Bawdeswell
Encyclopedia
Bawdeswell is a small rural
village
and civil parish
in the Breckland
district of the county
of Norfolk
, England
. At the time of the 2001 census
it had a population of 766 and an area of 487 hectare
s with some 316 households. As of August 2010 there are 354 dwellings some of which are holiday lets with some 314 in the village itself and a further 40 within the parish boundary. The population as of May 2010 is estimated to be 847 (source Parish Clerk).
on the northeastern boundary of Breckland District. It is about 14 miles (23 km) northwest of Norwich
, 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Fakenham
, 7 miles (11 km) northeast of the Market town
of East Dereham (more commonly known just as Dereham) and 3 miles (5 km) west of the small Market town of Reepham which is in Broadland
District. The main area of the village is situated immediately to the north of the A1067 road
but there are also a few dwellings to the south of the A1067 on Dereham Road, Billingford Road and Elsing Lane. There is also a small amount of development on Reepham Road to the North of the village. The main area of the village varies between 140 and 150 feet (45.7 m) above sea level.
Bawdeswell is close to the village of Foxley
and to Foxley Wood which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI) and the largest remaining area of ancient woodland
in Norfolk, England.
Bawdeswell Parish is adjacent to the Parishes of Foxley to the North, Bylaugh
and Sparham
to the south, Billingford
to the west and Reepham to the east.
that ran from Durobrivae near modern Peterborough
, across the Fen Causeway
to Denver, followed Fincham Drove and crossed Peddars Way
between Castle Acre and Swaffham, thence towards North Elmham and Billingford, to Bawdeswell and Jordans Green, and on to Smallburgh. It was a major east-west route and possibly continued via the large Roman settlement at Brampton to Caister
or an important port since eroded by the sea. The village lies just over 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Billingford that was a Roman settlement
and river (Wensum) crossing (wooden Roman Bridge) point. Some Neolithic
and Anglo Saxon artifacts
found in Bawdeswell are listed by Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service but no Roman
items are recorded.
The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book
of 1086 and again in the 'Norwich Domesday Book' of 1291. Evidence has been found of a church here since about 1100.
Bawdeswell was the home of Chaucer's Reeve
in The Reeve's Prologue and Tale
in the Canterbury Tales from which the village magazine 'The Reeve's Tale' gets its name. He was "Osewald the Reeve", "Of Northfolk was this reeve of which I telle, Byside a toun men callen Baldeswelle".
Six roads meet here. From the northwest the road from Fakenham and from the southeast the road from Norwich (A1067). From the west the road from Kings Lynn via Litcham and North Elmham and from the east the road from Mundesley on the coast via Aylsham and Reepham (B1145). From the southwest the road from Dereham via Swanton Morely (B1147). Lastly, and in this case least, is the road south to Elsing that starts as Elsing Lane and after reaching Elsing meanders through various lanes to places south such as North Tuddenham and Mattishall.
In times past there were four coaching inn
s and a turnpike
toll gate and it was a busy stopping off point for the changing of horses and coaches, including the Mail coach
, for travellers and for Walsingham
pilgrim
s. As with many villages, all the original pubs closed, mostly in the 1920s, but the Bell Inn stayed until 1970 when it was closed and converted into flats.
The buildings of the Tollhouse and of the four original public houses are now residential dwellings within the conservation area of the village. The Tollhouse was built in about 1823 and by the 21st century was semi-derelict but in 2002 work commenced to restore and extend it as a residential dwelling now known as Tollgate Cottage. Chaucer House is reputedly the oldest building in the village dating to the 14th or 15th century and up until 1920 was The Crown Inn (previously Bear Inn) after which it was Crown Farm (farmhouse) before being given its current name. The Ram Inn closed in 1929 and is now a private house 'The Willows'. The Bell Inn closed in 1970 and was converted into 5 flats. The Black Horse closed in 1926 and is now a private residence.
in 1975.
