Bodney is a village and former
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
, now in the parish of
Hilborough
Hilborough is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is south of Swaffham, west-southwest of Norwich and north-northeast of London.
The population of the parish (including Bodney) at the 2011 Census was 243. ...
, in the
Breckland district, in the county of
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 70.
History
Bodney is an Anglo-Saxon name meaning 'Beoda's island' which suggests that at one time the settlement was completely surrounded by marshland.
In the Domesday Book, Bodney was recorded as constituting of 19 households owned by
William of Warenne,
Ralph of Tosny and
Hugh de Montfort.
At the
Dissolution of the Monasteries it became Crown property and was granted to the
Duke of Norfolk
Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...
. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Hilborough.
During the Second World War, warplanes operated from
RAF Bodney
Royal Air Force Bodney or more simply RAF Bodney is a former Royal Air Force Station located west of Watton, Norfolk, England.
Originally built as an RAF Bomber Command airfield during 1939-1940, Bodney was transferred to the United States ...
. From 1940 to 1943, the airfield was used by the
Bristol Blenheims of
No. 21 and
No. 82 Squadron and, subsequently, from 1943 to 1945 by the
149th,
486th and
487th Fighter Squadrons of the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
.
St. Mary's Church
St. Mary's is located on the side of the B1108 and is built in Norman style. The church was significantly remodelled in the 19th Century and is bordered on its far side by
Stanford Battle Area.
[ Knott, S. (2022). Retrieved November 06, 2022. http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/bodney/bodney.htm ]
Notes
External links
Villages in Norfolk
Former civil parishes in Norfolk
Breckland District
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