ELM
Elm, on the Norfolk border between Wisbech and
Outwell, is one of the larger parishes in the Isle. It was
originally of the long, narrow shape usually found in
Wisbech hundred, with the church and village on the
firm silt land at the north-east end, just behind the
'Roman Bank'. The alterations made under the county
Review Order of 1933 and the Ministry of Health
Provisional Orders Confirmation (Ely, Holland, and
Norfolk) Act, which came into force the following year,
brought a net increase of 2,617 acres in area and a
decrease in population of 67. The realinement of the
county boundary transferred a small built-up area to
Emneth (Norf.) which was not quite counterbalanced,
as regards population, by the inclusion (from Wisbech
Borough) of the hamlet of Ring's End, on the Nene
opposite Guyhirn. Although it is questionable whether
the name is derived from the common tree, (fn. 1) the country
in the north-eastern part of the parish is undoubtedly
more wooded and picturesque than is usual in the Fens.
The northern end of the village practically adjoins
Wisbech. It is divided by the Wisbech Canal, formerly
the Well Stream, into Elm High and Elm Low Roads;
the series of pools which is all that remain of the canal
contribute largely to making Elm one of the prettiest
villages in the Isle. The 'needle' spire of the church
recalls the southern part of Cambridgeshire, while the
fruit-growing hamlet of Begdale, about a mile west of
the village, is reminiscent of the Vale of Evesham.
Among the few buildings of architectural interest,
apart from the church, may be mentioned the Black
Horse Inn, Elm House, and the Limes. The first has
a tablet on the porch dated 1665; the others are 18thcentury buildings of some merit with well-designed
doorways. The stone-slated roof of the Limes is noteworthy, in a district where such roofs are not common.
The village hall dates from 1921. (fn. 2)
The River Nene formerly crossed the south of the
parish diagonally. After turning gradually through a
right angle past Upwell and Outwell, it returned to
Elm to form the parish and county boundary. Now,
however, it takes a more direct course through Wisbech;
since 1933–4 the new course has formed the boundary
between Elm and Wisbech St. Mary. There are many
subsidiary drains. Elm High Road forms part of the
main road from Wisbech to Outwell, Downham
Market, and Ely (A 1101). The Low Road (B 1101)
forms the village street and continues in a zigzag course
through Friday Bridge and Coldham, two hamlets of
Elm, to March. Railway communication with Wisbech
is provided by the Upwell tramway opened in 1884.
Since 1928 it has been used for goods only. There are
two passenger stations in the parish—Coldham for
Pear Tree Hill, on the March–Wisbech line (1847),
and Guyhirn on the March–Spalding line (1867).
They are both, however, too remote to be of much
local importance.
The northern part of the parish, on silt soil, is largely
given over to orchards and market-gardens; in the southwest, on the peat, farms are larger and are devoted to
cereals, potatoes, and sugar-beet. As stated above, there
are fairly numerous isolated trees round the village, and
a long shelter belt running north and south along the
March road at Coldham Hall, the site of a former manor
house.
At the beginning of the 19th century Elm had the
reputation of a law-abiding village. The peace celebrations of 1814, when '738 persons dined abundantly,
and capital sports succeeded' were specially commended
by Jeremiah Jackson in his diary. (fn. 3) Twenty years later,
although barn robberies were common, sheep stealing
was not prevalent in Elm, and the state of the parish
'though unpleasant, is not such as to excite any apprehension'. 'Much cheerfulness' was shown ata parish
meeting called to consider measures to alleviate the
state of the poor. There was at this date (1834) an
effective parish fire-engine. (fn. 4) Some of the ill feeling was
probably due to inclosures, of which a good many were
being carried out privately at this time. (fn. 5) In 1834 an
Act (fn. 6) was passed to inclose the commons, droves, banks,
and waste lands in the parish. As in most Marshland
parishes, the amount of land to be so treated was small
(195 acres), and the award made under this Act was
not signed and put into force. (fn. 7)
Among the incumbents of Elm-cum-Emneth have
been: (i) Sir Richard Swale (1545 ?–1608), Chancellor
of Ely and a noted civil lawyer; he was appointed rector
in 1588 by dispensation, being a layman; (fn. 8) (ii) Dr.
