Bircham Tofts

Bircham Tofts
Village
The overgrown ruins of the church of St Andrew in Bircham Tofts
Bircham Tofts Location within Norfolk
OS grid reference	TF779326
Civil parish	Bircham
District	King's Lynn and West Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	King's Lynn
Postcode district	PE31
Dialling code	01485
UK Parliament	North West Norfolk
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°51′41″N0°38′28″E / 52.86148°N 0.64114°E / 52.86148; 0.64114

Bircham Tofts is a village in the civil parish of Bircham, in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England.

Bircham Tofts is located 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of Great Bircham, 12 miles (19 km) north-east of King's Lynn and 32 miles (51 km) north-west of Norwich.

Correct pronunciation

"Barchm" ^[1]

History

Bircham Tofts' name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the curtilage close to Bircham. The origin of 'Bircham' is unknown. ^[2]

In the Domesday Book, Bircham Tofts is listed as a settlement of 10 households in the hundred of Docking. In 1086, the village was part of the estates of Odo of Bayeux. ^[3]

According to the 1931 census, Bircham Tofts had a population of 96. ^[4] This was the last time separate population statistics were collected for Bircham Tofts. On 1 April 1935, Bircham Tofts was merged with Great Bircham and Bircham Newton to form the civil parish of Bircham. ^[5]

With the village there is a Grade II listed farmhouse which dates from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, known as Pond Farmhouse. ^[6]

Geography

Bircham Tofts is bisected by the B1155 which runs between Great Bircham and Holkham.

St. Andrew's Church

Bircham Tofts' former parish church was dedicated to Saint Andrew but during the Second World War found itself within the boundaries of RAF Bircham Newton, making it inaccessible to its congregation. As a result, St. Andrew's was abandoned, it's lead roof was taken in 1952 and is now completely overgrown with ivy and elder. ^[7]

Governance

Bircham Tofts is part of the electoral ward of Bircham with Ruddhams for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

The village's national constituency is North West Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's James Wild since 2010.

War Memorial

Bircham Newton's war memorial is shared with Great Bircham and takes the form of a stone cross atop a marble plaque. The following men from Bircham Newton are listed on the war memorial as having fallen during the First World War: ^[8]

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Other Commemoration / Burial
2Lt.	Sidney A. Wharton	8th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment	1 July 1917	Dive Copse Cemetery, Sailly-le-Sec
AM1	Bertie A. Taylor	No. 57 Squadron RAF	30 July 1918	British Cemetery, Huby-Saint-Leu
L/Cpl.	Sidney H. Easter	9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment	15 September 1916	Thiepval Memorial
Bdr.	Albert T. Wacey	113th (Heavy) Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery	4 March 1915	Communal Cemetery, Merville
Pte.	Robert J. Easter	6th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment	4 November 1918	Communal Cemetery, Preux-au-Bois

And also E. Easter. The memorial also lists the following name for the Second World War:

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Other Commemoration / Burial
LS	Eric V. Briston	HMS Verdun	22 March 1946	St. Mary's Church, Great Bircham

References

1. https://friendsofnorfolkdialect.com/portfolio-items/norfolk-placenames/
2. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
3. "Bircham [Tofts] | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
4. "Population statistics Bircham Tofts AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 23 September 2022.
5. "Relationships and changes Bircham Tofts AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
6. "POND FARMHOUSE, Bircham - 1152442 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
7. "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
8. "Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Great Bircham". roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 7 November 2024.

• ^ Ordnance Survey (2002). OS Explorer Map 250 - Norfolk Coast West. ISBN   0-319-21886-4.

External links

Media related to Bircham Tofts at Wikimedia Commons

• Information from Genuki Norfolk on Bircham Tofts