Larling

Larling
St. Ethelbert's Church
Larling Location within Norfolk
OS grid reference	TL9889
•  London	94 miles (151 km)
Civil parish	Roudham and Larling
District	Breckland
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NORWICH
Postcode district	NR16
Dialling code	01953
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	South West Norfolk
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°28′10″N0°55′01″E / 52.4695°N 0.916897°E / 52.4695; 0.916897

Larling is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Roudham and Larling, in the English county of Norfolk.

Larling is located 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north-east of Thetford and 21.4 miles (34.4 km) south-west of Norwich.

History

Larling's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for Lyrel's people. ^[1]

In the Domesday Book, Larling is listed as a settlement of 20 households in the hundred of Shropham. In 1086, the village was divided between the East Anglian estates of William de Warenne and Ulfkil. ^[2]

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

During the Second World War, an emergency runway was built on Larling Heath. ^[4]

St. Ethelbert's Church

Larling's former parish church is dedicated to Saint Ethelbert and dates from the Twelfth Century. St. Ethelbert's is located just off Sallow Lane and has been Grade I listed since 1958. ^[5] The church holds Sunday service twice a month. ^{[6] [7]}

St. Ethelbert's holds an imposing Norman doorframe and was restored in the Victorian era which saw the installation of several stained-glass windows installed by Clayton and Bell. ^[8]

Shrubb Family

Shrubb family is one of the longest-running communal communities in England. Founded in 1970 in a 17th-century cottage near the old A11 and the Angel pub, the membership and fortunes of the community have fluctuated over the years, but the ethos of low-impact living and environmental harmony has persisted. ^[9]

Shrubb is listed on the Diggers and Dreamers online directory, and there is a video of the early days at Shrubb on YouTube titled 'Shrubb Family 1973 part 1 & 2'. Shrubb is featured in "Communes in Britain" by Andrew Rigby, 1974. As of recent years the membership of the group has fluctuated and has been left with around 6 members. ^[10]

Governance

Larling is part of the electoral ward of Harling & Heathlands for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.

The village's national constituency is South West Norfolk which has been represented by Labour's Terry Jermy MP since 2024.

War Memorial

Larling's war memorial is a brass plaque inside St. Ethelbert's Church which lists the following names for the First World War: ^[11]

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Burial/Commemoration
Dvr.	Frederick P. Burlingham	Army Service Corps	31 Oct. 1918	Busigny Cemetery
Pte.	George C. Harvey	1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment	9 May 1917	Arras Memorial

References

1. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
2. "Larling | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
3. "Relationships and changes Larling AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
4. "Roudham-(Parish-Summary) - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
5. "CHURCH OF ST ETHELBERT, Roudham and Larling - 1076921 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
6. "Larling: St Ethelbert". www.achurchnearyou.com. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
7. "Larling St Ethelbert | National Churches Trust". www.nationalchurchestrust.org. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
8. "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
9. "Shrubb Family – Diggers and Dreamers" . Retrieved 15 June 2025.
10. Ansell, Vera. "Diggers and Dreamers". Diggers and Dreamers: the guide to communal living. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
11. "Geograph:: Lakenham to Lyng :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2025.

External links

• Larling Church Website
• Shrubb Family