Joseph Beaumont (1616–99), poet and Master of
Peterhouse, rector in 1645; (fn. 9) (iii) Edmund Castle
(1698–1750), Master of Corpus Christi, Cambridge,
and later Dean of Hereford, vicar in 1729; (fn. 10) and
(iv) Jeremiah Jackson (1775–1857), Headmaster of
Wisbech Grammar School, 'whose name leaps to the
eye from every local record of contemporary social
activity', (fn. 11) vicar 1826–57. Mrs. E. B. Tanqueray,
wife of a vicar of Coldham, was the author of The Royal
Quaker and other novels that had a vogue at the beginning of the present century. Robert Tillotson, rector
in 1711, was a nephew of Archbishop Tillotson. (fn. 12)
MANORS
Like the other vills in the extreme north
of the Isle, with the exception of Wisbech,
ELM is not mentioned in Domesday Book.
It is therefore conceivable that the district in which it
lay was not reclaimed until c. 1200 and that the fine
13th-century church is the first on the site. At all
events, the overlordship was at that time with the Bishop
of Ely (fn. 13) and it has so continued, the Church Com
being the present lords of the manor. (fn. 14) As
at Wisbech and other episcopal manors in Wisbech
hundred, John Thurloe was in possession during the
Interregnum. (fn. 15)
In 1210–12 the bishop had six tenants at Elm who
held by military service. Richard de Argentem or
Argentan held 1 fee; Roger Mareis and Robert de
Banstede (recte Haustede) (fn. 16) ½ fee each; Richard de
Melkesham a ¼ fee in Elm and Wisbech; and Simon
de Insula and Gerard de Vernun 1/6 fee each. (fn. 17) Most
of these fees subsequently developed into subordinate
manors (see below). They all reappear in the Ely
cartularies of 1221 and 1251, but with changed assessments in some cases. In 1221 the Argentan fee was
rated on 1,452 acres of land in Needham and 60 acres
in 'Langebech'; in 1251 it was held by Giles de
Wechesham. The Mareis tenement remained constant at ½ fee, as had that of Robert de Haustede. In
1221 Richard de Melkesham was assessed at a whole
fee, on 380 acres of land, and he was stated to have
made a purpresture of 60 acres in the marsh; in 1251
the rating of the Melkesham tenement is unstated. In
1221 Simon de Insula also was assessed at a whole fee,
on 420 acres; in 1251 his tenement, now held by
Philip de Insula, had been reduced to 1/6 fee again. The
assessment of the de Vernun tenement had risen in
1221 and fallen in 1251 in a similar manner. These
increases and reductions were no doubt due to early
reclamation followed by the great sea flood of 1236.
As at Wisbech, the 1251 cartulary showns the obligation of the customary tenants to repair Wisbech Castle
and dig at 'Ramersdike' as well as the normal agricultural services. In spite of the flood, the numbers of
free and customary tenants rose between 1221 and
1251 from 8 and 84 to 15 and 115 respectively. At the
later date the total rents amounted to £45 5s. 6d. (fn. 18)
As usual in the 14th century, a decline in prosperity
is evident. In 1391 the rents amounted to only
£37 12s. 6d. By this time a good deal of reclamation
had been undertaken. Fourteen fields of varying size
are mentioned. Each embraced from 5 to 50 small
tenements worth from 1s. to 2s. (fn. 19) Some of these fields
survive in name to the present day, for example, Old,
New, Town, Halfpenny, Redmoor, Needham, Needham Hall, and Coldham Fields.
In 1303 Richard Loveday held the ArgentanWechesham tenement, again as 1 fee, of Giles Mumpenzon, who held of the Bishop of Ely. (fn. 20) Loveday
became bound to Bishop Walter Langton of Lichfield
in various recognizances, and in 1321 the inquisition
post mortem on the bishop shows him as holding, inter
alia, a messuage called Bealford or BEAUFORD,
together with 776 acres and 7 marks rent. Of this
property, 501 acres were stated to be held of Giles de
Wechesham as 1 fee, and 80 of the Bishop of Ely for
26s. 8d. annual rent. (fn. 21) The fee was in 1346 held
by Elizabeth Peverel, the eventual heiress of Bishop
Langton; (fn. 22) in 1428 William Venour was the holder. (fn. 23)
By 1536 the property had come to be styled a manor,
and was held by' Alexander Balam by service of ¼ fee
and 25s. yearly. Balam was also tenant of 100 acres in
the marsh at 10s. (fn. 24) The manor was situated in the
Friday Bridge area, (fn. 25) and under the name Beauford or
Bewford remained in the Balam family until 1699. (fn. 26)
In that year Susan Balam, John Kelsall and Anne his
wife, and William Jay, the last three probably brothersin-law and sister of the first, settled it upon trustees. (fn. 27)
Thomas Jenkinson, one of the trustees, was dealing with
it in 1720. (fn. 28) Beauford House still exists as an 18thcentury building with a doorway of good design.
