In justice to the merits of the worthy vicar, I hope it will not be thought impertinent to add, that he has been an equal benefactor to the church and the living; that he lives in great harmony with his parishioners, and receives from them that respect, which a constant endeavour to be useful seldom fails to inspire. He was instituted in 1758. The church is dedicated to St. Bartholomew. The vicarage, though of late years much improved by the increased cultivation of the parish, is yet inconsiderable.
The same difficulty which we have to encounter with respecting the origin of Lowestoft Church, presents itself in our enquiry concerning this at Corton, viz.: How so small and inconvenient a village as this seems always to have been, should ever have been able, from any resources of its own, to erect so stately a structure; and if unable of itself, from what other sources did it derive its assistances? In solving this difficulty we must have recourse to the same mode of reasoning as we shall urge hereafter respecting Lowestoft Church, which is, that as the church at Corton was part of the endowment of Leystone Abbey, it is highly probable that this church was first erected and afterwards kept in repair through the assistance of the Abbey, as Lowestoft Church was by the priory of St. Bartholomew, in London.
After the dissolution of the monasteries, when no further assistance could be received from those institutions, and the parish being unable of itself to keep such structure in repair, the building fell to ruin. And the case would have been the same with respect to Lowestoft Church, notwithstanding it was a much larger parish, had not a benefaction of lands, expressly given for repairing and ornamenting the same, been happily recovered at the dissolution of the priory, and prevented the like misfortune.
It is supposed that the village of Corton, in former times, was much larger than it is at present. It is certain there were two churches in the parish, or, at least, a chapel of ease to the mother church; the small remains, still visible at a place called the Gate, tend to confirm the latter opinion, as the old foundations of houses discovered in different parts of the parish, lead to evince the former. Probably the parish had arrived at its most opulent state about the 13th century, when the mouth of Yarmouth haven had extended almost to this place; which added to the adjoining situation of Kirkley road, must occasion a great resort of fishermen, from different parts of the kingdom, to this village.
Some centuries ago there was, contiguous to Corton, another parish called Newton, of which scarce any other vestiges are now remaining, than a stone which supported a cross, called Newton cross, and a small piece of ground, called Newton green; almost every other part of this parish being swallowed up by the sea.
It appears, that in the year 1408, 10th of Henry IV., Yarmouth haven made near Newton Cross; and Swinden informs us, “that the charges and monies bestowed and spente in and aboute repairenge of the haven of the towne of Yarmouthe, and of the fortfienge the same with two greate mayne peeres, which at the firste was cutte a-newe and digged out, into the sea right over agenst the parsonage of Gorleston, and the same haven then runninge alongeste the cliffe as farr as Newton Crosse, was agenst the parsonage stopped up, and there forced to runne into the sea; which was done in the yere of our Saviour 1559. After which tyme, in few yeres, the said haven, for want of two peeres, did eate, and seeke towardes the south, for preventenge of whose olde evell and accustomed course, the towne did begenne this charge, by the advice of a verrye conninge workman, sent for from beyond the sea.”
In 1306 John de Herling, a family of great antiquity in the parish of East Herling, in Norfolk, had free warren allowed him in the manors of Newton and Corton, and died seized of these manors and many others; and left them to his eldest son and heir, Sir John de Herling, Knight, whose brother Robert—a great warrior who followed Henry V. into France, and was killed in 1436—had an estate in Newton and Newton and Corton, as had also Thomas, another brother, at Lounde. The manors of Corton, Newton, Lounde, and Blundeston, together with Lounde advowson, and some others, were in the Herling family, and possessed by lady Anne, daughter and sole heiress of the above Sir Robert, 1408. Soon after she married her third husband, lord Scroop, of Bolton, and was afterwards a great benefactress to Gonvile (afterwards Caius) college, Cambridge; her mother being the heiress of the Gonvile family.
The Yarmouth men attempted also further to prove that that part of the sea called Kirkley Road was opposite to the parish of Kirkley, which is situated about a mile to the south of Lowestoft, notwithstanding the real name of the sea at that place is Pakefield bay.
Kirkley parish lies so contiguous to Pakefield (being separated from it only by the common highway) that it forms a considerable part of what is generally understood by that town. It is situated to the west of Pakefield and on the north side of it lies the lake of Lothing, from whence runs a small inlet, called Kirkley Ham; which, probably, was made use of formerly as a haven for the fishing craft employed by this parish, at the time when the communication between this lake and the sea retained such a sufficient depth of water as to admit vessels of small draught. The chief support of this village, as well as that of Pakefield, arises principally from their fisheries, which formerly were considerable, but are now much declined. It appeared, from an account of the inhabitants of this parish, taken in the year 1676, in pursuance of the penal laws then in force against religious dissenters, that the number amounted to 103, from sixteen years of age and upwards; of which number, 18 were dissenters. Since that time the number of inhabitants has rather increased, whilst that of dissenters has decreased; the former may be owing to the herring fishery being a little revived there; the latter to the toleration which they have since enjoyed; it being evident that the exercise of rigorous measures against religious sects, instead of exterminating them, tends to increase them; probably therefore the relaxing those severities may be the cause of the number decreasing. The church is dedicated to St. Peter, and valued in the King’s books £15 10s.; and till the year 1749 was dilapidated: but this misfortune was in some measure compensated by the minister of Kirkley having permission to make use of the church at Pakefield one part of the Sunday, and the minister of Pakefield to use it on the other part. In this manner both these parishes were supplied for many years, but at length they were parted again. After this separation the incumbent of Kirkley not only declined performing divine service in Pakefield church any longer, but also refused to allow anything to the incumbent of Pakefield for officiating on both parts of the Lord’s day; alledging that he could not legally be compelled to it. The Rev. Mr. Tanner, vicar of Lowestoft, was at that time commissary and official in the archdeaconry of Suffolk; and he failed not to use all the mild persuasive arguments in his power, to prevail on the incumbent of Kirkley to make an allowance, but to no purpose; so that finding him inflexible in his resolution he left him with this threat:—“Sir, if you will not officiate in Pakefield Church I will build you a church at Kirkley, and in that you shall officiate.” Mr. Tanner was as good as his word; for partly at his own expense, and partly with the assistance of his friends and acquaintance, he shortly erected the present church at Kirkley; and divine service has accordingly been performed there ever since. Mr. Tanner collected money from house to house at Lowestoft, and contributed himself twenty guineas. He also preached the first sermon there in the summer, 1750. The old church consisted of two aisles; the north aisle still continues in ruins, and it is only the aisle which constitutes the new church. The steeple is about 72 feet in height, is a good tower, and an excellent sea-mark; but is now somewhat in decay. It contains only one bell. December 5th, 1749, when they began to clear away the rubbish from the ruins of the old church, they discovered (eighteen feet from the east wall, and six from the north) a stone with a brass label containing the following inscription:—“Orate, Pana Thome Melle Clarisi, nup. Rectore, deKerkley, q’ obijit XVIº die augustij Aº do mº VcXXVI cui (ane ppinet des) ame.” That is, “Pray for the soul of Thomas Melle, clerk, late rector of Kirkley, who died 16th day of August, anno. dom. 1526. For whose soul may God provide. Amen.”
And on another label, found in the north isle, a like inscription for one, John Boodherd, who died in August, 1486.