Wroxham
| Wroxham | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 The Coltishall side of Wroxham Bridge | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TG3017 |
| Location: | 52°42’22"N, 1°24’43"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,502 (2011) |
| Post town: | Norwich |
| Postcode: | NR12 |
| Dialling code: | 01603 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Broadland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Broadland and Fakenham |
Wroxham is a village in Norfolk, standing on the south side of a loop in the middle reaches of the River Bure. It lies in an elevated position above the Bure, between Belaugh Broad to the west, and Wroxham Broad to the east and south-east. Wroxham is some eight miles north-east of Norwich, to which it is linked by the A1151 road.
The 2011 census recorded a population of 1,502 in 653 households.
The village and broad lie in an area of fairly intensive agriculture, with areas of wet woodland adjoining the broad and river.
The village's name origin is uncertain; it is believed to mean 'Wrocc's homestead/village' or 'buzzard homestead/village'.[1]
Wroxham Bridge
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Wroxham Bridge was rebuilt with brick and stone in 1619, replacing a bridge built in 1576, which itself replaced an earlier, probably wooden, structure.[2] It is considered to be the second most difficult on the Broads to navigate (after Potter Heigham) and a pilot station sits on the Hoveton side of the river to assist boaters for a fee: £12 each way per boat.
The Broad
Wroxham Broad lies about one mile downstream from Wroxham Bridge. The broad has an area of 85 acres and a mean depth of 4 feet. It lies to the west of the Bure, with two navigable openings between river and broad. The broad is popular for sailing and is the home of the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club. It is also an important habitat for broadland flora and fauna. Between 2000 and 2005, the island between the two channels linking Wroxham Broad to the Bure underwent restoration to stop erosion and improve the island's ecology, which had become degraded.
By 2005 it was reported that more birds, including kingfishers, were nesting on the island and the Cetti's warbler was often spotted. Greater numbers of ducks, including pochard and tufted duck, now wintered nearby and there was a greater profusion of wild flowers and marsh flora including orchids. During the course of the work in 2004, volunteers came across an unexploded Second World War hand grenade in the dredgings, which was exploded by an army bomb disposal team.
Capital of the Broads
Wroxham is often called the Capital of the Broads, an accolade that may, with some merit, be challenged by Hoveton, where the majority of local businesses and boatyards are situated; it has been the primary centre on the Broads for boating holidays and excursions from the late nineteenth century, when expansion of the rail network had made access to the area easier.
The East Norfolk Railway arrived in Wroxham and Hoveton between 1874 and 1876. John Loynes, regarded as the father of the Broadland holiday business, started the first boat hire firm on the Broads of Wroxham where he moved the business he had started in Norwich in 1878.[3]
Wroxham and Hoveton
Both Wroxham and Hoveton have several boat building and pleasure craft hire yards. Other local industries include the canning of soft fruits. Wroxham village had at one time, for much of the 20th century, its own public house (The Castle, in Norwich Road), four village shops (one in Castle Street and three in Norwich Road), and a primary school (in Church Lane), all now closed. A public library was built near Bridge Broad, a small broad near Wroxham Bridge, in the 1960s.
Wroxham has almost merged with Hoveton, with each village growing on either bank of the river, and much of the area's commercial activity developing in Hoveton. The area around Wroxham Bridge is a local shopping centre, mainly due to the presence of Roys of Wroxham – situated near Wroxham Bridge since 1899 and, since the 1930s, proud bearer of the accolade world's largest village store.[4] Roys owns much of the commercial property in the area. Roys of Wroxham is entirely situated in Hoveton, as are the local post office and the Hotel Wroxham.
Wroxham in 1954 is featured in film held by the Cinema Museum in London. Ref HM0568.[5]
Parish church
The Church of St Mary the Virgin stands at the top of a steep slope above the River Bure. It is built of flint with limestone dressings and with lead roofs. It has a high tower and a famous Norman (12th century) south doorway, stained blue, with seven orders and three shafts, described by the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as 'barbaric and glorious'. The church was heavily restored in the Victorian age.[6] In the churchyard is the Trafford Mausoleum, mediæval in appearance but built in 1831 to designs by the architect Anthony Salvin.
The church is a grade I listed building.
Sport and leisure
- Football: Wroxham F.C., who play at Trafford Park.
In literature
The 20th-century children's author, Arthur Ransome, visited Wroxham in the 1930s. In his book Coot Club (1934), he describes the busy scene on the river at Wroxham Bridge with numerous boats, a wherry, punts, motor cruisers, and sailing yachts, jostling for a mooring.[3]
About the village
Wherry base
In April 2011, a base for the restoration of the Norfolk wherry was opened in Hartwell Road by the Wherry Yacht Charter Charitable Trust.[7] Work began with the restoration of the Edwardian wherry yacht, the Norada, with restoration of another wherry yacht, the Olive, and the pleasure wherry, the Hathor, projected over the following two years. Once restored, the wherries are intended to be available for use by school and youth groups as well as by private charter.
Heritage rail
The Bure Valley Railway is a 15-inch minimum gauge heritage railway which runs from Wroxham to Aylsham. At nine miles long, it is Norfolk's longest railway of less than standard gauge.[8]
Barton House Railway is a miniature steam-driven railway (now two railways) large enough for passengers, with a full-size signal box and signals, and a museum of railway artefacts. It has been open to the public since 1963, in a large riverside garden in Hartwell Road. It is based on the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway, which operated some of the train services in East Anglia before railway nationalisation in 1947. The original railway runs on a 3½-inch track with a miniature steam locomotive. In 1979, work started on the 7¼-inch 'Riverside' railway which ran initially with an electric engine and later with a steam locomotive. The railway is run by volunteers and makes donations from proceeds to local charities.[9]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Wroxham) |
References
- ↑ Place-Names
- ↑ "Archived copy". http://www.broadland.gov.uk/PDF/WROXHAM_con_area_doc_final.pdf.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Wroxham". 2017. http://www.literarynorfolk.co.uk/wroxham.htm.
- ↑ Roys Of Wroxham. "History of Roys". http://www.roys.co.uk/roys-history/.
- ↑ "Cinema Museum Home Movie Database.xlsx" (in en-US). https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OJqSWnOFAn6RJ24jtwb21Z4Hv5svJjbp/edit?usp=embed_facebook.
- ↑ "Norfolk Churches". http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/wroxham/wroxham.htm.
- ↑ "Home | Wherry Yacht Charter Charitable Trust". https://www.wherryyachtcharter.org/.
- ↑ "Bure Valley Railway | Aylsham Norfolk". Bure Valley Railway. 2023. https://www.bvrw.co.uk.
- ↑ "Welcome to Barton House Railway". Barton House Railway. 2023. https://www.bhrw.org.uk/.