Brockdish Suffolk
BROCKDISH
is a parish and pretty village situated on the banks of the river Waveney, 6
miles east from Diss, and 4 south-west from Harleston station and 4 from Pulham
St. Mary the Virgin station, in the Southern division of the county, Earsham
hundred, Depwade union, county court district of Harleston, rural deanery of
Redenhall, archdeaconry of Norfolk and diocese of Norwich.
A bridge over the river Waveney connects this place with Syleham, in Suffolk. The church of SS. Peter and Paul is an ancient structure of flint with stone dressings, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, south aisle, with handsome porch, and square tower containing 6 bells: the old Norman tower has been removed and the present one was completed in 1865: the whole church has been completely restored and the bells re-hung, chiefly by the present rector; the baptistry contains a very handsome font: the whole of the windows are stained.
The register dates from the year 1562. The living is a rectory, yearly value £327, with 25 acres of glebe and good residence, in the gift of and held since 1842 by the Rev. George France M.A. of Exeter College, Oxford. Here is a Wesleyan chapel. Sir Edward Kay, one of the justices of the Supreme Court of Judicature, Chancery Division, is owner of "Thorpe Abbotts," a handsome mansion with extensive grounds. The Grove is the property of the trustees of the late Alfred Septimus Walne. Gervas Holmes J.P., is owner of the Hall estate and lord of the manors of Brockdish Hall and Brockdish Earl, but there are no copyholders.
The soil is mixed; subsoil, clay and gravel. The chief crops are wheat, barley, peas and beans. The area is 1,105 acres; rateable value, £1,895; and the population in 1881 was 434.
Kelly's
Directory for Cambridgeshire, Norfolk & Suffolk, 1883, pp.258-259.