Billingford, South Norfolk

Billingford
Billingford Windmill
Billingford Location within Norfolk
OS grid reference	TM166786
Civil parish	Scole
District	South Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Diss
Postcode district	IP21
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Waveney Valley
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°21′47″N1°10′46″E / 52.363022°N 1.179569°E / 52.363022; 1.179569

Billingford or Pirleston ^[1] is a village and in the civil parish of Scole, in the South Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England.

Billingford is located 19.4 miles (31.2 km) south-west of Norwich and 2.9 miles (4.7 km) south-east of Diss.

History

The origin of the name 'Billingford' is uncertain, although it is certainly of Anglo-Saxon origin. It derives from Old English, either a ford at the ridge or the ford of the hill people. ^[2]

Billingford is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as consisting of 21 households in the hundred of Earsham. At the time, Billingford was divided between the estates of the Abbey of St. Etheldreda, Ely and Roger of Rames. ^[3]

Within the village is Billingford Windmill, which dates from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries and is in full working order. This structure is Grade II listed and has been since 1951. ^[4]

Lt. Gordon Flowerdew was born within the village and was an Anglo-Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross. Flowerdew was killed directing a cavalry charge of C Squadron of Lord Strathcona's Horse on the Western Front of the First World War on 31 March 1918.

In 1931, the parish had a population of 150. ^[5] On 1 April 1935, Billingford parish was merged with Scole. ^[6]

Geography

Billingford village is located on the A143 which runs from Great Yarmouth to Haverhill and is close to the banks of the River Waveney.

Amenities within the village include the Horseshoes Pub & Hotel.

St. Leonard's Church

Billingford's parish church is dedicated to Saint Leonard and lays on a small hill to the north of the village. The church was constructed in early Sixteenth Century, with its construction being interrupted and changed during the English Reformation. The church contains a Medieval font and poppyhead with further additions to the church being made in the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Centuries. ^[7]

Governance

Billingford is part of the electoral ward of Beck Vale, Dickleburgh and Scole for local elections and is part of the district of South Norfolk.

Billingford's national constituency is Waveney Valley which has been represented by the Green's Adrian Ramsay since 2024.

War Memorial

St. Leonard's Church also holds the village's war memorial. This takes the form of a marble plaque which commemorates the following eight men who died during the First World War: ^{[8] [9]}

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Other Commemoration/Burial
Lieutenant	Gordon M. Flowerdew VC	C Squadron, Lord Strathcona's Horse	31 March 1918	Namps-au-Vaul British Cemetery, Amiens
First Class Steward	Arthur Nunn	HMS Conquest	25 April 1916	Chatham Naval Memorial
Corporal	Herbert Race	9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment	1 April 1917	Philosophe British Cemetery
Lance Corporal	Charles W. Thrower	15th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment	18 September 1918	Vis-en-Artois British Cemetery
Acting Bombardier	Walter Race	94th Battery, Royal Field Artillery	11 August 1917	Huts Cemtery, Dikkebus
Private	George F. Punt	7th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry	6 October 1918	British Cemetery, Houchin
Private	John L. Whiting	2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment	9 May 1917	Kirkee War Cemetery
Private	Allan Fox MM	9th Battalion, Royal Norfolks	21 March 1918	Arras Memorial

As well as the following individual from the Second World War:

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Other Commemoration/Burial
Corporal	Stanley W. A. Hill	No. 653 (Air Observation) Squadron, RAF	21 November 1944	St. Leonard's Churchyard, Billingford

References

1. "History of Billingford in South Norfolk Place names". A Vision of Britain . Retrieved 23 September 2019.
2. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
3. "Billingford | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
4. "BILLINGFORD WINDMILL, Scole - 1303800 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
5. "Population Statistics Billingford CP/AP through time". A Vision of Britain. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
6. "Relationships and Changes Billingford CP/AP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
7. "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
8. "Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Billingford near Diss". roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
9. "St. Leonard's Church - WW1 and WW2". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 31 October 2024.