Bawdeswell Hall, Chaucer House (formerly 'The Crown Inn' and 'Crown Farm'), Church of All Saints, K6 Telephone Kiosk, The Gables (now known as 'The Old Workhouse Bar' and 'Church View') and The Willows (formerly 'The Ram Inn').
d building dating from 1683. Originally built by a Henry Eglington it is now owned by the Gurney family. Gurney's Bank
was based in Norwich and connected through marriage to Barclays Bank of London with which it merged along with Backhouse's Bank
of Darlington and several other Provincial banks in 1896 to form what is now Barclays Bank. Elizabeth Fry
, the famous prison reformer, was born a Gurney and the portrait from which the image on the reverse of the £5 note is taken hangs on the main staircase in the hall.
on this site since circa 1100 but there are no records before 1313 when the current list of some 58 rectors begins. All Saints' is said to be the only Norfolk village church destroyed in World War II
having been hit by an RAF Mosquito bomber from 608 Squadron at RAF Downham Market
that crashed in the village in November 1944. Sadly, both the crew perished and there is a memorial plaque in the church made from aircraft parts by John Ames (PCC Secretary 1972–1980 and Churchwarden 1980–1994).
The Church was replaced with one of Neo-Georgian design by architect J Fletcher Watson.
Bawdeswell is one of 6 parishes in the FLEBBS benefice which includes Foxley, Lyng
, Elsing
, Bawdeswell, Bylaugh and Sparham parishes with one rector (Reverend David Head) based in Lyng. The parish finances are ably supported by 'The Friends of Bawdeswell Church', who with various fund raising events and appeals, contribute towards the running costs of the church building and have paid for recent rewiring. A fund was set up in 2008 to raise funds for a replacement organ that has now been installed although fundraising continues to meet the full costs. The previous organ dating from about 1901, came from the Dower House Music Room at Shotesham, and was purchased second hand when the church was rebuilt.
for the parishes of Bawdeswell, Billingford, Bintree, Bylaugh, Foxley, Lyng, and Sparham but was no longer required when the new Gressenhall
workhouse was built to serve all the parishes in the area. From about 1828 to 1875 the building was used as a school. It later became a bakery and shop with a blacksmiths shop in outbuildings and an early petrol pump outside. It then became quite run down but has now been restored.
Now divided into two parts it hosts "The Old Workhouse Bar" and a private dwelling.
A free school for twelve boys from Bawdeswell and eight from Foxley was endowed by John Leeds esq. in 1728. From about 1828 there was a school in The Old Workhouse building with up to seventy pupils.
The current village primary school was built in 1875 for Bawdeswell, Bylaugh and Foxley at the sole expense of the Rev Henry Lombe of Bylaugh Hall, who was the Lord of the Manor. His name is on the front with the motto "PROPOSITI TENAX" (Firm of Purpose). The Friends of Bawdeswell School are a parent teacher association of volunteers who raise funds to provide extras for the children and to give support at school events. They also liase with the school council, the governors, teachers and the local community.
Most secondary school
children attend Reepham High School
.
accommodation at Folland Court completed in August 2009 has seen eight larger family houses built. There is considerable opposition within the village to any further large scale development, especially of sixty or so houses on the site near Two Fields Way proposed by the 'Gladedale Group', expressed at the Annual Parish Meeting in May 2007, and the draft Breckland Local Development Framework (LDF) has not listed Bawdeswell for any significant development. The initial LDF Site Specific Document listed six sites that have been proposed for development in and around the village but these are all shown as non-conforming.
There is a proposal by the LDF additional sites consultation which shows four new sites, two shown as conforming and two as non-conforming.
Parish Council Policy has been to resist attempts to make Bawdeswell an LSC (Local Service Centre) and to opt for minor development only within the existing development boundary and to accept two small sites to be included in a minor adjustment of the settlement boundary. (See minutes of Parish Council meeting on 7 July 2008 for more details). Breckland Council's Core Strategy which does not list Bawdeswell as an LSC or for any significant development has been broadly accepted by The Planning Inspectorate in their report. and was adopted on 17 December 2009.
The Breckland LDF Task & Finish Group have been examining the site specific submissions for the village and have rejected all of them.
and there are some holiday cottages.
The village was without a Post Office
since the Postmistress retired in 2007 until January 6, 2009. An 'outreach' service is now based at the church for 3 hours on Tuesday and Friday mornings..
was moved from the centre of the village on the site of what is now five houses at Old Woods Green to the recreation ground north of the village in the early 1990s. This move was controversial at the time and some residents are still unhappy about it. A modern steel and timber structure was designed but was only one third completed with available funding and the actual hall part was never built. It has a high pitched roof and the original plan was for there to be a badminton court in the main hall. Despite these adversities, the hall that is there has reasonable facilities and is well used but its size restricts it to one activity at a time and a new larger hall is planned through Project Bawdeswell. A planning application has now (July 2011)been made to build a new hall.
