Houghton St Giles
| Houghton St Giles | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 St Giles' Church, Houghton St Giles | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TF923352 |
| Location: | 52°52’51"N, 0°51’24"E |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Walsingham |
| Postcode: | NR22 |
| Dialling code: | 01328 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | North Norfolk |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Broadland and Fakenham |
Houghton St Giles is a village in Norfolk. The village has also been referred to as Houghton-le-Dale or Houghton-in-the-Hole.
The village is to be found four miles north of Fakenham and 26 miles north-west of Norwich, along the course of the River Stiffkey.
This is one of four settlements that are within the parish of Barsham; the other villages being West Barsham, East Barsham and North Barsham. Originally all four villages were parishes in their own right.[1]
The River Stiffkey passes through the parish.
History
Houghton St Giles' name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, from the Old English hoh tun for hill-spur farmstead; the suffix 'St Giles' is from the dedication of the parish church.[2]
In the Domesday Book, Houghton St Giles is listed as a settlement of 10 households in the North Greenhoe Hundred. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of the King.[3]
Within the village is the Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham which was built in the mid-Fourteenth Century as a 'slipper chapel' for pilgrims to leave their shoes as they proceeded barefoot to Walsingham Priory. The chapel fell into disrepair during the Reformation, and was restored between 1896 and 1934, now serving a site of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics.[4][5]
St. Giles' church
The parish church, St Giles, dates from the 19th century, built by William Eden Nesfield. The church is on Walsingham Road and is a Grade I listed building.[6] The church holds Sunday service once a month.[7]
The church has a mediæval painted rood screen and holds unusual painted statues of St Mary and St Giles.[8]
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Houghton St Giles) |
References
- ↑ "Relationships and changes Houghton St Giles AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10180533. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- ↑ Place-Names
- ↑ [St Giles Houghton St Giles] in the Domesday Book
- ↑ "mnf2068 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details.
- ↑ "Norfolk Churches". http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/houghtonshrine/houghtonshrine.htm.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1049418: Church of St Giles
- ↑ "Houghton: St Giles" (in en). https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/10299/service-and-events/events-all/.
- ↑ "Norfolk Churches". http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/houghtonstgiles/houghtonstgiles.htm.