STRETHAM AND THETFORD
Stretham is a village and parish on the southern
border of the Isle, 4½ miles south of Ely. It lies at the
point where the Cambridge road (A 10) is crossed by
that from Earith and Chatteris to Soham and Newmarket (A 1123 and B 1085). The 'street' from which
the village derives its name is the Roman road leading
northwards from Cambridge, which, though now the
main road entry into the Isle from the south, was in
the Middle Ages of little importance compared with
that over Aldreth causeway. It began to supplant the
Aldreth road (see Haddenham) towards the end of the
17th century, and is shown in the English Traveller's
Companion (1676) and the 1695 edition of Camden's
Britannia. (fn. 1) In 1763 the task of bringing it up to contemporary standards was begun, with a gift of £200
from Alderman Riste of Cambridge, and completed
some twenty years later at a cost of upwards of £7,000. (fn. 2)
The parish is roughly bounded on the south and east
by the Old West River and the Cam, but the line does
not everywhere exactly coincide with the present
watercourses. Haifa mile north of the village a by-road
leaves the main Ely road for Witchford. Stretham
railway station (actually in Wilburton parish) is situated
where this road crosses the Ely-St. Ives branch of the
former L.N.E.R. The section on which the station
lies dates from 1866. (fn. 3) The station has been closed for
passengers since 1931, (fn. 4) but a considerable amount of
goods traffic is still carried. The main line from Cambridge to Ely crosses the south-east of the parish, and
has a signal box (Stretham Fen) and sidings, but no
station.
In its present-day aspect Stretham is a typical village
of the Isle. There is no 'great house', but there are
several of medium size. There are also numerous 19thcentury terrace cottages of the kind seen in industrial
towns, and equally numerous council houses, mostly
well designed, grouped in two separate blocks at opposite ends of the village.
Several fires have occurred in the village. In 1696
damage assessed at £2,170 was so caused and a general
collection made by brief. (fn. 5) A more serious fire broke out
on May Day 1844 in the blacksmith's shop. The whole
of 'Bell Street' was destroyed and damage done to the
extent of £20,000. (fn. 6) In the autumn of 1850 four fires,
the work of incendiaries, occurred at Stretham in as
many weeks, 'by which property to a large amount was
sacrificed'. (fn. 7) A detective from London made investigations, but the culprit was not discovered. (fn. 8)
In the Middle Ages the value of Stretham, in relation to that of other episcopal manors, was neither very
high nor very low. It is worth noting, however, that it
was one of the few villages in the Isle to indulge in the
luxury of a stone spire for its church. (fn. 9) The erection of
a fine cross and the presence of three guilds also point to
some medieval affluence. After the Reformation Stretham seems to have advanced in size. In the 'censuses'
of 1563 (fn. 10) and 1676, (fn. 11) which credit Stretham-withThetford with 119 householders and 428 communicants respectively, the parish stands eighth in size
among the towns and villages of the Isle; in the ship
money assessment of 1639-40 (£50 7s. 6d.) (fn. 12) it stands
sixth. Owing to its geographical position Stretham had
little share in the agricultural development of the Fens
in the 18th and 19th centuries, which caused such rapid
increases at, e.g., Doddington and Littleport. The
population density (25 per 100 acres), however, is now
high for the southern part of the Isle.
A market and two annual fairs were established in
1634, (fn. 13) and were in existence forty years later, when
Ogilby described Stretham as 'somewhat scattering'. (fn. 14)
At the beginning of the 19th century they had long
been in abeyance. (fn. 15)
In the main road to the east of the church is a fine
stone cross of early-15th-century date, the most perfect
surviving example in the county. It stands on a brick
base, which was substituted some years ago for the
original flight of stone steps. The shaft rests on an
octagonal base ornamented with quatrefoils, and the
square head has a shallow niche on each face with a
bracket for a figure. In spite of the great fire of 1844,
Stretham has some interesting old houses. The Rectory
(see below-Churches) is of some architectural importance. The following 17th-century buildings are
noteworthy: the house 10 yards east of the Red Lion
Inn, now divided into two; the house next the grocer's
shop in Front Street; the two cottages at the corner of
Read's and Chapel Streets. Mention may also be made
of: Manor Farm, 18th century but with portions
possibly of earlier date; Orchard House, 18th century;
and Hylton House, Top Street, a Regency villa. A fine
tower windmill, now sailless, stands at the north end of
the village. (fn. 15a) A parish room was erected in 1886. (fn. 16)
Mark Ridley (1560-1624), who became physician
to the Czar of Russia, was born in Stretham. His
father, who was rector, was a cousin of Bishop Ridley. (fn. 17)
Another noteworthy rector was H. H. Baber (1775-
1869), philologist and Keeper of the Printed Books at
the British Museum. He resigned his keepership in
1837 to devote himself entirely to his parish. He was
one of the chief sufferers in the crop of fires that occurred
in the village in the middle of last century. (fn. 18) Dr. Ralph
Perkins, rector 1696-1727, was a great benefactor
to Ely Cathedral Library and to various ecclesiastical
charities. (fn. 19) Charles Thomas, rector 1728-71, is described by Cole as 'a man of Parts, but of an odd and
whimsical Disposition'-a reputation illustrated by his
will, which contained complicated instructions about
his burial. (fn. 20)
Thetford or Little Thetford is a hamlet of Stretham
for ecclesiastical purposes, but a separate civil parish
with its own Council. The small village is situated on
a side turning from the Ely road about 2½ miles south
of the city. It presents a picturesque appearance from
the railway, the main line running close to its eastern
end. The name, Theod-ford, 'ford of the nation
(road)', (fn. 21) suggests that the main road into Ely may at
one time have followed the lower ground past Braham
Farm, where there is an ancient earthwork, and into the
city by Cawdle Fen Drove and Potter's Lane to the
waterside, the medieval focal point of Ely. An area of
233 acres was transferred from Ely Urban District to
Thetford under the Isle of Ely Review Order, 1933,
thus increasing the population by 29. (fn. 22) A parish room
was erected in 1887. (fn. 23) The Three Horseshoes Inn at
Thetford is an 18th-century building of some interest,
built on a slight curve. The Round House, now two
cottages, is even more remarkable in its plan. It also
dates from the 18th century and is of brick with a
thatched roof of conical shape with a finial.
