The church of St. Andrew, at Thorpe St Andrew Church. In front of the Victorian building are the ruins of the medieval church destroyed by fire in the nineteenth century
Thorpe St Andrew is a town and civil parish in the Broadland district of Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Yare, two miles east of the centre of Norwich, and is outside the boundary of the city. The civil parish has an area of 708ha (1,750 acres) and had a population of 14,556 at the 2011 census;[1] this was an increase from the 2001 figure of 13,762.[2] It is the administrative headquarters of the Broadlanddistrict council.
Thorpe is in the Domesday Book, in which it is spelt ‘Torp’, which is a Scandinavian word meaning village (see Thorp). It is thought that the Danes were in East Anglia as early as 870 AD and in 1004 Sweyn and his ships came up the river to Norwich.[citation needed]
There is also evidence that Thorpe was occupied by the Romans with the discovery of various remains. The earliest references found that relate to the parish are under the names of ‘Thorpe Episcopi’ and ‘Thorpe-next-Norwich’. In later years, it has been known as ‘Thorpe St Andrew’. The Norfolk County Asylum was established in the town in May 1814.[3]
East Anglia's worst rail crash happened at Thorpe St Andrew in 1874, killing 25 people and injuring 75.[4]
Parts of the original town can still be seen along the Yarmouth Road leading out of Norwich. Features here include St Andrew's parish church, the former parish infants school, the Rivergarden public house and the multi-gabled Buck public house.[citation needed]
There are numerous leisure facilities, groups and organisations including the County Arts indoor and outdoor bowling club on Plumstead Road, Thorpe Kite Flyers and the Starlight Express Majorettes. The Yare Boat Club is situated on Thorpe Island, opposite the Rivergarden, and offers rowing on the River Yare.
The local high school is Thorpe St Andrew High School; it was established in its present form in 1977. The high school is fed by several small primary schools from the local villages along with 3 large primary schools within Thorpe St Andrew. These schools are Dussindale, St Williams and Hillside.
In recent years, Thorpe St Andrew has expanded eastwards in the shape of the Dussindale housing development, which includes Dussindale Primary School, which opened in 2007 and Broadland business park.
Thorpe St Andrew is home to radio station 99.9 Radio Norwich. The studios are based near Thorpe River Green and the station started broadcasting on 29 June 2006.
Thorpe lies on the River Yare which is part of the Norfolk Broads network of navigable rivers. Thorpe Green is on the main Yarmouth Road and gives access to the river with the opposite bank being an island after the creation of the new cut which allowed vessels to make their way to and from the city of Norwich without traversing the town via two low bridges that carry the railway to Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Cromer and Sheringham. Once the location of thriving boat yards, Thorpe Island now offers mooring for mainly liveaboard vessels. The only operating boat yards in Thorpe are now towards the east of the town where there are two hire boat operators as well as private facilities and boat building operations.
A commemorative World War One plaque stands at the River Green war memorial site. It was unveiled on 4 August 2014 by two local schoolchildren, Harry and Aimee Fuller who attended Hillside Avenue Primary School.[5]
Roads
Thorpe St Andrew is bisected by two major roads running from East to West: the A1042 and A1242. The A1242 or Yarmouth Road is part of the old Norwich to Great Yarmouth road.
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in what is now Northern Germany.
The Broads is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly used to identify specific areas within the two counties respectively, the whole area is frequently referred to as the Norfolk Broads.
Great Yarmouth, often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located 20 miles (32 km) east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, mainly for herring, shrank after the mid-20th century and has all but ended. North Sea oil from the 1960s supplied an oil rig industry that services offshore natural gas rigs; more recently, offshore wind power and other renewable energy industries have ensued.
Wroxham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish of Wroxham has an area of 6.21 square kilometres, and in 2001, had a population of 1,532 in 666 households. A reduced population of 1,502 in 653 households was noted in the 2011 Census. The village is situated within the Norfolk Broads on the south side of a loop in the middle reaches of the River Bure. It lies in an elevated position above the Bure, between Belaugh Broad to the west, and Wroxham Broad to the east and south east. Wroxham is some eight miles north-east of Norwich, to which it is linked by the A1151 road. The village and broad lie in an area of fairly intensive agriculture, with areas of wet woodland adjoining the broad and river. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of Broadland although the river, broad and their immediate environs fall within the executive area of the Broads Authority. On the northern side of the Bure is the village of Hoveton, often confused with Wroxham.
