Place:


Houghton  Norfolk

 

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Houghton like this:

HOUGHTON (NEW), HOUGHTON-IN-THE-BRAKE, or HOUGHTON-NEXT-HARPLEY, a village and a parish in Docking district, Norfolk. The village stands 9½ miles W by S of Fakenham r. station; and has a post office, of the name of Houghton, under Rougham. The parish comprises 1,495 acres. Real property, £1,322. ...


Pop., 227. Houses, 53. The property, with Houghton Hall, belongs to the Marquis of Cholmondeley. Houghton Hall was built by Sir Robert Walpole, after designs by Ripley; presents a principal front of 166 feet with a cupola and lantern at each angle; has wings connected by a Tuscan colonnade, making a total frontage of 450 feet; contains a staircase by Kent, a hall of 40 feet by 40, a saloon of 40 feet by 30, a library of 22 feet by 21, and other spacious apartments; is enriched with noble and costly works of art; had a collection of pictures which was sold, in 1779, for £45,500, to the Empress Catherine of Russia; stands in rather a flat park, with many fine old beech and other trees, of Sir Robert's planting; was inhabited, for ten years, by Sir Robert Walpole; and was visited, in 1814 and 1818, by the Duke of Wellington. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Norwich. Value, £110. Patron, the Marquis of Cholmondeley. The church was repaired by Sir Robert Walpole; consists of nave, chancel, and aisles, with a small tower; and contains an effigies of a prior of Coxford, of the time of Edward I. The church vault contains the remains of fifteen generations of the Walpole family.

Houghton through time

Houghton is now part of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk district. Click here for graphs and data of how Kings Lynn and West Norfolk has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Houghton itself, go to Units and Statistics.

How to reference this page:

GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Houghton in Kings Lynn and West Norfolk | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.

URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/3113

Date accessed: 19th March 2024


Not where you were looking for?

Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Houghton".