Deopham Town House

Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Bishop’s accusations
3. Thomas Amyas’ Account
4. Location
5. Footnotes
6. Navigation

Introduction

“Town House” was another name for a building used to house the poor of the village – later referred to as almshouses. There is reference to a Town House in Deopham in the record of Bishop Redman’s visitation in 1597. There appear to be two versions of the situation he encountered.

The Bishop’s accusations

Firstly, the bishop recorded that Thomas Amyas had received £18 to build a Town House which he had not spent as intended. The bishop also accused Thomas Amyas and his wife Francis as being fined for recusancy¹, this is described as follows²:

DEOPHAM
Thomas Amyas, gent. He hath not receaved the Comunion many yeares past & absenteth himself sondrey tymes from devine service. He receaved of the Lo: Cheef Justice Wraye & Judge Anderson xviij li. to the use of the poore, according to the statute of recusants, and never made any account of the same. [12 January exhibited the account.]
Francis, his wife. For the same. For not receaving the Comunion nor frequenting his church.
John Amyas, Arthur Amias. For the same.
[Thomas Cooper, William Beale], John Bidwell, Robert Cocke, churchwardens.
The forfeiture of xijd. for absence from church hath not bene levied [Said that they were not churchwardens at the time of the visitation.]

Thomas Amyas’ Account

Secondly, a paper inserted into the record dated October 19^th 1584 (13 years before the bishop’s visitation) details the expenditure incurred by Thomas Amyas and Thomas Cooper in the construction of the “Towne howse”, and identifies Umfrey Bedingfield, esquire, as the recusant. The building was described as being 32 feet long, 16 feet wide and with a double chimney³:

The Accompt & Reckenyng of Thomas Amyas & Thomas Cooper of Depham fore xviijli. by them Receyved for the poore of the sayd Towne to be by thaire dyscrecion Imployed and Received from the Justyce of Assyse at Thetford the fyrst day of Apryll in the xxvjth yere of the Raygne of ower soveraygne lady queane Elizabeth at the thyrde part of the yerly Revenewe of Umfrey Bedingfeld, esquire, Recusant, on the Statute of A xxiij Eliz. for not comeng to Churche⁴.

		£	s	d
Fyrst dystrybuted & gyven to & Amonge five score poore persons and other wythin the sayd Towne the fyfte of Apryll then folowyng	xxviijs. ijd		28	2
Item to dyvers of them havyng moost neade the xxvjth of Apryll & iiijth of Julij folowing	vijs. iiijd.		7	4
To Thomas Elmyn, Thomas Benyes & two sarvents & other workemen Carpen-tars makyng of one neadefull towne howse conteynyng xxxij fote longe wyth dubble chymney by the space of lxx dayes in all at vjd the day one & other.	xxxvs.		35	0
For theyre dyett & bourde the sayd dayes at vjd. the dayes.	xxxvs.		35	0
For xxx Cupple of ashen sparres bowght at Funnell wood & for caryage of them by John Newman from thence.	xxs.		20	0
For the Rest of the Tymber & wood to the sayd howse in all besyde doores & wyndowes.	iiijli.	4	0	0
For Caryage of the same to the place to be Raysed.	vjs. viijd.		6	8
For Carpyntars & other laborers Raysyng the same house wyth meate & dryncke	vjs. viijd.		6	8
For Stubbyng the grownde wheare the howse standyth	xijd.			12
To two Clay men dawbyng the same & dubble Chymney splentyng & Rammyng the same by the greite.	xxvijs. vd.		27	5
For splenttes to the same fetchyd from Skoulton at severall tymes & of burrowe & caryage.	xxs.		20	0
For Hempe to the same	ijs. vjd.		2	6
For barley strawe to the same & caryage & splentts	ijs. vjd.		2	6
For vij faddowe of Rede & caryage from Norwytche for fleking	iiijs. vjd.		4	6
Total		£13	6	9

Location

The location of Deopham’s Town House is likely to have been in Town House Lane.

Footnotes

1. Recusancy is the refusal to attend the parish church. ↩︎
2. Norfolk Record Society, Vol. XVIII, Diocese of Norwich. Bishop Redman’s Visitation. 1597. Presentations in the Archdeaconries of Norwich, Norfolk, and Suffolk, published 1946, page 99. ↩︎
3. Ibid Page 163. ↩︎
4. Statute of 23 Elizabeth (1581), officially the “Act to retain the Queen’s Majesty’s Subjects in their due Obedience,” was a harsh English law designed to crush Catholicism, making it treason to persuade subjects to convert from the Church of England to Rome or promise loyalty to the Pope, increasing fines for church absenteeism to £20 monthly (a huge sum), and punishing priests and anyone aiding them. ↩︎

Navigation

Date	Change
29/12/25	Published