Here it may not be improper to add, that the noble families of the Howards and the Walpoles appear to have originated in Marshland.—The ancestors of the former, sometime after the conquest, bore the name of Wigenhale, or de Wigenhale, from that being their place of residence, and where they had their most considerable possessions. In the 12th century lived a notable person of this family, whose name was Sir William de Wigenhale, and who, it seems, went sometimes under the name of William de Clenchwarton, from his having large possessions in that parish. John, the Son of this William, in the 13th century, took the surname of Howard, (on what account does not appear,) and his descendants have borne that name ever since. William, the son of this John Howard, became one of the most eminent lawyers and distinguished characters of his time, being Lord Chief Justice of England, in the reign of Edward I. and one of that King’s privy Council. He owned the manor of East Winch, and the manor-house there appears to have been his principal seat, and where the family chiefly resided for some generations. In the chapel of St. Mary’s, on the south side of East Winch church, supposed to have been built by him, he and many of his earlier descendants are said to have been buried. The Howard family continued to reside at East Winch till towards the close of the 14th Century, and perhaps longer. Sir William’s great grandson, Sir Robert Howard, lived there, and there, it seems, he died and was buried, in 1388.—Sir William Howard rendered much good service, of some sort, to the corporation of Lynn, of which that body was not insensible, as appears by divers presents, which he and his lady received in return;—such as the carcase of an ox, one time, to lady Howard, which, with the conveying of it to Winch, cost eleven shillings, a sum equal, no doubt, to many pounds of our money. Another time a present of wine, together with two calves, and a collar, or shield of brawn, were sent as a present to Sir William, and valued at thirteen shillings. Another time, two salmons were sent to Sir William, on the vigil of Easter, valued at eleven shillings; [131] which, compared with the value of the other articles, seems to indicate, that salmon was a very great rarity at that period.—Such was the origin of the far-famed House of Howard, which has been long since divided into so many noble branches, and makes so conspicuous a figure in the British Annals, and whose chief is now, and has long been the first peer of the realm.
As to the Walpole family, it appears to be no less ancient than that of the Howards, although it did not rise so soon to very great eminence. Like the Howards, or rather the Wigenhales, it first appeared among the opulent Marshland families, not long after the conquest; but whether either of these families is of Saxon, Danish, or Norman descent, does not appear. The Walpole family took its name from the town of Walpole in Marshland, where the forefathers of the family resided, and had large possessions. Reginald de Walpole, who lived in the reign of Henry I. is thought the lineal ancestor of the present family. His son, Richard de Walpole, married Emma the daughter of Walter de Havelton (or de Houghton) of Houghton, in Norfolk. From that time, the family, or the principal branch of it, fixed its residence at Houghton, where it has continued almost ever since. Sir John Walpole, knight, was a favourite of Henry III. whom he accompanied in his expedition to Britany. His son, Sir Henry de Walpole, was a Judge, about the 50th year of the same king’s reign. Another of the family, Ralph de Walpole, was about the same time bishop of Ely, and afterward of Norwich. [132] Some of the family, at different times, long after the removal of one branch to Houghton, appear to reside at Walpole; and in the reign of Henry VII. we find the owner of Houghton residing at Lynn, as appears by his Will, where he is called Thomas Walpole, Esquire, of Lynne Bishop. In that Will, among other things, he leaves certain lands and tenements at Walpole, “to the brodirhode of the Holy Trinity at Lynne Bishop, to the intent the Alderman and Skyvens of the said Gylde shall find and pay yerly eight marks to the wages of an abil prest to synge mess perpetually for his sowl, and the sowl of Jone his wife, in the chapel of our Lady, in the chapel of St. Nicholas in Lynne.”—For many ages the Walpoles made no mean figure among the Norfolk gentry; but none of them appear to have been advanced to the peerage till the eighteenth century; since which time, they have ranked among the principal nobility of the kingdom. But of the whole race, from first to last, the most distinguished and memorable character was the famous Sir Robert Walpole, prime minister to our two first sovereigns, of the present dynasty, and afterward created Earl of Orford; of whom some account will be given in the next chapter, section IV.
