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Great Witchingham
Human settlement in England From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Great Witchingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, along the River Wensum. The civil parish also includes the smaller village on Lenwade.
Great Witchingham is located 8.1 miles (13.0 km) north-east of Dereham and 11 miles (18 km) north-west of Norwich.
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History
Great Witchingham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the larger homestead of Wic's people.[1]
In the Domesday Book, Great & Little Witchingham are listed together as a settlement of 92 households hundred of Eynesford. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of King William I, Count Eustace of Boulogne, St Benet's Abbey, William d'Ecouis, Reginald, son of Ivo and Walter Giffard.[2]
During the reign of King Henry I, a Cluniac monastic cell was founded in the village which had been destroyed by the Fifteenth Century. The site was excavated in 1935.[3]
Witchingham Old Hall was founded in the Sixteenth Century or Seventeenth Century and was eventually demolished in the Nineteenth Century.[4]
In October 1944, a V-2 rocket landed in the parish causing a large crater which was subsequently turned into a pond.[5]
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Geography
According to the 2021 census, Great Witchingham has a population of 542 people which shows an increase from the 496 people recorded in the 2011 census.[6]
The River Wensum and the A1067, between Fakenham and Norwich, both run through the parish.
St. Mary's Church
Great Witchingham's parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and dates from the Fourteenth Century. St. Mary's is located outside of the village on Heath Lane and has been Grade I listed since 1961.[7] The church is still open for Sunday services about twice a month.[8]
St. Mary holds a Fifteenth Century font with some of its original paint remaining as well as a lecturn topped with an eagle which was brought to the church from New College, Oxford in the Nineteenth Century.[9]
Great Witchingham Hall
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Great Witchingham Hall is a Grade II* listed country house built in the 16th or 17th century but extensively remodelled in the 19th century. It is built in two and three storeys of red brick with stone and plastered brick dressings and a steeply pitched slate roof. The Hall was owned and occupied by country squire Oliver Le Neve between 1678 and 1711. Le Neve is significant for his 1698 mortal duel with Sir Henry Hobart of Blickling Hall, the last duel fought in Norfolk.[10] The south wing was added in 1812 by Timothy Tompson and the north frontage redesigned in 1872 for Charles Kett Tompson, High Sheriff of Norfolk for 1827.[11] After the latter's death it passed to his son-in-law, Viscount Canterbury. It later became the seat of William James Barry J.P. (1864–1952), High Sheriff of Norfolk for 1912, and his son Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Barry (1896–1977). The dilapidated post-Second World War property was bought in 1950 by Bernard Matthews, and after being initially used for turkey rearing and processing, became the head office of his turkey business, Bernard Matthews Farms.[12]
The GWR 6959 Modified Hall Class No.6966 was named Witchingham Hall. Out shopped from Swindon Works on 31 May 1944 as part of Lot No.350, she was initially allocated to 82D Westbury, and finally to 81F Oxford. Withdrawn on 30 September 1964, she was sold by British Railways to Birds scrap metal merchants of Risca, Newport, South Wales and disposed of on 28 February 1965.[13]
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Amenities
The Animal Ark, a zoo, is located in Great Witchingham.[14]
Great Witchingham Cricket Club play home games at Walcis Park and operate three senior XIs, several women's teams and a youth setup. The First XI play in the East Anglian Premier League.[15]
Governance
Great Witchingham is an electoral ward for local elections and is part of the district of Broadland.
The village's national constituency is Broadland and Fakenham which has been represented by the Conservative Party's Jerome Mayhew MP since 2019.
War Memorial
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Great Witchingham War Memorial was rebuilt in 2014 and is a brick memorial with sandstone plaques, it was opened by Jonathan Meyrick, Bishop of King's Lynn.[16] The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:[17]
The following names were added after the Second World War:
The following name was added after the Conflict in Afghanistan:[18]
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Footnotes
External links
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