Showing 98 results

Pre-Reformation Records
The main series of pre-reformation records are: the Bishop's registers [DN/REG], the Consistory Court depositions [DN/DEP] and Act Books [DN/ACT] and the estate series which contains title deeds, manor court rolls, obedientary rolls, rentals, surveys and bailiff's accounts relating to St Benet's Abbey [DN/EST]. All these series continued after the Henrician Reformation. (Probate business came before the ecclesiastical courts until the 1857 Probate Act but the records were transferred to the newly-created Norwich District Probate Registry. The early 'administration act books' are office act books.)
There are also three papal bulls: a general confirmation of the rights of St Benet's Abbey to the Bishop of Norwich, 1248 or 1249; a confirmation to St Benet's Abbey of the patronage of the churches of Neatishead, Irstead and Bastwick, 1257; and a confirmation of the appropriation of the churches of Scottow and North Walsham to St Benet's Abbey, 1344 [DN/EST 6/1-3]; letters patent from Richard II to the Bishop of Norwich and others to investigate the rebels in Norfolk and Suffolk, 1381/82 [DN/MSC 1/1]; and a mandate from the Archbishop of Canterbury to the bishop and clergy of the diocese to view the records held by the cathedral, 1395 [DN/MSC 1/2].

Post-Reformation records
The main post-reformation series are: glebe terriers [DN/TER], subscription books [DN/SUB], ordination registers and papers [DN/ORR, DN/ORD], tithe maps and apportionments [DN/TA], Consistory Court files [DN/CON], faculty books and papers [DN/FCB, DN/FCP, DN/FBA], consecration registers and papers [DN/CSR, DN/CSP], meetinghouse licence registers [DN/DIS, DN/ACB], marriage allegation bonds [DN/MLB], presentation deeds [DN/PRE], resignation bonds [DN/RES] and visitation books and papers [DN/VSB, DN/VSC, DN/VSM]. There is also a census of strangers' churches at Norwich and King's Lynn, 1567 [DN/DIS 10].

DN/EST 1-14: Records of St Benet's Abbey

DN/EST 1-6: Records of St Benet's among the Diocesan Archives

DN/EST 1. Bailiff's Account Rolls

DN/EST 2. Manor Court Rolls

DN/EST 3. Obedientiary Rolls

DN/EST 4. Rentals, Surveys, Extents

DN/EST 5. Miscellaneous

DN/EST 6. Papal Bulls

DN/EST 7-13: Records restored to the Diocesan Archives in 1962

DN/EST 7. Title Deeds

DN/EST 8. Manor Court Rolls, Thurne and Ashby

DN/EST 9. Bailiff's Accounts, Flegg

DN/EST 10. Bailiff's Accounts, North Walsham

DN/EST 11. Bailiff's Accounts, Heigham, Potter Heigham, Scottow and Shotesham

DN/EST 12. Obedientiary Rolls

DN/EST 13. Miscellaneous

DN/EST 14: Records restored to the Diocesan Archives in 1981

DN/EST 15: Records relating to the Bishop's estates before the exchange with St Benet's

DN/EST 16-99: Records relating to the Bishop's estates after the exchange with St Benet's

DN/EST 100: St Benet's Obedientiary Rolls restored to the Diocesan Archives in 1999

Records of the estates of St Benet's passed into the diocesan archives and are listed here as DN/EST 1-6.

Few estate records of the bishop of Norwich before the exchange survive: these are listed here as DN/EST 15.

Records of the bishop's estates after 1535 are listed here as DN/EST 16 onwards: little in fact survives earlier than 1641.

In the Middle Ages, the bishop of Norwich held estates in about 50 parishes in Norfolk, 30 parishes in Suffolk and a small number elsewhere. These are listed in Blomefield's 'History of Norfolk', vol. 4, pp 530-539. In 1535, almost all of these estates were granted to the king and the bishop received in exchange the estates of St Benet's abbey, mainly in the north and east of Norfolk (listed in Blomefield's 'History of Norfolk', vol. 4, pp 539-542).

Compiled between 1603-1636, with some late additions. Volumes of notes and transcripts and extracts of documents relating to episcopal property.

The Registers of the Bishops containing principally institutions to benefices but also other matters such as ordinations, commissions, letters dimissory, licences and copies of other letters and documents. This list is not an exhaustive survey of the contents of each volume.

Miscellaneous documents found loose and not clearly belonging to any particular class, listed roughly by date.

These deeds do not relate to ecclesiastical property except in a very few instances.

Depositions, informations, examinations and interrogatories brought to the bishop's Consistory Court. Typical causes involved such issues as breach of marital promises, the restitution of marital rights, and the examination of disputed marriages either through consanguinity or bigamy, along with the probate of wills, and other testamentary issues such as the authorization of nuncupative wills, the examination of additional will clauses, and disputes over unpaid legacies, or corrupt executors. Other societal issues such as slander (defaming another's good reputation or standing within the community) were tried at the Court. Sexual morality was also regulated by the Church, with causes concerning charges of adultery and fornication (pre-marital sexual activity) frequently being brought before the Court, and accusations of the same were often at the root of defamation causes. In addition, the Court heard causes relating to the defense of church rights and property, particularly issues such as the non-payment of tithes, the misappropriation of church goods, the dilapidation of benefice buildings, church chancels and glebe property and the rights to certain pews in local churches. Matters of heresy and irreverency against the church, its ministers and buildings, along with parishioners' non-attendance at divine service were all within the Court's purview. In addition, faculties and other licences were issued by the Court, including those regulating mid-wives and schoolmasters. Of course, the Consistory Court was also the body in which matters of clerical delinquency might be addressed. Immoral, drunken, schismatical, contentious or otherwise scandalous clergy could all be reported (by their parishioners and other observers) to diocesan officials, and if action was taken, it would be in the Consistory Court that their causes would be heard.

These consist of unrelated material boxed together, roughly in order of date, for convenience.

Citations, libels and allegations, interrogatories and sentence papers

Registers and lists of persons ordained deacon, or priest, occasionally noting the examination of a candidate's literacy (often expressed in terms of their college degree), their title (that is, proof of possession of a curacy, benefice, college fellowship or other means of subsistence suitable to the ordinand's new order) and letters dimissory from the bishop of a stranger's 'native diocese' (that is, a letter from another bishop recommending a candidate for ordination).

This category consists of stray parish records.

Presentations deeds; with some grants of the next turn, resignations, notes of collations and a few other related documents.