SHOULDHAM, a parish, with a village, in Downham district, Norfolk; 4½ miles E by S of Watlington r. station, and 6 NE of Downham-Market. It has a post-office under Downham, and cattle fairs on 19 Sept. and 11 Oct. Acres, 3,888. Real property, £4,804. Pop., 727. Houses, 160. The manor belongs to Sir T. Hare, Bart. S. Hall is the seat of the Rev. Dr. Allen; and Melrose, of R. T. Catton, Esq. A Gilbertine nunnery was founded here, in the time of Richard I., by the Earl of Essex. There are two mineral springs. The living is a vicarage, united with Shouldham-Thorpe, in the diocese of Norwich. Value, £120. Patron, Sir T. Hare, Bart. The church is in bad repair; and there are two Methodist chapels, a national school built in 1866, and charities £31.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))