Hevingham

Hevingham is a village and civil parish in the Broadland district of the English county of Norfolk. The village is located between the A140 and the B1149.
Hevingham is located south of Aylsham and north of Norwich.

History

The village name has Old English origins and is translated as homestead of the people of Hefa.
Archaeological evidence shows that the site of the village has been occupied since the Bronze Age. But there are much earlier signs of activity, a Mesolithic flint axe-head being the earliest archaeological find recorded, with several Neolithic flint axe-heads also being recovered.
There is evidence of Roman activity. A Roman iron-working site was found during ploughing and was subsequently excavated. Archaeologists also investigated pottery kilns in the parish in the 1950s. Five kilns were recorded. These produced cooking vessels and other pottery during the 2nd century. The names of two potters who worked at the site – INGENU and ESAMI are recorded on the stamps they used on their pottery. There are also extensive finds recorded from throughout the Saxon period.
In the Domesday Book, Hevingham is listed as a settlement of 50 households hundred of South Erpingham. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of King William I, Walter Giffard and William de Beaufeu.
Another medieval settlement, named Rippon or Ripton, once stood in the parish but was likely abandoned due to the Black Death.
‘William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk 1845’ described Hevingham thus:
With its redbrick 16th-century manor house, Park Farm is the former site of a moated bishops' palace. Built in 1250 by Walter de Suffield, Bishop of Norwich, it was used by subsequent bishops until the ownership of the land was passed to the Crown by Bishop Nix in 1531. Earthworks of the moat can still be seen and many artefacts have been found on the site by the current landowner. Adjacent Hevingham Park, a medieval wood may have been a deer park connected to the palace. There is also a massive bank and ditch marking the parish boundary.
There are records of a post-medieval windmill or smock mill which stood in the north-east part of the village, to the west of the Cromer road, and which was sold at auction 'to be dismantled' in 1869.
Other notable historic buildings include Pound Farm House, built in 1675 on The Street/Halls Corner, The Free School built by John Hall in 1726 on the Cromer Road, Avenue Farm House, built in 1835, and Hevingham Primary School, built in 1875 with a capacity of 100 students.
The site of a camping ground, or recreation field, where 'Camping' was played may be recorded in the modern names of Camping Beck and Camping Bridge.
There is a complete World War II pillbox located in the south-western corner of Buxton Heath, itself a site of special scientific interest.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Hevingham has a population of 1,309 people which shows an increase from the 1,260 people recorded in the 2011 census.
The village is located between the A140, between Norwich and Cromer, and the B1149, between Norwich and Holt.

Church of St. Mary and St. Botolph

Hevingham's parish church is jointly dedicated to Saint Mary and Saint Botolph and dates from the Fourteenth Century. St. Mary's & St. Botolph's is located on Cromer Road and has been Grade I listed since 1983. The church remains open for Sunday service fortnightly.

The village sign

A sign of two crossed birch brooms which recalls a staple industry of the village in the past. The idea for the sign was conceived by a Mr. Wymer, one of the last of the brushmakers. The background imagery of the sign fits with the description given by Rev. Francis Blomfield when he wrote about the village in 1750, mentioning that "it lay at the confluence of several small streams". The sign is situated at the corner of the village green on Westgate and the current incarnation was erected in 2009.

The village today

Amenities in the village include two public houses, The Fox and The Marsham Arms. On 11 July 2010 The Marsham Arms suffered a serious fire which resulted in its closure. After restoration the pub re-opened in May 2011, There is also a village hall where various events are held and which can be hired privately, the hall was built in 2000 to replace an older building and opened by Bernard Matthews. The main industries in the village are forestry and farming. Sanders Coaches provide regular bus services linking the village to several destinations including Holt and Norwich. Leisure facilities include fishing lakes Cobbleacre and Hevingham Lakes which also has a caravan and camping park.

Notable residents

Frederick Savage- engineer and inventor, born in Hevingham
Victoria Williamson- elite bobsledder and former track cyclist, born in Hevingham
Governance

Hevingham is an electoral ward for local elections and is part of the district of Broadland.
The village's national constituency is Broadland and Fakenham which has been represented by the Conservative Party's Jerome Mayhew MP since 2019.

War Memorial

Hevingham War Memorial is a stone cross on a three-stepped plinth inside the Churchyard of St. Mary & St. Botolph which was unveiled in 1920. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of death	Burial/Commemoration
Dvr.	John W. D. Allen	Royal Field Artillery att. 46th Div.	22 Apr. 1918	Lapugnoy Cemetery
Pte.	Frederick J. Bunting	2nd Bn., Norfolk Regiment	14 Apr. 1915	Basra War Cemetery
Pte.	Herbert J. Medler	2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt.	3 Jun. 1917	North Gate War Cemetery
Pte.	John H. Sutton	2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt.	14 Apr. 1915	Basra War Cemetery
Pte.	Richard B. Glendenning	3rd Bn., Northumberland Fusiliers	9 Apr. 1917	Roclincourt Valley Cem.
Pte.	Cecil A. Burton	4th Bn., Northumberland Fusiliers	15 Nov. 1916	Thiepval Memorial
Pte.	Albert Oliver	6th Bn., Queen's Royal Regiment	9 Apr. 1917	Sainte-Catherine Cem.
Pte.	Sidney G. Cole	15th Bn., Sherwood Foresters	1 Oct. 1918	Zantvoorde Cemetery

The following names were added after the Second World War:

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of death	Burial/Commemoration
Sgt.	Stanley G. Burton	No. 101 Squadron RAF	5 Dec. 1943	Hevingham Churchyard
Gnr.	Robert S. Williams	69 Regt., Royal Artillery	5 Jun. 1942	Hevingham Churchyard
Tpr.	William Norton	Royal Armoured Corps	2 Nov. 1942	Alamein Memorial