PULHAM ST. MARY THE VIRGIN is a large village on an acclivity, 3 miles N.W. of Harleston, and has in its parish 924 souls, and 2998A. 3r. 32p. of land. Robert Copeman, Esq., of Aylesham, is lord of the manor, in which are many copyholds, subject to arbitrary fines. The large commons here and in Pulham St. Mary Magdalen, have been enclosed under an Act of Parliament, passed in 1838. The Church is a large antique fabric, with a lofty square tower, six bells, and a handsome porch in the florid Gothic style, ornamented with large figures of angels, &c. The stained glass in the east window was destroyed by a storm in 1818, when the south chancel window was also blown out. The rectory with Pulham St. Mary Magdalen annexed to it, is valued in K.B. at £33. 6s. 8d., and the tithes of the two parishes were commuted in 1837 for £1308 per annum. The glebe is 36A., with a good residence. The patronage is in the Crown, and the Rev. Wm. Leigh, M.A. is the incumbent. In 1670, Wm. Pennoyer charged certain property which he left to Christ's Hospital in London, with the yearly payment of £4 for the poorest parishioners, and £5 for schooling poor children. He also directed that the future lords of the manor should pay one-fifteenth part of the rents and profits of the manors, so as to make up £20 a year for a schoolmaster,to teach 30 or 40 boys of the two parishes of Pulham and the adjacent places. Only £10 a year is paid by the present lord of the manor, and the master receives the above-named £5 out of Vaunces farm. The school is kept in a building called the Old Chapel. The Town Farm, 16A., is let for £25. 10s. a year, of which £10 is paid to the master of the Sunday School, and the remainder is applied with the church rates. A meadow, which had been long held by the Overseers, was sold about forty years ago, for the purpose of paying off a debt that had been incurred in erecting a Parish Workhouse, and enclosing 10A. of land from the South Common. The workhouse is now converted into five cottages. These and 73 allotments are let to the poor at low rents. A small estate here is held by the service of blowing a horn at the opening of the manor court, and 7A. by being "the lord's hangman," but the duties of the latter office have long been obsolete.
| Allured John, tailor | Harrison Saml. | Peak Thomas | ||
| Brown John, maltster | FARMERS. | Poppy David | ||
| Canham Thos. vict. Maid's Head | Bentfield Edw. | Pratt Simpson | ||
| Cooper Miss, ladies' school | Bond Thomas | Reeve John | ||
| Cross Robert, butcher | Borrett Michael | Webb My. Ann | ||
| Drane Mrs Abigail, gentlewoman | Burgess James | Whaites Ann | ||
| High John, schoolmaster | Burgess Thomas | Shopkeepers. | ||
| Leigh Rev Wm. M.A., Rectory | Colby Caleb | Brown Mary and | ||
| Mills Charles, surgeon | Ebbage John | Maria | ||
| Mullenger George, wheelwright | Feek Wm. | Saunders Wm. | ||
| Parkerson Miss and Webb Miss I. | Folkard James | Sidney Church- | ||
| Pratt Wm. & Rodwell Chas. gent. | Gooderham John | yard | ||
| Stanton Eliz. & Robt. corn millers | Harvey John | Thirkettle Wm. | ||
| Youell John, carpenter | Howe Thomas | Shoemakers | ||
| Blacksmiths. | Thrower John | Mays Wm. | King James | |
| Clarke Daniel | Bricklayers. | Nurse John | Pritty James | |
| Lovelace Thos. | Goldsmith Thos. | Nurse Wm. | Vipond Joseph | |
An later description of the village is given in White's Directory for 1883.
Beckvale home | Pulham Market | Pulham St Mary | Starston | Thanks
© Last updated on 29 December 1997 by John Halliday