Bressingham
| Bressingham | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 St John the Baptist, Bressingham | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TM0780 |
| Location: | 52°23’10"N, 1°2’56"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 872 (2021) |
| Post town: | Diss |
| Postcode: | IP22 |
| Dialling code: | 01379 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Norfolk |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Waveney Valley |
Bressingham is a village in Norfolk, two miles north-west of Diss and 19 miles south-west of Norwich. The parish is bounded by the River Waveney and is bisected by the A1066 road, between Thetford and Diss.
The 2021 census recorded Bressingham with a population of 872.
The village's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin.[1]
Parish church
Bressingham's parish church, St John the Baptist, was built in the late-13th century. It is a Grade I listed building.[2]
The church was significantly remodelled in the 16th and 19th centuries and boasts both elaborate pew carvings, which have been damaged by iconoclasts in the 16th century and stained glass installed by J & J King. Additionally, within the church there is a set of royal arms dating from the reign of King Charles II and a 19th-century funeral bier.[3]
History
Bressingham's It is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as consisting of 47 households: one of Norfolk's larger villages. At this time, Bressingham was divided between the land of The King (who held two acres of meadow, 6 pigs and woodland) and Bury St Edmunds Abbey (which had 16 acres of meadow, 26 pigs and woodland).[4]
From 1804, Bressingham had a thriving Amicable Society with upwards of 30 members agreeing to a rudimentary form of mutual insurance. The society conducted its meetings in the Chequers pub.[5] A Methodist chapel was built in Bressingham in 1900.
About the village
The local playing field is operated by Diss Town Football Club.
There is also a village hall.
Bressingham Steam Gardens is located within the village. Established by Alan Bloom in the 1940s, the gardens were later developed to include several narrow gauge railway lines with a number of different types of steam engines and vehicles. It is also the home of a Dad's Army exhibition.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Bressingham) |
References
- ↑ Place-Names
- ↑ National Heritage List 1373587: Church Of St John The Baptist, Bressingham (Grade I listing)
- ↑ "The Norfolk Churches Site". http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/bressingham/bressingham.htm.
- ↑ Bressingham in the Domesday Book
- ↑ Bressingham & Fersfield. Retrieved 28 September 2025.