The open fields of Stretham, measuring 2,390 acres,
were inclosed in 1837. (fn. 24) This was about half the total
area of the parish. The fields were named Crouch Field
(east and west of the Ely road), Whitecross and Brook
Fields (respectively north and south of the Wilburton
road), and Meadow Field (east of the Cambridge road).
There were also open commons and fens. Snoot Common, Middle Common, Elford Closes, Chear Fen, and
Lazier Fen lay at the extreme south of the parish, and
Starlock Hay Fen Common and Holt Fen in the southeast. Most of these names survive. There were 78
allottees, of whom the chief were William Edwards
Read (228 acres), George Gould Morgan, lord of the
manor (173 acres), Thomas Waddelow Granger (142
acres), and the Ely Feoffees (135 acres).
The Thetford fields, measuring 693 acres, were inclosed in 1844. (fn. 25) This was about half the total area.
The fields were named Stone Bridge, Middle, and
Goldsmere Fields. Goldsmere Common, and Hall,
Holt, and Reed Fens were also affected. The land was
rather more evenly divided amongst the 42 allottees
than in Stretham. The devisees of Mary Hammond
(60½ acres) and William Yarrow (45 acres) received
the largest shares, and 7 other proprietors received more
than 20 acres apiece.
Two thousand acres in Stretham and Thetford Fens
were flooded in March 1947. The damage suffered
was severe. (fn. 26)
MANORS
An estate in STRETHAM of 9 hides
24 acres, with two fisheries, was one of the
benefactions of Ethelwold and Brithnoth
to the church of Ely. (fn. 27) In 1086 Stretham was assessed
at 5 hides. Three of these, comprising 4 ploughlands,
were in demesne. Another 5 ploughlands were divided
between 23 villeins, 12 of whom had 10 acres each; the
remainder shared 1 hide. There were also 10 cottars
and 2 serfs. Besides the usual meadows and pastures,
there were fisheries producing 3,250 eels and 7s. 7d. in
tribute. The estate, which had always been part of the
demesne of the church of Ely, had been worth £6 when
received, £12 T.R.E. and £9 in 1086. (fn. 28)
Stretham became an episcopal manor in 1109. It
was one of the smaller ones, with no important tenants
by military service, so that our main sources of information for its history during the Middle Ages are cartularies and bailiffs' accounts. In 1221 (fn. 29) 338 acres were
in demesne, and in 1251 (fn. 30) 477½ acres, rated at 2 carucates. The arrangement of the fields is interesting. At
both dates there were four comparatively small ones
named from the points of the compass, representing
perhaps a subdivision of an original two-field vill, but
the two fields of 1221 known as 'Alvernercroft' and
'Brocfeld' do not reappear in 1251. It is possible that
they were merged in 'Suthfeld', where the demesne
increased from 60 to 158 acres. This field, however,
was on the fen side of the vill and its increase may therefore have been partly due to reclamation. Another field,
which appears in both cartularies, was called 'Hay', a
precursor of the present Starlock Hay Fen Common
south-east of the village. The lord's share of the meadow
increased from 18 to 80 acres between 1221 and 1251.
At the latter date the demesne was stocked with 20 cows
and a bull, 20 sows and a boar, and 300 sheep. In
addition more than 100 belonged to tenants. Stretham,
being one of the manors on the landward side of the
Isle, did not make much progress during the 13th
century. Between 1221 and 1251 the free tenants
decreased from 23 to 19, and the customaries holding
a full virgate from 18 to 13. In each year, however,
there were 7 half-virgaters, 9 cottars, and 1 'halfcottar'. In 1251 the marsh and fisheries produced
£8 12s. yearly, and £1 14s. 4d. was due in rents.
