Sudbourn Parish

Sudbourn or Sudburnham

This manor and advowson were appropriated to the Prior and Convent of Ely, by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich, in ex-change for a certain Inn or Hostel, in Cambridge, with John Crawdene (or Crandene), the 22nd Prior of Ely; who had bought and used it as such., for the reception of the young monks of Ely, coming thither to improve in learning; and upon the site of which the Bishop designed the foundation of Trinity Hall; for which purpose, lie afterwards permitted John de Aslakby, rector of this parish, with the Chapel of Orford, to resign them, and receive a pension of £40 per annum out of the Prior's manor, in Sudbourn: and then that rectory was appropriated by the Bishop, to the Prior of Ely, and a vicarage instituted here.

The advowson is now in the Crown, and the lordship in the Marquess of Hertford; who, in 1780, expended a large sum in repairing and enlarging the family mansion in this parish, erected by Sir Michael Stanhope, in the reign of King James I.

In 1311, Sir Ralph de Palegrave, Chaplain to the Bishop of Norwich, and Chancellor, or Vicar- General, was rector of Bodney, in Norfolk, which he exchanged for Sudbourn cum Orford. Francis Mason, Archdeacon of Norfolk, in 1619, was also rector of these parishes, and was appointed Chaplain to King James I., who usually styled him "a wise master-builder in God's house." He died in 1621, and was buried in the chancel of his chapel, at Orford. His learned work, entitled "Vindiciae Ecelesiae Anglicanae," has been translated into English, with a preface and notes by Lindsay.

The Right Rev. Sir George Pretyman Tomline, Bart,, D.D., Bishop of Winchester, was also presented, by the Crown, to these livings in his native county, in or about 1785.

CHARITIES. The church and poor estate belonging to this town, consists of a workhouse, inhabited by paupers, and a cottage and small garden, occupied by poor persons, rent free. 61 A. 5p. of marsh land, producing at present £161 2s. 3d. a year; and a rent charge of £6 a year, secured and payable under the award of the Commissioners, for inclosing the common lands in this parish, made in 1807. The income derived from the above sources is applied to the reparation of the church, &c.; and the surplus is paid to the overseers, and applied for the general relief of the poor. A cottage in two tenements, situate in the town of Orford, belongs to this parish: one of the tenements is occupied by a poor family, rent free; and the other, with a small piece of ground adjoining, lets at £7 a year: the rent is carried by the overseers, to their general account. The sum of £10 a year, land tax deducted, is paid from Sir Michael Stanhope's charity, and distributed among poor persons in small sums.

County of Suffolk

Topographical and Genealogical, The County of Suffolk, 1844, Augustine Page

British Isles Genealogy

Add/Correct a Link

Comments/Submit Data