Ditchingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located across the River Waveney from

Bungay Bungay () is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . It lies in the Waveney Valley, west of Beccles on the edge of The Broads, and at the neck of a meand ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map OL40 - The Broads''. .

History

Ditchingham's name is of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

origin and derives from the

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 ...

for the homestead or settlement of 'Dicca's' people. In the Domesday Book, Ditchingham is listed as a settlement of 36 households in the hundred of Lodding. In 1086, the village formed part of the

East Anglian 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-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom of the Kingdom of East Anglia, East Angles, ...

estates of King William I. In 1855, an Anglican convent known as the

Community of All Hallows The Community of All Hallows is an Anglican religious order based in Ditchingham, near Bungay, Suffolk, under the jurisdiction of the Church of England. The religious sisters lead a life of prayer and service providing hospitality and spiritual ...

was founded in Ditchingham by

Lavinia Crosse Lavinia Crosse (1821 - 1890) founded the Community of All Hallows in Ditchingham in 1855. She was the daughter of the famous Norwich surgeon, John Green Crosse John Green Crosse, FRCS, FRS (6 September 1790 – 9 June 1850) was a well-known ...

and Reverend William E. Scudamore. The convent acted as a refuge for women in 'moral danger' and other destitute individuals. The community closed in 2018. Lilias Rider Haggard's novel, ''The Rabbit Skin Cap (1939)'' tells the life story of George Baldry, a local inventor and poacher. The picture on the front cover of the book is a painting by

Edward Seago Edward Brian Seago, RBA, ARWS, RWS (31 March 1910 – 19 January 1974) was an English artist who painted in both oils and watercolours. Early life The son of a coal merchant, Seago was born in Norwich and attended Norwich School. He was a se ...

of local schoolboy, Douglas Walter Gower. In later life, Gower discovered the tusk of a woolly mammoth near the long barrow on

Broome Heath Broome Heath is a Local Nature Reserve in Ditchingham in Norfolk. It is owned by South Norfolk District Council and managed by the Broads Authority. An area in the north is designated a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest as Broome ...

which is now displayed in

Norwich Castle Museum Norwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. William the Conqueror (1066–1087) ordered its construction in the aftermath of the Norman conquest of England. The castle was used as a ...

. Much of the surrounding countryside is part of the estate centred on

Ditchingham Hall Ditchingham Hall is an English country house, near the village of Ditchingham in south Norfolk, England, which is set in about of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown. The Hall is about northwest of Ditchingham off the B1332 road between Bu ...

which was built in the Eighteenth Century and features gardens designed by

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

. The Hall is the ancestral seat of the Earl Ferrers and is currently in the possession of Robert Shirley, 14th Earl Ferrers.

Geography

The civil parish has an area of and in the 2011 Census had a population of 1,635 residents living in 739 households. Ditchingham falls within the

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

of South Norfolk and is represented at Parliament by Richard Bacon MP of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. A new two-member

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 ...

called Ditchingham and Earsham was created for the 2019 district council elections, consisting of 5,132 people of voting age. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of South Norfolk.

St. Mary's Church

Ditchingham's parish church is dedicated to

Saint Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and boasts one of the tallest Fifteenth Century towers in South Norfolk. During the Nineteenth Century, the chancel was remodelled by Anthony Salvin followed by a restoration of the chancel arch and nave roof by

Frederick Preedy Frederick Preedy (2 June 1820 – 28 March 1898) was an architect and glass painter in England. Life Preedy was born in Offenham near Evesham in Worcestershire and died at his son's home in Croydon. During his early life his family moved fro ...

. St. Mary's has an interesting set of stained glass windows depicting Edmund Tudor with

Lady Margaret Beaufort Lady Margaret Beaufort (usually pronounced: or ; 31 May 1441/43 – 29 June 1509) was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late fifteenth century, and mother of King Henry VII of England, the first Tudor monarch. A descendant of ...

, a series of knights and a timeline of rectors of the church, the manufacturer of the windows are unknown. The church is a Grade I listed building.

Chicken Roundabout

Ditchingham's Chicken roundabout had been home to a group of

feral chickens Feral chickens are derived from domestic chickens (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') who have returned to the wild. Like the red junglefowl (the closest wild relative of domestic chickens), feral chickens will roost in bushes in order to avoid predat ...

as early as the mid-1990s, cared for by a local man called Gordon Knowles. The number of birds living at the roundabout increased and declined over the years due to a range of factors including Avian influenza and theft. In 2010, the remaining chickens were given to a local animal charity with a plaque to Knowles' role in the local community being erected in 2012.

Amenities

Parravani's ice creams were established in the village in the early C20 and Lamberts Coaches are another long established local company.

Notable Residents

Sir John Hobart, 3rd Baronet Sir John Hobart, 3rd Baronet (20 March 1628 – 22 August 1683) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1683. Hobart was the son of Sir Miles Hobart (son of Sir Henry Hobart, 1 ...

(1628-1683)- English landowner and politician *

Philip Bedingfield Philip Bedingfield (died 1660) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1654. Bedingfield was the son of Thomas Bedingfield of Darsham, Suffolk and his wife Dorothy Southwell, daughter of John Southwell of Bar ...

(d.1660)- English landowner and politician * Rr-Adm. Samuel Sutton (1760-1832)- British naval officer *

William E. Scudamore William Edward Scudamore (1813-1881) was a prominent Church of England priest, historian, liturgist, chaplain, and devotional author. His popular devotional manual ''Steps to the Altar'' reached its sixty-seventh edition in 1887, and was used exte ...

