Kirby Cane
Kirby Cane is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
Kirby Cane is located north-west of Beccles and south-east of Norwich, along the River Waveney.
Etymology
The name Kirby is derived from the Old Norse kirkju-býr meaning "village with a church". Cane refers to a family which historically held the estate.History
In the Domesday Book, Kirby Cane is listed as a settlement of 28 households in the hundred of Clavering. In 1086, the village was divided between the East Anglian estates of Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester, St Edmunds Abbey and Ralph Baynard.In the Seventeenth Century, the red-brick Kirby Cane Hall was built which was re-modelled in both the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.
During the Second World War, several trenches were built close to Kirby Cane Hall which suggests it was used as a training area.
Geography
According to the 2021 census, Kirby Cane has a total population of 449 people which demonstrates an increase from the 434 people listed in the 2011 census.All Saints' Church
Kirby Cane's parish church dates from the medieval period and is one of Norfolk's 124 remaining round-tower churches. All Saints' is located on Wash Lane and has been Grade I listed since 1960. The church is open once a month for Sunday service and is part of the Waveney Marshlands Benefice.All Saints' has a Fourteenth Century font and a brass memorial plaque.
Governance
Kirby Cane is part of the electoral ward of Ditchingham & Earsham for local elections and is part of the district of South Norfolk.The village's national constituency is Waveney Valley which has been represented by the Green Party's Adrian Ramsay MP since 2024.
War Memorial
Kirby Cane's war memorial is a set of marble plaques in All Saints' Church which lists the following names for the First World War:| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of death | Burial/Commemoration |
| LSjt. | Hubert Strowger | 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 31 Dec. 1916 | Basra Memorial |
| LSjt. | Leonard A. Watson | 9th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 24 Mar. 1918 | Étaples Military Cemetery |
| Pte. | William C. Buck | 9th Bn., Essex Regiment | 14 Nov. 1916 | Faubourg Cemetery |
| Pte. | Percy F. Buck | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 4 Sep. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Charles Buck | 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 16 Apr. 1917 | Kirkee War Memorial |
| Pte. | Albert Grimwood | 22nd Bn., Northumberland Fusiliers | 11 Apr. 1918 | Ploegsteert Memorial |
| Dhd. | Arthur Baldry | HMS Pembroke | 9 Aug. 1916 | All Saints' Churchyard |
The following names were added after the Second World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of death | Burial/Commemoration |
| LSt. | John C. Sutton | HMS Lightning | 12 Mar. 1943 | Chatham Naval Memorial |
| LTel. | Ieuan L. G. Winchester | HMS Arethusa | 18 Nov. 1942 | Chatham Naval Memorial |
| Pte. | Frederick Spurgeon | 2/21st Bn., AIF | 20 Feb. 1942 | Ambon Memorial |
| Pte. | Jeremiah W. Brister | 2/5th Bn., Leicestershire Regiment | 30 Aug. 1944 | Montecchio War Cemetery |
| Pte. | Alfred F. Ward | 2nd Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment | 10 May 1940 | Le Paradis Cemetery |