Mattishall

The village's name probably means, 'Ma(e)tt's nook of land'. It is situated on a plateau of boulder clay left by the glaciers about 300,000 years ago. The soil in the area varies from sands around the neighbouring Mattishall Burgh to stickier clays around Mattishall. Mattishall has been divided in a religious sense for many years, first with the Reformation, then with the growth of Quakerism. The Quakers established a Meeting House in 1687. Almost 100 years later the Old Moor Congregational Chapel was built. Both had their own burial ground. When it became uneconomical to continue at Old Moor, the Congregationalists transferred to their Lecture Room in Welgate built in 1829. It is now the…