In 1303 the Mareis tenement was again assessed at
½ fee and was held by a woman, Clemencia de Marisco. (fn. 29)
She was probably the last of her line, for in 1321 Bishop
Langton held the messuage of 'Mareystede' and 140
acres in chief of the Bishop of Ely, at ½ fee, and 863
acres of land and marsh at 7 marks rent. (fn. 30) In 1346
Elizabeth Peverel, Langton's heiress, held the ½ fee
jointly with Sir John Colvile. (fn. 31) This estate is not
subsequently recorded individually, and probably became merged with Langton's other property in Coldham (see below).
The Haustede estate is not entered in the lists of
fees of 1303, 1346, or 1428. It was situated in
BROKENE, on the north-west side of Elm towards
Wisbech. (fn. 32) In 1470 it reappears, as a manor of
Brokene, in the hands of the Colvile family of Newton
(q.v.). It was again assessed at ½ fee and was valued at
£5 6s. 8d. (fn. 33) It had been settled by Sir John Colvile,
son of the founder of the Newton chantry, on himself
and his wife Anne for their lives. Anne subsequently
married Sir Robert Brandon, and outlived her son
Francis Colvile. At her death in 1494 Brandon forcibly
excluded Richard Colvile, Francis's son, then aged 14,
from his lands. (fn. 34) Richard proved his age in due course
and the manor, under the name HALSTED, remained
in the family another hundred years, until it was sold
(1591) by Francis Colvile to William Hynd. (fn. 35) Hynd
died without issue in 1606; after which the manor
seems to have come to William Steward of Ely, whose
son-in-law, Francis Lord Aungier, died in possession in
1632. (fn. 36) He left his Cambridgeshire estates to his
fourth son George, who was living in 1635. (fn. 37) In the
early 18th century Halsted manor was held by three
sisters, wives of Rupert Elcie, Richard Dent, and
Thomas Briscoe; it is not recorded after 1720. (fn. 38)
In 1299 Richard de Melkesham conveyed his lands
in Elm, Wisbech, and Upwell to Bishop Walter
Langton by fine. (fn. 39) The following year the bishop was
granted free warren in his demesnes in COLDHAM
and elsewhere, (fn. 40) and in 1303 he held Coldham
for ⅓ fee. (fn. 41) At his death (1321) he held, besides the
Argentan-Wechesham-Loveday fee and the Mareis
fee (see above), the manor of Coldham with 420 acres
of the Bishop of Ely for 1 fee. His heir was his nephew,
Edmund Peverel, then aged 14. (fn. 42) He died in 1331,
when he was recorded as holding, jointly with his wife
Elizabeth, the three estates of Coldham, Bealford, and
Mareystede, and the fishery of 'Estiworth', by knight's
service and a yearly rent of £6 13s. 4d. (fn. 43) Elizabeth
Peverel had licence of oratory in her manor house for
five years from 1344. (fn. 44) Two years later the assessment
of Coldham was again ⅓ fee. (fn. 45) The subsequent descent
of this manor is obscure. In 1368 the custody of lands
in Coldham, late of Hugh Gros, was granted to Alan
Palmer; Gros held these lands by knight's service of
the heir of Edward de Montacute, a ward of the king. (fn. 46)
In 1402 William Moore, vintner, was tenant, and
desired his feoffees to sell a moiety of his interest in the
manor and devote the proceeds to pious uses. (fn. 47) There
is no further record until 1536, when Thomas Clarke
of Elm held the manor as 1 fee. (fn. 48) In 1578 Humphrey
Mychell made a settlement of it. (fn. 49) The manor changed
hands several times at the end of the 16th century; (fn. 50)
in 1586 it was in possession of George Carleton, Constable of Wisbech Castle, (fn. 51) and in 1612 it came to Sir
John Peyton of Doddington (q.v.). (fn. 52) Towards the end
of his life Peyton was engaged in a lawsuit with Bishop
Felton over the boundaries between his manor of
Coldham and the bishop's manor of Waldersea alias
Bewdesert in Wisbech, (fn. 53) and at Peyton's death in
1630 he held it of the Bishop of Ely, together with other
land in Elm and Needham Fen. (fn. 54) Peyton's son, also
Sir John, died in 1635, (fn. 55) and the manor continued in
the family until the middle of the 19th century. (fn. 56) The
manor house was replaced by a farm-house about 1793. (fn. 57)
In 1303 John Ode of Lynn held the de Insula tenement, again as ½ fee, of the heirs of Simon de Insula for
life. (fn. 58) In 1346 this holding was divided, at the same
assessment, between Sir John Dene, Sir John de Colvile, Sir William de Ruston, and Robert de Waldusee. (fn. 59)
It has not been subsequently traced.
