ST. MARY'S CHURCH - HOUGHTON-ON-THE-HILL

Today, the church of St. Mary's stands alone on the top of the hill at Houghton, but it was once at the centre of a thriving village, which had its origins in the Anglo-Saxon period. The church has recently been rescued from dereliction by Bob Davey, a locally retired water engineer, who, with the help of funding from Norfolk County Council and English Heritage, has restored it to a place of Christian worship.

Location and Local History

The church is sited on high ground overlooking the valley of the River Wissey. The name Houghton is thought to have been derived from the Saxon for 'Enclosure on a hill-spur' - OE hoh (hill-spur) + tun (enclosure). The 'on-the-Hill' part of the name was added to distinguish it from the other Houghton in Norfolk some miles to the north.

Under the chalk hill is a large aquifer, which means the area is well supplied with water. At the bottom of the hill is a lake known as Houghton Springs. This used to erupt, with water rising into the air every hour; the locals named this 'Boiling Molly'. However, since the water company began extracting water nearby this has ceased.

The area around the church is rich in history from the Stone Age through to the Second World War. The Peddars Way, a prehistoric route upgraded by the Romans, passes close-by at the bottom of the hill. Also a Roman villa, (the remains of which show as crop marks), lay in a field to the northwest of the church. A large number of Roman bricks from the villa have been re-used in the structure of the church.

Houghton, along with North and South Pickenham, Holme Hale, Necton and Sporle was a Royal hunting estate from the time of Edward the Confessor (This possibly has something to do with the extraordinary wall paintings in the church).

During medieval times the parish was held by various people including the Earl of Richmond and Ribald, the de Neville family, the Danvers and the Bedingfields of Oxburgh Hall. It is now owned by the Pickenham Hall estate. The remains of the medieval village are visible as 'humps and bumps' in the field to the north of the church, the only area undisturbed by ploughing.

The village is described as moderately prosperous in 1332/1334, but by 1449 it had reduced in size by twenty-six percent and by 1524 it was described as tiny. The decrease in population was probably caused by the introduction of sheep rearing, which required less labour than arable farming. During the nineteenth century the village population varied between thirty and eighty. The church was never deconsecrated, but by 1945 it was in a ruinous state; the last two cottages were demolished in 1994.

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