Great Melton is located 9.4 miles (15.1km) south-east of Dereham and 6.3 miles (10.1km) west of Norwich.
History
Two hoards of Roman coins have been discovered in Great Melton equating to around 300 coins in total.[1][2]
Great Melton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the large middle farm/settlement.[3]
In the Domesday Book, Great Melton is listed as a settlement of 79 households in the hundred of Humbleyard. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of Godric the Steward and Ranulf Peverel.[4]
In the Eighteenth Century, Melton Hall was built. Some of the original buildings remain but most of the ground have reverted to agricultural use.[5]
A field within Great Melton, upon which the old Norwich Road ran, is reputed to be haunted by a carriage-drawn bridal party driven by a headless carriage driver which fell into a roadside pool. Similar stories are told about a similar field near Bury St Edmunds and another near Leigh, Dorset.[6]
Geography
According to the 2021 census, Great Melton has a total population of 147 people which demonstrates a decrease from the 163 people listed in the 2011 census.[7]
Great Melton's parish church is located outside of the village on Market Lane and dates from the Eleventh Century.[8] All Saints' is no longer open for Sunday services.[9]
The churchyard contains the ruined tower of St. Mary's Church which was demolished to enlarge All Saints' in the 1880s by the architect, Joseph Pearce. All Saints' features stained-glass windows depicting Saint Fursey by Goddard & Gibbs and Saint Walstan by Horace Wilkinson.[10]
Great Melton War Memorial is located at the end of Great Melton Park and is a stone greensward. The memorial was unveiled in 1920 in a service led by Major Edward Evans-Lombe, the principal landowner in Great Melton, and Rector Major Hadow.[11] The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:[12][13]
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