Irstead

Irstead
St. Michael's Church
Irstead Location within Norfolk
OS grid reference	TG365204
Civil parish	Barton Turf
District	North Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Norwich
Postcode district	NR12
Dialling code	01692
UK Parliament	North Norfolk
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°43′46″N1°30′04″E / 52.72949°N 1.50123°E / 52.72949; 1.50123

Irstead is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Barton Turf, in the English county of Norfolk.

Irstead is located 6.3 miles (10.1 km) north of Acle and 11 miles (18 km) north-east of Norwich, along the River Ant.

History

Irstead's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for mud place. ^[1]

Irstead is not listed in the Domesday Book. ^[2]

On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Barton Turf. ^[3]

Geography

In 1931 the parish had a population of 113, ^[4] this was the last time that separate population statistics were collected for Irstead as in 1935 the parish was merged.

St. Michael's Church

Irstead's church is dedicated to Saint Michael and dates from the Fourteenth Century. St. Michael's is located on Irstead Road and has been Grade II listed since 1955. ^[5] The church is open sporadically for Sunday service. ^[6]

St. Michael's features a carved font and a painted rood screen, which are both medieval survivals. The church also holds a wall painting of Saint Christopher and a stone memorial dating from 1811 to Midshipman Charles Hornor who died aboard the Rose off the coast of Madras. ^[7]

Governance

Irstead is part of the electoral ward of Hoveton & Tunstead 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

Irstead's war memorials are two marble plaques inside St. Michael's Church which list the following names for the First World War: ^[8]

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Burial/Commemoration
Pte.	Frederick A. London	8th Bn., Border Regiment	5 Jul. 1916	Thiepval Memorial
Pte.	Robert Balls	1st Bn., Coldstream Guards	23 Oct. 1914	Menin Gate
Pte.	Samuel London	13th Bn., King's Regiment	21 Aug. 1918	Railway Cutting Cemetery
Pte.	Ambrose Saul	15th Bn., Sherwood Foresters	28 Mar. 1918	Pozières Memorial

The following names were added after the Second World War:

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Burial/Commemoration
2Lt.	John M. H. Wilson	10th Royal Hussars, RAC	23 Jan. 1942	Benghazi War Cemetery
Sgt.	Thomas C. Clitheroe	No. 12 Squadron RAF (Lancasters)	29 Jul. 1944	Runnymede Memorial
Cpl.	Horace W. Yaxley	2nd Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment	23 May 1940	Dunkirk Town Cemetery
LCpl.	George A. Yaxley	2nd Bn., Royal Norfolks	26 May 1940	Le Paradis War Cemetery

References

1. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
2. "Home | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
3. "Relationships and changes Irstead AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
4. "Population statistics Irstead AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 5 February 2023.
5. "CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL, Barton Turf - 1049932 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
6. "Irstead: St Michael's". www.achurchnearyou.com. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
7. "The Norfolk Churches Site". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
8. "Geograph:: Ickburgh to Knapton :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2025.

External links

• Map sources for Irstead.
• Information from Genuki Norfolk on Irstead.