Melton Constable, Norfolk

Description
Melton Constable, a parish in Norfolk, 5 1/2 miles SW by S of Holt, and 8 ENE from Fakenham. It has an important junction station on the Midland and Great Northern Joint railway, and a post, money order, and telegraph office (S.O.) Acreage, 1722; population of the civil parish, 393; of the ecclesiastical, with Burgh Parva and Briston, 1503. The manor was given by William the Conqueror to the Bishop of Thetford; was held under the bishop by Eoger de Lyons; continued to be held by his descendants, who assumed the name of Mealton, with sometimes the affix of De Constable, in allusion to their office under the bishop; and passed several centuries ago to the Astleys, to whom it still belongs. Lord Hastings is sole landowner. Melton Hall is the seat of Lord Hastings; was built in 1680 by Sir J. Astley; is a handsome square edifice of brick and stone with four fronts, and with an elegant interior; and stands in a fine park about 4 miles in circuit, containing a tower which commands a charming view of the surrounding country to the sea. The repairing shops and permanent way depot of the Midland and Great Northern Joint railway, formerly the Eastern and Midlands railway, are in this parish. The living is a rectory, united with the rectory of Burgh Parva, in the diocese of Norwich; gross value, £242. Patron, Lord Hastings. The church, a small but ancient building of Hunstanton stone, consists of nave, chancel, and two transeptal wings, with a central tower.