ROYDON TRADE DIRECTORIES

WHITE'S - 1845
KELLY'S - 1900

ROYDON on the south side of the Waveney, 1 1/2 mile W. of Diss, has in its parish 586 souls, and 1217 acres of land, in the manor of Roydon Tufts, of which Philip Dykes, Esq. is lord, and Gissing Hall, of which the Right Hon. J.H.Frere, of Malta is lord. The latter is owner of Roydon Hall, on an eminence above the river, and patron of the rectory, valued in K.B. at £9, and enjoyed by the Rev. Temple Frere who occupies the hall, and has about 40A of glebe. The tithes were commuted in 1839 for £440. 7s 2d per annum. The Church (St Remigius) is a small antique fabric, with a round tower. The Church Land, 6A. 2R.27P., and two cottages, are let for £22. 10s, which is applied in the service of the church. The aged poor of the parish have the dividends of £905. 2s. three-and-a-half percent. stock, left by Margaret Bowers, in 1815. In 1708 Robt. Horner bequeathed to the the rector for the time being a close of 4A., on condition that he should preach a sermon on Good Friday, and distribute 40s. yearly among poor widows. A yearly rent-charge of 20s, left to the poor of Roydon, by Wm. Kettleborough, is paid out of the White Hart public-house.

ROYDON (near Diss) is parish and village on the bank of the Waveney, and on the borders of Suffolk, a mile and a half west from Diss station on the Ipswich and Norwich section of the Great Eastern Railway, in the Southern division of the County, Diss Hundred, petty sessional division and county court district, Guiltcross union, rural deanery of Redenhall, archdeaconry of Norfolk, and diocese of Norwich. The church of St Remingus is a structure of flint in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, south aisle, north porch, and a round embattled tower, with an octagonal belfry surmounted by pinnacles; the south aisle was rebuilt in 1864 by G.E. Frere Esq., and the south porch erected by the Rev.Temple Frere in memory of Temple, his son, who was drowned in Cambridge, while trying to save the life of a fellow student, has been removed to the east end of the aisle by the chancel, and now forms an organ chamber: in the chancel are monuments to Richard E. Frere lieut. ??th foot who died in the Punjaub, India, 1842, and to Susannah Frere who died in Malta: in the chancel are also three memorial windows to members of the same family: the church has been partly restored, and affords 350 sittings. The register dates from the year 1559. the living is a rectory, net yearly value £250, including 46 acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of John Tudor Frere Esq., and held since 1870 by the Rev. Thomas Charles Hose of Caius College, Cambridge. The charities include the interest of £900, £2 15s. per cents left by Mrs M Bowers, and Miss Susannah Frere's charity of £13 yearly, which is equally divided between the repairing of the church, and providing of warm clothing for the poor. In the south-east portion of the parish, near to the town of Diss, there is a brush, mat and matting manufactory. John Tudor Frere esq. B.A., J.P. is lord of the manors of Gissing Hall, and of Roydon Hall with Tufts, and also chief landowner. Roydon Hall , the property of J.T. Frere esq. is a mansion standing in extensive grounds, on the road from Diss to Thetford, but is now occupied by Frederick George Lomax esq.
The soil is mixed; subsoil, chiefly gravel. The chief crops are wheat, barley, turnips and beet. The area is 1329 acres; rateable value, £2312; the population in 1891 was 739.
Letters received through Diss, arrive at 6.45 am. Box cleared at 6.25am; Sundays 9.55am; Postal Orders are issued here, but not paid.
Diss,2 miles distant, is the nearest money-order, and telegraph office.