THETFORD

This article appears in Volume V26, Page 844 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: THE-TOO

THETFORD ,. a market town and municipal borough of England, mostly in the south-western parliamentary division of Norfolk, but partly in the Stowmarket division of Suffolk, 9! M. N.N.E. from London by the Great Eastern railway. Pop. (1901) 4613. The town lies in a level, fertile country at the junction of the river Thet with the Little Ouse. In the time of Edward III. the town had twenty churches and eight monasteries There are now three churchesSt Peter's, St Cuthbert's and St Mary'sprincipally of Perpendicular flint work; of these St Mary's, on the Suffolk side, is the largest. There are a few monastic. remains, the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

being two gate-houses. The most important relic of antiquity is the Castle Hill, a mound moo ft. in circumference and moo ft. in height. The grammar school was founded in i6ro. In King Street is the mansion-

house

occupied as a hunting-

lodge

by Queen Elizabeth and James I. The

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

public buildings are a gild

hall

and a mechanics' institute; there are several charities. Brewing and tanning are carried on; and there are also manure and chemical works, brick- and lime-kilns, flour-mills and agricultural implement works, engineering works and iron foundries. The Little Ouse is navigable for barges down to
the Great Ouse. Thetford is a suffragan bishopric in the diocese of Norwich. The town is governed by. 'a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors. Area, 7096 acres.
Early antiquaries identified Thetford (Theodford, Tetford, Tefford) with Sitomagus, but modern research shows that there is no conclusive evidence of a permanent settlement before the coming of the Angles. Tradition tells that Uffa, who probably threw up the earthworks called the Castle Hill, established the

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

of East Anglia here about 575. Thetford owned a royal mint in the 9th century and was a flourishing town when the Conqueror acquired it. Richard I. granted it to Hamelin,

Earl

EARL

Warenne, and when his heirs failed, it merged in the duchy of

Lancaster

and so in the crown. About 'no its principal officers were a mayor and

coroner

CORONER

, afterwards assisted by eight burgesses, whom Henry VIII. increased to ten. The town, never very prosperous since the Conquest, had then fallen into great decay, but the petitions of the burgesses for a charter were not heeded till 1573 when Elizabeth incorporated it under a mayor and common council. This charter, restored in 1692 after its surrender to Charles II., remained in force till 1835 when the borough was re-constituted. Thetford returned two members to parliament from 1529 till its disfranchisement in 1868. Its Saturday market, which certainly existed in the 13th century, was granted by the charter of 1573 and also a Magdalen

fair

FAIR

(the 22nd of July). Fisheries were important in the 13th century.
See A. L. Hunt,

Capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

of East Anglia (187o) ; T. Martin, History of Thetford (1779).

End of Article: THETFORD

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/THE_TOO/THETFORD.html">
THETFORD
</a>

(Previous)
THESSALY

(Next)
THETIS

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email