, the head of navigation is downstream at Coltishall Bridge...
at Buxton Mill but are otherwise indistinguishable. Together they form the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Buxton with Lammas.
Buxton's main claim to fame is as the home village and burial place of Anna Sewell
Anna Sewell
Anna Sewell was an English novelist, best known as the author of the classic novel Black Beauty.-Biography:Anna Mary Sewell was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England into a devoutly Quaker family...
, author of Black Beauty
Black Beauty
Black Beauty is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. It was composed in the last years of her life, during which she remained in her house as an invalid. The novel became an immediate bestseller, with Sewell dying just five months after its publication, long enough to see her first and only...
. These claims are a little exaggerated. She is in fact is buried at the former Quaker Meeting-House in the village of Lammas
Lammas, Norfolk
Lammas is a village in Broadland, Norfolk, England. Administratively it falls within the civil parish of Buxton with Lammas.-Location:...
, just over the river, and is more properly associated with the village of Old Catton, now a suburb of Norwich.
The Sewell
Sewell
Sewell may refer to:In people:*Anna Sewell , British writer, author of Black Beauty, daughter of Mary Wright Sewell*Anthony Sewell Sewell may refer to:In people:*Anna Sewell (1820–1878), British writer, author of Black Beauty, daughter of Mary Wright Sewell*Anthony Sewell Sewell may refer to:In...
family, and their predecessors, the Wrights dwelt at Dudwick Park, a mansion in a private park on one side of the village. This was bought by John Wright (1728-1798), a wealthy Quaker Banker. His endowments founded the present school, as well as the Red House, an institution for young offenders which stood where the Rowan House complex now stands. These were erected by his grandson and heir, the second John Wright (1794-1871). He married a member of the Harford
Harford
-Places:United States:* Harford, New York, a town in Cortland County* Harford County, MarylandUnited Kingdom:* Harford, Carmarthenshire* Harford, Devon-People:* James Harford, British diplomat* John Scandrett Harford, banker, benefactor and abolitionist...
family, also Quakers, but died without issue, the property passing in 1856 to his sister's eldest son, Phillip Sewell, another Quaker banker. Phillip Sewell, the brother of Anna Sewell, was a major local benefactor, and enlarged the local school, a fact still recorded on a memorial plaque on the old buildings. The Sewells, like many Quaker landlords, were philanthropists, and gave the village a Reading Room, as well as supporting a school and reformatory. Their last gift to the community was the Village Hall, built 1927 and since extended. The Sewell connection ended in 1937, when P. E. Sewell, a Ceylon Tea-planter, died, leaving Dudwick Park to Percy Briscoe, a friend from Ceylon. The house was entirely rebuilt in the early part of the twentieth century, and, externally, no trace remains of the house which Anna Sewell would have known.
The builder Thomas Cubitt
Thomas Cubitt
Thomas Cubitt , born Buxton, Norfolk, was the leading master builder in London in the second quarter of the 19th century, and also carried out several projects in other parts of England.-Background:...
was born here in 1788, and Benjamin Griffin, an Eighteenth Century playwright was the son of a former vicar. Roads in the newer estates in Buxton record the association of the Stracey and Sewell families with Buxton.
The Rev. William Stracey, Vicar, rebuilt the church, lowering the tower and using the flints left over to build Tower House, a pleasing Victorian cottage. His vicarage, a large house later called Levishaw Manor was pulled down to make way for a housing estate, but bridges and some of the associated buildings survive. His personal prayer-book is in the village archives. The Modern vicarage, dating from the 1950s, is a large, red-brick structure. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is largely the product of William Stracey's rebuilding, although some medieval stonework survives. A previous incumbent was ejected for nonconformity
Nonconformity
Nonconformity may refer to:* Nonconformity , a memoir by Nelson Algren, published posthumously in 1992* Nonconformity , a term in quality management* A type of unconformity in geology...
in 1662, and was probably a Presbyterian, since he is not mentioned as among the Congregationalists in the list to be found in R. Tudur Jones
R. Tudur Jones
R. Tudur Jones was a Welsh Nationalist and a Protestant Christian. He was the most important Christian scholar in Wales during the 20th century and is hailed as the giant of Protestantism in Wales during a century that saw Wales, as a whole, turn against its traditional Reformed Protestant...