The Vernun property remained in possession of that
family and was returned at its 1251 assessment of 1/6 fee
in 1303 (fn. 60) and 1346. (fn. 61) It may be identified with the
manor of VERNONS which appears in 1593 in possession of William Steward, together with lands in Old
Field and elsewhere in Elm, and in other places in the
Isle. (fn. 62) His son Thomas, then a minor, had livery of
his estates three years later. (fn. 63) Thomas died unmarried
before 1605, when Edward Fincham, his cousin, (fn. 64)
was dealing with the manor. (fn. 65) At his death in 1631
Fincham held it of the Bishop of Ely as of his manor
of Wisbech Barton. He also held land called Vernons
Fen, a messuage, and Need hams Field. The association
of these tenements suggests that the property lay near
Needham Hall in the east of the parish, south of Old
Field. The property was settled on Edward Fincham's
relict Frances (Richman) and son Thomas. (fn. 66) The latter
died in 1666 leaving two daughters, Mary and
Frances. (fn. 67) The Fincham estates in Norfolk and the
Isle seem then to have been broken up, and this manor,
with other property in Elm, Outwell, and Upwell,
passed from Rachel Fincham and other members of
the family to Baptist May. (fn. 68) In 1700 it came to Israel
Wilkes of Clerkenwell, father of the politician, (fn. 69) and
remained in his family until at least 1774. (fn. 70) The Wilkes
family had long been settled in the neighbourhood.
In 1592 William Wilkes held land bordering on the
Crabhouse nunnery estate (see below). (fn. 71) In 1633 he
or a namesake was seised of a messuage in Begdale and
land called 'Gooles' in Haustedfield. (fn. 72) Needham Hall,
'formerly a most respectable residence', was at the end
of the 18th century in possession of Dr. John Fountayne,
Dean of York, who was succeeded in 1802 by his
daughter, Catherine Judith. Two years later the Hall,
being dilapidated, was pulled down and replaced by
a farm. On Catherine's death in 1824 the property
came to her nephew, Richard Fountayne Wilson, M.P.
for Yorkshire 1826–30. (fn. 73) He died in 1847 and Needham Hall Farm passed, presumably by purchase, to F.
Fryer. (fn. 74) In 1900 and 1933 the owner was (Sir) W. W.
West, J.P., (fn. 75) sometime Chairman of the Isle County
Council.
The manor of VAUX seems to have originated in
the lands of the Lords Vaux of Harrowden (Northants.),
who were recorded as holding property in Elm worth
£2 15s. 9d. in 1600. (fn. 76) These lands may have come
to them through the marriage of Thomas, 2nd Baron,
to Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Cheyne
of Fen Ditton, c. 1530–5. (fn. 77) In the latter half of the
17th century Vaux manor was in the Stukeley, Squire,
and Swaine families. (fn. 78) In 1801 the manor house was
purchased by the parish officials of Elm from John
Swaine of Stretham for use as a workhouse. It had long
been let as a farm-house. (fn. 79)
Lands in Elm were given to Nuneaton Priory
(Warws.) by Robert, Earl of Leicester, about 1154. (fn. 80)
In 1210–12 4½ acres of this estate was held by John
son of Rainer for 2s. 3d. and 2 acres and a square perch
(perticatam) of Hildebrand the clerk for 1s. (fn. 81) The
lands do not figure in the Taxatio, but they remained
in possession of the convent until the Dissolution, when
they were valued, with land in Upwell and Emneth,
at 79s. 7d. (fn. 82) In 1541 they were granted, as 'manors',
to Thomas Manners, Earl of Rutland. (fn. 83)
William son of William de Wendling (Norf.) gave
to the abbey of that name, which he founded in 1265,
a messuage and lands in Elm. (fn. 84) These were worth £2
in 1291 (fn. 85) and £2 5s. 7d. in 1391, (fn. 86) but only 18s. in
1535. (fn. 87) Presumably they formed the 'manor' of
WENDLING which, with lands and rents in Emneth
and Wisbech, was passed by Edward Story and
Katherine his wife to James Dudley in 1575. (fn. 88) They,
together with certain otherwise unrecorded property of
Wormegay Priory (Norf.), had in 1571 passed through
the hands of the land speculators Thomas Jennings and
Edward Forth. (fn. 89)
The Abbot of Crowland (Lines.) had two free
tenants in Elm in 1210–12, John and Ralph de Croyland, each of whom held 30 acres and a fishery for
30s. (fn. 90) In 1291 this property was worth £2. In 1535
it was worth £2 18s. 8d., less 2s. to the Bishop of Ely. (fn. 91)
In 1572 the fisheries, then held by William Payne and
William Froman, and 60 acres held of the Bishop of
Ely by Lord St. John (of Bletsoe), probably also exCrowland property, were granted to Richard Hill and
William James. (fn. 92)
The nunnery of Crabhouse (Norf.) possessed pasture
lands in Elm and Emneth, valued in 1535 at £16s. 8d. (fn. 93)
They were leased in 1539 to Henry Webbe (fn. 94) and in
1552 for twenty-one years to Thomas Sydney. In
1555 the reversion was granted to Sir John Gage,
Chamberlain of the Queen's Household. (fn. 95) Twentyeight acres of former Crabhouse land in Elm, which lay
in two portions, was in 1592 granted to William Tipper
and Robert Dawe at an annual rent of 4s. (fn. 96)
The possessions of the guild or chapel of the Holy
Trinity next Stathedyke in Walsoken extended into
Emneth and Elm. They were first granted (1545) to
Ralph Stannowe, the late warden, then in 1552 to
Mary, Duchess of Richmond and Somerset. (fn. 97)
In 1536 Sir Robert Brandon, lord of the manor of
Halsted (see above), was recorded as having held, in
the right of his wife Anne (Colvile), 36 acres in Elm
and other land in Brokene which was formerly in the
tenure of Robert Halsbeech, by service of ½ fee, 50s.
