England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Billockby All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Billockby lies in eastern Norfolk roughly 7 miles northwest of the port & coastal resort of Great Yarmouth. Billockby sits on the A1064 road which links Acle with Caister-on-Sea. Billockby is a rather small settlement with most properties lining either the A1064 or the B1152 which forks left here headed for Potter Heigham. The village sits only just above sea level and contains extensive grazing marshes and reed-beds fronting both the River Bure and the Muck Fleet within which it sits at the edges of what was once an island, in Roman times, Flegg Island. The location gave variety to the parish economy as not only traditional Norfolk arable farming took place on drier land but also the Broadland trades of thatch harvesting and wildfowling provided variety. The Bure drains the parish south and then east to Breydon Water and thence through Great Yarmouth to the North Sea. Billockby is sited at just 1 metre above the sea, land rises on the former island to local high points only breaking the 20 metres contour in odd spots in this flat landscape. Billockby parish was one of the smallest rural parishes in Norfolk covering only 380 acres and supporting fewer than 100 parishioners. Whilst still small Billockby in Domesday times was larger than today's hamlet, shared by 4 landholders it mustered 5 ploughs and a few acres of meadow for its holders.

The Church

All Saints' church sits a half mile northeast of the notional centre of the village, it sits enclosed in trees within a field and is accessed by a short footpath from Church Lane. As can readily be seen the church is largely ruinous with only the former chancel remaining to provide for the few villages. The church was struck by lightning in 1762 which caused the collapse of the nave roof into the main body, since the congregation was tiny it was never fully repaired. What remains of the nave and tower indicate it may well have been a typical Perpendicular church like so many in the county and probably dating from the early 15th century. The chancel was restored in 1872 making it a curious feature of the landscape. The track leading to the site is unsigned but clear enough, the entrance providing adequate parking despite not being surfaced. Whilst the churchyard is enclosed the southern aspects are preserved by setting the church close to its northern edges allowing adequate views for the photographer.