Fersfield
| Fersfield | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 St Andrew's Church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TM064827 |
| Location: | 52°24’12"N, 1°2’3"E |
| Data | |
| Post town: | DISS |
| Postcode: | IP22 |
| Dialling code: | 01379 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Norfolk |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Waveney Valley |
Fersfield is a village in Norfolk, found four miles north-west of Diss and 19 miles south-west of Norwich.
The village's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for 'heifer field'.[1]
History
In the Domesday Book, Fersfield is listed as a settlement of 26 households in the Diss Hundred. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of The King and Robert Malet.[2]
In 1705, the antiquarian and historian Reverend Francis Blomefield was born in Fersfield. He served as Rector of Fersfield from 1729 until his death in 1752, during which time he wrote a comprehensive history of Norfolk and discovered some of the Paston Letters. Blomefield lived for most of his life in the Old Rectory.[3]
In 1868, The Crown (a pub) opened in Fersfield which was incredibly popular with Irish workers building RAF Fersfield during the Second World War, the pub eventually closed in 1956.[4]
Parish church
Fersfield's church, St Andrew, on The Street, dates from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The interior is largely the product of the nineteenth century. It is a Grade I listed building.[5]
The stained-glass inside St. Andrew's takes the form of several roundels, likely from the Continent, depicting St Andrew, St Gregory and the Eagle of St John. The font dates from the Norman Conquest with St. Andrew's also holding memorials to the Norman knight, Robert du Bois and the antiquarian and historian, Francis Blomefield. The church also has a set of royal arms from the reign of Queen Anne.[6]
RAF Fersfield
RAF Fersfield was built in 1943 for use by various formations from the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces on strategic-bombing missions over Europe. Fersfield was the departure site for the mission that led to the death of Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., the brother of future U.S. President, John F. Kennedy. After the Second World War, RAF Fersfield was briefly used as a venue for motor racing until it reverted to agricultural use.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Fersfield) |
References
- ↑ Place-Names
- ↑ Fersfield in the Domesday Book
- ↑ "MNF23563 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF23563.
- ↑ "Crown - Fersfield". https://www.norfolkpubs.co.uk/norfolkf/fersfield/ferscr.htm.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1049662: Church of St Andrew, Bressingham (Grade I listing)
- ↑ "Norfolk Churches". http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/fersfield/fersfield.htm.