Sprowston
Encyclopedia
Sprowston is a small town(population 14,027) bordering Norwich in Norfolk
, England
. It is bounded by Heartsease
to the east, Mousehold Heath
and the suburb of New Sprowston to the south (in Norwich), Old Catton
to the west, and by the open farmland of Beeston St Andrew to the north.
It was the largest parish in Norfolk and the most populous in Broadland
District, before becoming a town in 2011.
of 1086. The name is Anglo-Saxon and means 'the settlement belonging to Sprow' and is derived from the OE Sprow and tun (enclosure, settlement or farm)
By 1186 one Manor was held by the Mounteney family, on behalf of Sir Richard de Luci
, who kept it for some 250 years, whilst the other, held by the de Sproustons and then the Aslakes, was owned by the Bishop of Norwich
.
In 1545 the Jermy family granted Mounteney Manor to John Corbet. During Kett's rebellion
in 1549 the house was broken into and looted. The army of Robert Kett encamped on nearby Mousehold Heath
.
The first Sprowston Hall was built in 1560.
The Aslakes Manor passed to an eminent family of Norfolk gentry, the Calthorpes (subsequently related by marriage to family of Anne Boleyn
). It was later sold to Sir Thomas Corbet (owner of Mounteney Manor) and in 1592 the two Manors were united.
Monuments to the Corbet family can be found at the parish church of St Mary and St Margaret Church Lane. The Sprowston Corbets were Royalists in the English Civil War
; Thomas Corbet was knighted by Charles I
at Royston
. However, Sir Thomas' uncle, Miles Corbet
, who was Member of Parliament
for Great Yarmouth
, was the last signatory to the death warrant of Charles I and was himself executed at the restoration of Charles II
.
Sir Thomas Corbet became High Sheriff
of Norfolk in 1612. He died without an heir and the manor of Sprowston was sold to Sir Thomas Adams
.
Adams had been Lord Mayor of London
in 1645. He had given Charles II £10,000 whilst he was in exile, and in 1660 he accompanied General Monck to escort the King back to England.
Adams endowed a Professorship of Arabic at Cambridge
and had the Gospels printed in Persian
, which he described as 'throwing a stone at the head of Mahomet'. Although he died in London in 1667 his body was brought to Sprowston for burial in a barrel vault excavated under the altar at St Mary and St Margaret and a large marble monument was erected above it.
In the 18th century the manor was sold to Sir Lambert Blackwell
, a Director of the South Sea Company and he was created baronet
in 1718. In the 19th century the manor went through a number of families until it came into the hands of the Gurneys. In 1876 John Gurney
, who was mayor of Norwich and blind, rebuilt Sprowston Hall. In 1885 he gave money for the building of St Cuthbert's Church and a new vicarage to serve the development known as New Sprowston which was being built.
Today (2010), Sprowston Hall is now used as a hotel and is the location of Sprowston Manor Golf Club.
During the 18th century it is recorded that the population was less than 200, but by 1901 it had increased to 2,359.
Sprowston Mill was built in 1780 and made famous by John Crome
, of the Norwich School of painting. It burnt down in 1933, a few days before it was to be handed over to the Norfolk Archaeological Trust, but is still used as a symbol by Sprowston Community High School and is on the village sign
.
- Footballer
John Thaxton - Boxer
Danny Bond - Come Dine With Me
contestant
Sprowston Community High School, 'a mixed community comprehensive school of 1750 students,' serves ages 11–18 and is currently a partner school in the Kett 6th Form, which also comprises Open Academy and Sewell Park College
. There are three Junior Schools: Falcon, Sprowston and White Woman Lane and three Infant Schools: Cecil Gowing, Sparhawk and Sprowston.
Sprowston Hall is now a hotel and is the location of Sprowston Manor Golf Club.
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is bounded by Heartsease
Heartsease, Norfolk
-External links:*http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/norwichheartsease/norwichheartsease.htm...
to the east, Mousehold Heath
Mousehold Heath
Mousehold Heath is an area of heathland and woodland which lies in north east Norwich, England and a designated Local Nature Reserve . It is now mostly covered by broad-leaf semi-natural woodland, although some areas of heath remain and are actively managed....
and the suburb of New Sprowston to the south (in Norwich), Old Catton
Old Catton
Old Catton is a suburban village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk which lies to the north-east of central Norwich. The parish is bounded by the Norwich International Airport at Hellesdon to the west and Sprowston to the east...
to the west, and by the open farmland of Beeston St Andrew to the north.
It was the largest parish in Norfolk and the most populous in Broadland
Broadland
Broadland is a local government district in Norfolk, England, named after the Norfolk Broads. Its council is based in Thorpe St Andrew, which is a suburb of the City of Norwich.-History:The district was formed on April 1, 1974 by the merger of St...
District, before becoming a town in 2011.
History
Sprowston was recorded (as 'Sprowestuna') in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086. The name is Anglo-Saxon and means 'the settlement belonging to Sprow' and is derived from the OE Sprow and tun (enclosure, settlement or farm)
By 1186 one Manor was held by the Mounteney family, on behalf of Sir Richard de Luci
Richard de Luci
Richard de Luci was first noted as Sheriff of the County of Essex, then he was made Chief Justiciar of England.- Biography :His wife Rohese, who is named in several documents, was a sister of Faramus of Boulogne...
, who kept it for some 250 years, whilst the other, held by the de Sproustons and then the Aslakes, was owned by the Bishop of Norwich
Bishop of Norwich
The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided...
.
