Rev. Richard Spurgeon (1767-1842). Curate of St Mary the Virgin, Martham
Boo hiss!!
Richard Spurgeon was a curate at St Mary the Virgin, Martham from about 1797 to 1811 during which time he officiated at baptisms and many marriages.
St Mary the Virgin is famed for its stained glass and one favourite is an illustration of Eve spinning as shown here:
In the late 18th century, there were two more complimentary windows making a set of three. One showed Adam digging with his spade and the other illustrated Adam & Eve walking through the Garden of Eden; they are shown here:-
Richard must have taken a shine to these because when he became the Rector at St Mary Magdalene, Mulbarton in 1811 he took the two windows with him and they can now be seen in the east window of Mulbarton Church.
Richard was born in 1767 at Great Yarmouth and was baptised there on 25th August that year. He was educated at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge and having completed his studies was ordained a deacon on 8th August 1790 at Norwich Cathedral. He was made a priest on 25th September 1791 in a ceremony at the Bishops Palace Chapel in Norwich. He was employed as a curate in 1791 at Lowestoft and six years later was ordained as a Rector on 12th January 1797. Having achieved that he was employed as a Rector between 19th September 1804 and 6th February 1805 at Coppenhall, Staffordshire.
His key promotion was being employed as the Rector at Mulbarton in 1812 and he remained there until his death on 19th May 1842.
Sources: Appointment information courtesy of the: Clergy of the Church of England Database at https://theclergydatabase.org.uk