South Walsham
| South Walsham | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's Church, South Walsham | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TG364130 |
| Location: | 52°39’50"N, 1°29’42"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 845 (2011) |
| Post town: | Norwich |
| Postcode: | NR13 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Broadland |
South Walsham is a village in Norfolk, in the Norfolk Broads. It is just south of South Walsham Broad, which leads down to the River Bure.
Historically, the village comprised two separate parishes, that of St Mary and of St Lawrence.[1]
The parish of South Walsham includes the hamlets of Town Green and Pilson Green, and South Walsham Broad lies adjacent to the village.
The 2011 census recorded its population as 845, in 345 households.
History
The villages name means 'W(e)alh's homestead/village' or 'Britons' homestead/village'.[2]
South Walsham is recorded in the Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici as Súðwalshám[3] in a document produced during the reign of Edward the Confessor.[4] Early documents suggest that land in the present parish was owned by a freeman named under Guert, the brother of Harold Godwinson[5]
At the time of the Norman Conquest, before passing under the stewardship of Godric the Steward. Its entry in the Domesday Book shows land ownership divided between William the Conqueror, William, Bishop of Thetford, Godric the Steward and St Benet's Abbey.[6] In total, there were around 124 villagers excluding women and children.[7] During the Middle Ages, much of the land in the parish was used to produce peat for fuel, and records of turbary show that around two hundred thousand turves were sold each year, yielding an average income of around seven pounds per annum.[7][8] These revenues dropped rapidly, from over eight pounds (and 250 000 units) in 1268–69 to around two pounds (and 56 700 units) in 1290–91,[8] as the former peat cuttings began to flood and The Broads were formed. There are references to flooded land (or Broddinge) as early as 1315.[7][8]
After the Reformation, the abbey at St Benet's, though disendowed remained in use for some time, but had fallen into decay by the early stages of the reign of Elizabeth I.
After fire damage in 1827, the church of St Lawrence slowly fell into disuse and the two parishes were combined in 1889.[9] The tower collapsed in 1971.[9]
The parish is also home to the South Walsham estate, purchased in 1946 by Major Henry Broughton, 2nd Lord Fairhaven, which remains in the ownership of the family.[10] Large parts of the estate are opened to the public as the Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden. Throughout its history, South Walsham has been linked with the wealthy St Benet's Abbey located just outside the parish.[7]
About the village
The former St Lawrence's Church has been repurposed as the St Lawrence Centre for Training and the Arts, hosting various music concerts, art exhibitions, craft fairs and charity events.[11]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about South Walsham) |
References
- ↑ "Norfolk Parishes K-Z" (in en). https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Norfolk_Parishes_K-Z.
- ↑ Walthsa
- ↑ Kemble, John Mitchell (1848). Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici, Volume 6. Cambridge University Press. pp. 338. ISBN 978-1-108-03590-3. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/codex-diplomaticus-aevi-saxonici/0BC3730C3FB625A73963BB17DFB64DE9.
- ↑ Kemble, John Mitchell (1846). Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici, Volume 4. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-03588-0. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/codex-diplomaticus-aevi-saxonici/3E8C661C8348AC4406DA63DC73350BE1.
- ↑ A History of the County of Norfolk - Volume 11 pp 138-143: Walsham Hundred: South-Walsham (Victoria County History)
- ↑ Walsham South Walsham in the Domesday Book
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Amos, G. S.. A history of South Walsham. Field View, South Walsham.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lambert, J. M.; Jennings, J. N.; Smith, C. T.; Green, Charles; Hutchinson, J. N. (1960). The Making of the Broads: A reconsideration of their origin in the light of new evidence. London: Royal Geographical Society.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Norfolk Churches". http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/swalshamlawrence/swalshamstlawrence.htm.
- ↑ "About | Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden" (in en). https://www.fairhavengarden.co.uk/about.
- ↑ St Lawrence Centre