Brandiston
| Brandiston | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 St Nicholas Church, Brandiston | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TG130218 |
| Location: | 52°45’4"N, 1°9’25"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 44 (2001) |
| Post town: | Norwich |
| Postcode: | NR10 |
| Dialling code: | 01603 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Broadland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Broadland and Fakenham |
Brandiston is a hamlet and parish in Norfolk, two and a half miles south-east of Reepham and ten miles north-west of Norwich. The parish includes the site of the former village of Guton.[1]
Both Brandiston and Guton are extremely small settlements: the population of the parish taken in 2001 was just 44.
The bulk of the parish is farmland, mainly arable.
History
Brandiston's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin.[2] In the Domesday Book it is recorded as a settlement of four households in the Eynsford Hundred, which was part of the estates of The King.[3]
Brandiston Hall was built in the 17th-century on the grounds of a mediæval hospital. The hall was later expanded in the 19th-century.[4] It is a Grade II listed building.[5] In the 1850s, four almshouses were built for the benefit of the parishioners. These were funded by the generous donations of a William Gurney almost three-hundred years earlier.[6]
During the Second World War, RAF Swannington was built in the parish. Hawker Hurricanes of No. 85 Squadron RAF and de Havilland Mosquitos of No. 157 Squadron RAF were based at the airfield. The aircraft fell into disuse after the war and was eventually sold in 1957, mostly returning to agricultural use.[7]
Church
Brandiston's parish church, St Nicholas, is one of Norfolk's remaining 124 round-tower churches. The church dates from the 12th-century, although it was re-modelled in the 14th-century and later restored by Edward Blore in 1844 at the behest of the local Athill family.[8]
St Nicholas is a Grade II listed building.[9]
Within the church is a stained-glass window designed by the Percy Bacon Brothers. The building is Grade II listed. Today, the church is maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust.[10]
References
- ↑ Parish Summary: Brandiston, Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ↑ Place-Names
- ↑ Brandiston in the Domesday Book
- ↑ "mnf7439 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf7439.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1169085: Brandiston Hall (Grade II listing)
- ↑ Matthews, D. (2000). Retrieved November 9, 2022. http://www.origins.org.uk/genuki/NFK/places/b/brandiston/white1883.shtml
- ↑ "mnf7465 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf7465.
- ↑ "Norfolk Churches". http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/brandiston/brandiston.htm.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1076897: Church of St Nicholas (Grade II listing)
- ↑ Knott S (2021) St Nicholas, Brandiston, Norfolk Churches. Retrieved 9 November 2022.