Forncett St Mary
| Forncett St Mary | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 St. Mary's, Forncett St Mary | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TM165938 |
| Location: | 52°30’0"N, 1°11’20"E |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Norwich |
| Postcode: | NR16 |
| Dialling code: | 01508 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Norfolk |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
South Norfolk |
Forncett St Mary is a village in Norfolk, seven and a half miles east of Attleborough and ten miles south-west of Norwich, close to the course of the River Tas.
History
Forncett St. Mary's name is of mixed Anglo-Saxon and Norse origin and derives from an amalgamation of the Old English and Old Norse for Forni's dwelling or camp, with the epithet of St. Mary to distinguish the village from Forncett St Peter.[1]
In the Domesday Book, Forncett St Mary is listed in the same entry as Forncett St Peter as a settlement of 21 households in the Hundred of Depwade. In 1086, the villages formed part of the estates of Roger Bigod, Bishop Osbern FitzOsbern and Ulfkil the freeman.[2]
Forncett St Mary and St Peter are believed to have split into separate villages in the fifteenth century as part of boundary changes led by the Church of England. Despite this, the two villages shared a single rector until the mid-nineteenth century.[3]
Forncett Railway Station opened in 1849 as a stop on the Great Eastern Main Line between London Liverpool Street and Norwich. The station was finally closed in 1966 as part of the Beeching Cuts with the nearest station still in operation being Attleborough for Breckland line services.
In 1931 the parish had a population of 153.
St. Mary's Church
Forncett's parish church, St Mary, on Low Road, dates from the thirteenth century. It is a Grade I listed building[4]
St. Mary's was restored in the Victorian era but soon fell into disrepair after the parish was merged with Forncett St. Peter. The church is most famous for being the rectory of John Colenso, who, between 1853 and 1883, served as the first Bishop of Natal in southern Africa.[5] After the church fell into disrepair, the Friends of Forncett Church was set up led by local residents, Graham and May Prior. The organisation gathered £500,000 from grants and donations to restore the church to its former glory.[6] In 2012, St. Mary's held its first service in over thirty years.[7]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Forncett St Mary) |
References
- ↑ Place-Names
- ↑ Forncett St Mary and St Peter in the Domesday Book
- ↑ Davenport, F. G. (1906). The economic development of a Norfolk manor, 1086-1565. (Cambridge University Press) ISBN 9780511710933
- ↑ National Heritage List 1304627: Church of St Mary, Forncett (Grade I listing)
- ↑ "Norfolk Churches". http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/forncettmary/forncettmary.htm.
- ↑ "St Mary's Church, Forncett St Mary". http://forncettstmarychurch.org.uk/.
- ↑ "Norfolk church set to hold service for first time in 30 years" (in en). 2012-08-13. https://www.dissmercury.co.uk/news/21708358.norfolk-church-set-hold-service-first-time-30-years/.