Heacham

Heacham (coord|52|54|25|N|00|29|24|E|) is a village of 4,611ref|population inhabitants, located in north-west Norfolk, England, between King's Lynn, 14 miles to the south and Hunstanton, about 3 miles to the north, on The Wash.

History

Its name purportedly derives from a 12th-century Norman lord, Geoffrey de Hecham. Although this is possible, it could be incorrect as the name ‘de Hecham’ literally means ‘of Hecham’ implying the place name was already in existence. The name Hecham was in use at the time of the Little Domesday Book which was written around 1086.

"Peter de Valence holds in domain Hecham, which Haldane a freeman held in the time of King Edward, as a manor, and as 5 hides. There have always been 2 ploughs in the demesne, 4 ploughs of the men. At that time there were 8 villeins, now 10; then there were 2 bordars, now 3; at both times 4 s 1, woods for 300 swine, 18 acres of meadow. Then there were 2 fish ponds and a half, now there are none. At that time there was I ox, now there are 15 cattle and I small horse and 18 swine and 2 hives of bees. At that time it was worth 60s., now 4f-. 1 Os. When he received this manor he found only I ox and I planted acre. Of those 5 hides spoken of above, one was held in the time of Kind Edward by 2 freemen, and was added to this manor in the time of King William. It was worth in the time of King Edward 10s., now 22s., and William holds this from Peter de Valence."

The name is more likely to have derived from the name of the river, The Hitch, in conjunction with the Old English word ham or hammref|name which meant either "homestead, village, manor, estate" or “enclosure, land hemmed by water or marsh or higher ground, land in a river bend, river meadow, promontory."

There is evidence of settlement in the Heacham area, for around the last 5,000 years, with numerous Neolithic and latter Bronze Age finds throughout the parish. This is presumably due to the fact the local geology consists of primarily cretaceous sands and underlying chalk meaning that there is very little surface water for miles in any direction. This can also be seen along the banks of the Caudle Carr located just outside Dersingham where numerous archaeological sites have been found. Running water in conjunction with the fertile surrounding lands, made it an ideal settling location for early man. Evidence of habitation continues through the Iron age into the Romano-Britishref|roman era. But the beginnings of the present village most probably did not occur until around the 5th century with the Anglo-Saxon invasion and the beginnings of present-day East Anglia.

Church

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the most ancient building left in the village. It dates from 1230 and is Norman in design. In the cupola on the tower hangs a bell (circa 1100), the oldest in East Anglia, and the seventh-oldest in the country. The transepts have been lost as well as 12 feet from the east end, and the roof has been lowered.

The Oxford historian of science Robert Gunther is buried in the village.

Pocahontas

Heacham also has historic ties to Pocahontas, who married John Rolfe in 1614. The Rolfes are buried in the Heacham Church.

Beaches

Heacham started to become popular as a seaside resort with the Victorians due to the opening of the railway line between King's Lynn and Hunstanton in the early 1860s. This culminated in the building of the Jubilee Bridge in 1887 to replace an old wooden bridge as a result of oversubscriptions from parishioners in celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Heacham is still popular today as a seaside resort with both the North Beach (Jubilee) Road and South Beach Road being lined with caravan parks.

The beach at Heacham is situated on the east banks of The Wash; this means it is one of the few beaches in eastern England where the sun sets over the sea instead of over land. As such, with the right weather conditions, beautiful sunsets can be viewed.

On 29th July 1929 Miss Mercedes Gleitze became the first woman to swim the Wash. Originally aiming for Hunstanton she finally came ashore at Heacham after battling treacherous tides for over 13 hours.

Heacham was severely affected by the North Sea flood of 1953, where nine people died in the village, as a result of the sea breaking through its defences.

Norfolk Lavender

Norfolk Lavender Ltd was founded in 1932. Linn Chilvers supplied the plants and the labour. Francis Dusgate of Fring Hall provided the land. The first lavender field was planted on Dusgate's land at Fring and in 1936 Dusgate acquired Caley Mill on the River Heacham and the ground around it, not for the building but for the land. Lavender has been grown there ever since. A kiosk was erected from which bunches of lavender were sold to passing pre-war traffic. By 1936 Caley Mill was already disused and no significant repairs were carried out until 1953/4 after the new road (the A149) had been put through cutting the lavender field in half. It was at that time that the new lay-by and kiosk were constructed. Further repairs and restoration work were carried out at the Mill in 1977-78 and in the late 1980s. From the early 1990s onwards it has broadened its range to include other typical English floral fragrances. These are sold all over Britain and exported all over the world.

ee also

* The River Heacham
* Heacham railway station

External links

* [http://www.heacham.co.uk/ Heacham – Community website]
* [http://www.heacham-on-line.co.uk/ Heacham Online]
* [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/hecham.html Little Domesday entry for Hecham]
* [http://www.origins.org.uk/genuki/NFK/places/h/heacham/white1845.shtml William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk 1845]
* [http://apling.freeservers.com/1891Census/Heacham.htm 1891 Census of Heacham]
* [http://www.norfolk-lavender.co.uk Norfolk Lavender]

References

# Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council, 2001. [http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/consumption/groups/public/documents/general_resources/ncc017867.xls 2001 Census]
# A Survey of the History of English Placenames [http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/engplnam.html Ham or Hamm]
# Aerial photo showing Iron Age or Romano British enclosures in Heacham [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conMediaFile.3949 English Heritage]