Northwold

Coordinates: 52°32′39″N 0°34′54″E / 52.544208°N 0.581589°E / 52.544208; 0.581589

Northwold
Northwold
Northwold  Northwold shown within Norfolk
Area	19.72 km2 (7.61 sq mi)
Population	1,070
- Density	54 /km2 (140 /sq mi)
OS grid reference	TL751971
- London	153 km (95 mi)
Parish	Northwold
District	King's Lynn and West Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	THETFORD
Postcode district	IP26
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
List of places: UK • England • Norfolk

Northwold ("North forest"^[1]) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 19.72 km² (7.61 sq mi) and had a population of 1,070 in 448 households as of the 2001 census.^[2] For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

The village is 4.8 km (3.0 mi) southeast of the closed Stoke Ferry station of the Great Eastern Railway, 12 km (7.5 mi) north of Brandon, and 153 km (95 mi) from London. It lies on the road from Thetford to King's Lynn and on the river Wissey, in the Western division of the county, Grimshoe hundred, Thetford union and county court district, Cranwich rural deanery, Norfolk archdeaconry and Norwich diocese.

Northwold is mentioned in the Domesday Book and traces of human settlements there from the Neolithic era have been recorded.^{[citation needed]} The civil parish also includes the hamlets of Whittington^[3] and Little London.

Northwold is in an area dominated by agriculture and many of the inhabitants work on the farms around the district. This area of England is famous for the cultivation of sugar beet and has several factories producing sugar. Residents not serving the agricultural industry tend to travel to the surrounding larger towns or cites for work, such as King's Lynn, Swaffham, Downham Market or Norwich.^{[citation needed]}

The Norman Church of England Primary School is the only school in the village. It was known as The Norman School after local benefactor Caroline Amelia Norman.^[4] Northwold has a general store which doubles as a post office. In earlier times the village boasted several public houses but now only The Crown remains.^{[citation needed]}

St Andrews Anglican church, Northwold

Former Primitive Methodist chapel, Northwold

Churches

The church of St Andrew dominates the village. In its oldest parts, it dates from the early thirteenth century.^[5] It was built in the Perpendicular and Early English styles,^[6] having chancel, nave and aisles, and tower built in the fourteenth century, containing 8 bells and a modern clock. The tower and church are built principally of flint and the tower has various devices inlaid in this material. Its top is ornamented with eight pinnacles.^{[citation needed]} The roof of the nave is made of painted oak, richly gilt and ornamented with angels with extended wings. The register dates from the year 1650.^{[citation needed]} The living is a rectory, tithe rent-charge £896, with 66 acres (270,000 m²) of glebe and house, in the gift of the Bishop of Norwich and held in 1880 by William Cowper Johnson of Caius College, Cambridge, honorary canon of Norwich.^{[citation needed]}

During a renovation of the church in the 1970s the remains were found of wall paintings in the wall plaster dating from the early Middle Ages.^{[citation needed]}

In Northwold there were also Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels, but these are now converted into dwellings for private use.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ "Northwold". English Place-Name Society database. Nottingham University. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~aezins//kepn/detailpop.php?placeno=9433. Retrieved 14 October 2010. 
2. ^ Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Retrieved 20 June 2009.
3. ^ "History of Northwold in Kings Lynn and West Norfolk". A Vision of Britain through Time. Great Britain Historical GIS Project, Department of Geography, University of Portsmouth. 2009. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=2914&st=northwold. Retrieved 2010-06-15. 
4. ^ "The Norman Church of England Primary School - Homepage". Norfolk County Council. http://www.eficts.norfolk.gov.uk/schoolwebsites/Norman/Default.asp. Retrieved 2010-06-15. 
5. ^ J. A. Norris, ed. (1988), "Northwold’s Greatest Son – A Benedictine Monk", St Andrew Church, Northwold: Church History & Guide, http://www.northwoldchurch.org.uk/guide_benedictine_4.html, retrieved 2 July 2010 
6. ^ J. A. Norris, ed. (1988), "From Early English to Decorated", St Andrew Church, Northwold: Church History & Guide, http://www.northwoldchurch.org.uk/guide_decorated_6.html, retrieved 2 July 2010 

External links

Media related to Northwold at Wikimedia Commons