Stretham manor, like many others of the Bishop of Ely,
seems to have reached its zenith as a source of profit
about the beginning of the 14th century. The total
receipts in 1286, 1298-9, 1302, and 1316 were
£15 12s. 1d., £37 5s. 8d. (two years), £24 19s. 3d., and
£17 19s. 7d. respectively. (fn. 31) Stretham seems at this
time to have been about midway in the population
scale among the episcopal manors in and around the
Isle proper; in 1302 899 works were commuted. (fn. 32)
The decline in value continued during the 14th century.
In 1356 (fn. 33) the total receipts fell to £13 18s. 8d., of which
£8 13s. 9d. came from a demesne of 347 acres. The
fisheries, specified as those of Strethamere (held in
severalty), 'Estewater', Hayfen, and 'Berlake', produced £3 19s. 8d., (fn. 34) but the 20 acres of 'fennemedwe'
were flooded and worthless, as was the ruined manor
house of Strethambury. The bishop's movable property was valued at £19 18s. In the middle of the 16th
century the value had risen again; it was £44 7s. 2½d. in
1540-1 and £61 14s. 1d. in 1548-9. (fn. 35) At the latter
date the manor house was let for £9 13s. 4d., the
demesne for £2 1s. 6d., and the fisheries for £15 7s. 4d.
The average gross annual receipts at the end of the 16th
century were £50. (fn. 36) Between 1581 and 1600 a fresh
survey was made of the manor, preparatory to detaching it from the possessions of the see. (fn. 37) Rents of assize
yielded £16 15s. 6d. a year, but it was not certain how
much land was freehold and how much copyhold. The
total capital value of the manor was set down as £1,656
at forty years' purchase, but it was considered that the
value might be increased. For example, the fisheries
were let to Richard Arkenstall, nephew of the late
Bishop Cox, at £40 a year; they were therefore of
£1,600 capital value; but it was estimated that they
were worth £40 over and above this sum. The Berrystead or manor house was valued at forty times its annual
rent of £9 13s. 4d. and £100 over and above that sum,
i.e. at £486 13s. 4d. The demesne, or what was left of
it, was still let at £2 1s. 6d. Early in the reign of Elizabeth the actual tenancy of the manor house was in dispute. Bishop Redman (1501-5) had leased it to
Thomas Gallon or Gallant for a term which was still
unexpired in the latter half of the century, when Henry
Gallant of Wilburton, Thomas's grandson, claimed it
against Robert March of Ely. (fn. 38) March based his claim
on a lease made about 1529 by Bishop West (1515-33)
to Richard Goode, and argued that this lease cancelled
the previous one. Goode had bequeathed his tenancy
to his sons Thomas and Richard jointly, and the sale of
his moiety by Richard the younger to Thomas produced further complications. (fn. 39) Judgement was given
(1567) in favour of Robert March. (fn. 40)
During the episcopal vacancy of 1581-1600 the
lessee of the manor was Richard Drake, (fn. 41) who seems
to have sub-let it to Henry Vernon. The latter was
reported in 1601 to be desirous of purchasing Stretham
manor, of which he was tenant. (fn. 42) The actual grantee,
however, in the same year, was Sir Miles Sandys. (fn. 43)
Sandys was soon in dispute with his tenants over common rights, and a series of lawsuits occurred between
1605 and 1610. (fn. 44) Several documents referring to these
suits were preserved in the parish chest, and have been
published. (fn. 45) It is noteworthy that even at this late date
copyholders had to plough for the lord in respect of
each yardland 2 acres in wheat and barley. Sir Miles,
however, withdrew his right to any other kind of day
works and to heriots, and agreed to demand only fines
certain on admission to a copyhold. (fn. 46) Copyholders were
also allowed to sell the timber on their holdings, and
to sub-let them. By decree of the Exchequer in 1607
Sandys was empowered to inclose his demesne, and
1,600 acres were to be set aside as common pasture for
the tenants of the manor. Hole, Lazier, Chair, Stallock,
and Hay (fn. 47) Fens are specified as being included in this
settlement, as part of the 1,600 acres of common
pasture. Two years later complaints were made that
the number of working horses which might be fed on
the commons was insufficient. It was then laid down
that the tenant of every commonable house could
pasture 5 such horses, with an extra 1 for every 15
acres, up to 60 acres, that he cultivated; the rector was
allowed an additional 3 horses. A slightly lower scale
was laid down in respect of Goldsmore Common in
Thetford. In this case 3 horses were allowed for each
tenement, with an extra one for every 15 acres up to
45 acres; the lord of the manor was allowed 5 horses
in all. A further set of orders and by-laws made by the
commoners of Stretham in 1622 defined their rights in
greater detail. Each commoner was entitled to pasture
6 cows and 2 weanling calves, and an extra cow if he
was in possession of a bull, in the 'heardwalke'. He
might also pasture 8 working horses or mares with their
foals in Starlock Hay Fen, which had become the horse
pasture. Cattle might be hired to make up the permitted
total, but joisting, or the pasturing of cattle from outside villages for money payments, was not allowed. (fn. 48)
The ditch of Barlake, between the cow and horse
pastures, was to be communally scoured each year.