Because of the increase in, mainly community based, entertainment at the hall, the management committee have applied for and been granted a variation to their entertainment licence to allow for, amongst other events, more film shows and the sale of alcohol without having to apply for a Temporary Event Notice each time.
A temporary portable building has been placed alongside the hall for use as a meeting room and for small events so that the hall can be freed up for other events.
following the inclosure acts in the late 18th and early to mid 19th centuries. There are 37 acres (149,733.8 m²) in total that can be accessed from Dereham Road with parking available about 1/2 mile Southwest of the A1067 or by foot from 'The Layby' in Billingford Road about 1/3 mile West of the A1067. The Heath is administered by a board of trustees except for 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) administered by the Parish Council as trustees.
is 15½ miles (25 km) distant by road. There is a service to and from London and frequent trains to Cambridge, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, Cromer and Sheringham plus a cross country service to Liverpool. Norwich International Airport
is 13 miles (21 km) by road from Bawdeswell and can be reached in about 25 minutes by car/taxi. A community car scheme for transport to medical appointments is run by the Parish Council with financial assistance from Breckland Council.
The last election was held on 3 May 2007 and elections are held every four years. None of the candidates declared any political affiliation. As there were only six candidates, there was no ballot with all six being deemed to have been elected. The vacancy was filled by co-opting a councillor. Since the election two councillors have resigned, both positions having been filled by co-option.
An election for the seven parish councillors due to be held on Thursday 5 May 2011, was uncontested as there were only five nominees and the Returning Officer declared that these five were elected. The remaining two positions are to be filled by co-option.
(Parliament constituency) the new Member of Parliament being George Freeman (politician)
(Conservative).
Norfolk County Council - Bawdeswell is in the Elmham and Mattishall Division and the councillor is Bill Borrett (Conservative). The last election was held on 4 June 2009 and elections are held every four years.
Breckland Council District - Bawdeswell is part of Eynsford ward. The councillor is Gordon Bambridge (Conservative). The last election was held on 5 May 2011 and elections are held every four years.
A recent decision in the High Court has declared an order for the unitary authority for Norwich to have been unlawful. Therefore the Norfolk County, Breckland District and Bawdeswell Parish Councils remain unchanged.
Grants and fundraising have enabled some £60,000 to be spent on totally remodelling the Children's Play Area near the Village Hall. There was a grand opening ceremony at the village fete on 27 June 2010.
Other new activities started in 2009 are BAG Bikers, BAG Runners, BAG Walkers and BAG Basketball.
A BAG monthly bridge afternoon has been taken over by the JayCee Bridge who now meet every Tuesday evening at Foxley village hall and every Friday afternoon at Bawdeswell village hall.
BAG runs table tennis evenings every Monday.
A set of cricket nets was provided on the recreation ground in 2008 and a second bay extension was constructed in May 2009 thanks to a most generous donation from a local resident.
Bawdeswell Activities Group (BAG) has a website at
. There are ten issues a year for February, March, April, May, June, July, August/September, October, November and December/January. The editor is one of the churchwarden
s, and he is supported by a team of regular contributors and volunteer distributors, all of whom play an important part. Deadline for copy and advertising is the 15th of the month preceding publication. The magazine is distributed free of charge to every household in Bawdeswell and Foxley, and also published on the web. Printing costs are covered by advertising revenue, donations from the two parish councils and also from individuals and clubs.
See http://www.thereevestale.co.uk/
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the Breckland
Breckland (district)
Breckland District is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in East Dereham.Breckland District derives its name from the Breckland landscape region, a gorse covered sandy heath of south Norfolk and north Suffolk...
district of the county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. At the time of the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
it had a population of 766 and an area of 487 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s with some 316 households. As of August 2010 there are 354 dwellings some of which are holiday lets with some 314 in the village itself and a further 40 within the parish boundary. The population as of May 2010 is estimated to be 847 (source Parish Clerk).
