Dunton, Norfolk

Dunton
St. Peter's Church
Dunton Location within Norfolk
Area	6.00 sq mi (15.5 km2)
Population	111 (2021 census)
•  Density	19/sq mi (7.3/km2)
OS grid reference	TF879303
Civil parish	Dunton
District	North Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	FAKENHAM
Postcode district	NR21
Dialling code	07745
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Broadland and Fakenham
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°50′15″N0°47′17″E / 52.83744°N 0.78817°E / 52.83744; 0.78817

Dunton is a village and civil parish in the North Norfolk district, of the English county of Norfolk.

Dunton is located about 3.1 miles (5.0 km) west of Fakenham and 25 miles (40 km) north-west of Norwich.

History

Dunton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a farmstead or settlement either situated on a hill or with ducks. ^[1]

In the Domesday Book, Dunton 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 King William I. ^[2]

The parish of "Dunton" was formed on 1 April 1935 from the villages of Dunton, Shereford and Toftrees. ^[3]

During the Second World War, parts of the parish formed Sculthorpe Training Area which was built in 1942 by the United States Army Air Forces and also used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force and the Free French Air Forces. ^[4]

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Dunton has a population of 111 people which shows a decrease from the 126 people recorded in the 2011 census. ^[5]

The A148, between King's Lynn and Cromer, and the A1065, between Mildenhall and Fakenham, both run through the parish.

St. Peter's Church

Dunton's parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter and was largely built in the Fifteenth Century. St. Peter's is located on Church Road and has been Grade II listed since 1959. ^[6]

The church possesses good examples of Nineteenth Century stained glass depicting scenes from the works of mercy installed by Heaton, Butler and Bayne and a depiction of Christ and Mary Magdalene by Ward and Hughes. The glass was severely damaged in 2019 by vandals but has been subsequently repaired. St. Peter's has been unused for church services since the mid-Twentieth Century and is currently in the care of the Norfolk Churches Trust. ^[7]

Governance

Dunton is part of the electoral ward of The Raynhams for local elections and is part of the district of Broadland.

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

Dunton's war memorial is a brass plaque inside St. Peter's Church which lists the following names for the First World War: ^[8]

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Burial/Commemoration
LCpl.	William H. Beets	Queen's Royal Regiment	6 Apr. 1917	St. Peter's Churchyard
Pte.	Herbert J. Marshall	4th Bn., Royal Fusiliers	14 Apr. 1917	Arras Memorial
Pte.	Charles H. Jarvis	2nd Bn., Grenadier Guards	27 Mar. 1918	Arras Memorial
Pte.	Charles Winn	4th Bn., Grenadier Gds.	25 Sep. 1916	Thiepval Memorial
Pte.	Herbert H. Brooks	1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment	22 Oct. 1914	Boulogne East Cemetery

References

1. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
2. "Dunton | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
3. "Relationships and changes Dunton CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
4. "mnf2007 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
5. "Dunton (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
6. "CHURCH OF ST PETER, Dunton - 1171893 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
7. "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
8. "Geograph:: Denton to Dunton cum Doughton :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2025.

External links

Media related to Dunton, Norfolk at Wikimedia Commons