Barton Turf
The ecclesiastical parish of Barton Turf now forms part of the civil parish of Barton Turf and Irstead in North Norfolk and includes much of Barton Broad, the second largest of the Norfolk Broads. One of 26 parishes in Tunstead Hundred, in 1841 it had a population of around 400.
In old documents the parish of Barton Turf is called Bertuna, Berton, Berton by Bromholm, and sometimes Barton next Smalburgh. The addition of the word ‘Turffe’, a reference to the extensive medieval peat digging that created Barton Broad, was probably in use by around 1400. Barton Turf was originally the name given to the area of marshland and fen described as ‘below the town of Barton’, and only later used to refer to the whole parish. Some parts of Barton Broad were in existence as early as 1415 when they were being rented out for fishing. One such fishery was called ‘Buryallewater’ and another ‘Seyveswater’, both in the manor of Barton Bury Hall.
At the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086 the largest part of the parish was the manor held by the Abbot of St Benet’s Abbey. In the 12th century the Abbot granted a lease to Robert Kibbald, a knight who also possessed a manor in the parish of Beeston. The two manors became known as Barton Kybalds and Beeston Kybalds. The manor of Barton Bury Hall was a small dependant manor most likely linked to the St Benet’s manor of Barton Kybalds. Also within the parish of Barton Turf was part of the neighbouring manor of Beeston Leames.
The Project
The Barton Turf History Project is an attempt to collate and reference as much material as possible about the history of Barton Turf.
It is very much a live project with comments, suggestions, information and material being welcomed (see the Help! page for more details). The structure is dynamic and flexible, with changes being made as new information and material becomes available.
Many of the pages are incomplete, but may contain notes (in pale orange) of the type of material it is hoped to include.
Project Team
Michael Brandon-Jones, Colin Gilbert and Celia Scott.
Finding Your Way About
The Main Menu provides buttons to access the main pages of the web-site. From these pages further buttons lead to sub-pages. Some pages contain hyperlinks to further sub-pages as well as links to other web-sites and embedded project files. The sub-pages also provide buttons to return to the main page or the Main Menu. Numbered boxes on the pages refer to sources of material listed on the Sources page. The Search box at the top of each page allows you to search the whole web-site for specific text.
What’s New
The What’s New page is intended to keep you updated with changes to the web-site and the project.
Contributing to the Project
If you have comments, suggestions, information or material that you could contribute to the project, please contact the project team by email.