Melton Constable
| Melton Constable | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 The war memorial, Melton Constable | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TG042331 |
| Location: | 52°51’23"N, 1°2’16"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 618 (2011) |
| Post town: | Melton Constable |
| Postcode: | NR24 |
| Dialling code: | 01263 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | North Norfolk |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North Norfolk |
Melton Constable is a village in Norfolk, in the north of the county, on fairly high ground south-west of Holt.
The parish had a population of 618 in 225 households at the 2011 Census.
The River Bure has its source in the parish, just south of the village, roughly half-way between the village and the parish church.
History
The name Melton Constable is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Maeltuna. This may mean either 'middle town' or 'mill town'. There is a reference to 'Constabularius de Melton' in 1197, as the land was held by the constable of the Bishop of Norwich.[1]
The village was struck by a whirlwind on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day.[2]
Melton Constable Hall
Melton Constable Hall is regarded as the finest specimen of the Christopher Wren style of house.
St Peter Church
St Peter's Church, the Church of England parish church, is located within Melton Constable park.
The church is believed to be of Anglo-Saxon origin. It is a Grade I listed building.[3] The church contains many monuments to the Astley family, who formerly resided at Melton Constable Hall.
Railway
Melton Constable reached its heyday about 1911; in the census of that year,[4] it had a population of 1,157. It was a new town built in 1880s at the junction of four railway lines, which came from Cromer, North Walsham, King's Lynn and Norwich and linked Norfolk to the Midlands. Melton Constable railway station, with a platform 800 feet long, was constructed with a specially-appointed waiting room for Lord Hastings, the local squire. The Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway's main workshops and factory were also situated in the village, helping to give it the character of a rural industrialised village (rather similar to Woodford Halse in Northamptonshire). The workshops were often called the Crewe Works of North Norfolk. When in Midland & Great Northern hands, the works built 19 steam locomotives.
Under London & North Eastern Railway ownership, the works was gradually degraded until 1934 when it closed completely. Between 1959 and 1964, British Railways chose to close the lines, withdrawing both passenger and goods services from Melton Constable, which resulted in the slow decline of the village; it now lies stranded in the middle of a vast agricultural area which uses other forms of transport. In 1971, the station was demolished and the works were converted into an industrial estate; several railway buildings are extant and have found other uses.
The railways may eventually return to Melton Constable in future, as part of the Norfolk Orbital Railway's plans to restore former railway lines.
Burgh Parva
The parish of Melton Constable includes the deserted former parish of Burgh Parva, notable for its ruined church and tin tabernacle replacement.[5]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Melton Constable) |
References
- ↑ Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 4th edition, 1960. p. 321 ISBN 0198691033
- ↑ "European Severe Weather Database". http://www.eswd.eu/cgi-bin/eswd.cgi.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1049221: Church of St Peter (Grade I listing)
- ↑ Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles, 1914 edition
- ↑ Vision of Britain