Fordham, Norfolk
| Fordham | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's Church, Fordham | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL616997 |
| Location: | 52°34’16"N, -0°22’59"E |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Downham Market |
| Postcode: | PE38 |
| Dialling code: | 01366 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | King's Lynn and West Norfolk |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
South West Norfolk |
Fordham is a small village in Norfolk, in the county's Clackclose Hundred two miles north of Downham Market and thirty-nine miles west of Norwich. It is along the A10 between London and King's Lynn, close to the confluence of the River Wissey and River Great Ouse.
The village's name is commonplace across Great Britain and means simply 'ford home[stead]', presumably referring to a crossing through the River Great Ouse.[1]
History
The parish has been the site of discovery for several significant Bronze Age artefacts, including a hammer, a decorated sword and a socketed axehead.[2]
In the Domesday Book of 1086, Fordham is listed as a settlement of 22 households, divided between the East Anglian estates of St Benedict's Abbey, Ralph Baynard, Henry de Ferrers, Reginald, son of Ivo and the Abbey of St Etheldreda, Ely.[3]
Snore Hall dates from the Mediæval period and was originally built as a timber-framed, fortified manor-house. The building that stands today was built in early sixteenth century, with extensions made in the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. The hall has a good example of a sixteenth-century priest hole, and was the site of a council convened by King Charles I during the Civil War.[4]
There were once three pubs in Fordham including the Green Dragon which suffered from a severe fire in 1803 which consumed a nearby granary as well.[5]
During the Second World War, several defences were built in Fordham to protect the railway line against a possible German invasion.[6][7]
St Mary's Church
Fordham's parish church, St Mary, dates from the late-thirteenth century. St. Mary's is located on a small track off the A10 and is a Grade II listed building.[8]
St. Mary's suffered from a major collapse in the eighteenth century which caused significant damage to the nave and tower.[9] Today, the church is in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churchless but is closed for repairs.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Fordham, Norfolk) |
References
- ↑ Place-Names
- ↑ "mnf24114 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf24114.
- ↑ Fordham, Norfolk in the Domesday Book
- ↑ "mnf4463 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf4463.
- ↑ "Green Dragon - Fordham". https://www.norfolkpubs.co.uk/norfolkf/fordham/fordhgdrg.htm.
- ↑ "mnf16125 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf16125.
- ↑ "mnf2506 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf2506.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1205531: Church of St Mary (Grade II listing)
- ↑ "Norfolk Churches". http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/fordham/fordham.htm.
- Blomefield, F. (1807). Volume VII: An essay towards a topographical history of the county of Norfolk. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 366–368. https://books.google.com/books?id=GgYVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA366.