Hapton 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

Tharston and Hapton The civil parish of Tharston and Hapton lies in the south of the county of Norfolk, England. It encompasses the two villages of Tharston and Hapton, covering . The parish had a population of 599 in 231 households at the 2001 census, increasing ...

, in the

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 ...

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, located about nine miles south 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 ...

. In 1931 the parish had a population of 159. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Tharston. The villages name means 'H(e)abba's farm/settlement'.

Description

The local

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

is dedicated to St. Margaret and was originally built in the 13th century despite having a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

bell tower with a solitary bell. Village amenities include a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

and a piece of land next to the church which was purchased in 2004 on behalf of the village for common use and now has a picnic bench and BBQ with disabled access. The local shop and

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

have closed in recent years. Hapton Hall is located close to the village and the Norwich-London Liverpool St. mainline. Several years ago, it was bought by

Redwings Horse Sanctuary Redwings Horse Sanctuary is a registered charity that provides a home for rescued horses, based in Norfolk, England. Aims According to RHS, their "primary purpose is to provide and promote the welfare, protection and care of horses, ponies, don ...

which now owns much of the land surrounding it. Before that time it was a working

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

Neighbours

Nearby villages include Tharston,

Flordon Flordon is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located south-east of Wymondham and south-west of Norwich. History Although the certain meaning of Flordon's name is uncertain, it is of Anglo-Saxon origin ...

, Fundenhall,

Tasburgh Tasburgh ( ) is a civil parish and a village in the south of Norfolk, England, located approximately 8 miles south of Norwich. It lies on the A140 road, north of Long Stratton and south of Newton Flotman. The River Tas flows nearby and Tasburgh ...

and Tacolneston.

References

External links

GENUKI entry for Hapton, Norfolk
Villages in Norfolk Former civil parishes in Norfolk South Norfolk {{Norfolk-geo-stub