Fincham
| Fincham | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 St. Martin's Church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TF685065 |
| Location: | 52°37’48"N, -0°29’18"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 496 (2011) |
| Post town: | King's Lynn |
| Postcode: | PE33 |
| Dialling code: | 01366 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | King's Lynn and West Norfolk |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
South West Norfolk |
Fincham is a village in Norfolk, nine and a half miles south of King's Lynn and 34 miles west of Norwich.
The village's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a homestead or settlement with an abundance of finches.[1]
The 2021 census recorded Fincham's population as 514.
History
The Roman Fen Causeway once ran through Fincham[2] meaning the parish has yielded numerous Roman artefacts including three separate hoards of silver coins, a curious figure of a hare and hound and a bust of Jupiter.[3] The foundations of a Roman building have been discovered in the north of the parish, which have been excavated by Norfolk Heritage in the 1990s.[4]
The parish has also yielded many artefacts from the Anglo-Saxon period including rare coins dating from the reign of King Rædwald and another that was minted in Maastricht. With later coins found dating from the reigns of King Cnut and Æthelred the Unready.[5]
In the Domesday Book, Fincham is listed as a settlement of 164 households. In 1086, the village was divided between the East Anglian estates of William de Warenne, Hermer de Ferrers, Bury St Edmunds Abbey, St Etheldreda's Abbey, Ralph Baynard and Reginald, son of Ivo.[6]
Fincham Hall is a manor-house dating from the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, with an earlier octagonal brick tower. Today, the hall is available for tourists to rent on Airbnb.[7] Talbot Hall was built in eighteenth century and was notable for hosting an impressive collection of orchids currently displayed in Kew Gardens.
St. Martin's Church
Fincham's parish church is dedicated to St Martin, with the exterior of the church dating from the Fifteenth Century and the interior being the remains of an extensive Nineteenth Century restoration. St. Martin's is located within the village on the High Street and has been Grade I listed since 1959.[8] St Martin's font is famous throughout Norfolk due to the fact it stands on four separate legs and depicts scenes from The Gospel.[9]
Fincham once had another church, St Michael, but this fell into disuse and was subsequently demolished in the mid-Nineteenth Century.[10]
Outside links
- Fincham Parish Council]
- St. Martin's – A church near you
- Memorial Hall
- History Society
- Fincham and the Finchams
References
- ↑ Fincham: Key to English Place-names
- ↑ "mnf2796 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf2796.
- ↑ "mnf39164 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf39164.
- ↑ "mnf25857 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf25857.
- ↑ "mnf29706 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf29706.
- ↑ Fincham in the Domesday Book
- ↑ "mnf4351 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf4351.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1077822: Church of St Martin (Grade I listing)
- ↑ "Norfolk Churches". http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/fincham/fincham.htm.
- ↑ "mnf4358 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf4358.