Antony Norris facts for kids
Antony Norris (born November 17, 1711 – died June 14, 1786) was an English lawyer and a person who loved studying old things, known as an antiquarian. For many years, he worked hard to create a detailed history of the eastern part of Norfolk, a county in England.
Early Life and Career
Antony Norris came from a well-known family in Norwich, Norfolk. His family had many important roles in the city. He was born in 1711 and went to Norwich Grammar School. Later, he studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
After college, Antony Norris became a lawyer. He joined the Middle Temple, which is one of the places where lawyers train in London, and became a qualified lawyer in 1735 when he was 24. He also held important positions in Norfolk, serving as a deputy lieutenant and as one of the chairmen for the local court sessions between 1761 and 1781.
In 1737, he married Sarah Custance. They had one son, John, who was also very bright and followed in his father's footsteps, studying at the same schools. Sadly, John passed away in 1762 from an illness when he was still young. This was a very difficult time for Antony Norris.
A Passion for History
After losing his son, Antony Norris found comfort and purpose in his love for history, especially the history of his home county, Norfolk. He had enough money and time to dedicate himself fully to this passion. He felt a strong desire to learn about the old days and people of Norfolk.
He spent a huge amount of time, effort, and money putting together what many people consider one of the most complete county histories ever written. He planned to cover the entire eastern part of Norfolk, an area that other historians had not focused on much. He managed to complete detailed histories for several areas, including East and West Flegg, Happing, and Tunstead. He also started on North Erpingham before he passed away. His completed work filled over 1,600 very detailed pages.
Norris had a very organized way of working. Because he was friends with the Bishop of Norwich and held a respected position in the county, he was allowed to take original old books of wills from the Norwich registry to his home. He carefully went through these books, taking extensive notes. These notes alone filled over 1,700 pages and contained information about tens of thousands of family names. He kept these notes well-indexed, which helped him create very accurate family trees and historical details.
He also collected six large books with over 2,800 pages of notes on old monuments and family symbols (called coats of arms) found in Norfolk. These books included thousands of drawings of these symbols. He also had five books of notes from old Norfolk legal documents. From all these sources, he created two volumes of Norfolk family trees, with 305 detailed family histories.
His Legacy
In 1785, when Antony Norris was unwell, his wife gave his valuable collection of manuscripts to John Fenn, another antiquarian. John Fenn had been a college friend of Norris's son and was also a friend of Norris himself.
Antony Norris passed away on June 14, 1786, in Barton Turf, and his wife died a year later. Both were buried at Barton Church. In 1788, John Fenn wrote a short biography about Norris.
Most of Antony Norris's historical collections were later bought by Walter Rye, another famous historian. These collections are still very important for people who want to learn about the history of Norfolk.
See Also
- John Fenn (antiquarian)
- Walter Rye