rent, and suit at Wisbech hundred court. (fn. 98)
CHURCHES
The church of Elm with its chapel
of Emneth was valued at £40 in c.
1217 and 1254, and at £17 in 1291; (fn. 99)
the last figure does not include £5 from the tithes payable to Lewes priory from their estate of Lewes Fee in
Emneth. It is recorded as an ecclesia, but a vicarage
had been ordained by 1275. (fn. 1) The church, however,
was not appropriated, and appointments were made to
the sinecure rectory until the early 19th century. (fn. 2) The
vicarage with its appurtenances except the house and
garden was in 1494 leased for seven years at £8 6s. 8d.
yearly by Edmund Roray, vicar, to Thomas Aleyn,
rector. (fn. 3)
In 1535 the rectory was worth £17 10s. and the
vicarage £14 15s. 10d.; (fn. 4) three centuries later their
comparative value is shown by the commutation of the
rectorial tithes for £545 annually, and the vicarial for
£215. (fn. 5) The patronage of both has been continuously
with the see of Ely.
Emneth was made a separate vicarage in 1858, after
the death of the Revd. Jeremiah Jackson. The parishes
of St. Matthew, Friday Bridge, and of St. Etheldreda,
Coldham, were formed out of Elm in 1860 and 1874
respectively. The three vicarages are also in the gift
of the bishop; Friday Bridge and Coldham have been
held in plurality since 1931. (fn. 6)
The Lewes tithes had risen in value to £6 10s. in
1339, (fn. 7) and to £8 13s. 4d. in 1535. (fn. 8) At the Dissolution
(1537) the last prior conveyed them with the other
possessions of the convent to the king by fine. In 1538
they were regranted to Thomas Cromwell. (fn. 9) They were
resumed by the Crown after Cromwell's attainder. The
next grantee was the Earl of Essex. They finally formed
part of the miscellaneous spiritualities given to Bishop
Heton in 1600 in return for the alienated episcopal
manors. (fn. 10)
In 1370 William de Petworth, rector, made an
agreement with Prior Cherlew of Lewes to pay the
convent an annual pension of £20, on pain of £5. This
was confirmed by the Bishop and Convent of Ely.
Early in the reign of Henry VI Prior Nelond sued
Thomas Reynold, Petworth's successor, for £65 representing this pension and arrears. Reynold denied that
he had ever received tithes from Lewes priory lands in
Emneth, and pleaded that the confirmation of Petworth's
agreement at Ely was invalid. In 1430 judgement was
given for the priory in Reynold's absence, but Reynold
put in a writ of error. The case was still in progress in
1432, and its conclusion, if any, has not been traced. (fn. 11)
Probably the priors managed to enforce payment of the
pension, for its existence was still remembered in 1589.
