Edgefield, Norfolk

Edgefield
Edgefield Village sign
Edgefield Location within Norfolk
Area	3.89 sq mi (10.1 km2)
Population	436 (2021 census)
•  Density	112/sq mi (43/km2)
OS grid reference	TG0934
•  London	127 miles (204 km)
Civil parish	Edgefield
District	North Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MELTON CONSTABLE
Postcode district	NR24
Dialling code	01263
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	North Norfolk
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°52′01″N1°06′55″E / 52.86682°N 1.11524°E / 52.86682; 1.11524

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

Edgefield is located 3.3 miles (5.3 km) south of Holt and 18 miles (29 km) of Norwich.

History

Edgefield's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for an enclosed area of parkland. ^[1]

In the Domesday Book, Edgefield is listed as a settlement of 36 households in the hundred of Holt. In 1086, the village was divided between the East Anglian estates of Peter de Valognes and Ranulf, brother of Ilger. ^[2]

During the Second World War, defensive emplacements including a mortar battery and searchlight were built in Edgefield in preparation for a potential German invasion of Great Britain. ^{[3] [4]}

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Edgefield has a population of 436 people which shows an increase from the 385 people recorded in the 2011 census. ^[5]

Edgefield is bisected by the B1149, between Holt and Norwich.

The nearest railway station is at Sheringham for the Bittern Line which runs between Sheringham and Norwich. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport. The village is situated on the B1149 between Norwich and Holt road.

Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Edgefield's parish church is jointly dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul and was re-built in 1883 and 1884 by J.D. Sedding during the tenure of Reverend Walter Macron. St. Peter & St. Paul's is located close to the village on Sweetbriar Lane, and has been Grade II listed since 1987. ^[6]

The church also possesses good examples of twentieth-century stained glass by John Hayward and a font made from Purbeck Marble and dating from the thirteenth century. Rev. Marcon is commemorated in the church where he is depicted riding his bicycle in a stained-glass window, which also commemorates the building of the church. ^[7]

The Thirteenth Century churchtower from the medieval church still stands in a farmyard on the road to Hunworth. It is octagonal in shape and built from flint and carrstone. The remnants and tower of the old church were renovated with grants from English Heritage in 1981. The rector and P.C.C. still have the responsibility for the tower, while responsibility for the churchyard has been passed to the civil authorities. ^[8]

Amenities

The village public house is called 'The Pigs' and has stood on the site since 1744 under various names. In its history, the pub has operated under the ownership of the Coltishall Brewery, Brereton's of Letheringsett, Bullard's of Norwich, Watney Mann Ltd. and now operates as a freehouse. In the mid-Nineteenth Century, Piggs Inn (as it was then called) was involved in the smuggling of spirits led by landlord James Dyball. ^[9]

Edgefield School dates from the Nineteenth Century and was enlarged in 1878. The school building was closed in 1900 with local children being educated at what is now the village hall. ^[10]

Edgefield is also home to RMC Autos, a car garage.

Notable Residents

• Reverend Walter Marcon- (1824–1875) cleric, cricketer and Rector of Edgefield.

Governance

Edgefield is part of the electoral ward of Stody for local elections and is part of the district of North Norfolk.

The village's national constituency is North Norfolk, which has been represented by the Liberal Democrat Steff Aquarone MP since 2024.

War memorial

Edgefield's war memorial originally stood as an obelisk on the village green but by the early twenty-first century this had fallen into disrepair. As a result, a new memorial was built on the village green at the cost of £1,968 and subsequently unveiled on 11 November 2004. ^[11] The memorial lists the following names for the First World War: ^{[12] [13]}

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Burial/Commemoration
Pte.	Charles R. Peck	1st Bn., Essex Regiment	14 Apr. 1917	Arras Memorial
Pte.	Thomas Fabb	4th Bn., Middlesex Regiment	11 Mar. 1918	Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery
Pte.	Percy H. Coleman	7th Bn., Norfolk Regiment	10 Aug. 1918	Vis-en-Artois Memorial
Pte.	George E. Jacobs	8th Bn., Norfolk Regt.	19 Jul. 1916	Thiepval Memorial
Pte.	Percy H. Peck	7th Bn., York and Lancaster Regt.	6 Jun. 1918	St. Sever Cemetery

There is another stone memorial in the church which lists the following names for the Second World War:

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Burial/Commemoration
Sgt.	Frank G. Lambert	Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve	23 Dec. 1941	City Road Cemetery
Cpl.	Charles W. Catten	6th Bn., Green Howards	27 Sep. 1944	Oosterbeek War Cemetery
OS	Percy R. Barstard	HMS Duchess	12 Dec. 1939	Chatham Naval Memorial
Pte.	James R. Bunting	6th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment	21 Sep. 1944	Kranji War Memorial
Tpr.	Walter T. Chestney	23rd Hussars	27 Jun. 1944	Bayeux War Cemetery

Gallery

• 
  Remains of the old church tower
• 
  The old graveyard of Saint Peter and Saint Paul's Church
• 
  Stained glass roundel of Canon Walter Herbert Marcon on his Bicycle in the church

References

1. "Key to English Place-names". University of Nottingham. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
2. "Edgefield | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
3. "mnf32454 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
4. "mnf24988 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
5. "Edgefield (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
6. "CHURCH OF ST PETER AND ST PAUL, Edgefield - 1049204 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
7. "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
8. "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
9. "THREE PIGS – EDGEFIELD". norfolkpubs.co.uk. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
10. "Edgefield-School – Norfolk Heritage Explorer". heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
11. "Edgefield War Memorial, Edgefield - 1455235 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
12. "Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Edgefield". www.roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
13. "Geograph:: Earlham to Erpingham :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2025.

Further reading

• Mee, A. (1972). The King's England: Norfolk. London:Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN   0-340-15061-0, p. 85.
• Pevsner, N. (1962). Buildings of England: Norfolk I: Norwich and North-East. London: Yale University Press. ISBN   978-0-300-09607-1.

External links

Media related to Edgefield, Norfolk at Wikimedia Commons