Flitcham 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 authorit ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

. The village is located north-east of King's Lynn and north-west of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, along the

River Babingley The Babingley is a minor river in the northwest of the county Norfolk in England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 250 - Norfolk Coast West''. . It runs from its source at the village of Flitcham to the River Great Ouse at Wootton Mar ...

. Together with the villages of West Newton, Shernborne and Anmer, Flitcham forms part of the Royal Sandringham Estate.

History

Flitcham's name is of Anglo-Saxon 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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

for a village or settlement where 'flitches' of Bacon were produced. In 1948, the site of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

villa was excavated close to Denbeck Wood, within the parish. After excavation, the villa was found to have glazed windows, a tessellated floor and a small courtyard flanker by other buildings from the same period. Further artefacts, including coins, pottery and metalwork dating from the Third and Forth Centuries, have been discovered close to the site and across the parish. Another possible Roman building has been identified close to the course of the

. In addition, the Denbeck Wood excavations also led to the discovery of several Anglo-Saxon artefacts including brooches, pottery and several fittings. 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 manus ...

, Flitcham is listed as a settlement of 88 households in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Freebridge. In 1086, the village was divided between 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-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

estates of Bishop Odo de Bayeux, William de Warenne and Roger Bigod. The survey lists the value of Flitcham as 4 mills, a church, of meadow, pannage for 27 swine, 3 cows, 1 beast for carriage and 180 sheep. In the Domesday Book, the size of woodland was normally given as the number of swine a wood Appleton Hall was built within the parish in the late-Sixteenth Century by Sir Edward Paston and was subsequently destroyed by fire in the early Eighteenth Century. During 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 ...

, many local men joined the 1/5th Battalion of the

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 ...

. In 1915, the unit was sent to Gallipoli and first saw action at Suvla Bay, on the 21 August the unit attacked the Ottoman positions and subsequently found themselves encircled and then eliminated. Six Flitcham men were killed on the 21st August 1915 in this attack. These events were dramatised in ''

All the King's Men ''All the King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It was inspired by the real-life story of U ...

'' starring

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom '' Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector ...

. Appleton House was built in the 1860s as a residence for Haakon VII of Norway and his wife,

Maud of Wales Maud of Wales (Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria; 26 November 1869 – 20 November 1938) was the Queen of Norway as the wife of King Haakon VII. The youngest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, she was known as P ...

, during visits to England, with the future

Olav V Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Norw ...

being born in the house. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Appleton House was the residence of the Norwegian monarchy in exile and to this effect a sophisticated air-raid shelter was attached to the house. Today, the parish also includes the deserted settlement of Appleton.

Geography

According to the 2011 Census, Flitcham with Appleton has a population of 276 residents living in 131 households. Furthermore, the parish covers a total area of . Flitcham falls within the constituency of

North West Norfolk North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

and is represented at

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

by James Wild 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 ...

. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the

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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. The eastern boundary of the parish is discernible by

Peddars Way The Peddars Way is a long distance footpath that passes through Suffolk and Norfolk, England. Route The Peddars Way is 46 miles (74 km) long and follows the route of a Roman road. It has been suggested by more than one writer that it was n ...

, a long-distance footpath between Knettishall and

Holme-next-the-Sea Holme-next-the-Sea is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the north Norfolk coast some 5 km north-east of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, 30 km north of the town of King's Lynn a ...

St. Mary's Church

Flitcham's parish church is today ruined, with 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. Ov ...

collapsed and the tower remaining. The ruined church dates from the Twelfth Century and was restored in the Nineteenth Century, the font remains in the church and was moved to Flitcham in the 1880s from

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places * Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia * Sandringham, Queensland, Australia * Sandringham, Victoria, Australia **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station **Electoral district of Sandringham * Sand ...

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

Notable Residents

* Sir Edward Paston (1550-1630)- English landowner and amateur musician *

(1869-1938)- Queen of Norway between 1869 and 1938 *

King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...

(1872-1957)- King of Norway between 1905 and 1957 *

King Olav V Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Nor ...

(1903-1991)- King of Norway between 1957 and 1991

War Memorial

Flitcham's war memorial takes the form of stone obelisk atop a square plinth adorned with slate on each face and stands along the side of the B1153. The memorial lists the following names for the

: * L-Cpl. William Mickelborough (1882-1916), 8th Bn.,

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service i ...

* L-Cpl. William C. Grimes (d.1915), 1/5th Bn.,

* L-Cpl. Charles Hunter (1894-1915), 1/5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regt. * L-Cpl. George H. Williamson (1883-1915), 7th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regt. * Dvr. William J. Smith (1883-1915), 2nd (Depot) Coy., Royal Army Service Corps * Pvt. Allan Bridges (1881-1917), 2nd Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment * Pvt. Ernest Rix (d.1918), 2nd Bn., Bedfordshire Regt. * Pvt. Sidney Rayner (1885-1918), 9th Bn., East Surrey Regiment * Pvt. Frederick Bridges (d.1917), 1st Bn.,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

* Pvt. William Rudley (1894-1915), 1st Bn., Essex Regt. * Pvt. George H. Seaman (1883-1914), 1st Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment * Pvt. Arthur Bridges (1890-1915), 1/5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regt. * Pvt. Leonard A. Bridges (d.1915), 1/5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regt. * Pvt. Charles E. Grimes (d.1915), 1/5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regt. * Pvt. Thomas Grimes (d.1917), 1/5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regt. * Pvt. William J. Humphrey (d.1915), 1/5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regt. * Pvt. Walter W. Mindham (d.1917), 1/5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regt. * Pvt. Robert J. Overman (1893-1917), 1/5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regt. * Pvt. Arthur R. Beckett (1895-1916), 7th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regt. * Pvt. Henry E. Broadwater (1895-1918), 1st Bn., Queen's Royal Regiment * G. H. Bird * E. Burger * L. T. H. Waites * P. F. Williamson And, the following for the

: * Pvt. Joseph D. Searle (1919-1942), 5th Bn.,

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

* Pvt. Percy W. Bix (1918-1940), 7th Bn.,

Langley, C. (2008). Retrieved January 02, 2023. http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Flitcham.html

External links

Village web site

References

{{authority control Villages in Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk