Great Hockham


Great Hockham is a village in the English county of Norfolk within the civil parish of Hockham.
Great Hockham lies north east of Thetford and south west from Norwich.

History

Great Hockham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the larger Hocca's homestead or village.
In the Domesday Book, Hockham is listed as a settlement of 39 households in the hundred of Shropham. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of Roger Bigod.
Hockham Hall was built in 1702 by Philip Ryley and was built on the old site of a medieval tithe barn.
There remains of the Royal Observer Corps Orlit post which has been vandalised since it was abandoned.

Geography

The A1075, between Thetford and Dereham, passes through the village.

Holy Trinity Church

Great Hockham's church is located just off Wretham Road and dates from the Fourteenth Century, having been Grade I listed since 1958. The church holds Sunday services once every six weeks
The church was restored in the 1950s and was once lavishly decorated, but these decorations were removed during the Reformation. Holy Trinity also features stained-glass depicting the Adoration of the Magi by Charles Eamer Kempe and Christ the Good Shepherd by E.R. Suffling.

Governance

Great Hockham is part of the electoral ward of All Saints & Wayland for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.
The village's national constituency is Mid Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's George Freeman MP since 2010.

Notable residents

Great Hockham War Memorial is a tall marble cross located inside Holy Trinity Churchyard. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:
RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/Commemoration
LCpl.Frederick J. H. Gates1/4th Bn., Norfolk Regiment19 Apr. 1917Gaza War Cemetery
A2CThomas A. Edwards9 Park, Royal Air Force15 Feb. 1919Maubeuge Cemetery
Gnr.Edward Burlingham168th Bde., Royal Field Artillery30 Oct. 1917Minty Farm Cemetery
Pte.Edward W. Church8th Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment19 Apr. 1917Loos Memorial
Pte.George W. Matthews6th Bn., The Buffs9 Aug. 1918Franvillers Cemetery
Pte.Absolom Snowley1st Bn., Coldstream Guards14 Sep. 1914La Ferté Memorial
Pte.Arthur Oldfield2nd Bn., Coldstream Gds.30 Sep. 1916Thiepval Memorial
Pte.John C. Bell17th Bn., Royal Fusiliers30 Nov. 1917Cambrai Memorial
Pte.Harry A. Bunnett2nd Bn., Grenadier Guards31 Oct. 1914Menin Gate
Pte.Thomas R. Teasel15th Bn., London Regt.20 Sep. 1917Perth Cemetery
Pte.Reginald E. Kerridge1st Bn., Middlesex Regiment3 Nov. 1916Grove Town Cemetery
Pte.Sydney A. Mason1/4th Bn., Norfolk Regiment19 Apr. 1917Jerusalem Memorial
Pte.Leonard Matthews1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.21 Jul. 1915Holy Trinity Churchyard
Pte.George H. Ellis7th Bn., Norfolk Regt.5 Oct. 1915Bethune Town Cemetery
Pte.George E. Frost7th Bn., Norfolk Regt.30 Mar. 1918Condé Cemetery
Pte.H. William Church1st Bn., Wiltshire Regiment25 Feb. 1919Terlincthun Cemetery
Pte.Sidney H. Matthews10th Bn., Worcestershire Regiment22 Mar. 1918Arras Memorial

The following names were added after the Second World War:
RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/Commemoration
Sgt.Harry ParkerRoyal Air Force Volunteer Reserve4 Jun. 1943Holy Trinity Churchyard
ASn.Kenneth A. SmithHMS Pembroke15 Jun. 1947Holy Trinity Churchyard
ASn.William A. J. PikeHMS Victory29 Jun. 1940Holy Trinity Churchyard
LACGeorge H. GrimwoodRoyal Air Force Volunteer Reserve5 Mar. 1945Holy Trinity Churchyard
Rfn.Leonard A. Hawes2nd Bn., Royal Irish Rifles2 Dec. 1943Sangro River War Cemetery