Kimberley 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

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, situated about north-west of

Wymondham Wymondham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England, south-west of Norwich, England, Norwich off the A11 road (England), A11 road to London. The River Tiffey runs through ...

, around the crossroads of the B1108 and B1135. The parish has an area of and had a total population of 121 in 52 households as of the 2001 census. The parish absorbed the parish of

Carleton Forehoe Carleton Forehoe is a village and former civil parish west of Norwich, now in the parish of Kimberley, in the South Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 123. History Carleton Forehoe's nam ...

on the 1 April 1935. The villages name means 'Cyneburg's wood/clearing', a feminine personal name. Kimberley is served by rail, as the

Kimberley Park railway station Kimberley Park railway station is a railway station in the village of Kimberley, Norfolk, Kimberley in the England, English county of Norfolk. History The Wymondham-Dereham branch line was built by the Norfolk Railway and the line and st ...

is on the

Mid-Norfolk Railway The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway, one of the longest in Great Britain. Preservation efforts began in 1974, but the line re-opened to passengers only in the mid-1990s as part of the "new generation" o ...

, which goes between

Dereham Dereham (), also known as East Dereham, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about 15 miles (25 km) west of the city ...

and

. The

River Tiffey A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...

flows through the village. Kimberley is home to Kimberley Hall, a house whose grounds were 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

Wodehouse family Wodehouse is an English surname and barony. The baronetcy was created in 1611, the barony in 1797. Since 1866 it has been held by the Earl of Kimberley, the current Baron Wodehouse being John Wodehouse, 5th Earl of Kimberley (born 1951). His ...

had owned land in Kimberley since the 1370s, and in c. 1400 John Wodehouse built Wodehouse Tower at the site of the later Kimberley Hall. John's son John Wodehouse Esq. distinguished himself in the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; french: Azincourt ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected English victory against the numerica ...

and was granted large estates by Henry V as a reward.

Earl of Kimberley Earl of Kimberley, of Kimberley in the County of Norfolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1866 for the prominent Liberal politician John Wodehouse, 3rd Baron Wodehouse. During his long political career, he no ...

is a title in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

, created for John Wodehouse, 3rd Baron Wodehouse in 1866. The present holder of the title is John Wodehouse, 5th Earl of Kimberley.

Notable people

Ernest Raikes Ernest Barkley Raikes (18 November 1863 – 7 December 1931) was an English first-class cricketer and a legal advocate based in Bombay in British India between 1889 and 1914. While in India he played first-class cricket for the Europeans crick ...

(1863–1931), cricketer *

John Jenkins (composer) John Jenkins (1592–1678), was an English composer who was born in Maidstone, Kent and who died at Kimberley, Norfolk. Biography Little is known of his early life. The son of Henry Jenkins, a carpenter who occasionally made musical instrumen ...

(1592–1678), English composer

Notes

* http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Kimberley

External links

Parish Council Website
Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk South Norfolk {{Norfolk-geo-stub