(1813-1881)- English priest and historian *

(1821-1890)- founder of Community of All Hallows *

James Franck Bright James Franck Bright (29 May 1832 – 23 October 1920) was a British historian and Master of University College, Oxford. Biography James Franck Bright was born in London, the son of the physician Richard Bright, who described Bright's disease, ...

(1832-1920)- British historian *

Sir H. Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform t ...

(1856-1925)- British author of King Solomon's Mines and the Allan Quatermain Series * William Carr (1862-1925)- British biographer and historian *

Lilias Rider Haggard Lilias Margitson Rider Haggard, MBE (9 December 1892 – 9 January 1968) was the fourth and youngest child of the British writer Sir Henry Rider Haggard and Mariana Louisa MargitsonDawson Haggard D.,''The History of the Haggard Family in England a ...

(1892-1968)- British nurse and author * Lt-Col Victor Buller Turner VC- (1900-1972) British soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross * Diana Athill (1917-2019)- British literary editor and novelist * Robert Shirley, 13th Earl Ferrers (1929-2012)- British politician and peer *

Kevin Steggles Kevin Peter Steggles (born 19 March 1961) is an English former footballer who played at right-back. He made 90 league appearances in an eight-year career in the Football League. Career Steggles began his career at Ipswich Town, who were compe ...

(b.1961)-

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

and

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

footballer *

Deb Murrell Deb Murrell (born 24 July 1966) is a British cyclist. She competed in the women's cross-country mountain biking event at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta ...

(b.1966)- British cyclist * Jimmy Lewis (b.1967)- Norfolk cricketer

War Memorial

Ditchingham's war memorial is an almost unique memorial featuring the names of the fallen above a life-sized figure of a soldier lying in state cast in bronze, designed by

Francis Derwent Wood Francis Derwent Wood (15 October 1871– 19 February 1926) was a British sculptor. Biography Early life Wood was born at Keswick in Cumbria and studied in Germany and returned to London in 1887 to work under Édouard Lantéri and Sir Thomas ...

. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War: * Sergeant Herbert H. Bird (1886-1916), 2/6th 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 ...

* Sergeant Ernest W. Seeley (1882-1915), 6th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment * Lance-Sergeant Hubert G. Strowger (d.1916), 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Corporal Bertie A. Johnson (d.1918), 7th Battalion,

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

* Lance-Corporal Harold C. Edmunds (1896-1918), 1/1st Battalion,

Cambridgeshire Regiment The Cambridgeshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, and was part of the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. Originating in units of Volunteer Force (Great Britain), rifle volunteers formed in 1860, the regiment ...

* Lance-Corporal Gordon C. Williams (d.1918), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Gunner Harry Runicles (1897-1916), 86th Brigade,

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

* Gunner George A. Smith (1887-1917), 321st (Siege) Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery * Private Harold A. Fiske (1896-1915), A Company,

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

* Private Ernest A. Reynolds (d.1916), 8th Battalion, Border Regiment * Private Ralph R. Butcher (d.1916), 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards * Private Philip C. Simmons (1888-1916), 5th Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment * Private Daniel D. Fairhead (1891-1918), 34th Battalion,

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

* Private Jacob E. Kent (1889-1918), 1st Battalion,

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in ...

* Private Sidney Bird (1888-1917), 76th Company, Machine Gun Corps * Private Albert V. Gorbel (1890-1916), 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment * Private Reginald H. V. Dobbie (1888-1915), Wellington Infantry Regiment,

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

* Private Augustus G. Williams (1885-1914), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Harry Codling (1895-1915), 1/4th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private William H. Norman (1886-1916), 8th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Arthur Gillingwater (d.1916), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Harry A. Hale (d.1916), 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment * Private Kenneth R. Hamilton (1897-1916), 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment * Private Bertie Prior (d.1917), 2nd Battalion,

Queen's Royal Regiment The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Ar ...

* Private Alan G. Attoe (1900-1918), 20th (Training) Battalion,

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

* Private Arthur L. Garrould (1881-1918), 15th Battalion, Royal Scots * Private George H. Hansy (d.1915), 7th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment * C. Gray * W. I. Sampson And, the following for the Second World War: * Second-Lieutenant Jerome E. O. Treherne (1924-1944), Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry * Leading-Aircraftman James C. Lambert (1923-1941), Royal Air Force * Gunner Frederick A. Plumb (1916-1941), 37th (Light) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery * Private William Reeve (1913-1941), 1st Battalion,

Hertfordshire Regiment The Hertfordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army. Originating in units of Rifle Volunteers formed in 1859, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and the First and Second Wor ...

* Private Sidney D. Fairhead (1920-1943), 5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment Also featured on the war memorial is Nurse Mary Rodwell of Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps who was killed when ''

HMHS Anglia SS ''Anglia'' was a steam ship requisitioned for use as a hospital ship during the First World War. On 17 November 1915 she hit a mine laid by the German U-boat, ''UC-5''. History ''Anglia'' was built by Wm Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton, Scotl ...

'' hit a sea mine close to

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

. Smith, L. (2005). Retrieved December 24, 2022. http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Ditchingham.html

References

. * http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2305557.stm {{authority control Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk