The history of the parish and our church

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Vicars of St James

A map of Norwich in c.1500 (click here for a full scale map)


James Sillett (1828) St James Church, Norwich


Malcolm Menin (with two of his St James parishioners),  in an undated photograph (Norfolk Record Office)

(15th - 1896) 

Pre-Reformation priests include Sir Thomas Catlyn (known to be an incumbent in 1492); William Mayner (recorded in 1526), and Sir John Fincham (1527-1532). One name from the Tudor period, William Canvas, is known (he was the curate in 1572).

During the 17th century,  the curates were Nicholas Gilman (1604-1626), John Barnham (1627-1661), John Smith (curate of St Paul's and St James 1662-1672), Benjamin Penning or Pening (curate of both churches 1673-1686), and Francis Barber (1687-1690).

William Scott was the vicar of St James from 1691-1722. He was followed by William Bentham, who was the incumbent for at least the following three years. Thomas Otway and Thomas Manlove are shadowy figures, whose periods of incumbency are not known for certain. In 1735, William Herne was the vicar of both St Paul's and St James - he remained in post until 1775, when he was succeeded by James William Newton (1776-1810), followed by Thomas Tanqueray (1811-1818), C. Newton (1819-1822), Bell Cook (1823-1842), Thomas Calvert (1843-1848), and William Arthur Ormesby (1848-1853).

The records show that the incumbencies of John Ross (1854-1863) and Thomas Clark (1860-1864) seem to overlap. The next known vicar of St James is Alexander St David Francis Pringle (1865-1872), who was succeeded by Alfred Davies (1872-1896).

(1896 - 1973)

Thomas Stone was appointed in 1896. - Kelly's Directory (1904) states that "St Mary Magdalene's, a chapel of ease to St. James' Pockthorpe, was built 1902–1903 at a cost of about £3,500 on a site granted by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who also contributed £500 towards the cost of the building."

Charles Edward Osborne Griffith  was appointed in1904, Herbert Benjamin John Armstrong  was appointed in 1916, and Gerald Wilfred Fardell Howard was appointed in 1922.

Herbert Pitts (appointed 1929) was also the curate-in-charge for St Martin at Palace, Norwich, from 1944. Pitts was already a graduate and a trained priest when he arrived in England from Australia.

John Harold Ferley (appointed 1950) was also curate-in-charge for St Martin at Palace, Norwich (1950–1952).

Sidney Long (appointed 1953) was also curate-in-charge for St Martin at Palace, Norwich (1953–1962). Long's small booklet about St James's Church is a valuable source of information for local historians.

Malcolm James Menin (appointed 1962), also curate-in-charge for St Martin at Palace, Norwich (1962–1974), was the last vicar at St James the Less, Pockthorpe. He moved to St Mary Magdalene in 1972, after the church for the parish of St James was transferred there in that year. Malcolm was appointed Bishop of Knaresborough in 1986. 

Vicars of St Mary Magdalene

Cover of the January 1911 magazine

Revd Alfred Hitch Ellis 

(1902 - present) 

Although St Mary Magdalene was built in 1902, the first vicar was appointed in 1909.  During these years the incumbent at St James was also the vicar of its sister church. In 1909, the vicar had two curates, Edward Arthur Newton (curate from 1907) and Edward Peers Wickham (curate from 1903). Wickham was listed in The Clergy List as living on Gertrude Road, Pockthorpe, so he may have had responsibility for St Mary Magdalene after its was first built.

Alfred Hitch Ellis (1909 - 1948) lived in Sprowston before becoming the first to live in the new vicarage next door to the church. The entry for the Reverend Ellis in Crockford's Clerical directory (1947) reads:

Ellis, Alfred Hitch Ayerst's Hostel, Cam. B.A. 1890. d 1893 Rang. p 1896 Wakef. Miss. of Winchester House Miss. Poozoondoung, Burma, 1893-95; C. of Chapelthorpe, Yks. 1895-97; Chap. at Smyrna 1897-1900 C. of St. Andr., Luton, Beds. 1900-06; Eaton, Norf. 1906-08; V of St Mary Magd. Mousehold, City and Dio. Nor. from 1909. (P, D, and C. of Nor; Eccles. Comm. 395l; fees 10l; Gross and net Inc. 400l; est. Pop. 7000.) St Mary Magdalene Vicarage, Norwich.

From this we can tell that in 1890, Alfred Ellis was educated at Ayerst's Hostel. William Ayerst ran the short-lived private hostel in Cambridge, housed on Mount Pleasant, from 1884 to 1896. It was a college designed specifically to assist poorer men with their education. He became a deacon in 1893, when he was posted to Rangoon, Burma, to start the Winchester Mission there. Ellis sailed from England in May that year, returning home from Burma in July 1896. 

He obtained a post a a curate at Chapelthorpe, in Yorkshire, before moving to work abroad once more. he served as the British Chaplain in the Greek city of Smryna, now İzmir in modern Turkey. In 1900 he return to England to be the curate at St Andrew's, Luton, and then the curate at Eaton, near Norwich. During his career he was an Ecclesiastical Commissioner. 


Later vicars and priests-in-charge:

Ronald Cooling, was born on 26th September 1903 in Hull. A life-long batchelor, he was the vicar at St Mary Magdalene from 1948 until 1968,(C73/200) when he moved to be the vicar at St Mary, Martham. A model railway enthusiast, he is featured in The Parish Film, providing train rides for the children in the vicarage garden.

Malcolm James Menin, Priest-in-charge (1968-72); vicar (1972-86); (C09/562)

Richard Medley Swift Woodham, vicar (1987-1991); Team Rector, Norwich-over-the-Water (1991-1998); (C09/928)

Andrew Tyler, Priest-in-charge (1999-2000), vicar (2000-2008) (C09/851)

Marc Richard Palmer, vicar (2010-2018) (C13/659)

Leslie Selwyn Tillett, Priest-in-charge (2018-2023) (CE1)

Carol Pritchard, Interim-priest-in-charge (2023-present)

Sources and further information