Great Ryburgh
| Great Ryburgh | |
|---|---|
 Great Ryburgh St Andrew | |
  Great Ryburgh Location within Norfolk | |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Fakenham |
| Postcode district | NR21 |
| UK Parliament | |
Great Ryburgh is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ryburgh, in the English county of Norfolk.
Great Ryburgh is located 2.9 miles (4.7 km) south-east of Fakenham and 21 miles (34 km) north-west of Norwich.
History
[edit]Great Ryburgh's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the larger rye fortification.[1]
An Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered in 2016 by a Museum of London Archaeology excavation that was largely funded by Historic England. The waterlogged conditions of the site led to the remarkable preservation of burials including 6 plank-lined graves and 81 hollowed tree-trunk coffins dating from the 7th-9th century AD. The evidence is this may have been a community of early Christians, including a timber structure thought to be a church or chapel.[2][3]
In the Domesday Book, Great Ryburgh is listed as a settlement of 25 households in the hundred of Brothercross. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of William de Warenne and Peter de Valognes.[4]
There is evidence that there has been a watermill in Great Ryburgh since 1579 which closed in 1923. In 2003, the mill was converted into an old people's home.[5]
In 1849, Ryburgh Railway Station opened on the line between Dereham and Wells-next-the-Sea. The station closed to passengers in 1964.
A maltings has stood in Great Ryburgh since 1870. The site was bombed twice during the Second World War.[6]
In 1961 the parish had a population of 484.[7] On 1 April 1987 the parish was abolished and merged with Little Ryburgh to form "Ryburgh".[8]
In the mid-1990s, there were reports of a sighting of a unidentified flying object in the parish.[9]
Geography
[edit]Population statistics are no longer recorded for just Great Ryburgh and are instead collected just for Ryburgh as a whole.
The River Wensum flows through the village.
St. Andrew's Church
[edit]Great Ryburgh's church is dedicated to Saint Andrew and is one of Norfolk's 124 remaining round-tower churches, dating from the Eleventh Century. St. Andrew's is located within the village on Mill Road and has been Grade II listed since 1959.[10] The church is open sometimes for Sunday services and is part of the Upper Wensum Benefice.[11]
The church was restored in the 1910s by Sir Ninian Comper and had stained-glass windows designed by William Wailes.[12]
Amenities
[edit]The Blue Boar Inn has stood in Great Ryburgh since 1789 and remains open for food and accommodation.[13][14]
Governance
[edit]Ryburgh is a civil parish within the district of North Norfolk. Local matters are administered by Ryburgh Parish Council, which represents both Great Ryburgh and Little Ryburgh. The council is responsible for managing local assets, including public spaces and noticeboards, providing input on planning applications, and representing the interests of the community to district and county authorities.[15]
Great Ryburgh is part of the electoral ward of Stibbard for local elections and is part of the district of North Norfolk.
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
[edit]Great Ryburgh War Memorial is a granite pillar surrounded by a flint and brick enclosure which was funded by public donations in 1920.[16] The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:[17]
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial/Commemoration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sgt. | Charles Cremer | 44th Bde., Royal Field Artillery | 1 Nov. 1914 | Menin Gate |
| Sgt. | Joseph C. Howman | 21st (1st Surrey) Bn., London Regt. | 8 Oct. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| C1C | George H. Bond | HMS Hampshire | 5 Jun. 1916 | Portsmouth Memorial |
| Cpl. | Percy H. Neale | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 23 Apr. 1917 | Villers Station Cemetery |
| Pte. | Cecil S. Kail | 31st M.A.C., Army Service Corps | 1 Nov. 1918 | Douai British Cemetery |
| Pte. | Walter F. Fenn | 2nd Bn., Border Regiment | 30 Mar. 1917 | Arras Memorial |
| Pte. | Herbert A. Chastney | 1st Bn., Essex Regiment | 2 Mar. 1917 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Harold D. P. Comer | 1st Bn., Essex Regt. | 13 Aug. 1915 | Helles Memorial |
| Pte. | Ernest A. Nelson | 10th Bn., Essex Regt. | 21 Sep. 1918 | Unicorn Cemetery |
| Pte. | John F. Bacon | 11th Bn., Essex Regt. | 18 Apr. 1918 | Niederzwehren Cemetery |
| Pte. | Albert Green | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 1 Aug. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Frederick Green | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 27 Jul. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Ernest Thompson | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 24 May 1915 | Menin Gate |
| Pte. | Charles T. Steward | 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 28 Sep. 1917 | North Gate Cemetery |
| Pte. | Stanley E. Curson | 4th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 19 Apr. 1917 | Jerusalem Memorial |
| Pte. | William Doy | 8th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 22 Oct. 1917 | Tyne Cot |
| Pte. | Everart B. Hipkin | 8th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 2 Nov. 1916 | Courcelette Memorial |
| Pte. | Richard R. Platten | 9th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 8 Oct. 1918 | High Tree Cemetery |
| Pte. | Frederick W. Baldwin | 1st Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment | 9 Sep. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Robert W. Baker | 2nd Bn., Northamptonshire Regt. | 4 Mar. 1917 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Frederick J. Bone | 6th Bn., Queen's Royal Regiment | 10 May 1917 | Étaples Cemetery |
| Pte. | Edmund W. Betts | 19th Bn., Royal Welch Fusiliers | 23 Nov. 1917 | Cambrai Memorial |
| Pte. | Harry V. Chilvers | 13th Bn., Welch Regiment | 27 Aug. 1918 | Vis-en-Artois Memorial |
| Pte. | John Betts | 8th Bn., York and Lancaster Regiment | 12 Oct. 1917 | Tyne Cot |
The following names were added after the Second World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial/Commemoration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cpl. | Terrence Tatham | 2nd (Selangor) Bn., Malayan Volunteers | 7 Feb. 1942 | Kranji War Cemetery |
| LAC | Cecil R. Mattless | Royal Air Force | 8 Oct. 1943 | Bath Cemetery |
| A2C | David J. Nelson | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve | 11 Mar. 1944 | Little Ryburgh Cemetery |
| Pte. | Albert J. Whiteside | Royal Army Ordnance Corps | 26 Apr. 1941 | Phalerum Cemetery |
The following name was added after the Korean War:[18]
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial/Commemoration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pte. | Noel A. Haynes | Royal Norfolk Regiment | 24 Jul. 1952 | UN Memorial Cemetery |
References
[edit]- ^ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Exceptional Survival of Rare Anglo-Saxon Coffins | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Great Ryburgh dig finds 81 'rare' Anglo-Saxon coffins". BBC News. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "[Great] Ryburgh | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Norfolk Mills - Gt Ryburgh watermill". www.norfolkmills.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ Farrows. "History of Crisp | UK Maltster | Quality Malt for Brewers, Distillers". Crisp Malt. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Population statistics Great Ryburgh CP/AP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ "The North Norfolk (Parishes) Order 1987" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ "The Paranormal Database - Norfolk". www.paranormaldatabase.com. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "CHURCH OF ST ANDREW, Ryburgh - 1305377 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Great Ryburgh Church with Little Ryburgh & Testerton". www.achurchnearyou.com. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "The Blue Boar Inn Bed & Breakfast, Great Ryburgh, North Norfolk". www.blueboar-norfolk.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "BLUE BOAR - GREAT RYBURGH". www.norfolkpubs.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Ryburgh Parish Council". Ryburgh Parish Council. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "Great Ryburgh War Memorial, Ryburgh - 1452673 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Geograph:: Garboldisham to Gunton :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Roll of Honour - Databases - Korean War - British Casualties - Search Results". www.roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
External links
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