Cattle were not to be allowed on the horse pasture nor
horses on the cattle pasture; pigs were not to be allowed
on either. Chair, Hole, and Lazier Fens-apparently
the commons set aside for cattle pasture-were not to
be used for turf cutting. A scale of penalties was
imposed. It varied from 2d. for letting swine into the
pastures to 40s. for joisting and for trapping fish in
'netts or engines' in the breaches and gulls of the fen
banks.
Sir Miles Sandys, with his son of the same name,
levied a fine upon the manor in 1630. (fn. 49) The younger
Sandys died without issue in 1654, (fn. 50) after which the
manor passed, probably by purchase, to Sir Charles
Sedley, the Restoration dramatist and wit. In conjunction with his wife Catherine (Savage), he was
dealing with it in 1658. (fn. 51) After this date the descent
becomes obscure. Cole states that Sir Walter Walker
was joint lord with John Hampson in the following
year. (fn. 52) Walker was a Judge of the Courts of Admiralty
and of Probate; (fn. 53) his grandson of the same name was
vouchee in a recovery of Stretham manor in 1694, (fn. 54)
and died without issue before 1703. (fn. 55) In 1758 'Mr.
Walker's estate' was purchased by the Earl of Hardwicke for £500. (fn. 56) During the 18th century the Lords
Byron of Rochdale were in possession of a moiety of
the manor. (fn. 57) William, the 5th baron, sold it in 1774 to
(Sir) Charles Gould, (fn. 58) who inherited the other moiety
which had passed through the Hampson and Harbord
families. (fn. 59) He took the name Morgan on his elevation
to the baronetcy, and the Stretham portion of his
estates, comprising 1,213 of the 4,085 acres in the
parish, (fn. 60) eventually devolved upon G. G. Morgan,
sometime M.P. for Brecon. Morgan died in 1845,
and his executors were recorded as holding manorial
rights six years later. (fn. 61) In 1861 the lordship was
divided between Lt.-Col. (afterwards Gen. Sir)
G. H. S. Willis and the Revd. W. N. T. Marsh in
the right of their wives, who were Morgan's two
daughters. (fn. 62) Willis died without heirs in 1900, being
then sole lord. (fn. 63) Manorial rights have since lapsed. (fn. 64)
LITTLE THETFORD was described as a berewick
of Ely in Domesday Book. It was rated at 1 hide held
in demesne; there were a villein with 6 acres and 4
cottars. The Thetford fisheries yielded 500 eels and
4½d. in tribute. The vill had been worth 20s. when
received, 30s. T.R.E., and 40s. in 1086. (fn. 65)
In the 13th-century cartularies Thetford was treated
as a part of Stretham, but the 'hayfen' of Thetford, a
marsh lying between 'Bramemere' (fn. 66) and 'Averingmere',
is expressly mentioned in 1251. Moreover one of the
1221 free tenants, and three of those of 1251, were
described as 'de T(h)eford'. (fn. 67) Thetford first emerges
as a separate manor in 1539, when Edmund Knyvett
and his wife Joan (Burghden) made a settlement of it. (fn. 68)
Thomas Knyvett was dealing with the manor in 1572, (fn. 69)
and ten years later sold it to John and Oliver Thornton
for £480. It then consisted of 20 messuages with tofts,
gardens, and orchards, a dovecote, land estimated at
300 acres of arable, 100 acres of meadow, 100 acres of
pasture, 200 acres of furze and heath and 2 acres of
woodland, £16 in rents and foldage for 300 sheep. (fn. 70)
Sir Roger Thornton died seised of the manor in 1631 (fn. 71)
and his son Samuel made a family settlement the following year. (fn. 72) At this time Thetford manor was still
reckoned to be subsidiary to Stretham; orders were
made for its common pasture of Goldsmore in the
same manner as at Stretham (see above). By 1676
John Childe was in possession of Thetford. (fn. 73) In his
will (1681) he directed the manor to be sold, the proceeds to go to his son John (6 parts), his daughters
Penelope and Mary (3 and 2 parts), and his relict
Elizabeth (1 part). Between 1703 and 1707 John
Childe the younger held it. (fn. 74) Later in the 18th century
it was held by Elizabeth Fisher. (fn. 75) She mortgaged it to
William Sharp for £100, (fn. 76) and with her second
husband William Aldred sold it to John Drage in
1768. (fn. 77) Drage's representatives, the Revd. Dr. Nasmith
and James Merest, were lords in 1808. (fn. 78) In 1851
Henry Pigott was recorded as the owner, (fn. 79) and in
1861 Eliza Pigott, G. S. Hill, and his wife Hannah
Mary held the lordship jointly. (fn. 80)
The convent of Ely obtained some interests in
Stretham and Thetford although the manorial rights
had been assigned to the bishops. For example, in
1150 Bishop Niel confirmed the gift made by Wigan the
priest in frank almoin of 2 acres 1 rood of land and 3
roods of meadow; at an unknown date Richard of St.