Toponymy
The village name has probably been spelt variously as Baldereswella, Baldeswell, Badswell, Bawsewella, Baldeswelle. The exact meaning of the name of the village is lost in history with a number of possible origins. Well or wella is an old word for stream or spring and it is clear that there has always been water here with quite a number of wells still surviving, the water table being 12 feet (3.7 m) or less. Baldhere can be found listed as a boy's name. In Old English it meant 'Strong or Courageous Army' and may date back before the 7th century, in Norse it was a mythological son of the God Odin and in Swedish meant 'The God of Light'. In this village name context it is probably from the Old English given name Baldhere and refers to a source of water belonging to or possibly discovered by him. Therefore, the original spelling may have been Baldhereswella or something similar.Geography
Bawdeswell Village is situated almost in the centre of NorfolkNorfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
on the northeastern boundary of Breckland District. It is about 14 miles (23 km) northwest of Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Fakenham
Fakenham
Fakenham is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, some north east of King's Lynn, south west of Cromer, and north west of Norwich....
, 7 miles (11 km) northeast of the Market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
of East Dereham (more commonly known just as Dereham) and 3 miles (5 km) west of the small Market town of Reepham which is in Broadland
Broadland
Broadland is a local government district in Norfolk, England, named after the Norfolk Broads. Its council is based in Thorpe St Andrew, which is a suburb of the City of Norwich.-History:The district was formed on April 1, 1974 by the merger of St...
District. The main area of the village is situated immediately to the north of the A1067 road
A1067 road
The A1067 is an English A road entirely in the county of Norfolk. It runs from Fakenham Northern By-Pass to Norwich inner ring road .-A47 to A1067 Link Road:...
but there are also a few dwellings to the south of the A1067 on Dereham Road, Billingford Road and Elsing Lane. There is also a small amount of development on Reepham Road to the North of the village. The main area of the village varies between 140 and 150 feet (45.7 m) above sea level.
Bawdeswell is close to the village of Foxley
Foxley
Foxley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is about 15 miles north-west of Norwich and 9 miles south-east of Fakenham....
and to Foxley Wood which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI) and the largest remaining area of ancient woodland
Ancient woodland
Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...
in Norfolk, England.
Bawdeswell Parish is adjacent to the Parishes of Foxley to the North, Bylaugh
Bylaugh
Bylaugh is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England, about 6 miles north-east of East Dereham. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 65.-Buildings:...
and Sparham
Sparham
Sparham is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 291 in 109 households as of the 2001 census...
to the south, Billingford
Billingford, Breckland
Billingford is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England, on the River Wensum, and between Norwich and Fakenham. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 223 in 91 households.-External links:...
to the west and Reepham to the east.
History
Bawdeswell is sited on a Roman roadRoman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
that ran from Durobrivae near modern Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
, across the Fen Causeway
Fen Causeway
Fen Causeway or the Fen Road is the modern name for a Roman road of England that runs between Denver, Norfolk in the east and Peterborough in the west. Its path covers , passing March and Eldernell before joining the major Roman north-south route Ermine Street west of modern-day Peterborough...
to Denver, followed Fincham Drove and crossed Peddars Way
Peddars Way
The Peddars Way is a long distance footpath in Norfolk, England. It is 46 miles long and follows the route of a Roman road. It has been suggested by more than one writer that it was not created by the Romans but was an ancient trackway, a branch or extension of the Icknield Way, used and...
between Castle Acre and Swaffham, thence towards North Elmham and Billingford, to Bawdeswell and Jordans Green, and on to Smallburgh. It was a major east-west route and possibly continued via the large Roman settlement at Brampton to Caister
Caister Roman Site
Caister Roman Site is a Roman Saxon Shore fort, located in Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk. It was constructed around AD 200 for a unit of the Roman army and navy and occupied until around 370-390 AD...
or an important port since eroded by the sea. The village lies just over 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Billingford that was a Roman settlement
Castra
The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
and river (Wensum) crossing (wooden Roman Bridge) point. Some Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Anglo Saxon artifacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
found in Bawdeswell are listed by Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service but no Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
items are recorded.
The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 and again in the 'Norwich Domesday Book' of 1291. Evidence has been found of a church here since about 1100.
