{"id":16221,"date":"2021-04-11T12:27:35","date_gmt":"2021-04-11T11:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marthamnorfolk.co.uk\/?page_id=16221"},"modified":"2026-07-11T12:37:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:37:39","slug":"garnham-family-of-martham","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marthamnorfolk.co.uk\/?page_id=16221","title":{"rendered":"Garnham Family of Martham"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Garnham Family of Martham<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Garnham\u2019s are one of a small group of families at the top of society in Martham during the 18th<\/sup>\/19th<\/sup> centuries. Living around the Village Green<\/a><\/em> and White Street<\/a><\/em> they were inter-related by marriage to the Clabon, Creasey, Cubit, Manship, Proctor, Rising<\/em> <\/a>and Robins families. The group was made up of yeoman, landowners and shopkeepers and would have socialised together as well as meeting via common business interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally the Garnhams hailed from Itteringham(1)<\/sup>, near Alysham, North Norfolk where they held significant leasehold farms at The Manor and its dairy farm at nearby Elmerdale. They first made an appearance at Martham when John Garnham (1719-1787)<\/a><\/em> was listed in the West Flegg Poll Book<\/a><\/em> on account of being a property owner at Martham although the property was occupied by a Thomas Playford.  <\/p>\n\n\n

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1768 West Flegg (Martham) Poll Book<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

John Garnham (1719-1787) & Kezia, nee Eldridge (1723-1801)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Family tree of John & Kezia Garnham<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

John was born in 1719; his parents were John & Mary Garnham but regrettably lost Martham church registers for that period mean we only pick him up working as a cooper in about 1750 at Martham(1).  <\/sup>Similarly, there is no record of his marriage but we know he married Kezia Eldridge sometime before 1755 and they went on to have the following children:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Kezia Garnham who was born in about 1755. She married Thomas Gardiner on 7th<\/sup>  February 1775 at St Mary the Virgin,<\/a><\/em> Martham. She has a grave next to her parents at St Mary\u2019s<\/a><\/em> \u2013 see below.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Richard Garnham was born in 1759 and baptised at St Mary the Virgin<\/a><\/em> on 25th<\/sup> February that year. He married Mary Cubit on 19th<\/sup> October 1780 at St Mary\u2019s<\/a><\/em>. They had 14 children and there is more about them below.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. William John Garnham was born in 1761 and was baptised at St Mary\u2019s<\/a><\/em> on 11th<\/sup> August that year. He married Susanna Ivory on 30th<\/sup> September 1783 at Saint Peter Parmentergate, Norwich. They had five children but very sadly Susanna died in child birth with another in 1797 and is buried at St Mary\u2019s<\/a><\/em>, Martham. There are records that indicate William married a second time to a lady called Elizabeth but I cannot find any other information about her. William died at Norwich on 11th<\/sup> May 1829, aged 68.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Robert Garnham was born in about 1764 but little else is known about him(1)<\/sup>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. John Garnham was their fifth child of which almost nothing is known but he seems to have lived until at least 1802 based on tentative inheritance records(1).<\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Two of the above became established at Martham. Firstly Richard & Mary, nee Cubit who had the large family and secondly, William (1761-1829) who married Susanna Ivory \u2013 see below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    John Snr. died, aged 68, at Martham on 3rd<\/sup> June 1787 as did Kezia, aged 78 in 1801. They were both buried at St Mary\u2019s<\/a><\/em> in adjoining graves in the neat little row of Garnham graves that are at plots C2 to C8 in section F near the great east window of the church. John was buried on 7th<\/sup> June 1787 and Kezia on 6th<\/sup> April 1801.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    Five of the eight Garnham graves in section F, plots c2 to c8 at St Mary the Virgin.<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Richard Garnham (1759-1836) & Mary, nee Cubit (1759-1810)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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    Family tree of Richard & Mary Garnham<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Mary was born at Martham as the daughter of Benjamin Cubit & Mary, nee Proctor. Her maternal grandfather was Phillip Proctor <\/a><\/em>(1704-1778) who lived at The Hall, Hall Road <\/a><\/em>and was Lord of the Manor<\/a><\/em> from 1741 to 1778. His son, Robert, who was Mary\u2019s uncle, then became the Lord of the Manor <\/a><\/em>until 1781.  This high-level family connection may have been one of the reasons the Garnhams were attracted to Martham. Mary died in 1810 and is buried at Itteringham. Richard Garnham spent many years at Itteringham where he was the tenant farmer of one of the largest farms in the village. He was a church warden and overseer of the parish poor rate, collecting  funds from land owners and managing distribution. Land Tax records show that he was at the Manor House farm at Itteringham from 1789 to about 1823(1)<\/sup>. He was also listed in the Martham poll book<\/a><\/em> of 1802  as Richard \u2018of Itteringham’ based on property or land he owned there but by 1823 he had moved to Martham permanently and died there in 1836. He was buried at St Mary the Virgin <\/a><\/em>at Martham. Broken parts of his gravestone have been laid near the west wall of the graveyard and consequently his exact burial plot is unknown but it would be surprising if its original position was not with the other Garnham family members at plots C2 to C8 in section F.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    Broken gravestone of Richard Garnham<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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    \"Graveyard
    The Garnham plots are from C2 to C8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    As mentioned previously Richard & Mary had 14 children but six died in infancy who were Robert 1781-1782; Mary Clementina 1782-1782; Kezia who died 1784; Edward 1795-1795;  George who died in 1785 and there was a daughter called Elizabeth for whom nothing is known except that she died in about 1790 at Itteringham probably again shortly after her birth.
    Another son called Cubit died aged 10 in 1801. There were further tragedies in 1832 when two of their daughters Jane and Rhoda both died of consumption within a week of each other at Itteringham. Jane was 18 and Rhoda was 22. Their other five children were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n