Dereham – Church House

Church House overlooks Dereham Church and was built in the late seventeenth century to be used by a representative of the church.

In the early nineteenth century, the property was lived in by James Philo who served as the parish clerk between 1779 and 1829. The sign on the property notes that he featured in George Borrow’s book ‘Lavengro’, the sequel of which was Romany Rye, now the name of the JD Wetherspoon pub which stands around twenty metres away.

The rear of the property, which backs onto the churchyard. The building is still used by the church and is now the parish office.