Fincham


Fincham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
Fincham is located south of King's Lynn and west of Norwich.

History

Fincham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a homestead or settlement with an abundance of finches.
The Roman Fen Causeway once ran through Fincham meaning the parish has yielded numerous Roman artefacts including three separate hoards of silver coins, a curious figure of a hare and hound and a bust of Jupiter. The foundations of a Roman building have been discovered in the north of the parish, which have been excavated by Norfolk Heritage in the 1990s.
The parish has also yielded many artefacts from the Anglo-Saxon period including rare coins dating from the reign of King Rædwald and another that was minted in Maastricht. With later coins found dating from the reigns of King Cnut and Æthelred the Unready.
In the Domesday Book, Fincham is listed as a settlement of 164 households in the hundred of Clackclose. In 1086, the village was divided between the East Anglian estates of William de Warenne, Hermer de Ferrers, Bury St Edmunds Abbey, St. Etheldreda's Abbey, Ralph Baynard and Reginald, son of Ivo.
Fincham Hall is a manor-house dating from the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, with an earlier octagonal brick tower. Today, the hall is available for tourists to rent on Airbnb. Talbot Hall was built in Eighteenth Century and was notable for hosting an impressive collection of orchids currently displayed in Kew Botanical Gardens.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Fincham has a population of 514 people which shows an increase from the 496 people listed in the 2011 census.
Most of Fincham village is a dedicated conservation area due to its distinct rural character.

St. Martin's Church

Fincham's parish church is dedicated to Saint Martin, with the exterior of the church dating from the Fifteenth Century and the interior being the remains of an extensive Nineteenth Century restoration. St. Martin's is located within the village on the High Street and has been Grade I listed since 1959. St. Martin's font is famous throughout Norfolk due to the fact it stands on four separate legs and depicts scenes from The Gospel of Christ.
Fincham once had another church, dedicated to Saint Michael, but this fell into disuse and was subsequently demolished in the mid-Nineteenth Century.

Amenities

Though at one time Fincham was home to five public houses, today only one remains- 'The Swan'. The pub has stood on its current site since the late-Eighteenth Century and today operates as a freehouse.
Fincham Memorial Hall is located close to the Village Green, and is the venue for monthly car boot sales and the annual Village Fete. The hall has been severely damaged twice in recent memory, once after an illegal rave and secondly by flooding in Winter of 2010.
As of 2016, the village was home to a petrol station and a hairdressing salon.
In 2005, the Fincham Chorus was formed by people from Fincham and the surrounding area. To date, they have staged several concerts and performed at one wedding, as well as taking part in the Christmas carol services. To date, they have raised over £10,000 for St Martin's Church restoration fund.

Governance

Feltwell is part of the electoral ward of Airfield for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk
The village's national constituency is South West Norfolk which has been represented by Labour's Terry Jermy MP since 2024.

War memorial

Fincham War Memorial is a square plinth topped with a crucifix, made from Portland stone and located inside St. Martin's Churchyard. The memorial was restored in 2012 with the partition chains around the memorial being stolen in 2013 and subsequently replaced. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:
RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/Commemoration
Lt.William CraneGeneral List13 Mar. 1918St. Mary's Church
Sgt.George Harvey1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment8 Nov. 1918Les Baraques Cemetery
Cpl.Philip J. Laws9th Bn., Yorkshire Regiment15 Jan. 1916Calais Southern Cemetery
LCpl.Ernest Lankfer18th Bn., Highland Light Infantry26 Oct. 1917Tyne Cot
LCpl.Sydney Bacon1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment19 Dec. 1914Menin Gate
Gnr.Bertie W. Sculpher322nd Bty., Royal Garrison Artillery18 Jul. 1917Ravenna War Cemetery
Pte.Thomas Utting4th Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment10 Apr. 1916Ladywell Cemetery
Pte.George Nelson2nd Bn., Cheshire Regiment15 Apr. 1918Doiran Memorial
Pte.Isaac Sculpher1st Bn., Coldstream Guards26 Jan. 1915Cabaret-Rouge Cemetery
Pte.Harry Jude1st Bn., East Surrey Regiment15 Sep. 1916Thiepval Memorial
Pte.Robert Secker1st Bn., Essex Regiment13 Aug. 1915Helles Memorial
Pte.Albert G. Bly1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment16 Jul. 1915Étaples Military Cemetery
Pte.Bert Bell7th Bn., Norfolk Regt.22 Jul. 1917Duisans British Cemetery
Pte.Arthur Elliott8th Bn., Norfolk Regt.9 Nov. 1917Dozinghem Cemetery
Pte.Charles R. Wilding8th Bn., Norfolk Regt.5 Dec. 1915Norfolk Cemetery
Pte.Ralph H. Bacon9th Bn., Norfolk Regt.21 Mar. 1918Arras Memorial
Pte.Jotham A. Bywater9th Bn., Norfolk Regt.26 Sep. 1915Loos Memorial
Pte.Benjamin J. Barker6th Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment17 Feb. 1917Regina Trench Cemetery
Pte.Robert R. Bellham2nd Bn., Royal Sussex Regiment15 Jul. 1916Thiepval Memorial
Pte.Fred W. E. Upshaw2/5th Bn., West Yorkshire Regiment20 Jul. 1918Marfaux Cemetery
Rfn.Percy W. Bacon13th Bn., King's Royal Rifle Corps21 Mar. 1918Tyne Cot
Rfn.John Johnson13th Bn., K.R.R.C.13 Jun. 1916Thiepval Memorial

The following names were added following the Second World War:
RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/Commemoration
FOHugh Mason DFMNo. 83 Squadron RAF27 Apr. 1944Durnbach War Cemetery
Cpl.Douglas E. G. Drew1st Bn., Suffolk Regiment31 May 1940Oostvleteren Churchyard
Pte.Alan M. Lambert1st Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment6 Jun. 1944Hermanville War Cemetery
Pte.James W. Cameron5th Bn., Royal Norfolks26 Jun. 1943Kanchanaburi War Cemetery