Albans granted 4 acres and 1 rood of land in the fields
of Stretham at a yearly rent of 4d., which rent was quit
claimed to the convent by his son Henry. (fn. 81) A licence
to acquire land in Thetford and elsewhere to the value
of £10 was granted in 1387. (fn. 82) In 1541, when the
conventual property was formally made over to the
dean. and chapter, the Stretham portion was worth
£2 17s. 8d. (fn. 83)
Denny Abbey also held land in Stretham. In 1558
a sixty-year lease was granted to Sir Robert Chester of
inter alia fisheries in Stretham known as 'Weremere',
'le Cote', and 'Fourdewere', with their appurtenant
ferries and osier holts. (fn. 84)
In 1303 Peter de Champvent held 42 acres of land
in Stretham, Thetford, and Haddenham of the Bishop
of Ely by suit of court every three weeks. (fn. 85)
CHURCHES
The advowson of Stretham was not,
like the manor, alienated from the see
of Ely in 1600, but has remained with
the bishops continuously to the present day. (fn. 86) During
the confiscation of the temporalities of the see at the
end of Bishop Lisle's episcopate (1358), a dispute arose
between royal and papal nominees to the living. This
was finally settled in 1378 in favour of Robert de
Stratton, the papal candidate. (fn. 87)
The church was valued at £16 in 1217, £20 in
1254, (fn. 88) and £26 14s. 4d. in 1291. (fn. 89) In 1555, however,
the value, including the chapel of Thetford, had fallen
to £22. (fn. 90) Shortly before 1851 the tithes of Stretham
were commuted for land, (fn. 91) and at the end of the 19th
century the glebe comprised 496 acres. (fn. 92)
In 1550 a cottage with a yard, and 4 acres in the
common fields of Stretham, given for anniversaries,
were granted to William Moryce and Edward Isaak.
A rent of 6d. was saved to the dean and chapter; Robert
Hytche was tenant at the time of the grant. (fn. 93) An acre
of meadow devoted to the same purpose, of which the
churchwardens were tenants, was in 1553 granted to
John Butler and Thomas Chaworthe. (fn. 94)
In 1276 Thomas de Wymbych, rector, renounced
all claims to tithes from the lands in the fields of Ely
which were held by the men of Thetford. (fn. 95) The chapel
of Thetford is not mentioned in the Taxatio, but
the present building displays 14th-century work. Its
dedication (St. George) suggests that it may have been
newly built at that time. (fn. 96) An agreement between
Richard Rysley, rector of Stretham, of the one part,
and William Riplingham and eighteen other householders of Thetford, of the other, laid it down that the
stipendiary in charge of Thetford chapel should have
the tithes of the hamlet. (fn. 97) The inhabitants were, however, to attend the mother church at Stretham on St.
James's Day (the dedication festival), and burial rights
were to be reserved to Stretham. (fn. 98) Shortly before 1851
the Thetford tithes were commuted for a rent charge
of £124. (fn. 99) Lands originally intended for the provision
of lights and anniversaries in the chapel were sold to
Richard Hill and Robert Don, the Elizabethan land
speculators, in 1571. (fn. 1)
Another chapel called Haveringmere or Harrimere
stood on the bank of the river south-east of Thetford.
A presentation to this chapel is recorded in 1381. (fn. 2) It
was included in a grant made in 1563 to Cecily
Pickerell, widow, of Norwich, in satisfaction of a debt
owed to her late husband by the Duke of Somerset. (fn. 3)
In 1571 the chapel came into the hands of Richard Hill
and Robert Don. (fn. 4) It is now commemorated in the
names Chapel Hill and Harrimere Drain.
The church of ST. JAMES, STRETHAM, consists of chancel, north vestry, south organ chamber,
clerestoried nave, transepts, aisles, south porch, and
west tower and spire. The material is mainly rag and
Barnack stone, and the roofs are tiled. The fabric, in
so far as it is ancient, is mainly of early-14th-century
date, except the east wall of the chancel which appears
to belong to the end of the 12th century. In 1876 the
church underwent a severe restoration. The chancel
was practically rebuilt and the transepts, south aisle,
and clerestory added. The work involved the destruction of the south porch and the provision of new roofs;
the chancel was curtailed and the western portion
thrown into the nave, and the window tracery renewed
throughout in 14th-century style. A photograph of
the church before restoration is preserved in the
rectory. The cost of the work amounted to over
£4,000.
The chancel has an east window of five lights with
modern geometrical tracery, and there is a hood-mould
terminating in heads. There are clamped buttresses
which date from the end of the 12th century. The
north-east and south-east windows are modern twolights with hood-moulds terminating in heads. The
chancel communicates with the vestry and organ
chamber by modern arches of 14th-century character
which die into the responds. The modern chancel arch
is two-centred and of two orders, the inner resting on
corbels and the outer with continuous mouldings, and
there is a hood on the west face. The south-east
window has a lowered sill for sedilia. In the north
wall is an oblong rectangular aumbry and to the west
of it a tomb recess with an acutely pointed arch.