Here it may be added, that the family of the Coneys has also, for some ages, figured among the principal inhabitants of Marshland. They seem however, to have been originally of Lynn, and to have ranked, at a pretty distant period, among the principal people of that town. Some of their modern descendants are said to have prided themselves, not a little, on the score of their remote ancestry, but as the remarkable, or memorable part of the history of those remote ancestors of the family, or even the very names of more than one of them, [134] have not yet come to the knowledge of the present writer; it cannot be expected that he should say any more here about them.—The pride of ancestry, or the plea of being descended from renowned progenitors, is often very idle and childish, especially when none of the eminent or estimable traits which distinguished and characterized those progenitors are discoverable in their descendants.
CHAP. III.
Of the parts about Lynn, on the eastern side of the Ouse.
Section I.
Aspect of the country—its agriculture and rural economy—Wayland Wood—Memoir of Shuckforth—parish churches and other edifices, ancient and modern.
After passing from Marshland to the eastern side of the Ouse, the country presently begins to exhibit a very different appearance. The surface now ceases to be flat and even as before, and the very soil appears considerably altered and diversified. A light sandy soil soon presents itself, and the land becomes higher and comparatively hilly, as well as in general much less fertile and productive than in Marshland. The style, or mode and process of agriculture also differs considerably, as do likewise even the very implements of husbandry. There are certainly some slovenly farmers on this eastern side, but there are many others who manage their farms in a manner greatly superior to what is generally done on the other side of the river. Indeed the comparative poorness of the soil here may operate in no small degree as a spur to superior exertion and improvement. Where the land is poor nature requires the greater attention and assistance; and without skilful, laborious, and expensive management the cultivator cannot expect to thrive. Those farmers who have distinguished themselves, by a close attention to the pursuit of wise projects of agricultural improvement, have found their account abundantly in so doing. They have generally attained to considerable opulence, so as to be able to exhibit the appearance of wealthy independent country gentleman, instead of a servile, cringing yeomanry or tenantry. Not a few of them are supposed to live as well as their landlords: but the conduct of some of them towards the poor has been thought cruel and tyrannical.
Dairies are said to be here rather neglected, and the farmers’ attention chiefly directed to tillage and the growing of corn. The cheese is for the most part very ordinary and poor, and the butter not excellent.—No part of England exceeds Norfolk, or even equals it, in the culture of turnips, for which its loose, light, and sandy soil is thought to be very favourable. Much dependence is here placed on the turnip crop, for subsisting the sheep and cattle during the winter season; and if it fail, or is materially injured by early frosts, or other means, the complaints become loud, and the consequences often prove serious and distressing.
The turnip was only cultivated in gardens, as a culinary plant in this country till the reign of George I. when Lord Townshend, an ancestor of the present marquis, who had attended the king to Hanover, as secretary of state, observing the profit and utility of the field cultivation of turnips in that electorate, on his return brought with him the seed and recommended it to his tenants who occupied land of a similar quality to that of Hanover. The experiment succeeded adequate to expectation: the practice gradually spread over the county, and made its way into other parts of the kingdom. This important root, the great source of abundance to the county, has been gradually rising to its present state, for upwards of seventy years—A good acre of turnips in Norfolk will produce between thirty and forty cart-loads, as heavy as three horses can draw; and an acre will fat a Scotch bullock from forty to fifty stone, or eight sheep. But the advantage of this crop does not end here, for it generally leaves the land so clean and in such fine condition, that it almost insures a good crop of barley, and a kind plant of clover; and the clover is a most excellent preparative for wheat, so that in the subsequent advantages the value of the turnip can hardly be estimated. It has however been observed, that the cultivation of this root has reached its acme; and that at present, from some latent causes, it is on the decline: for recently more seed is become necessary, and the crop is said to be more precarious. Some have attributed it to the want of deeper ploughing, and instances have been adduced of the extraordinary depth to which turnips, and even wheat will radicate. This however has been thought insufficient to affix the cause of failure to shallow ploughing. [137]