As it was then stated that payment had neither been
demanded nor made for more than thirty years, the
pension presumably lapsed at the Dissolution. (fn. 12) In
1608, however, it was revived and granted to Thomas
Howard, Earl of Suffolk, and his heirs. (fn. 13)
Petworth was licensed in 1377 to receive 8 acres of
land in Elm and 1 acre and a house in Emneth, to provide inter alia 7 lighted tapers on the altar at high mass
on feast days. (fn. 14) In 1553 6 acres in Elm, in tenure of
the churchwardens, were stated to have been given for
anniversaries in the church. (fn. 15)
Petworth makes one further appearance in 1396,
when he came to blows in the church with John
Wetyng, his vicar. As no serious hurt was caused
Bishop Fordham held that the church had not been
polluted. (fn. 16)
The church of ALL SAINTS, ELM, consists of
chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, north porch, and west
tower. The fabric belongs mainly to the first and last
quarters of the 13th century, with windows and roofs
inserted in the 14th and 15th centuries. The plan has
remained unaltered and the structure is a magnificent
example of early Gothic design. There was the usual
restoration in the last century but it was less destructive than was often the case. Much of the tower was
refaced at this time, the porch was rebuilt, and there
was some renewal of tracery. The roofs are leaded
except that of the chancel which is slated.
The chancel has a modern east window of five lights
and there are angle buttresses of the 13th century with
two set-offs. At the north-east corner there is a doorway with round arch and continuous mouldings. The
unusual position of this doorway would suggest that
the chancel was originally longer, but if this was the
case it must have been curtailed soon after its erection. The lateral fenestration consists of long twolight windows with 14th-century tracery consisting of
trefoiled heads with a quatrefoil above inserted in
13th-century openings, and external and internal hoodmoulds. There is a 13th-century string-course round
the interior, and an aumbry in the north and south
walls, but no piscina. The roof is modern and of braced
rafter construction. The chancel arch is two-centred
and of two orders with moulded caps and bases, the
latter partly covered by the raising of the floor.
Plan of All Saints Church
The nave arcades are of six bays with piers alternately round and octagonal, and the two-centred arches
are of two orders with moulded caps and bases and
a hood-mould. Above the arcades is a string-course
which probably indicates the original height of the
walls. The clerestory is an addition of the last quarter
of the 13th century and consists of ten lancets with
angle-shafts having moulded caps and bases. There is
an external corbel table of masks. Above the chancel
arch is blind arcading contemporary with the clerestory
and on the west wall the pitch of the original roof is
clearly indicated with a blocked lancet near the apex.
The nave roof is a superb example of 15th-century
carpentry; it is of double hammer-beam construction
with demi-angels having outspread wings at the termination of the hammer-beams, some of which -are
missing; all the principals are richly moulded and there
are long moulded wall-posts and carved spandrels. The
ends of the principals and rafters are plastered. There
is a very wide tower arch of two orders, two-centred
with rounded responds and recessed shafts, all having
moulded caps; the bases are concealed. The east and
west windows of the aisles are of three lights with
cinquefoiled heads and tracery, and of 15th-century
date; all with the exception of the west window of the
south aisle are inserted in 13th-century openings with
angle-shafts having moulded caps and bases. The
north-east window in the north aisle is a 14th-century
three-light, while the remainder on this side are of two
lights with cinquefoiled heads and quatrefoils above,
of 14th-century date. Much of the north wall was
rebuilt in the 14th century, and the buttresses with
two set-offs are of this period. The west portion of the
wall, however, is partly of the 13th century and the
internal string-course remains here. The south-east
window in the south aisle is a 15th-century three-light
with cinquefoiled heads and tracery under a depressed
arch, and is inserted in a 13th-century opening with
angle-shafts as in the east window. The remainder of
the windows in this wall are 14th-century two-lights
similar to those in the north aisle, but the first two are
inserted in 13th-century openings with angle-shafts and
have external and internal hood-moulds. The walls
and buttresses of the south aisle are of 13th-century
date. To the east of the north and south doorways are
rounded responds with moulded caps, the bases of
which are beneath the floor-level. The origin and purpose of these responds is obscure. Several of the
windows have old clear glass in rectangular leading.
The north doorway is excellent, with seven recessed
shafts and good 13th-century mouldings to its twocentred arch. The south doorway is more simple but
quite effective, with three recessed shafts and deep
mouldings. Both the aisles have external corbel tables
of masks. The aisles have lean-to roofs with wall-posts
and struts, that on the north having an embattled wallplate; they are probably of the 15th century.
The tower is of four stages, the three lower having
external shafted arcading; the two lowest are open to
the church and there are two lancets with banded
shafts on the north and south and three on the west
side; at the angles are octagonal turrets which are
carried up above the parapet. The main newel staircase is in the south-west turret and there is a passage
along the sill of the west windows to another stair in
the north-west turret; beneath the latter on the ground
floor is a small chamber with a domical ribbed vault
having carved corbels; there is a quatrefoil opening on
the west and a plain doorway communicating with the
church on the east. The west doorway is semicircular
with three recessed shafts and good 13th-century mouldings. In the third stage there is a lancet opening on the
north, south, and west. The belfry windows are semicircular and of two lights. There is a corbel table of
masks as in the nave and aisles. The embattled parapet
has been rebuilt, and there is a small leaded spire.