The modern vestry has a two-light window on the
east and north and opens to the transept by a modern
two-centred arch of 14th-century character. The
modern organ chamber has a two-light window on the
east and south.
The nave has arcades of four bays with an additional
arch of larger dimensions to the east, opening to the
transepts. The modern transeptal arches are of two
orders with moulded caps and clustered responds. The
north arcade is of early-14th-century date with twocentred arches of two orders and hoods terminating in
well-carved heads; the columns are octagonal and the
responds semi-octagonal with moulded caps and bases.
The modern south arcade has round columns with
moulded caps and bases and hoods terminating in
heads. The modern clerestory consists of two-light
windows with trefoiled heads. The fine tower arch
of 14th-century date is acutely pointed and of three
orders with continuous mouldings.
The transepts are entirely modern with the exception
of a re-used 14th-century doorway in the east wall with
a hood-mould terminating in heads. The north and
south windows are of three cinquefoiled lights, and
modern arches dying into the responds communicate
with the aisles. There are gabled angle buttresses with
one set-off. The north transept probably occupies the
site of the 'exceeding handsome and elegant Chapel'
noted by Cole in 1748 at the east end of the north
aisle. It was said to have been a mausoleum of the
Sandys family, and at that date was 'in great Squalidness
and used for any Rubbish'. (fn. 5) After a period of use as
the village school the chapel was demolished in 1770. (fn. 6)
Plan of St. James's Church
The north aisle has three straight buttresses of
considerable projection and a base course which is
carried round the buttresses. The fenestration is
entirely modern, the windows on the north being of
three trefoiled lights under a square head and that in
the west wall of two trefoiled lights with a trefoil above.
The south aisle is entirely modern and the fenestration
is similar to that of the north aisle, except that there
are only two lateral windows instead of three. There
is one buttress with one set-off.
The modern porch has inner and outer doorways
with continuous mouldings and a hood; there are small
straight-angle buttresses and three trefoil-headed lights
on the east and west. Some fragments of 12th-century
carved stones are built into the walls on the interior.
The tower is of three stages with angle buttresses
having two set-offs, surmounted on the west by diagonal
buttresses. The newel stair is contrived in the northwest angle and carried up to the parapet. The base
course is carried round the buttresses. The west
window has an acutely pointed head and is of three
lights with flowing tracery. In the second stage there
is a recessed lancet on the north, south, and west. The
belfry stage has two-light windows with trefoiled heads
and a quatrefoil above. The tower is finished with a
plain parapet. The spire, which is of mid-14thcentury date, has two tiers of windows on alternate
faces, the lower of two lights and the upper of one, all
with crocketed gables.
The roofs are modern, and high-pitched in the case
of the chancel, nave, transepts, and porch; the aisle
roofs are of lean-to type. The tower ceiling has some
moulded beams of 15th-century date.
The font is modern. The mid-15th-century chancel
screen is of the rectangular type and of eight bays, with
elaborate traceried heads. The two bays in the centre
form the doorway, and there are two half doors. The
wainscot has applied tracery, but the boarding is
modern except in the case of the doors; the uprights
are buttressed, and the base and top beams are modern.
In the tomb recess on the north of the chancel is a slab
with a French inscription in Lombardic lettering to
Nicholas de Kingeston, rector at the end of the 13th
century; there is the indent of a small brass demi-effigy.
In the south transept, but formerly in the chancel, is a
good brass effigy of a lady, which formerly had a triple
canopy; the inscription is lost but it is known from Cole's
account of the church in 1748 to commemorate Joan
Swan, who died in 1497 and was the mother of two
successive rectors of Stretham. There are two stone
coffin lids with foliated crosses, now in the north
transept. A handsome black marble slab commemorates
Anne, wife of Dr. Brunsell, rector 1662-78, and sister
of Sir Christopher Wren; it has a shield of arms with
Brunsell impaling Wren. The other fittings are modern.
In Wilburton manor house are fragments of 15thcentury painted glass which came from Stretham
church. In the church and village hall of Wilburton
is some panelling formerly in Stretham church.
The plate includes a chalice and paten of 1686, and
a paten given by Ralph Perkins, LL.D. (rector, 1696-
1727), in 1712. (fn. 7)
The tower contains five bells. The treble is a 20thcentury addition; the 2nd and 5th are by J. Warner
of London, 1876, replacing bells (1591 and 1615) by
Thomas and John Draper of Thetford respectively;
the 3rd is by Joseph Eayre of St. Neots, 1766, and the
4th by Henry Penn of Peterborough, 1727. (fn. 8)
The registers begin in 1558.
Plan of St. George's Church
The church of ST. GEORGE, THETFORD, con
sists of chancel, nave, north porch, and south vestry.
The material is rubble and the roofs are covered with
tiles. The fabric is of 14th-century origin. A century
later new windows were inserted in the chancel. There
was a drastic restoration in 1863, when the nave was
slightly extended and the porch added. The vestry
was erected in 1885. Until the 1863 restoration the
nave was separated from the chancel by a solid wall
with a doorway in the centre and a square squint on
either side; above were three brackets, probably for
supporting the rood and its attendant figures. The roofs
were thatched.
