[2] "The little village of Stockton was once the centre of an important lordship," writes Elisabeth Crowfoot (1914-2005) in a note published in the local parish magazine.

In 1140 King Stephen granted Stockton, including the manors of Ellingham, Geldeston, Gillingham, Kirby Cane, Winston and Wyndale (Windle), with the right to hold court and set up a gallows, to Hugh Bigod, the newly created Earl of Norfolk.

[4] The manor passed through the last Bigod heir, Elisabeth Bigot, to her husband William Garneys, but Stockton and Geldeston did not remain long in the family's possession.

In 1447, the year after the death of Garneys' son Ralph, they were occupied by William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk.

Among the information included in the Town Book that for the English Civil War (1642-1649) provides a glimpse of a small Norfolk village at the time.