Great Cressingham


Great Cressingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
Great Cressingham is located south of Swaffham and west of Norwich.

History

Great Cressingham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the larger settlement of Cressa's people.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, Great Cressingham is listed as a settlement of 49 households in the hundred of South Greenhoe. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of Count Alan of Brittany, William d'Ecouis, Bishop of Thetford and Ralph de Tosny.
Priory Farm is the former site of a Fifteenth Century manor house which was owned by the Priory of Norwich.
A school was founded in Great Cressingham in 1840, it was closed in 1992. After its closure, the school was bought by Tom & Sally North who restored the school to its Victorian state and keep it open for educational visits.
The Olde Windmill Inn has been open in the village since 1789.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Great Cressingham has a population of 439 people which shows an increase from the 421 people recorded in the 2011 census.
Great Cressingham is located along the course of the River Wissey.

St. Michael's Church

Great Cressingham's parish church is dedicated to Saint Michael and dates from the Fifteenth Century. St. Michael's is located on Watton Road and has been Grade I listed since 1960. St. Michael's is no longer open for Sunday services.
St. Michael's features a good range of Fifteenth Century stained-glass from Norwich and several brass and marble memorials, largely to the Rysle family.

Governance

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

War Memorial

Great Cressingham War Memorial is a granite wheel cross with a sword of sacrifice inside St. Michael's Churchyard. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:
RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/Commemoration
Cpl.George R. Cockerill1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment11 Oct. 1917Tyne Cot
LCpl.Cecil Newton9th Bn., Norfolk Regt.15 Sep. 1916Thiepval Memorial
Gnr.Arthur J. Buckle47 Div Ammo Col., Royal Field Artillery5 May 1917Lijssenthoek Cemetery
Gnr.Charles E. Reynolds7th Bty., Royal Garrison Artillery21 Jun. 1918St. Omer Cemetery
Pte.Bertie Garrod2nd Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment9 Apr. 1917Bucquoy Road Cemetery
Pte.Robert J. Reynolds1st Bn., Cambridgeshire Regiment31 Jul. 1917Menin Gate
Pte.Thomas E. Cockerill13th Bn., East Surrey Regiment25 Mar. 1918Bac-du-Sud Cemetery
Pte.William J. Anthony1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment27 Jul. 1916Thiepval Memorial
Pte.Hubert A. Alderton3/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.25 Sep. 1917St. Michael's Churchyard
Pte.Alec J. Matthews9th Bn., Norfolk Regt.4 Feb. 1917Vermelles Cemetery
Pte.Bertie Sutton1st Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment9 May 1915Le Touret Memorial
Spr.Albert G. Hoggett208th Coy., Royal Engineers9 Aug. 1916Flatiron Copse Cemetery