The chancel has an east window of three cinquefoiled
lights under a depressed head, with a hood terminating
in heads. There are diagonal buttresses with one setoff, and similar buttresses on the north and south
between the windows. The lateral fenestration consists of two windows on each side, of two cinquefoiled
lights with a quatrefoil above. There is an external
base course and beneath the windows an internal string,
which has been largely renewed. The two-centred
chancel arch is modern. At the north-west angle there
is a plain brick buttress, probably of 17th-century date.
In the south wall is a plain piscina with a stone credence
shelf, and a 14th-century door just west of the buttress.
The nave, which is wider than the chancel, has a
large straight-angle buttress at the east end of the north
and south walls and a similar one in the middle of the
north wall. The east gable was rebuilt in brick in
1665, as appears from the date on the external face.
The 14th-century north-east and south-east windows
are of three cinquefoiled lights with a quatrefoil above,
under a square head. The north-west and south-west
windows are of similar date and design, but of two
lights. The west wall, though rebuilt when the nave
was extended, retains much old material and a good
14th-century window of three lights with flowing
tracery and a hood terminating in masks. The tracery
has been renewed. Above are two recesses for bells.
There are pairs of straight-angle buttresses, which are
modern. The plain north and south doorways are of
the 14th century and have continuous mouldings.
There is an internal string-course, which has been
much renewed.
The porch, which is entirely modern, has an outer
doorway with roll mouldings dying into the chamfered
responds and a small two-light window on the east
and west with trefoiled heads and a trefoil above.
The modern vestry, which is entered from the nave
by the original south doorway, is faced internally with
brick and has a modern two-light window in the east
and south walls. There is an external doorway on
the west.
All the roofs are modern.
The 14th-century font has an octagonal bowl and
shaft with a human head projecting from each alternate
face of the bowl; there are tracery heads under the
bowl.
The plate consists of a modern chalice and paten of
silver and a modern brass alms-dish. (fn. 9)
There is one bell, dated 1769, which came from the
chapel of Ely House, London.
The registers begin in 1654 and are complete.
The Rectory, to the south of the church, is a large
structure of various dates. The material is brick and
stone and the roofs are tiled. The oldest remaining
portion is at the north end, and is of 14th-century date.
It consists of a ground-floor room with a similar
chamber above, and probably formed part of the
medieval parsonage. The entrance consists of a stone
doorway with a depressed head, and there are two
small contemporary windows. The central portion of
the house is probably of 16th-century date, but its
appearance was greatly altered in the 18th century when
new windows were inserted. Beneath the floor of the
dining-room are some original oak joists. Early in the
19th century the house was extended towards the south
and dormer windows inserted in the older portion.
The interior has been completely modernized. In
1820 a faculty was granted for the demolition of the
rectory dovecote, which 'is an injury and a nuisance'.
The rectory barn was still standing at this date. (fn. 10)
Stretham had three guilds, of the Purification of the
Virgin (1344), Corpus Christi (1350), and All Saints
(1456). The two former made grants to disabled
members of 3d. a week in victuals and 2s. a year in
clothing 'as long as the goods of the gild last'. (fn. 11) A
guild of St. George in Thetford is mentioned in a will
of 1489. (fn. 12) Its hall was in 1571 sold to Richard Hill
and Robert Don. (fn. 13) It was subsequently acquired by
John Townsend, who at an unknown date gave it to
the inhabitants of Thetford. Townsend desired that
the chaplain of Thetford should have the use of a room
in the building, but his wish was not realized. In 1837
the building was dilapidated and used as a workhouse
and a school. (fn. 14)
NONCONFORMITY
During the Interregnum
the Baptists of Stretham, of
whom John Tabram was the
most prominent member, were visited by brethren
from the Fen Stanton (Hunts.) congregation. (fn. 15) In
1669 Dissenters of unknown denomination met at
Stretham 'by stealth and in the night'. (fn. 16) Bishop
Compton's 'census' of 1676 shows that 29 of the 428
persons of communicant age in Stretham were Nonconformists. (fn. 17)
A congregation of Baptists under a Mr. Clark met
in the early 18th century, but ceased to be an organized
body after his death (c. 1725). A generation later
(c. 1760) itinerant Baptist preachers began to visit
Stretham, holding meetings in a barn and later in a
disused malthouse. A proper meeting house was built
in 1772 and enlarged by the addition of galleries in
1799. Under Joseph Hewlett of Cambridge this congregation made rapid strides. It was organized on a
regular basis in 1801, and the 14 original members
were soon reinforced by 7 newcomers. Its doctrine
was Calvinistic and it practised open communion. The
meeting house of this body was rebuilt on a larger scale
in 1818. (fn. 18) In 1851 there was a Sunday school. (fn. 19) The
present Stretham Baptist Church dates from about
1935. A daughter church was built at Thetford in 1842
and rebuilt in 1867. (fn. 20) In 1672 the house of William
Outlar in Stretham was licensed for Congregational
worship, (fn. 21) but this branch of Nonconformity seems
soon to have died out. (fn. 22) The Wesleyan Methodists
built a chapel in 1814 by public subscription; it was
rebuilt in 1888. (fn. 23) The London Evangelistic Mission
built a hall at Stretham in 1884; (fn. 24) this still exists, but
does not seem to be used.