Bawdeswell was the home of Chaucer's Reeve
Reeve (England)
Originally in Anglo-Saxon England the reeve was a senior official with local responsibilities under the Crown e.g. as the chief magistrate of a town or district...
in The Reeve's Prologue and Tale
The Reeve's Prologue and Tale
"The Reeve's Tale" is the third story told in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The reeve, named Oswald in the text, is the manager of a large estate who reaped incredible profits for his master and himself. He is described in the Tales as skinny and bad-tempered. The Reeve had once been...
in the Canterbury Tales from which the village magazine 'The Reeve's Tale' gets its name. He was "Osewald the Reeve", "Of Northfolk was this reeve of which I telle, Byside a toun men callen Baldeswelle".
Six roads meet here. From the northwest the road from Fakenham and from the southeast the road from Norwich (A1067). From the west the road from Kings Lynn via Litcham and North Elmham and from the east the road from Mundesley on the coast via Aylsham and Reepham (B1145). From the southwest the road from Dereham via Swanton Morely (B1147). Lastly, and in this case least, is the road south to Elsing that starts as Elsing Lane and after reaching Elsing meanders through various lanes to places south such as North Tuddenham and Mattishall.
In times past there were four coaching inn
Coaching inn
In Europe, from approximately the mid-17th century for a period of about 200 years, the coaching inn, sometimes called a coaching house or staging inn, was a vital part of the inland transport infrastructure, as an inn serving coach travelers...
s and a turnpike
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
toll gate and it was a busy stopping off point for the changing of horses and coaches, including the Mail coach
Mail coach
In Great Britain, the mail coach or post coach was a horse-drawn carriage that carried mail deliveries, from 1784. In Ireland, the first mail coach began service from Dublin in 1789. The coach was drawn by four horses and had seating for four passengers inside. Further passengers were later allowed...
, for travellers and for Walsingham
Walsingham
Walsingham is a village in the English county of Norfolk. The village is famed for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary and as a major pilgrimage centre...
pilgrim
Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
s. As with many villages, all the original pubs closed, mostly in the 1920s, but the Bell Inn stayed until 1970 when it was closed and converted into flats.
The buildings of the Tollhouse and of the four original public houses are now residential dwellings within the conservation area of the village. The Tollhouse was built in about 1823 and by the 21st century was semi-derelict but in 2002 work commenced to restore and extend it as a residential dwelling now known as Tollgate Cottage. Chaucer House is reputedly the oldest building in the village dating to the 14th or 15th century and up until 1920 was The Crown Inn (previously Bear Inn) after which it was Crown Farm (farmhouse) before being given its current name. The Ram Inn closed in 1929 and is now a private house 'The Willows'. The Bell Inn closed in 1970 and was converted into 5 flats. The Black Horse closed in 1926 and is now a private residence.
Conservation area
The centre of the village has been preserved by the creation of a conservation areaConservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
in 1975.
Listed buildings
The following buildings are all Grade II Listed.Bawdeswell Hall, Chaucer House (formerly 'The Crown Inn' and 'Crown Farm'), Church of All Saints, K6 Telephone Kiosk, The Gables (now known as 'The Old Workhouse Bar' and 'Church View') and The Willows (formerly 'The Ram Inn').
Bawdeswell Hall
Bawdeswell Hall is a Dutch gableDutch gable
A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the termination of a roof, like a normal gable...
d building dating from 1683. Originally built by a Henry Eglington it is now owned by the Gurney family. Gurney's Bank
Gurney's bank
Gurney's bank was a well-respected family-run bank headquartered in Norwich, England. It merged into Barclays Bank in 1896.-History:The bank was founded in 1770 by John and Henry Gurney, sons of John Gurney , who passed the business to Henry's son, Bartlett Gurney, in 1777...
was based in Norwich and connected through marriage to Barclays Bank of London with which it merged along with Backhouse's Bank
Backhouse's Bank
Backhouse's Bank of Darlington was founded in 1774 by James Backhouse , a Quaker flax dresser and linen manufacturer, and his sons Jonathan and James ....
of Darlington and several other Provincial banks in 1896 to form what is now Barclays Bank. Elizabeth Fry
Elizabeth Fry
Elizabeth Fry , née Gurney, was an English prison reformer, social reformer and, as a Quaker, a Christian philanthropist...
, the famous prison reformer, was born a Gurney and the portrait from which the image on the reverse of the £5 note is taken hangs on the main staircase in the hall.
