Bressingham is a village and

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 ...

in the

English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

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 ...

. It covers an area of and had a population of 751 in 305 households as of the 2001 census, the population increasing to 882 at the 2011 Census.

History

The name Bressingham is of

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

origin and refers to the homestead of Briosa's people. Bressingham is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as consisting of 47 households, which placed it in the largest 20% of settlements in 1086. At this time, Bressingham was divided between the land of

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

(2 acres of meadow, 6 pigs and woodland) and

Bury St Edmunds Abbey The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine monasteries in England, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. It is in the town that grew up around it, Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suffolk, England. It was ...

(16 acres of meadow, 26 pigs and woodland). Bressingham's St. John the Baptist Church was built in the Perpendicular Gothic Style in the 15th Century, yet features of the interior, specifically the

Chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

, date back to the 14th Century. The stained glass windows depict St. Peter, St. Paul, John the Baptist and Christ, and were installed by J & J King of Norwich in 1877. From 1804, Bressingham had a thriving Amicable Society with upwards of thirty members agreeing to a rudimentary form of life insurance. The society conducted its meetings in the Chequers pub.

Governance

Bressingham is part of the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

of Bressingham & Burston for local elections and is classified as a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the 2011 Census. History The district was formed on 1 April 197 ...

. Bressingham's national constituency is

and has been represented by Richard Bacon MP at

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

since 2001. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 2,810. UK Census. (2011). Retrieved September 05, 2015. http://www.ukcensusdata.com/bressingham-and-burston-e05005914#sthash.XaOV9Fjf.dpbs

Points of Interest

* War Memorial, at the junction between School Road and High Road *

Bressingham Steam and Gardens Bressingham Steam & Gardens is a steam museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or sci ...

* Village Shop & Post Office, High Road * St John the Baptist Church, Church Lane * Bressingham Methodist Church, High Road- completed in 1900 * Bressingham Village Hall & Playing Fields, High Road * Chequers Pub

War Memorial

The Bressingham Parish War Memorial is found on the junction between School Road and High Road. It commemorates the following individuals who died in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

: * Private Harry Flatman (1880-1918), 20th (Football) Battalion,

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

* Private John Fortis (1879-1917), 1st Battalion,

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

* George Garland * Rifleman Thomas E. Goodswen (1894-1918), 8th (Post Office) Battalion, London Regiment * Private George H. Hall (1898-1915), 3rd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Corporal George H. Hoskins (1876-1919), 144th Siege,

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

* Private Herbert C. Kent, 2nd Battalion,

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. T ...

* Private William R. Leighton, 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Sergeant Charles W. Parsley, 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Victor J. M. Rawlinson, 9th Battalion,

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

* Private Frank V. Rodwell, 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private John H. Rolfe, 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment

References

External links

bressinghamandfersfield.org
The website of Bressingham and Fersfield's Parish Council Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk {{Norfolk-geo-stub