All the fittings are modern and poor.
The plate includes a communion cup, 1753, a
chalice, 1897, a paten on a foot, 1753, another paten,
1897, and a flagon, 1639, all of silver.
The tower contains five bells, the 1st and 2nd by
Thomas Norris of Stamford, 1637, the 3rd 15th
century but uninscribed, the 4th by G. Mears of
London, 1865, the 5th by Thomas Gardiner of Sudbury, 1738. (fn. 17)
The registers begin in 1539 and are complete.
The church of ST. MARK, FRIDAY BRIDGE,
was erected in 1860 and is a brick structure, with stone
dressings, in the Early Decorated style. It consists of
chancel, nave, chapel, north-west tower, and spire.
These last show serious settlements owing to inadequate
foundations. There is one bell.
The church of ST. ETHELDREDA, (fn. 18)
COLDHAM, is a stone building in the Early English style,
dating from 1876. It consists of chancel, nave, south
porch, vestry, and west turret containing two bells.
There were at various dates in the later Middle Ages
seven guilds in Elm—those of St. Katherine, St. Mary,
St. Giles, St. John Baptist, All Saints, Corpus Christi,
and the Assumption. The first named was founded
before 1389, and this and the next three were maintaining lights in the church in 1456. At the earlier date
St. Katherine's Guild possessed twelve cows, given by
members, which were let out and produced 2s. yearly
for the guild. (fn. 19)
NONCONFORMITY
In 1835 a Primitive Methodist chapel was built in Elm
village, and three years later a
Wesleyan Methodist congregation was established at
Friday Bridge; (fn. 20) the chapel of the latter dates from
1843. (fn. 21) Another Primitive Methodist chapel was
built at Coldham in 1915. (fn. 22) All these chapels are still
in existence. (fn. 23) The Rings End Methodist Chapel of
the March Circuit was brought into Elm parish by the
boundary changes of 1933. The congregation, originally Wesleyan, was formed in 1849; (fn. 24) the present
chapel dates from 1866. (fn. 25)
SCHOOLS
In 1582 Thomas Brise was licensed as
schoolmaster at Elm. (fn. 26)
Thomas Squire by his will (1689) gave
a messuage and 22 acres in Redmore Field, and a cottage and ½ acre for the support of a master for the
school he had already established in a 'low room or place
in his house newly built'. (fn. 27) The school was reconstituted in 1692, when 111 acres of the Town Lands
were added to the endowment. In 1730 this amounted
to £20 a year. The school was then in association with
the S.P.C.K. (fn. 28) About the beginning of the 19th century the school was rebuilt (fn. 29) to accommodate 120
children, and in the 1830's there were about 50 boys
and 25 girls learning reading, writing, and arithmetic;
the school population of Elm and Emneth was estimated to be 225. Attendance was irregular owing to
the claims of farm work, and the farmers were said to
be abusing the foundation by getting their children
taught free, to the exclusion of the industrious poor.
By this time the endowments amounted to over £53;
all the proceeds were paid to the schoolmaster, who 'has
filled his present situation for about six years, and is
considered an efficient person'. (fn. 30) When the National
Society made their inquiry (1846–7) the school contained about 30 boys who attended weekdays and
Sundays, 20 who attended on weekdays only, and 30
girls attending on Sundays only. (fn. 31) In 1859 the school
was again rebuilt, to provide 130 places for boys, and
seven years later there were 2 masters and 84 boys on
the books. Seven of the boys were learning 'mensuration and book keeping'. (fn. 32) The trustees and inhabitants
of Elm and Emneth subscribed £200 to bring the school
up to the requirements of the 1870 Education Act, and
a new scheme for the regulation of the school was promulgated by the Charity Commissioners (23 June
1874). Under the 1910 reorganization the recognized
accommodation was reduced to 105. The school still
provided for boys from both Elm and Emneth, and
by 1922 it was seriously overcrowded, with 134 on the
books. The situation was eased in c. 1925 when a
senior school was erected by the Norfolk County
Council at Emneth. Since 1931 Squire's School has
been reserved for infants, the junior boys attending the
Elm National School, and the seniors the new school
at Friday Bridge. In 1944 there were 47 on the roll. (fn. 33)
In 1860–1 a separate girls' school was built in
association with the National Society. It cost £622 of
which £26 was contributed by the Society and rather
less than half raised locally. The school and house were
designed by S. S. Teulon. (fn. 34) The original accommoda
tion was about 75, increased by a new classroom in
1884 to 139 (97 girls, 42 infants), (fn. 35) and scaled down
