Langford, Norfolk

Infobox UK place
official_name= Langford
country= England
region= East of England
shire_district= Breckland
shire_county= Norfolk
civil_parish= Langford CP
static_

static_image_caption =Saint Andrew, Langford, Norfolk
population= 0 (parish, 2001 census)
population_density=
os_grid_reference=TL8396
latitude= 52.535709
longitude= 0.707797
post_town= N/A
postcode_area= N/A
postcode_district= N/A
dial_code= N/A
constituency_westminster=
london_distance= convert|91.9|mi|km

Langford is a village and former civil parish within the English county of Norfolk. The village is in the Norfolk battle training area of the Ministry of Defence which is an area with a restricted entry. Langford is about nine miles south of the town of Swaffham.

History

Langford has an entry in the Domesday Book of 1085, ["The Domesday Book, England's Heritage, Then and Now", Editor: Thomas Hinde, Norfolk, p. 186 ISBN 1858334403] in which it is recorded as Langaforde. The main landholder is named as Hugh de Montfort and the survey also states that there are two mills, a fishery and two beehives.

1944

The village was evacuated in 1944 and became part of a military training ground. [ [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/battlezone/battlezoneintro.htm] Information about the evacuation] The villagers gave up their homes as part of the war effort. The War Office needed a zone to train troops for the Battle of Normandy, which eventually led to the end of the Second World War in Europe. The villagers evacuated willingly, and at the time it was reported that there was cheering at the public meeting at which the evacuation was announced, although this is conjecture. [ [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/battlezone/battlezoneintro.htm] Information about the evacuation] It has never become clear if the people involved were aware that they were never to return to their homes. Most of the inhabitants were not landowners. Many of the buildings were tied cottages belonging to the Walsingham estate. Few of the houses had running water and none of the properties had electricity. The land that surrounded the village was of a poor quality and the villagers struggled to make a living from it. After the evacuation most of the families were re-housed locally in better accommodation in the nearby towns of Swaffham, Thetford and Watton.

The Parish Church of St Andrew

The parish church is a very simple affair made up of two cells which date from the Norman period. ["Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East", by Nikolaus Pevsner and Bill Wilson, Langford entry. ISBN 0-300-09607-0 ] The church once had a medieval tower, but this was lost some time in the 18th century. The bell turret is late Victorian which has been built in a Norman style. The eaves of the church have curious carved faces on the east elevation, a grinning cat to the south, a wild man to the north.

References