In 1545 the Jermy family granted Mounteney Manor to John Corbet. During Kett's rebellion
Kett's Rebellion
Kett's Rebellion was a revolt in Norfolk, England during the reign of Edward VI. The rebellion was in response to the enclosure of land. It began in July 1549 but was eventually crushed by forces loyal to the English crown....
in 1549 the house was broken into and looted. The army of Robert Kett encamped on nearby Mousehold Heath
Mousehold Heath
Mousehold Heath is an area of heathland and woodland which lies in north east Norwich, England and a designated Local Nature Reserve . It is now mostly covered by broad-leaf semi-natural woodland, although some areas of heath remain and are actively managed....
.
The first Sprowston Hall was built in 1560.
The Aslakes Manor passed to an eminent family of Norfolk gentry, the Calthorpes (subsequently related by marriage to family of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
). It was later sold to Sir Thomas Corbet (owner of Mounteney Manor) and in 1592 the two Manors were united.
Monuments to the Corbet family can be found at the parish church of St Mary and St Margaret Church Lane. The Sprowston Corbets were Royalists in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
; Thomas Corbet was knighted by Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
at Royston
Royston
Royston is the name of several places:* Royston, South Yorkshire, England* Royston, British Columbia, Canada* Royston, Hertfordshire England** Royston Town F.C., an English football club* Royston, Glasgow, a district of Glasgow, Scotland...
. However, Sir Thomas' uncle, Miles Corbet
Miles Corbet
Miles Corbet was an English politician, recorder of Yarmouth and Regicide.-Life:He was the son of Sir Thomas Corbet of Sprowston, Norfolk and the younger brother of Sir John Corbet, 1st Baronet, MP for Great Yarmouth from 1625 to 1629...
, who was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
, was the last signatory to the death warrant of Charles I and was himself executed at the restoration of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
.
Sir Thomas Corbet became High Sheriff
High Sheriff
A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
of Norfolk in 1612. He died without an heir and the manor of Sprowston was sold to Sir Thomas Adams
Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet
Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet was the Lord Mayor of the City of London and a Member of Parliament for the City of London from 1654–1655 and 1656-1658.-Early life:...
.
Adams had been Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
in 1645. He had given Charles II £10,000 whilst he was in exile, and in 1660 he accompanied General Monck to escort the King back to England.
Adams endowed a Professorship of Arabic at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and had the Gospels printed in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, which he described as 'throwing a stone at the head of Mahomet'. Although he died in London in 1667 his body was brought to Sprowston for burial in a barrel vault excavated under the altar at St Mary and St Margaret and a large marble monument was erected above it.
In the 18th century the manor was sold to Sir Lambert Blackwell
Sir Lambert Blackwell, 1st Baronet
Sir Lambert Blackwell was the British consul to Florence.-Biography:He was appointed as British Ambassador to the Republic of Venice in 1702. He died in 1727.- Appointments :*1702 British Ambassador to the Republic of Venice...
, a Director of the South Sea Company and he was created baronet
Blackwell Baronets
The Blackwell Baronetcy, of Sprowston in the County of Norfolk, was a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 16 July 1718 for Sir Lambert Blackwell, Kt of Sprowston Hall near Norwich, Norfolk. Descended from the Blackwells of Surrey, he was a younger son of John Blackwell of...
in 1718. In the 19th century the manor went through a number of families until it came into the hands of the Gurneys. In 1876 John Gurney
John Gurney
John Gurney may refer to:* Sir John Gurney , English judge* John Gurney , proprietor of Gurney's Bank and father of Joseph John Gurney...
, who was mayor of Norwich and blind, rebuilt Sprowston Hall. In 1885 he gave money for the building of St Cuthbert's Church and a new vicarage to serve the development known as New Sprowston which was being built.
Today (2010), Sprowston Hall is now used as a hotel and is the location of Sprowston Manor Golf Club.
During the 18th century it is recorded that the population was less than 200, but by 1901 it had increased to 2,359.
Sprowston Mill was built in 1780 and made famous by John Crome
John Crome
John Crome was an English landscape artist of the Romantic era, one of the principal artists of the "Norwich school". He is known as Old Crome to distinguish him from his son, John Berney Crome, who was also a well-known artist.-Life and work:Crome was born in Norwich in Norfolk, the son of a weaver...
, of the Norwich School of painting. It burnt down in 1933, a few days before it was to be handed over to the Norfolk Archaeological Trust, but is still used as a symbol by Sprowston Community High School and is on the village sign
Village sign
A village sign in some areas of England is a symbol of a village's history, heritage, or culture. They differ from regular road signs in that they are decorative, with the designs usually depicting some aspect of the history of the village...
.
Famous Residents
Danny MillsDanny Mills
Daniel John Mills is a former English professional footballer best known for his time at Leeds United. His main position was right-back, though he could also play as central defender...
- Footballer
John Thaxton - Boxer
Danny Bond - Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me is a popular Channel 4 television programme shown in the United Kingdom, produced by Granada Television and first broadcast in January 2005. The show has either four or five amateur chefs competing against each other hosting a dinner party for the other contestants...
contestant
Today
As of 2011, Sprowston as been awarded the status of a small town. Within Sporwston, ammenities that are available are as such:Sprowston Community High School, 'a mixed community comprehensive school of 1750 students,' serves ages 11–18 and is currently a partner school in the Kett 6th Form, which also comprises Open Academy and Sewell Park College
Sewell Park College
Sewell Park College is a High School located on the north-eastern edge of the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England.-Admissions:It has approximately 900 students aged eleven to sixteen . It is an under-subscribed school. It is situated in Mill Hill, on Constitution Hill , east of New Catton. On the ...
. There are three Junior Schools: Falcon, Sprowston and White Woman Lane and three Infant Schools: Cecil Gowing, Sparhawk and Sprowston.
Sprowston Hall is now a hotel and is the location of Sprowston Manor Golf Club.