The Heritage of Paston Village

We've grouped together here some of the activities undertaken by the Paston Heritage Society leading up to the Footprints project. They focus on the parish of Paston in north-east Norfolk – from medieval times through to the present day.

In the years after the Paston family had moved from Paston Hall to Oxnead Hall, and then on to various other locations around Norfolk, many other changes took place. The parish church remains an important focus for the village, and there are plans to develop it further for community use. The Paston almshouses continue to be an important resource. The great barn built at the end of the 16th century stands beside the coast road as a prominent feature. And into the 21st century, the neighbouring Bacton gas terminal continues to provide substantial input into the energy needs of the whole of the United Kingdom.

Census 1841 As with many towns and villages across the country, the census records provide an insight into the population of times past. Here you can meet all the residents of Paston in the year 1841, search for them by name or occupation and see overall pictures of the village by the use of graphs.

Investigating the Census Data Here's a page to help you use the above link.

Census Records - Background Information If you're not used to exploring census information, this page give some useful links so that you can understand how and what information was collected - and continues to be collected - in the national census undertaken every ten years.

St Margaret's Church An introduction to St Margaret's Church at Paston.

Recollections from the 1930s John Capes recalls growing up in Paston in the 1930s.

Paston Pictures from Times Past A few photographs from the village in bygone eras.

Digging Test Pits at Paston In May 2012 Paston Heritage Society, in conjunction with the University of Cambridge, dug a number of archaeological test pits in the village.