The parish of Heigham lies immediately to the west of the ancient walls of the city of Norwich, a true suburb and one of the first areas outside the walls to become heavily populated. An ancient parish in its own right Heigham would have been a small riverside village before the expansion of the city beyond its previously confining walls. By the time of this transcript the population of this parish had grown to something of the order of 6,000 folk and in modern times it grew still further such that St Bartholomew's parish had to be sub-divided into multiple parishes to accommodate the growing congregation. Sitting to the west of the city and bounded by the station & marshaling yards of the Midland & Great Northern Railway line, Heigham was also home to much of Norwich heavier and dirtier industries with tanners notable amongst other trades; sadly it was the presence of both railway & industry that saw Heigham badly targeted in World War 2's bombing campaigns - the packed streets and including the church were consequential casualties as a result. In more modern times, the parish was home to some of Norwich's properties and a program of "slum-clearance" saw much removed. Despite the destruction of row upon row of terraces the area remains densely packed with housing and light industry and is an integral part of the city.

As mentioned St Bartholomew's church was a casualty of the bombing and sadly the registers were present and burnt beyond recall. The church was almost completely destroyed with only the western tower and a few pieces of nave wall remaining to identify the typical style of 15th century Perpendicular. I am grateful to Mike Bristow for providing from his collection the postcard of the church taken before the destruction, the modern view is also shown.