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Crathornes in Norfolk There are 16 Crathorne records on the new IGI for Norfolk for the period up to 1700, including some intriguing records before 1600: The first records are of a Mary Craythorn christened 29 July 1539 at Stoke Holy Cross, near Norwich, with presumably her brother 'Hewhe' christened there in 1540, followed by William Crathorne who was christened on 14 February 1565 at All Saints Church, South Lynn (now Kings Lynn). Curiously there are also two burials recorded, both of John Crathorne and both at Cley-next-the-Sea. The first was on 3 February 1562, and the second on 12 Dec 1566. Were there really two Johns? And was one of them the father of Mary, Hugh or William, or simply an unknown child dying young? Then on 3 May 1571, Thomas Crathorne married Jone Cragge in Yarmouth, and the old IGI records Elizabeth Craythorne's marriage to Robert Morris on 20 July 1577 at South Creake, a village a few miles from the north coast of Norfolk. The third wedding was of 'Willya' Crathorne who married Mary Reene on 3 August 1581, at Swannington, a village north of Norwich. And the fourth was Edward Crathorne marrying Jone Sewell on 22 October 1584 in Yarmouth, with their son Thomas born the year after, on 21 November 1585. Then at the village of Witton, half way between North Walsham and the north-east Norfolk coast, Richard Crathorne and Cecyly christened Thomas on 14 December 1590, Margrett on 2 September 1593, Edmond on 15 May 1597 and another Thomas on 9 December 1599. This second Thomas at least must have married as he christened Francisca there on 7 November 1639.
It is also interesting to speculate where Richard came from, as the timing of his marriage - and those of Thomas, Elizabeth, 'Willya' and Edward - fit in with the Exodus theory of Crathornes escaping religious persecution in the 1500s. Richard is the right age to be a brother of Ralph Crathorne of Crathorne, born about 1550, who married first Jane Strangeway then Bridget Yaxley of Suffolk. However it seems more likely that he arose from the main Crathorne line at least one generation earlier, with links still to be established. Possibly all these ancestral Norfolk Crathornes are from one man - John? - moving south in the early 1500s. However in the main Crathorne line, Thomas, born about 1582, married Catherine Richart from 'Swynington', Norfolk in the early 1600s. 'Swynington' may well be the village of Swannington where 'Willya' got married, which is only about 14 miles south-west of Witton, so maybe there was a family connection in the area which enabled Thomas and Catherine to meet. Alice Crathorne's marriage to Richard Smithe at Yarmouth on 1 December 1604 and Martha's marriage to Edward Rawlings 27 January 1639, also in Yarmoth, marks the end of Crathorne records in Norfolk in the 1600s. There are several marriages of Crathornes, Corthornes, Crawthornes and even Cruthorns in the 1700s, but how they all fit together is still be be determined...
If you know more about your Crathorne relatives, please click here
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