All Saints' Church
There has been a parish churchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
on this site since circa 1100 but there are no records before 1313 when the current list of some 58 rectors begins. All Saints' is said to be the only Norfolk village church destroyed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
having been hit by an RAF Mosquito bomber from 608 Squadron at RAF Downham Market
RAF Downham Market
RAF Downham Market was a Royal Air Force airfield in the west of the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom which operated during the second half of World War II.-History:...
that crashed in the village in November 1944. Sadly, both the crew perished and there is a memorial plaque in the church made from aircraft parts by John Ames (PCC Secretary 1972–1980 and Churchwarden 1980–1994).
The Church was replaced with one of Neo-Georgian design by architect J Fletcher Watson.
Bawdeswell is one of 6 parishes in the FLEBBS benefice which includes Foxley, Lyng
Lyng, Norfolk
Lyng is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the River Wensum, some north-east of the town of East Dereham and north-west of the city of Norwich....
, Elsing
Elsing
Elsing is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some 6 miles north-east of the town of East Dereham and 12 miles north-west of the city of Norwich....
, Bawdeswell, Bylaugh and Sparham parishes with one rector (Reverend David Head) based in Lyng. The parish finances are ably supported by 'The Friends of Bawdeswell Church', who with various fund raising events and appeals, contribute towards the running costs of the church building and have paid for recent rewiring. A fund was set up in 2008 to raise funds for a replacement organ that has now been installed although fundraising continues to meet the full costs. The previous organ dating from about 1901, came from the Dower House Music Room at Shotesham, and was purchased second hand when the church was rebuilt.
The Workhouse
The building was erected in about 1781 as a workhouseWorkhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
for the parishes of Bawdeswell, Billingford, Bintree, Bylaugh, Foxley, Lyng, and Sparham but was no longer required when the new Gressenhall
Gressenhall
Gressenhall is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 1008 in 443 households as of the 2001 census...
workhouse was built to serve all the parishes in the area. From about 1828 to 1875 the building was used as a school. It later became a bakery and shop with a blacksmiths shop in outbuildings and an early petrol pump outside. It then became quite run down but has now been restored.
Now divided into two parts it hosts "The Old Workhouse Bar" and a private dwelling.
Schools
There is a primary school with a roll of 93 as of September 2010 (source Norfolk County Council) but, with an apparently healthy birth rate in the village, this looks set to rise.A free school for twelve boys from Bawdeswell and eight from Foxley was endowed by John Leeds esq. in 1728. From about 1828 there was a school in The Old Workhouse building with up to seventy pupils.
The current village primary school was built in 1875 for Bawdeswell, Bylaugh and Foxley at the sole expense of the Rev Henry Lombe of Bylaugh Hall, who was the Lord of the Manor. His name is on the front with the motto "PROPOSITI TENAX" (Firm of Purpose). The Friends of Bawdeswell School are a parent teacher association of volunteers who raise funds to provide extras for the children and to give support at school events. They also liase with the school council, the governors, teachers and the local community.
Most secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
children attend Reepham High School
Reepham High School
Reepham High School and College is located in Reepham, a small market town in the English county of Norfolk. It is a specialist Science, Applied Learning and Mathematics & Computing centre and has around 1100 pupils on roll. The majority of the students live in outlying villages. Prior to September...
.
Village development
There has been significant development in the village in the last four decades. The population had declined from 410 at the 1891 census to 331 in 1971 increasing to 574 in 1981, 652 in 1991, 773 in 2001 (all census figures) and to about 847 in 2010 (ref Parish Clerk). This increase was in no small way due to the development of the Hall Road and Two Fields Way area plus Paradise Road. Since 2000 the developments at Saxon Meadows, All Saint's Court and Chaucers Heath plus other infill have added at least 24 new houses and the redevelopment of the sheltered housingSheltered housing
Sheltered housing is a British English term covering a wide range of rented housing for older and/or disabled or other vulnerable people. Most commonly it refers to grouped housing such as a block or "scheme" of flats or bungalows with a scheme manager or "officer"; traditionally the manager has...
accommodation at Folland Court completed in August 2009 has seen eight larger family houses built. There is considerable opposition within the village to any further large scale development, especially of sixty or so houses on the site near Two Fields Way proposed by the 'Gladedale Group', expressed at the Annual Parish Meeting in May 2007, and the draft Breckland Local Development Framework (LDF) has not listed Bawdeswell for any significant development. The initial LDF Site Specific Document listed six sites that have been proposed for development in and around the village but these are all shown as non-conforming.