SCHOOLS
In 1579 Thomas Hitche was licensed
to act as curate and schoolmaster in
Stretham. (fn. 25) In the middle of the 18th
century a school was held at the east end of the north
aisle of Stretham Church, in a chapel which was pulled
down in 1770 (see Churches). In 1789 there was a
private school in the village, and nine years later there
were two schools-one for infants, kept by John
Sabbatin, a Dissenter with a 'harmless' reputation, and
one for older children under Robert Hopkins, a
Churchman 'of a fair and inoffensive character'. (fn. 26)
When the National Society made its report in 1846-7
there were said to be 244 children (fn. 27) receiving education.
Most of them attended a Church school in Stretham
held on weekdays, weekday evenings, and Sundays in
hired premises. It would seem that many of the
children attended part time, for the expenses amounted
to only £67 18s. a year although a staff of eight was
employed. (fn. 28) Lack of endowments (fn. 29) prevented any real
progress; both in 1846-7 and in 1851 (fn. 30) the rector is
mentioned as the sole private contributor.
This state of affairs lasted for another generation.
In 1870 the schools at both Stretham and Thetford
were still in hired premises. The latter was held in a
room lent by the Townsend Charity, which was in
such bad condition as to be 'disqualified for government inspection'. With the aid of local subscriptions
of about £1,000, a grant from the Diocesan Board, the
gift of a site by the rector, the Revd. Hugh Pigot, and
contributions from the charities, (fn. 31) schools were built
in both villages at a total cost of about £1,850. The
buildings were designed by the well-known architect
J. P. St. Aubyn, and in 1872, their first full year, cost
£220 18s. 9½d. (Stretham) and £62 14s. 1d. (Thetford). They provided places for 200 and 75 children
respectively. (fn. 32)
By 1889 the school population of Stretham had outgrown the existing resources and a School Board was
set up. (fn. 33) The church authorities leased their school to
this Board, which in 1894-5 enlarged it to take 256
children and built another school for 110 infants, some
little distance away from the existing school. In 1910
the accommodation of the two schools was scaled down
to 198 (mixed) and 100 (infants). In 1948-9 the
senior children were moved to the Cromwell School,
Chatteris, pending the erection of a Secondary Modern
School for Ely Rural District. (fn. 34)
At Thetford, the school remained non-provided.
Under schemes made by the Charity Commissioners
in 1871 and 1950 it was endowed with £25 annually
from Townsend's charity. In 1895 the building was
enlarged to take 90 children, and in 1950 the school
was given Voluntary (Controlled) status. (fn. 35)
In 1870 there was a private school in Stretham, kept
by Dissenters and catering mainly for the children of
tradesmen and small farmers, and a dame school in
Thetford. (fn. 36)
CHARITIES
In 1553 Richard Rysley, rector, gave
a rent of £2 charged upon an estate at
Upton (Hunts.), and 6s. 8d., paid
through Christ's College, to the poor of Stretham.
By 1837 the value of this charity had increased to
£18 5s. 8d., which was given indiscriminately in
money. Rysley also gave house property in Stretham,
including the Chequers Inn and the blacksmith's shop,
to the value of £14 10s. No documents relating to
this part of the charity existed in 1837, (fn. 37) by which date
the rents had risen to £81 7s. 6d., including £31 from
the Chequers. After payment of taxes (£10) the residue
was given in amounts of 5s. to those who could produce tickets signed by three feoffees of the charity.
Under the Stretham Inclosure Act (fn. 38) this part of
Rysley's charity was replaced by the allotment of 30½
acres in Starlock Hay Fen Common for the benefit of
the school (see above).
In 1715 Thomas King and Alice his wife in return
for £61 surrendered a moiety of 11½ acres to the
churchwardens for the use of the poor. Martha Digby,
by her will dated 1717, gave 10 acres of copyhold land
in Stretham to the poor, and 3¾ acres of copyhold land
in Thetford, for the benefit of six poor widows. In
1837 these two bequests produced £27 15s. Of this
total £5 were given to about 50 poor persons in sums
of 1s. to 4s., and the remainder to the widows.
In 1727 Lady Effingham Howard gave the interest
on £50 stock to the poor of Stretham. In 1774 £70,
secured on 6 acres in Stretham fields, had been lent to
Edward Morden. In 1837 the interest on this loan
was also devoted to indiscriminate poor relief.
At an unknown date John Townsend gave the guildhall (see above-Churches) and 3 roods of land in
Thetford fields to the use of the inhabitants of the
hamlet. In 1837 the common rights attached to the
building brought in £12 and the 3 roods £2 yearly.
The income after deductions was given in clothes,
coals, beer, and money to non-paupers. (fn. 39) Since 1871
this charity has been devoted to educational purposes. (fn. 40)