The Norris family’s connections with Barton Turf began in 1726 when the Reverend Stephen Norris purchased estates in Barton from Edward Gale Boldero. In 1728 he bought the Venner estate which included Barton Hall and came to live there. In 1733 he gave the estate to his eldest son Stephen on his marriage to Abigail Crowe and moved to Norwich. Stephen the son died in 1734 and his widow Abigail continued to live at Barton Hall until her death in 1742, and the estate passed to Anthony Norris, the Reverend Stephen Norris’s third son. The Reverend Stephen Norris himself died in 1749, his wife Bridget having died in 1743.
Anthony Norris was born in 1711 and married Sarah Custance in 1737. Their only son John was born in 1738, but died in 1762, so that on the deaths of Anthony and Sarah in 1786 and 1787 respectively the connections of the Norris family to Barton Turf ended.
As well as owning the Barton Hall Estate and being for a time Lord of the Manor of Barton Kybalds, Anthony Norris made a major contribution to the history of Norfolk by researching and recording church notes and other historical materials relating to various towns and villages. He later completed detailed histories of the eastern hundreds of Norfolk. Unfortunately these were never published, but his manuscript notes were bound and now reside in the Norfolk Record Office. A transcript of the pages relating to Barton Turf can be viewed as a PDF document. It contains a detailed account of the Norris family and many other individuals and families with connections to Barton Turf.
Stephen, Bridget, Anthony, Sarah and John have memorials in Barton Turf Church where they were buried. According to Anthony Norris, his brother Stephen and his wife Abigail are also buried in the church. Although their burials are recorded in the burial register, there is no known memorial for them.
Anthony Norris memorial in Barton Turf Church.
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The first page about Barton in Anthony Norris’s manuscript: An History of the Hundreds of East and West Flegg, Happing, Tunstead and part of North Erpingham.
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A page from Stephen Norris’s probate inventory.
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