There is a proposal by the LDF additional sites consultation which shows four new sites, two shown as conforming and two as non-conforming.
Parish Council Policy has been to resist attempts to make Bawdeswell an LSC (Local Service Centre) and to opt for minor development only within the existing development boundary and to accept two small sites to be included in a minor adjustment of the settlement boundary. (See minutes of Parish Council meeting on 7 July 2008 for more details). Breckland Council's Core Strategy which does not list Bawdeswell as an LSC or for any significant development has been broadly accepted by The Planning Inspectorate in their report. and was adopted on 17 December 2009.
The Breckland LDF Task & Finish Group have been examining the site specific submissions for the village and have rejected all of them.
Facilities
As well as the pub, Bawdeswell has a village shop which used to be privately owned but is now owned by McColls, a butcher's shop and a reasonably sized garden centre. On the south side of the A1067 is 'The Park' which has a Cafe, gift shop and conference facility and the Bawdeswell Garage (repairs and servicing - no fuel). Other local services include hairdressing and reflexologyReflexology
Reflexology, or zone therapy, is an alternative medicine involving the physical act of applying pressure to the feet, hands, or ears with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques without the use of oil or lotion...
and there are some holiday cottages.
The village was without a Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
since the Postmistress retired in 2007 until January 6, 2009. An 'outreach' service is now based at the church for 3 hours on Tuesday and Friday mornings..
Village hall
The village hallVillage hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
was moved from the centre of the village on the site of what is now five houses at Old Woods Green to the recreation ground north of the village in the early 1990s. This move was controversial at the time and some residents are still unhappy about it. A modern steel and timber structure was designed but was only one third completed with available funding and the actual hall part was never built. It has a high pitched roof and the original plan was for there to be a badminton court in the main hall. Despite these adversities, the hall that is there has reasonable facilities and is well used but its size restricts it to one activity at a time and a new larger hall is planned through Project Bawdeswell. A planning application has now (July 2011)been made to build a new hall.
Because of the increase in, mainly community based, entertainment at the hall, the management committee have applied for and been granted a variation to their entertainment licence to allow for, amongst other events, more film shows and the sale of alcohol without having to apply for a Temporary Event Notice each time.
A temporary portable building has been placed alongside the hall for use as a meeting room and for small events so that the hall can be freed up for other events.
Bawdeswell Heath
Bawdeswell Heath is all that remains of a huge area of common landCommon land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
following the inclosure acts in the late 18th and early to mid 19th centuries. There are 37 acres (149,733.8 m²) in total that can be accessed from Dereham Road with parking available about 1/2 mile Southwest of the A1067 or by foot from 'The Layby' in Billingford Road about 1/3 mile West of the A1067. The Heath is administered by a board of trustees except for 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) administered by the Parish Council as trustees.
Transport
Bawdeswell is situated on the X29 bus route between Norwich and Fakenham. Norwich railway stationNorwich railway station
Norwich is a railway station serving the city of Norwich in the English county of Norfolk. The station is the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street. It is also the terminus of railway lines from Ely, Sheringham, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.-History:At one...
is 15½ miles (25 km) distant by road. There is a service to and from London and frequent trains to Cambridge, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, Cromer and Sheringham plus a cross country service to Liverpool. Norwich International Airport
Norwich International Airport
Norwich International Airport , also known as Norwich Airport, is an airport in the City of Norwich within Norfolk, England north of the city centre and on the edge of the city's suburbs....
is 13 miles (21 km) by road from Bawdeswell and can be reached in about 25 minutes by car/taxi. A community car scheme for transport to medical appointments is run by the Parish Council with financial assistance from Breckland Council.
Parish Council
The parish council consists of seven councillors and a parish clerk. The council has ten meetings each year, normally on the 1st Monday of each month at 7.45pm in the village hall. There are no meetings in January or August and the May meeting which includes the Annual Parish Council Meeting is usually on the 2nd Monday of the month. The Annual Parish Meeting is held on a separate day.The last election was held on 3 May 2007 and elections are held every four years. None of the candidates declared any political affiliation. As there were only six candidates, there was no ballot with all six being deemed to have been elected. The vacancy was filled by co-opting a councillor. Since the election two councillors have resigned, both positions having been filled by co-option.