Beccles is a market town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The town on the A145 and A12 roads, situated 16 miles (26 km) south-east of Norwich and 33 miles (53 km) north-northeast of Ipswich. Nearby towns include Lowestoft to the east and Great Yarmouth to the north-east. The town lies on the River Waveney on the edge of The Broads National Park.
Horning is an ancient village and parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 11 km2 and had a population of approximately 1,100 in the 2021 census. Horning parish lies on the northern bank of the River Bure south of the River Thurne and is located in The Broads National Park. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of North Norfolk, although areas alongside the rivers and broads fall into the executive area of the Broads Authority.
Reedham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk and within The Broads. It is on the north bank of the River Yare, 12 miles (19 km) east of the city of Norwich, 8 mi (13 km) south-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and the same distance north-west of the Suffolk town of Lowestoft. The village's name means 'reedy homestead/village' or 'reedy hemmed-in land'.
Loddon is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England, about 12 miles (19 km) south-east of Norwich. The town lies on the River Chet, a tributary of the River Yare within The Broads. The name "Loddon" is thought to mean muddy river in Celtic in reference to the Chet.
Acle is a market town on the River Bure on the Norfolk Broads in Norfolk, located halfway between Norwich and Great Yarmouth. It has the only bridge across the River Bure between Wroxham and Great Yarmouth.
Cantley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Cantley, Limpenhoe and Southwood, in the Broadland district, in the English county of Norfolk. Cantley is within the Broads Special Protection Area and lies on the north bank of the River Yare, some 17 km east of Norwich and 15 km south-west of Great Yarmouth. In the 2011 census, Cantley had a population of 733 people living in 279 households.
Gorleston-on-Sea, historically and colloquially known as Gorleston, is a seaside town in the borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England. It lies to the south of Great Yarmouth, on the opposite side of the mouth of the River Yare. Historically in Suffolk, it was a port town at the time of the Domesday Book. It was incorporated into Great Yarmouth in 1836. Gorleston's port became a centre of fishing for herring along with salt pans used for the production of salt to preserve the fish. In Edwardian times the fishing industry rapidly declined and the town's role changed to that of a seaside resort.
Broadland is a local government district in Norfolk, England, named after the Norfolk Broads. Its council is based at the Broadland Business Park on the outskirts of Norwich. The district includes the towns of Acle, Aylsham, Reepham, Sprowston and Thorpe St Andrew. Several of the district's settlements form part of the Norwich built-up area, lying outside the city's boundaries to the north-west and north-east. The district also includes numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Some eastern parts of the district lie within The Broads.
The Borough of Great Yarmouth is a local government district with borough status in Norfolk, England. It is named after its main town, Great Yarmouth, and also contains the town of Gorleston-on-Sea and a number of villages and rural areas, including part of The Broads. Other notable settlements include Caister-on-Sea, Hemsby, Hopton-on-Sea and Winterton-on-Sea.
Sprowston is a town and civil parish in the Broadland district of Norfolk, England. It is bounded by Heartsease to the east, Mousehold Heath and the suburb of New Sprowston to the south, Old Catton to the west, and by the open farmland of Beeston St Andrew to the north. It is close to Norwich. The 2021 census recorded a population of 17,126, making Sprowston the most populous civil parish in the Broadland district.
Norwich North is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament represented by Alice Macdonald, member of the Labour Party, after winning the seat in the 2024 general election.
Brundall is a village and civil parish in the Broadland district, in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located on the north bank of the River Yare opposite Surlingham Broad and about 7 miles (11 km) east of the city of Norwich. In 2011 the parish had a population of 4019.
Lingwood and Burlingham is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, comprising the large village of Lingwood together with the smaller villages of Burlingham Green, North Burlingham and South Burlingham. The villages are all within 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of each other, some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) equidistant from the town of Great Yarmouth and the city of Norwich.
Thurlton is a small village in South Norfolk, located 14 miles (22 km) south-east of the city of Norwich, and 9 miles (15 km) west of the Suffolk coastal town of Lowestoft.
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