Dersingham


Dersingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
Dersingham is located north-east of King's Lynn and north-west of Norwich.

History

Dersingham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the village or settlement of Deorsige's people.
In the Domesday Book, Dersingham is listed as a settlement of 115 households in the hundred of Freebridge. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of Eudo, son of Spirewic and Peter de Valognes.
In 1984, a horde of silver shillings with a silver cup was discovered in Dersingham which date from the Tudor and Stuart eras.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Dersingham has a population of 4,755 people which shows an increase from the 4,640 people listed in the 2011 census.
Dersingham is located along the A149, between King's Lynn and Great Yarmouth.
The nearby Dersingham Bog National Nature Reserve, managed by Natural England, contains habitats ranging from marshland to heathland and woodland. Birds such as the redpoll, crossbill, long-eared owl, tree pipit, sparrowhawk and nightjar can be found there.

St Nicholas' Church

Dersingham's parish church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas and dates from the 14th century. St Nicholas' is located on Church Lane and has been a Grade I listed building since 1953.
St Nicholas' holds a good example of a 14th-century chancel with stained glass depicting Jesus, Saint Agnes and Saint Luke installed by James Powell and Sons and Charles Eamer Kempe in the early 20th century. The wooden parish chest, dating from the middle of the 14th century, is carved elaborately with the symbols of the four Evangelists; on the lid, there is part of an inscription.

Sandringham House

, a favoured royal residence of Queen Elizabeth II and several of her predecessors, lies just to the south of Dersingham in the parish of Sandringham. The Queen visited Dersingham Infant School to mark her Diamond Jubilee in February 2012.

Notable residents

  • Thomas Kerrich clergyman, librarian and antiquarian, born in Dersingham.
  • John Dolignon Norfolk and Marylebone Cricket Club cricketer, born in Dersingham.
  • Arthur Harry Cross chorister and composer, lived in Dersingham.
  • Arthur Bryant historian and writer, born in Dersingham.
  • Ginger Baker drummer, rented Dersingham Hall during his Baker Gurvitz Army period.
  • Phil Collins English musician and frontman of Genesis, resident of Dersingham.
  • Claire Goose actress, raised in Dersingham.

    Governance

Dersingham is an electoral ward for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.
The village's national constituency is North West Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's James Wild MP since 2010.

War memorial

Dersingham War Memorial is a stone-brick obelisk on Station Road which was unveiled in 1923 and renovated in 2008. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:
RankNameUnitDate of DeathBurial
Lt.John W. Whitehouse156th Coy., Royal Engineers21 Mar. 1918Peronne Cemetery
Sgt.Vivian S. Wells20th Bn., Durham Light Infantry31 Mar. 1918Arras Memorial
Sgt.Albert E. Lancaster79th Coy., Royal Garrison Artillery16 Oct. 1918Kirkee War Cemetery
LSgt.Wesley E. R. Tuck9th Bn., Norfolk Regiment25 Oct. 1916St Nicholas' Churchyard
LSgt.William Cross10th Bn., West Yorkshire Regiment23 Apr. 1917Arras Memorial
Cpl.Edward Melton10th Bn., Gordon Highlanders7 Aug. 1915Maroc Cemetery
Cpl.Leonard A. Reynolds3rd Sqn., Mounted Military Police14 Mar. 1919South Cemetery
Cpl.Alfred E. Daniels1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment4 Jun. 1916Faubourg Cemetery
Cpl.Ernest Emmerson1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.12 Aug. 1915Helles Memorial
LCpl.Horace Reed7th Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment20 Mar. 1918Noyon Cemetery
Dvr.Albert Carter75th Ambulance, Army Medical Corps1 May 1918Lijssenthoek Cemetery
Gnr.Frederick T. Fitt270th Bde., Royal Field Artillery9 Jun. 1917Hadra War Memorial
Gnr.William Rasberry51st Bty., Royal Garrison Artillery28 Jun. 1917Strand Cemetery
Pte.John R. Green1st Bn., Cambridgeshire Regiment9 Aug. 1918Ribemont Cemetery
Pte.Hubert H. Tuck21st Bn., CEF16 Sep. 1916Puchevillers Cemetery
Pte.Walter Cross8th Bn., East Yorkshire Regiment17 Nov. 1916Thiepval Memorial
Pte.Robert F. Batterbee1st Bn., Essex Regiment16 Aug. 1917Tyne Cot
Pte.William Clarke9th Bn., Essex Regt.9 Apr. 1917Houdain Cemetery
Pte.Isaac Taylor3rd Bn., Royal Fusiliers4 Nov. 1918Fontaine-au-Bois Cem.
Pte.Oliver Ellwood3rd Bn., Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers8 Nov. 1918St Nicholas' Churchyard
Pte.George W. Grief9th Bn., King's Own Royal Regiment28 Apr. 1917Karasouli Cemetery
Pte.Robert H. Daniels9th Bn., Lancashire Fusiliers4 Oct. 1917Tyne Cot
Pte.A. Ernest Green7th Bn., Leicestershire Regiment24 Sep. 1916Thiepval Memorial
Pte.Edward Dawes2nd Bn., London Regiment6 Nov. 1918Angreau Cemetery
Pte.Edward A. Newling63rd Bn., Machine Gun Corps28 Aug. 1918Terlincthun Cemetery
Pte.George L. Hooks2nd Bn., Middlesex Regiment7 Oct. 1918Hautmont Cemetery
Pte.Cyril J. Jarvis1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment4 Nov. 1917Tyne Cot
Pte.Charles E. Daniels2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt.17 Nov. 1914Basra Memorial
Pte.George W. Fenton2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt.3 Jul. 1916Basra War Cemetery
Pte.Herbert J. Grief2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt.17 Apr. 1916Basra Memorial
Pte.Philip Allen1/4th Bn., Norfolk Regt.6 Nov. 1917El Qantara Cemetery
Pte.William A. Bunn1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.19 Apr. 1917Gaza War Cemetery
Pte.Sidney Carter1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.21 Aug. 1915Helles Memorial
Pte.Harold F. G. Daniels1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.2 Nov. 1917Deir al-Balah Cemetery
Pte.Ernest Howell1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.12 Aug. 1915Helles Memorial
Pte.James Howell1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.19 Apr. 1917Gaza War Cemetery
Pte.Frederick R. Kerrison1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.21 Aug. 1915Helles Memorial
Pte.Robert W. Nurse1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.21 Aug. 1915Helles Memorial
Pte.Morris M. Walden1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.21 Aug. 1915Helles Memorial
Pte.George A. Rust8th Bn., Norfolk Regt.17 Feb. 1917Thiepval Memorial
Pte.E. Alfred Eastwick23rd Bn., Northumberland Fusiliers9 Apr. 1917Arras Memorial
Pte.William Lyng-Baldwin1st Bn., South Staffordshire Regiment3 Aug. 1917Achiet Cemetery
Rfn.Albert Brooks10th Bn., London Regt.9 Aug. 1918Vis-en-Artois Memorial
Rfn.Herbert J. Daniels11th Bn., London Regt.24 May 1917Arras Memorial
Spr.Herbert E. Francis104th Coy., Royal Engineers27 May 1918Arras Memorial
Spr.Arthur W. Daw144th Coy., R.E.10 Apr. 1918St Sever Cemetery
Cmn.James DrewSS Alnwick Castle19 Mar. 1917Tower Hill Memorial

And, Thomas Nurse.