The Bishop’s Transcripts for these years record a total of 628 burials in Itteringham. However, a number of years are missing from the microfiches – 1844, 1845, 1848, 1849, 1852, 1867, 1868 and 1875 – and while their total numbers of burials are included their detailed information is not currently available.

So, in total, Itteringham averaged 7 burials per year across the 90 years. But the pattern by decade is rather heavily skewed to the 1820s to 1850s. Without reviewing the census for population figures we cannot tell whether this skew is the result of higher mortality or simply a reflection of a bigger village in the first part of the century.

We can look at deaths for the whole sample…

…or just for the whole decades - perhaps a better analysis, which shows the peak in the 1840s and 1850s:

Across the 90 years there were 16 years that had 10 or more burials and so were noticeably above the average. The leading year, by quite a margin, was 1850 with 19 burials. Equal second came 1841, 1855 and 1858 with 13. The others were spread across the whole period. There were no instances of 2 years together being above average (unless 1848 and 1849 detail shows a peak in 1849).

1850 was an interesting year. Cholera was widespread at the time in the UK. It is possible that the peak of burials in Itteringham indicates its arrival here. This theory gains some credibility given the fact that 14 of the 19 burials were of children aged 7 or under. This is a particularly high infant mortality rate for the village.

However, young children were vulnerable. Under-10 year olds accounted for 29%, or nearly a third, of all burials.

The age data by decade is skewed by the missing years. However, the 1850s seem to show under-10 year olds accounting for approximately 43% of all burials – way above the expected rate.

Our perception these days is that the nineteenth century was not a time of great longevity. Certainly this is true at a national level. However the envigorating North Norfolk air may well have been doing its stuff – just look at the number of burials of those over 60. Of the 5 that beat 90, the champion was Elizabeth Gidney buried at 99 in Jun 1818 – just short of a telegram!

Did the month of the year matter? Our instinct would be to expect the winter months to be above average. In fact as the table shows the average monthly share is quite close to the average (8.3%) across the year. The worst 3-month period were February to April and March to May with 30% of the burials, with April to June just behind at 29%. December to February was near the lowest at 22%.

Although the sample sizes are small, there is some indication of death from contagious disease within families (or at least those with the same surname). For example, in 1850 alone there were burials of 3 Aytons, 2 Newsteads, 2 Slippers and 2 Bretts. In 1843, another big year, a similar pattern could be seen with 3 Baxters, 3 Bretts and 2 Godfreys.

And that brings us on to names. So you thought that Smith is or was the most frequent surname in the UK. Well maybe so, but not in Itteringham in the nineteenth century. The winner, by a massive margin, was Ayton. Here are the top 7 with the number of mentions spotted:

Ayton 49

Baxter 29

Brett 23

Barwick or Berwick 16

Lee 15

Alexander 13

And, at last, Smith 13

Other surnames that crop up fairly often and might be spotted in the graveyard include:

At a rough count these 25 most frequently seen names account for 289 entries – some 53% of the 540 legible names.

And what about first names? These are even more concentrated. The 18 most popular male and female names together account for 372 entries or 69% of the legible total. Here are the number of mentions for the winners:

A fairly biblical lot. Interestingly the long running royals of the era did not get much of a look in – simply no sign of a Victoria or an Albert! Perhaps the most striking Christian name and the most poignant entry is of Christmas Fowell, buried in September 1874 aged 20 months.

As we would expect, most of the entries show Itteringham as the place of abode. But there were a number from the surrounding parishes (particularly Mannington, Wolterton and Aylsham). Some of these had their Rector or Vicar from their own parish as the Officiating Minister – a forerunner in a way of our parish groupings. Another reminder that these were not easy times for the village comes from the three entries with Aylsham Union as the abode between 1870 and 1895. This was the poorhouse for the area and the three names are all Itteringham regulars – Baxter, Brett and Hannant.

Finally, who did the burials? Well, we have a clear winner. Peter Elwin started doing burials as the Curate in 1851. Robert Walpole was then the rector. In 1857 the new (now old) rectory was built and Peter Elwin is first listed as Rector in February 1857. He sees out the data. He was still officiating at burials in 1902.

Copyright © William Vaughan-Lewis

January 2003

Footnote: Itteringham’s parish registers have since been lodged at the NRO and are available on microfilm. This analysis could be done more accurately, but the main conclusions would remain the same.