Lammas, Norfolk

Lammas (also spelled Lamas) is a village in Broadland, Norfolk, England.

Location

Located between Norwich and Aylsham, Lammas lies near RAF Coltishall on the Bure Valley Railway, and there is a railway halt called Buxton Lammas. Lammas is separated by the River Bure from the larger village of Buxton, and where the two meet is Buxton Mill. [Further information on Buxton Mill can be found at [http://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Watermills/buxton.html Norfolk Mills] and at Bure View [http://www.buxtonmill.com] or Millers Lodge [http://www.buxtonmill.co.uk] ] The two otherwise run into each other and appear to be the same village.

Description

Lammas gives the impression of being a sleepy, rural place. Today it has no pubs or shops, being served by Buxton. The village's two main roads are called The Street and Scottow Road (which is the continuation of The Street leading to RAF Coltishall). There are four 'big houses' located within the village, Lammas Hall, which is located in a park, and not visible from the road, the Tudor Manor House, which Pevsner describes as having formed part of a larger structure (today this is two houses), Bure House, which stands on the other side of the churchyard from the Manor, and the Rectory, which is located on the Little Hautbois Road. A house opposite Bure House describes itself as 'The Old Smithy'. Early photographs of the village show that the house called 'The Old Anchor of Hope' by the river Bure was once a pub.

In earlier centuries, agriculture was the main industry. Today, Lammas serves mainly as a dormitory for the city of Norwich.

Local government

For local government purposes, the two villages jointly elect the "Buxton with Lammas Parish Council", and both fall within the area covered by Broadland District Council and Norfolk County Council. Lammas and Buxton together have a population of 1,695. Although Lammas is the smaller of the two places, it is historically a parish in its own right, and for centuries had its own Rector. Lammas has been united with the neighbouring hamlet of Little Hautbois since the 15th century. [Church Guidebook] The village is a part of the Buxton Division of the district of Broadland, and the Aylsham Division of the County Council.

Places of worship

The village church is dedicated to St. Andrew. Much restored in the 19th century, the church nevertheless still displays some traces of Anglo-Saxon work in the walls of the nave. The chancel slants away from the nave, probably due to the marshy nature of the riverside site. Inside, there is a finely-painted organ decorated with images of St. George and St. Michael. Two RAF standards hang in the chancel. [Church Guidebook and information displayed within the church] A late nineteenth-century writer reports that, prior to the restoration, the old church possessed some fine medieval figurative stained-glass, but that this had vanished during the restoration. [Pending verification ] Today, the church possesses a ring of five bells, and the ringing chamber was extensively restored by Peggy Anne Williamson of Lammas Hall, a former tower Captain [memorial inscription in the ringing chamber] . The writer Anna Sewell is buried in the graveyard of the old Quaker Meeting-House on The Street. The meeting house itself has now been converted into a house, but Anna Sewell's gravestone is set in a wall fronting the Street. [Norfolk Churches Site] The other stones commemorate local benefactors John Wright and Phillip Sewell, of Dudwick Park, Buxton. The burial ground was partially destroyed in 1984, when a large part was bulldozed without permission. [http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MNF47010]

In the 19th century, Lammas had a small Baptist Chapel, but this has long since vanished. [1859 Religious Census]

The Rector of Lammas from 1738 to 1754, the Reverend William Lubbock, was the ancestor of the Lubbock family, Lords Avebury.

One of the former Rectors of the Parish is named simply as 'Roger' on the board in the Church. Local legend says this is because he murdered a man shortly after he had been inducted to the benefice and fled. It is said that the man's body still lies under the Church porch.Fact|date=April 2007

Historic Houses

Lammas Hall, a large building of uncertain date, lies in a small park, concealed from the road. The building possesses a seventeenth century porch, a doorcase with stone quoins contained within a nineteenth century sinle storey brick porch. The North wing is of the same date as the porch. The shaped gable above the entrance is one of the few surviving traces of architecture. [http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MNF7627] . Limewash has been applied to the exterior in an attempt to create an impression of architectural unity. Among the notable inhabitants of the Hall was Wallace White Williamson, Actuary, of Norwich Union [Norwich Union Promotional Literature, 1959, who is buried at the Church] . The Hall was an old people's home for a time, before returning to private ownership.

The Manor House bears the date of 1525 on the east gable, and was extended to the West circa 1600. This has been subdivided over the centuries, and subject to a number of alterations, culminating in the addition of a swimming pool in 1991. [http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MNF7626] The 'crinkle-crankle wall' claimed for the Manor House in fact belongs to Bure House, a nineteenth century house in a fine garden, which stands on the other side of the churchyard.

Lammas in 1845

William White's "History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk, 1845" says of Lammas: [William White's "History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk, 1845"]

References

* Pevsner, Nikolaus, "The Buildings of England: North-East Norfolk and Norwich"
* Anon., "Guide to Lamas Church"

Notes

External links

*http://www.buxton-norfolk.co.uk
*http://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Watermills/buxton.html
*http://www.buxtonmill.com
*http://www.buxtonmill.co.uk
*http://www.buxtonwithlamas.co.uk