in 1910 to 103. In 1931 this school was reorganized
for junior boys and girls, and in 1949 voluntary (controlled) status was adopted. (fn. 35)
During the 1860's the vicar and churchwardens of
the new parish of Friday Bridge had devoted much
time to the provision of mission churches and Sunday schools. In 1870 the question of establishing a
Church day school was formally raised. The National
Society granted £50 towards the £886 required;
nearly £600 was subscribed locally and the site was
given by Lord Overstone, a 'principal landowner'
whose name is commemorated in the public house of
Coldham hamlet. (fn. 37) The school was opened in 1871, (fn. 38)
with accommodation for 127, reduced in 1910 to 106
(71 mixed, 35 infants), and increased by an extra classroom in 1913 to 144. The cramped site of this school
has prevented any further enlargement, and since the
building of the Friday Bridge Secondary Modern
School the National School has been reserved for juniors
and infants, of whom there are now about 120 on the
books. In 1950 the school accepted voluntary (controlled) status. (fn. 39)
The Church school at Coldham was built in 1897–8
for 108 children. In 1910 the recognized accommodation was reduced to 91 (60 mixed, 31 infants), and
again in 1934 to 78. At this date the older children
were moved to Friday Bridge. There are now (1951)
about 42 children on the roll. (fn. 40)
The Friday Bridge County Secondary Modern Mixed
School was planned to relieve the great overcrowding
then prevalent in the schools of Elm parish. (fn. 41) The
school, in Maltmas Lane, near the primary schools, was
opened in 1928, for 108 senior children. (fn. 42)
Two schools were transferred from Wisbech to Elm
in 1933.
The South Brink School was built by the Wisbech
School Board in 1879 for 49 boys and girls and 16
infants. It was closed in 1929, and the buildings, which
stand near the main road from Wisbech to Guyhirn,
were for a time used as a wayside café. They were sold
in 1933 for £335. (fn. 43)
Rings End School was built in 1860 as a combined
school and mission room. The classrooms were all on
the upper floor. The school was not accepted as satisfactory until 1882, when it was leased to the Wisbech
School Board. The building was enlarged in 1894–5
and again in 1905, and provided 78 places before and
65 after 1910. In 1927 the County Council bought
the school from the Wisbech church authorities for
£425. In 1935 the senior children were transferred to
the Hereward School at March, the nearest town.
There were only 29 children in attendance when the
school was closed in 1949; 10 children from the
County Council small holding estate at Goosetree went
to Coates School (Whittlesey) and the remainder to
Guyhirn School across the river. (fn. 44)
In 1846–7 there were four dame schools in Elm,
teaching about 70 children. (fn. 45) In 1870 there were
three such schools (one kept by a Dissenter) and three
Church Sunday schools in Friday Bridge. (fn. 46)
In 1597 William Payne gave 16
acres in Whales or Wales Field for
the repair of the church and the relief
of the poor. William Mayner, by his will dated 1638,
gave a messuage and 6 acres in Oldfield. In 1837 the
Mayner and Payne estates were let at £50 per annum,
the proceeds being distributed in flour to about 250
families indiscriminately.
Thomas Coward, by his will dated 1674, gave 6
acres in Oldfield to provide clothing and coals for the
poor. In 1837 4 chaldrons of coal were distributed
indiscriminately in quantities of one bushel, and 5 coats
and 5 petticoats given to non-paupers. 'The persons
selected are out of the better class and best-conducted
labourers.'
Thomas Adams, by his will dated 1697, gave 4 acres
near New Common Bridge, on the north end of the
parish adjoining Wisbech town, to provide 3 gowns or
coats. Any surplus was to be given in bread to the poor.
In 1837 the land was let at £13 15s. and provided for
8 men's coats and 2 women's gowns. Persons who had
received parish relief during the previous three months
were disqualified from this charity.
Thomas Jenkinson gave (1737–8) 2 acres in Whales
Field. In 1837 this was let for £4 to provide gowns
for women.
Daniel Swaine at an unknown date gave a rentcharge on 4 acres of land at the Gooles. In 1837 £1
was given to the vicar for a sermon on St. Thomas's
Day, and £1 to the poor in 40 sixpenny pieces.
The poor of Elm were entitled to cut turf on a piece
of land of about 40 acres which was inclosed about
1817. By 1837 the turf-cutting had been substituted
by the letting of this land for £70 yearly. This sum
was distributed in coals, at the rate of 6 bushels each,
to families who paid less than £20 a year in rent.