| There have been a number of vicars in Mattishall
- the Rev. Madoc was vicar until his death in the
1930's. Rev. Graham took over and was not very well
received by the villagers as he was considered a 'foreigner'.
He was rather eccentric and had a flat, black straw
Roman Catholic type hat. Florrie Green was the church
organist and George Randal was Parish Clerk. During
the winter the church caretaker Roper Land used to
light the furnace on Sundays but it gave out very
little heat and the congregation used to call it 'Holy
Smoke'
Church anniversaries were held by the methodists
on Neaves Meadow. A stage was erected and lots of
the villagers came Dressed in their Sunday best. Recitations,
songs and short readings were enjoyed by all. On a
Tuesday each week the children and members of the
church went round the village accompanied by a piano
or harmonium tied to a cart belonging to Wesley Lusher.
They sang hymns until teatime when they would go to
Mr. Marshall Cole's barn in Welgate Road for tea.
Afterwards they would play on his meadow until dark.
If you did not belong to the Chapel you were allowed
in the meadow by paying 3d.
At the time of the Coronation all the villagers went
to the church to watch on a television erected by
Mr. Grief who ran the village electrical shop.
There used to be Sunday school outings to Yarmouth,
Lowestoft and Hunstanton using Farrow's lorries. Later
Thompson's charabanes were used but you had to pay.
During the war outings used to be to Ringland Hills
as the seaside resorts were out of bounds. A steam
engine being driven by Chris Orton Snr. was hired
from Farrows. The children were picked up at Mattishall
Church for a bumpy ride on bales on straw. If the
wind blew the wrong way the children were covered
in soot smuts from the steam engine. Andrew Moore
who worked in Norton's bakery was a good bell ringer
and a Mr. Wright who was a grave digger rang the church
bell when somebody died. The church bell was originally
the curfew bell.
There was also a Primitive Methodist chapel behind
Hewitts the butchers on the Plain.
The Congregational chapel was at Old Moor. The organ
from the Old Moor as well as the pews are now in the
current chapel. They did not celebrate church anniversaries.
The Quakers also had a chapel and a burial ground
on the road to Dereham.
There was a Methodist chapel which was built in front
of the Duke of Edinburgh pub. Quite a lot pf the children
used to attend the chapel three times a day on a Sunday.
Connie Hill used to play the squeeze box. They also
went to Scripture Union which was held in a hall behind
The Swan and Edith Bear used to collect subscriptions.
There was a different teacher each week at the Chapel,
either Mr. Lusher, Mr. Leveridge or either of the
two Mr Horne's
There used to be lantern lectures at the United Reform
Chapel
Amy Grix took Sunday School at Burgh Church
There are still two lampposts in the churchyard which
used to have a glass top on. |