Bressingham

This article is about the village in Norfolk. For the steam museum and garden centre, see Bressingham Steam & Gardens.

Bressingham
Church of St. John the Baptist, Bressingham
Bressingham Location within Norfolk
Area	15.76 km2 (6.08 sq mi)
Population	872 (2021)
•  Density	55/km2 (140/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TM0780
Civil parish	Bressingham
District	South Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DISS
Postcode district	IP22
Dialling code	01379
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Waveney Valley
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°23′09″N1°02′59″E / 52.38574°N 1.049713°E / 52.38574; 1.049713

Bressingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.

Bressingham is located 2.1 miles (3.4 km) north-west of Diss and 19 miles (31 km) north-east of Norwich.

History

Bressingham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the homestead/village of Briosa's people. ^[1]

Bressingham is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as consisting of 47 households, which placed it in the largest 20% of settlements. At this time, Bressingham was divided between the land of William I (2 acres of meadow, 6 pigs and woodland) and Bury St Edmunds Abbey (16 acres of meadow, 26 pigs and woodland). ^[2]

From 1804, Bressingham had a thriving Amicable Society with upwards of thirty members agreeing to a rudimentary form of life insurance. The society conducted its meetings in the Chequers pub. ^[3]

A Methodist Church was built in Bressingham in 1900.^{[ citation needed ]}

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Bressingham has a population of 872 people which shows a slight decrease from the 887 people recorded in the 2011 census. ^[4]

Bressingham Parish is bordered to the south by the River Waveney and is bisected by the A1066, between Thetford and Diss.

Amenities within the village include a village shop ^[5] and Bressingham Village Hall. The local playing field is operated by Diss Town Football Club.

Church of St. John the Baptist

Bressingham's parish church is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and was constructed in the late-13th century. ^[6] The church was significantly remodelled in the 16th and 19th centuries and boasts both elaborate pew carvings, which have been damaged by iconoclasts in the 16th century and stained-glass installed by J & J King. Additionally, within the church there is a set of royal arms dating from the reign of King Charles II and a 19th century funeral bier. ^[7] The church has been Grade I listed since 1959. ^[8]

Bressingham Steam Museum and Gardens

Main article: Bressingham Steam and Gardens

Bressingham Steam Museum & Gardens is located within the village which boasts a set of gardens initially started by Alan Bloom MBE and an impressive collection of steam locomotives.

Governance

Bressingham is part of the electoral ward of Bressingham and Burston 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 since 2024.

War memorial

The Bressingham Parish War Memorial is found on the junction between School Road and High Road. The memorial was erected in 1922 and was built by a firm based in Diss called Messers Cooley and Son. ^[9] It commemorates the following individuals who died in the First World War: ^[10]

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Other Commemoration/ Burial
Sgt.	Charles W. Parsley	9th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment	3 Apr. 1917	Vermelles British Cemetery
Cpl.	George H. Hoskins	144th (Siege) Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery	26 Feb. 1919	St. John the Baptist's Churchyard, Bressingham
Pte.	Herbert C. Kent	2nd Battalion, Cheshire Regiment	8 Oct. 1918	Kirechkoi Military Cemetery, Exochi
Pte.	Victor J. M. Rawlinson	9th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment	27 Oct. 1918	Military Cemetery, Le Cateau
Pte.	Harry Flatman	20th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment	26 Mar. 1918	Arras Memorial
Pte.	John Fortis	1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment	15 May 1917	Orchard Dump Cemetery, Arleux-en-Gohelle
Pte.	George H. Hall	3rd Battalion, Norfolk Rgt.	15 Jan. 1915	St. John the Baptist's Churchyard, Bressingham
Pte.	Frank V. Rodwell	7th Battalion, Norfolk Rgt.	3 Jul. 1916	Aveluy Wood Cemetery
Pte.	John H. Rolfe	7th Bn., Norfolk Rgt.	19 Aug. 1916	Eastern Cemetery, Boulogne
Rfn.	Thomas E. Goodswen	8th (Post Office Rifles) Battalion, London Regiment	29 Oct. 1918	Communal Cemetery, Tournai

And: George Garland and William R. Leighton. And, the following for the Second World War:

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Other Commemoration / Burial
Pte.	Douglas C. Hall	5th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment	26 Sep. 1943	Chungkai War Cemetery

And: Basil T. Harvey and Alec C. Witton.

References

1. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
2. Domesday Book. (1086). Retrieved October 30, 2022. https://opendomesday.org/place/TM0780/bressingham/
3. Bressingham & Fersfield. (2021). Retrieved October 30, 2022. https://bressinghamandfersfield.org/2021/history/6203/(
4. "Bressingham (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
5. "Bressingham Village Shop - High Rd, Roydon, Diss IP22 2AT". www.locaji.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
6. "CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, Bressingham - 1373587 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
7. "The Norfolk Churches Site". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
8. "CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, Bressingham - 1373587 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
9. "Bressingham War Memorial, Bressingham - 1442118 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
10. "Bressingham WW1 and WW2 Memorial". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 17 November 2024.

External links

bressinghamandfersfield.org The website of Bressingham and Fersfield's Parish Council

Media related to Bressingham at Wikimedia Commons