's History of Congregationalism.
Although the Parish Church is the only place of worship in Buxton today, at one time the village possessed a Methodist preaching-room, and an important Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Chapel. The latter was located on the outskirts of the village, and was demolished in 1931. The schoolroom (now a house) and the stables (largely rebuilt) survive. The arrangement, located in a detached portion of the village, is similar to that at nearby Worstead
Worstead
Worstead is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It lies 5 km south of North Walsham, 9 km north of Wroxham, and 20 km north of Norwich. The village is served by Worstead railway station on the Bittern Line....
, where the Baptist Chapel is also located in its own burial ground.
The parish built its own House of Industry in the Eighteenth Century, in order to house and provide work for the poor of the village. In the 1830s, this became a Workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
, covered by the provisions of the New Poor Law, attached to the Aylsham Union. The foundations of some of the buildings survive in a wood on the Buxton-Horstead Road (map dated 1906, Norfolk Record Office). The village had two schools, the one founded by the second John Wright in 1833 (the endowment of 1798 was left by the first John Wright), next to the church, and a 'National' (Anglican) school, located in Back Lane, close to the modern vicarage. This is another legacy of the work of improvement done during the incumbency of the Rev. W. Stracey, in 1855. These schools were united into a single school in 1882, although the two buildings were kept open, with the National school building initially housing the Infants' department. On the transfer of the infants' department to the buildings next to the church in 1922, the National School was used for technical instruction, functions later transferred to the old station, although this, too, is now a private house.
A mixture of historic 17th and 18th century houses with new housing estates, Buxton shows some signs of having been a more important centre in its earlier years. Today, it serves mainly as a dormitory for the city of Norwich.
Buxton watermill
Buxton Watermill
Buxton Mill, is located on the River Bure about east of the village of Buxton, Norfolk, and is in the hamlet of Lamas, Norfolk. A watermill was recorded here in the Domesday Book...
, in the lower end of town, is recorded in Doomsday in 1085. William Pepper, a merchant living in Buxton, last rebuilt it as a mill in 1754. The building was constructed of white painted brick and weatherboard with a pantile roof and has been a prominent landmark in the village for many years. The mill was reconstructed after a devastating fire in 1991 and is now 9 luxury apartments. A excellent history can be found at Norfolk Mills l. You can also stay in the apartments, details can be found at http://www.buxtonmill.co.ukhttp://www.buxtonmill.com.
Rail links
The former Great Eastern RailwayGreat Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
passed through and had a railway station called Buxton Lammas
Buxton Lammas railway station
Buxton Lammas was a railway station in Buxton with Lammas, Norfolk. It was located near the Bure Valley Railway's present Buxton station.Former Services-References:...
prior to closure of the line. The Bure Valley Railway
Bure Valley Railway
The Bure Valley Railway is a minimum gauge heritage railway in Norfolk, within The Broads National Park.The railway runs from Wroxham to Aylsham and is Norfolk's longest railway of less than standard gauge. It uses both steam and diesel locomotives. There are intermediate halts at Brampton,...
, operating from Wroxham
Wroxham
Wroxham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish of Wroxham has an area of 6.21 square kilometres and in 2001 had a population of 1532 in 666 households. The village is situated within the Norfolk Broads on the south side of a loop in the middle reaches of...
to Aylsham
Aylsham
Aylsham is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Bure in north Norfolk, England, about north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea, although it was only made navigable after 1779, allowing grain,...
, now has a halt called Buxton Lammas
Buxton Lammas
Buxton with Lammas is a civil parish in Broadland in the English county of Norfolk. It comprises the villages of Buxton lying to the west of the River Bure and Lammas on the eastern side of the river. At this point the River Bure is crossed by the Bure Valley Railway on a long girder bridge. ...
.
External links
- http://www.buxton-norfolk.co.uk
- http://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Watermills/buxton.html
- http://www.buxtonmill.co.uk
- http://www.buxtonmill.com