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Chapter 1
The Move Westwards
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On the coastal road of North Norfolk, between the Flemish-influenced Cley-
next-the-Sea, and the Roman Peddar's Way at Holme-next-the-Sea, lies the
hamlet of Morston, its houses and Church not far from the sea-marshes.
Nearly fifty years ago, the hamlet was described as standing;-
"secure on its windswept bank, and though at the spring tides
the salt waters creep closely up,
and the prospect is desolate and wild,
the marshes and the dunes are fascinating in their medley of colour."
This "desolate and wild" village in the year 1693, was to witness a birth, - the
first child of a young girl and her husband, - and the start of a family, which, in
years to come, would be spread over several of the world's continents.
The young girl was Dorothy Holden, who had been baptised at Morston on
7 March 1675/6, (her parents being William and Hannah Holden). Her
husband was James Powdich, who had been christened in the year of his
birth - 1663.
On 21 May 1691, 28 year old James, took 16 year old Dorothy to the
centuries old parish church of All Saints, Morston, where like many before
them, they were joined together as husband and wife.
Their first child, a son, was recorded in the Parish Register as having been
christened on 8 October 1693. Unfortunately, his surname was not written
clearly by the Vicar, although a more recent transcriber was doubtful as to the
correct spelling,
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for what had been transcribed, had been "Douty", the child was however, a
Powdich - James Powdich.
Until their deaths in 1730 and 1732, the parents of James (junior) also brought
into the world, eleven other children, five of whom died not long after their
christenings. Thanks to the recent purchase of a copy of the Morston
Registers (1538-1812), we can see the size of the family, and learn some of
their movements.
James and Dorothy's children were;
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Of those children who died in infancy, or later years, the current sparsely-
stoned graveyard at Morston (as seen on a wet March day in 1988) yields no
clues - and we must therefore be grateful to the "Reverend and Piou[s]
Thomas Nelson, rector of Morston between 1684 and 1714 - for recording
(most of the) christenings, baptisms, marriages and burials from the time of
James and Dorothy's marriage in 1691, to the christening of their last child,
Benjamin, in 1712/13.
Dorothy, possibly worn out by the number of children she bore, died at the
age of 55, and was buried at Morston, on 31 January 1730. Two years later,
her husband, James, aged 69 years old, died, and was buried on 25
October1732.
James' Will was dated 4 October 1732 (thus only being made 21 days
before his burial). In 1746, on 24 August, some 14 years later, James' son-
in-law, John Phunel (or Funnel), took an Oath in respect of the Will.
Unfortunately for the family, the Will was never "proved", as James (the
"Testator") died "Poor". The Will was however "exhibited" at Norwich.
Whether James and Dorothy's surviving children (James; Thomas; Robert;
Hannah; Peace and Benjamin) saw the "writing on the wall", regarding their
inheritances, if they either remained at Morston, or (in the case of the
daughters) didn't marry, is currently unknown, although it is interesting to note
that all of the couples' sons had left Morston by at least 1717. Both
daughters, having married in the village Church, appear to have raised their
own families at Morston, and (with the exception of Peace) to have been
buried there also.
As we have already seen, first born child of James and Dorothy, was,
following the family tradition, also named James. Born in 1693, the year
that saw the commencement of the National Debt (originated to defray the
expenses of the war with France), the young James, by the summer of 1717,
had moved eastwards.
To reach his destination (the village of Wells-next-the-Sea), he either had to
travel the coastal track, through the knapped flint-stone village of Stiffkey
(where Sir Nathaniel Bacon, in 1578, had built his twin-towered manor house
in the hollow next to the parish Church), and onward through open, undulating
countryside, until the ancient seaport lay before him, or he had to travel by
ship along the marsh-banked coastline.
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Whichever route James took, or when he went, and what possessions he
had with him, we do not know, - but fortunately, through the discolouring
pages of Wells-next-the-Sea's Parish Registers, and the varying handwritings
of long-deceased incumbents of the Church, we can, by searching through
the entries of Marriages, Baptisms and Burials, trace the "movements" of
James and his descendants.
Through the same Registers we are able to learn that three years after
James' birth at Morston, a baby girl was born at Wells-next-the-Sea.
Christened on 16 April 1696, the baby, named Alice, was the second child
of Henry Mussitt (or Mussett) and his wife Ffrancis (nee Ffryor). The couple
had married at Wells on 23 December 1690, and in all, they were to produce
4 children;
(of the parents, Henry died 4 January 1741, and his widow, Ffrancis, died
eleven years later to the day ! on 4 January 1752)
As a surname, the Mussitt's had a previous involvement with the Powdich's,
for young James' Grandfather had married an Ann Mussitt at Morston, in 1661.
In the summer of 1717, on 14 July at the Parish Church of St. Nicholas,
Wells-next-the-Sea, the 24 year old James, from Morston, married 21 year
old Alice, and once again, the names of Powdich and Mussitt (or Mussett),
were joined together.
The detail of their marriage in the 1686-1718 Parish Register, records the
phonetic spelling of James' surname, not to be corrected by the Vicar for
several years.
The entry in the Register, is recorded as follows;
(CXX)
Marriages. Anno, Domini. 1717.
July 14th. James Poudich, single man. Alice Musset singlewoman
Thos. Turner, Curate.
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Their marriage produced four children. James, Henry, James and Alice.
The first James died young. His birth-date I don't have, but he died on
2 September 1722, just 5 years after his parents married.
James ye sonn of James Poudich
Burials AD 1722 Sept 2
Their second child is recorded in the 1719-1747 Register, as;
Christings In AD 1720
September 18th
Henry ye sonn of James Poudich by Alice his wife
Henry was baptised in the year the infamous "South Sea Bubble" 'burst'.
Whether Henry married, or when/where he died, to date I have not been able
to trace.
The second James was baptised in May 1723.
Christings AD 1723
May 17th
James ye sonn of James Poudich by Alice wife
(this was the James who later, was to marry Elizabeth Wells)
Alice, besides being the only daughter of the marriage, has the "privilege" in
the Baptism Register, of being one of the first names to be under the slightly
re-spelt Christnings" her entry appearing as;
Christnings 1728 Aprill 7
Alice daughter of James Powdich by Alice his wife
Do you notice how the spelling in the Register has changed from Poudich to
Powdich? After 1728, the St. Nicholas incumbents not only started using the "w" but not long afterwards began to include the now-standard "t" in the
"ditch" part of the surname.
To return to Alice, she, I believe, remained a spinster throughout a long life;
for on 30 April 1811, at Wells, was buried an "Alice", aged 87. Whilst I accept
that there are only
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83 years between 1728 and 1811, I would imagine that at the time of Alice's
death, that there wasn't anyone old enough to remember a lot about Alice,
let alone dispute the difference between her age being either 83 or 87 years
old !
Of James and Alice, parents of the above children, James, aged 35-40 (?)
was buried on 21 December 1730, and Alice, (his widow), aged 78 years,
was buried on 8 May 1771. Both were buried at Wells-next-the-Sea.
And so we turn to the next section of Powditch history, by looking at the
marriage which was to give many descendants, the Christian name of Wells.
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Acknowledgements