Bale is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Gunthorpe, in the county of Norfolk, England.[1] The village lies 9 miles east-north-east of the town of Fakenham, 14.3 miles west-south-west of Cromer and 125 miles north-north-east of London. In 1931, the parish had a population of 208.[2]
Bale has an entry in the Domesday Book of 1085.[3] In the great book, Bale is recorded by the name ‘’Bathele’’ and it is said to be in the ownership of the King. The main tenant was Harold, holding his land from Count Alan.
The village's name means 'Bathing wood/clearing'.[4]
On 1 April 1935, the parish was abolished and merged with Gunthorpe.[5]
The parish church is dedicated to All Saints and dates back to the middle of the 14th century.[7] The chancel is slightly older and there is a north transept which indicates that another was planned but never built. The windows have impressive tracery around them. The church has a collection of Norwich School stained glass in one of the south nave windows.
The Bale Oak
Site of the Bale Oak tree
The Bale Oak was a large oaktree which once stood in the village. The tree measured 36 feet in circumference, was over 500 years old and, reportedly, featured branches over 70 feet long.
History
In the middle of the 14th century, All Saints church was erected immediately east of the site of the tree. According to folk legend, the tree had previously been a site for pre-Christian worship and may have been a part of a larger grove. In 1795, the oak was severely damaged. The oak was heavily pollarded and the removed bark and some of the wood was sold to the Hardys of Letheringsett for tanning. Norfolk historian Francis Blomefield recorded use of the oak in the 18th century:
A great oak at bathele near the church, its hollow so large that ten or twelve men may stand within it and a cobbler had his shop and lodge there of late and it is or was used for a swinestry.
Deemed dangerous by the local populace, the abuse of the tree lead to its destruction in 1860. The Lord of the Manor Sir Willoughby Jones ordered the tree removed and, with much local mourning, the remains taken carted to Cranmer Hall at Fakenham. The site is now covered by a grove of Holm Oak trees and is protected by the National Trust.
Edgar Maurice Rowe and the Titanic
One man who was aboard the RMSTitanic when it hit the iceberg and sank was born in the village. Edgar Rowe[8] was born in Bale in 1882. In 1912 he was age thirty and he was a steward aboard the White Star Liner RMSOlympic. He had then become a member of the crew for the delivery voyage of the RMS Titanic from Belfast to Southampton. After the ship arrived in Southampton, Edward Rowe, who gave his address as 56 Bridge Road in Southampton, signed on to the Titanic's new crew on 4 April 1912. Rowe was a steward in the first class saloon for which he would have received a monthly wages of £3 15s. Edgar Rowe died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.
War memorial
Bale's war memorial takes the form of a plaque in All Saints' Church and holds the following names from the First World War:
Private George Cushion (1892–1917), 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
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