Wortham, Suffolk

Wortham

Wortham, Church of St Mary
Wortham
 Wortham shown within Suffolk
Population 722 (2011)[1]
DistrictMid Suffolk
Shire countySuffolk
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Diss
Postcode district IP22
EU Parliament East of England
List of places
UK
England
Suffolk

Coordinates: 52°21′N 1°03′E / 52.35°N 1.05°E / 52.35; 1.05

Wortham is a village and parish in Suffolk, England. Its church, St Mary The Virgin, lies about a mile north of the village. It is one of thirty-eight existing round-tower churches in Suffolk. It has the largest round tower by diameter in England.

Diss is the nearest railway station.

History

In the time of Edward the Confessor Wortham consisted of two parishes, each with its own church and parsonage. They had 40 acres (160,000 m2) of glebe between them and a combined value of 7 shillings. After the Norman Conquest there were still two parishes, corresponding to the two Norman manors: Southmoor, held by the Abbots of Bury, and Eastgate (Wortham Hall) held by the Barons of Rye.

In 1769 the parishes were combined under William Evans, Rector of Eastgate. The Saxon church in Southmoor disappeared and was never rebuilt, although the Rectory remained until 1785. A faculty was granted by the Bishop of Norwich to Rowland Holt (Patron) and Henry Patterson (Rector) for taking down and excusing the rebuilding of one of the parsonages belonging to the Rectory of Wortham Edward w. Jervis annexed. This parsonage was stated to be above a mile from the church and built of stud and claywork and covered with a thatch.

Wortham was the family seat of the Betts family, as cronicled by K. F. Doughty in The Betts of Wortham in Suffolk - 1480-1905.

Home to the author Richard Cobbold between 1825 and 1877. In addition to his famous story of Margaret Catchpole, he published (1860) The Biography Of A Victorian Village - Wortham which contained a series of drawings and character details of various members of the community during the mid-Victorian period. A useful source for genealogists.

The local public house is The Dolphin Inn

References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
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