Hilgay 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 ...

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, from Downham Market. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,341 at the 2011 Census. For local government purposes, it 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 counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

King's Lynn and West Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a local government district with borough status in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 Census was 147,451. History The district was ...

. Other places nearby are Fordham, Ryston,

Southery Southery is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England, which covers an area of and had a population of 1,324 at the 2011 Census. For local government purposes, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk King's Lynn and ...

and

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

History

The name Hilgay is derived 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 ...

to mean 'island or dry ground in a marsh, of the followers of a man called Hytha or Hydla during

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a 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-Saxons happened wit ...

times. Modney Priory built here by the monks of

Ramsey Abbey Ramsey Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England. It was founded about AD 969 and dissolved in 1539. The site of the abbey in Ramsey is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Most of the abbey's ...

was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

cell. Hilgay village sits on a raised isle, some above the surrounding

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

land. Its elevation has become more pronounced as the draining of the fenland has caused the ground to shrink. It was notable in

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and early

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

times for the large numbers of fish and eels found there. Hilgay Old Bridge still crosses the river, but the newer

A10 road This is a list of roads designated A10. Roads entries are sorted in the countries alphabetical order. * A010 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Chubut Province * ''A10 road (Australia)'' may refer to : ** ''A10 highway (South Australia ...

bypass crosses just below it. The scholar and poet

Phineas Fletcher Phineas Fletcher (8 April 1582 – 13 December 1650) was an English poet, elder son of Dr Giles Fletcher, and brother of Giles the Younger. He was born at Cranbrook, Kent, and was baptized on 8 April 1582. Life He was admitted a scholar of Eto ...

(1580 -1650) became chaplain to Sir Henry Willoughby, who presented him in 1621 to the rectory of Hilgay, Norfolk, where he married and spent the rest of his life. Captain

George William Manby Captain George William Manby FRS (28 November 1765 – 18 November 1854) was an English author and inventor. He designed an apparatus for saving life from shipwrecks and also the first modern form of fire extinguisher. Early life Manby was bo ...

, who lived for much of his life in Hilgay, is buried in the churchyard, and his memorial celebrates his invention of the Manby mortar to send a line to ships in distress. He was awarded £2,000 by Parliament, as use of the device had saved 230 lives by 1823.Blair (2006) A Hilgay

village sign In many parts of England, an ornamental village sign is erected to announce the village name to those entering the village. They are typically placed on the principal road entrance or in a prominent location such as a village green. The design ...

was erected in 1987. The musical instruments on it are displayed in honour of Hilgay Silver Band, it was still going strong over 100 years after its formation around 1896. Its original members were agricultural workers from the local area. A Manby mortar is also represented. The bridge depicted between the two instruments is Hilgay Old Bridge. The bridge was built in 1899 to transport traffic from the centre of the village over the River Wissey to the north. Within sight of the bridge, one hundred yards or so to the west, the A10 Hilgay bypass bridge now carries the majority of vehicles across the water. A small plaque attached to the bottom of the supporting post states the village sign was 'Erected by Hilgay Parish Council 1987'. In 2018 nine one-metre square test pits were dug as part of an archaeological investigation. The report was published in 2019. Hilgay Parish Council are responsible for the local allotments, cemetery and

defibrillator Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a ''coun ...

. There was once a

Hilgay railway station Hilgay railway station was a station in Hilgay, Norfolk, United Kingdom which is now closed. It was on the Fen Line between King's Lynn and Cambridge. It was closed in 1963 along with nearby Stow Bardolph. Hiams Siding and Hiams Tramway One ...

on the Fen Line.

Governance

Hilgay 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 Hilgay with Denver. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 2,409.

References

Bibliography

External links

GENUKI(tm) page
* Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk {{Norfolk-geo-stub