An election for the seven parish councillors due to be held on Thursday 5 May 2011, was uncontested as there were only five nominees and the Returning Officer declared that these five were elected. The remaining two positions are to be filled by co-option.
National and local government
Westminster - The village is part of the new Mid NorfolkMid Norfolk
Mid Norfolk is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
(Parliament constituency) the new Member of Parliament being George Freeman (politician)
George Freeman (politician)
George William Freeman is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the current Member of Parliament for Mid Norfolk, and was first elected at the 2010 general election, replacing the constituency's previous incumbent, Keith Simpson who had decided to contest the neighbouring Broadland...
(Conservative).
Norfolk County Council - Bawdeswell is in the Elmham and Mattishall Division and the councillor is Bill Borrett (Conservative). The last election was held on 4 June 2009 and elections are held every four years.
Breckland Council District - Bawdeswell is part of Eynsford ward. The councillor is Gordon Bambridge (Conservative). The last election was held on 5 May 2011 and elections are held every four years.
A recent decision in the High Court has declared an order for the unitary authority for Norwich to have been unlawful. Therefore the Norfolk County, Breckland District and Bawdeswell Parish Councils remain unchanged.
Project Bawdeswell
Project Bawdeswell was created to improve facilities in the village. Plans have now been published and fund raising is being started to build a new larger village hall that is estimated to cost circa £600,000. A subgroup of the project now runs an activities group mainly catering for children during the Easter and summer school holidays as well as during half term breaks.Grants and fundraising have enabled some £60,000 to be spent on totally remodelling the Children's Play Area near the Village Hall. There was a grand opening ceremony at the village fete on 27 June 2010.
Bawdeswell Activities Group (BAG)
The activities group, as part of Project Bawdeswell, was created in 2007 and then became a sub-group of the Village Hall Committee. Initially it ran a program of activities for children during the summer holidays and then commenced to arrange activities for the rest of the community. Recent adult activities include Bridge courses for beginners and Table Tennis/Games evenings. The group has provided activities for children during all school holidays and half terms (except at Christmas) since it was started and relies on a small but dedicated band of volunteers. Initial funding came from the Parish Council, Breckland Council and Norfolk Community Foundation plus their own fundraising. Through continued fundraising and generous donations, most of the activities for children, including materials, are provided free of charge.Other new activities started in 2009 are BAG Bikers, BAG Runners, BAG Walkers and BAG Basketball.
A BAG monthly bridge afternoon has been taken over by the JayCee Bridge who now meet every Tuesday evening at Foxley village hall and every Friday afternoon at Bawdeswell village hall.
BAG runs table tennis evenings every Monday.
A set of cricket nets was provided on the recreation ground in 2008 and a second bay extension was constructed in May 2009 thanks to a most generous donation from a local resident.
Bawdeswell Activities Group (BAG) has a website at
Bawdeswell Village Cinema
Through collaboration with 'Creative Arts East' the Activities Group showed two films, a Mamma Mia Singalong in 2009 was a great success as was Grease in early 2010. BAG then received a grassroots grant in 2010 through Norfolk Community Foundation for their own cinema equipment and now run a monthly film show on a Saturday plus a film club on the Sunday after. Films are also shown for children during the school holidays. A number of free children's matinees are also arranged on the afternoon of the regular film show. In liaison with the Book Club some classic films are being shown so that the film and book can both be discussed.Book club
The village has a thriving book club which meets at 'The Old Workhouse' Bar on the 1st Thursday each month at 7.30pm.The Reeve's Tale Magazine
The Reeve's Tale started off as a parish magazine produced by the Rector but has now become a community magazine for the villages of Bawdeswell and FoxleyFoxley
Foxley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is about 15 miles north-west of Norwich and 9 miles south-east of Fakenham....
. There are ten issues a year for February, March, April, May, June, July, August/September, October, November and December/January. The editor is one of the churchwarden
Churchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish church or congregation of the Anglican Communion, usually working as a part-time volunteer. Holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry, parish council, parochial church council, or in the case of a...
s, and he is supported by a team of regular contributors and volunteer distributors, all of whom play an important part. Deadline for copy and advertising is the 15th of the month preceding publication. The magazine is distributed free of charge to every household in Bawdeswell and Foxley, and also published on the web. Printing costs are covered by advertising revenue, donations from the two parish councils and also from individuals and clubs.
See http://www.thereevestale.co.uk/