1860 –12/07/1937
Churchman, local historian, Berkhamsted Institute member, St Peter's churchwarden 1918-22
Relatives
Research:
Richard Arthur Norris was born around 1858 into a Quaker family. His father was Richard Robinson Norris, who owned the Lower Mill on London Road/Bank Mill Lane (now The Old Mill).
Richard Arthur Norris became a well-known name in Berkhamsted at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries for his involvement with many aspects of the town community. He was a prominent member of the Berkhamsted Mechanics’ Institute (of which his father was a founder member) and served twice as its president. Norris also played a part in the management of local church schools. He was best known for his dedicated participation in the life of St Peter’s Church, where he served as a a member of the Parochial Church Council, a sidesman, an altar server and as churchwarden 1918-22.
Richard Arthur Norris is well-known to all local history enthusiasts in Berkhamsted as a prominent local historian. In 1923 he published a book about the history of the parish church, The Parish Church of Berkhamsted, St. Peter, Hertfordshire: Some Notes Historical and Descriptive of the Church and Its Surroundings, the Monuments, Memorials and Possessions Therein. As its title suggests, it contains a thoroughly researched historical background of St Peter’s from its foundation in 1222 up to the early 20th century, with detailed descriptions of the architecture and monuments of the church, drawing on sources such as Clutterbuck, Chauncy and Rev John Wolstenholme Cobb (a celebrated Victorian antiquary who lies buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery, only a few metres from Norris’s grave). Norris’s book is especially significant to church historians as a detailed record of the church building as it appeared in between the 1870s restoration work by William Butterfield and the re-ordering of the church in the 1960s. It also contains an exhaustive list of Rectors (from 1222) and Churchwardens (from 1589) of St Peter’s, several of whom are also buried in Rectory Lane Cemetery. Norris’s work is cherished by researchers and is often cited as a source by historians today.
Like his predecessor Cobb, Norris was an enthusiast rather than an an academic. His modesty about his status as an antiquary was evident in his preface:
In presenting this book to the public I am fully conscious of its defects. I lay no claim to be in any sense an expert in architecture or archæology, and if my critics say that this book bears the stamp of the amateur, I must plead guilty to the indictment. I can, however, base my claim to write about Berkhamsted Church on the abiding love I have for the building […] I leave this book to the kind indulgence of the reader, with the hope that I have made a real, even if it be a modest, contribution to the history of one of the finest churches in the county, and added to the knowledge of the treasures it contains.
Berkhamsted, Christmas 1922
Other published works by Norris include A Short Account of Thomas Bourne Esq. of Camberwell, and His Benefaction to the Parish of Berkhamsted St. Peter (1929)
Local historian Percy Birtchnell (1910–1986) , who followed in Norris’s footsteps later in the 20th century, said of him:
“The late Mr. R. A. Norris […] was a historian who was not content merely to make a list of the memorials. No clue was too slender to be followed up, and his detective work added greatly to our knowledge of the people who lived in the parish in years gone by.”
“Beorcham” in The Berkhamsted Review, November 1968
Norris’s sudden death in 1937 death was much lamented in the town. A glowing obituary piece in The Buckinghamshire Examiner said of him:
We much regret to record the death of Mr Richard Arthur Norris at his home in Boxwell Road, Berkhamsted on Monday. He was in his 78th year and his passing after a very short illness came as a shock to a large number of friends. The deepest sympathy has been expressed to his sisters, Mrs J R Andrew and Miss E M Norris, to whom he was devoted.
Few men have gained and deserved a higher reputation for conscientiousness than Mr Norris – a characteristic evident not only in his great work for the Church Schools, but as an earnest churchman, a keen local historian, and a prominent member of the Berkhamsted Institute. Despite advancing years he scarcely relaxed his activities and interests, and indeed, showed a robustness which belied his age.
Mr Norris was born of old Quaker stock and was the son of the late Mr Richard Robinson Norris, for many years proprietor of the Lower Mill, Berkhamsted. He took pardonable pride in his family’s long connection with the town, and shared with the late Mr G H Whybrow the distinction of having the most important contributions to our knowledge of local history since Cobb’s History of Berkhamsted was published eighty years ago. Mr Norris’s History of the Parish Church is likely to remain a standard work for years to come, and his ability to bring interesting new details to light has been shown in two smaller books on bygone worthies of Berkhamsted.
As correspondent and a foundation manager of the Church Schools until his retirement a few years ago, Mr Norris was an indefatigable worker. He was a sideman and server at the Parish Church, a member of the Parochial Church Council, and a former churchwarden. Mr Norris was the oldest continuous member of the Berkhamsted Institute, which his father helped to found, and he twice occupied the president’s chair.
The funeral was at Berkhamsted Parish Church on Thursday.
The Buckinghamshire Examiner, Friday 16 April 1937