The whole parish contains no more than 2,627 acres, of which about
thirty acres were not included in the estate slowly piled up by the
Yelvertons, and purchased by Roger North in 1690.
Yet the charters and evidences of various kinds which were handed
over with this small property, and which date _before_ the
sixteenth century, count by thousands. The smaller strips of
parchment or vellum--for the most part conveyances of land, and
having seals attached--have been roughly bound together in volumes,
each containing about one hundred documents, and arranged with some
regard to chronology, the undated ones being collected into a volume
by themselves. I think it almost certain that the arranging of the
early charters in their rude covers was carried out before 1500 A.D.,
and I have a suspicion that they were grouped together by Sir William
Yelverton, "the cursed Norfolk Justice" of the Paston Letters, who
inherited the estate from his mother in the first half of the
fifteenth century.
When Roger North purchased the property the ancient evidences were
handed over to him as a matter of course; and there are many notes in
his handwriting showing that he found the collection in its present
condition, and that he had bestowed much attention upon it.
Blomefield seems to have been aware of the existence of the Rougham
muniments, but I think he never saw them; and for one hundred and
fifty years, at least, they had lain forgotten until they came under
my notice.
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