Ovington is a

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. It covers an area of and had a population of 239 in 92 households at the 2001 census, increasing to a population of 256 in 101 households at the 2011 Census. It is in 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, municip ...

Breckland Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a la ...

. Ovington is represented by the

Saham Toney Saham Toney is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is north of Thetford, west of Norwich and north-east of London. The village lies west of the town of Attleborough. The nearest railway station is at A ...

ward of Breckland District Council and the Watton Division of Norfolk County Council.

History

The village name means 'Farm/settlement connected with Ufa'. Ovington came under

Saham Saham () is a coastal town in Al Batinah North Governorate, in northeastern Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land ...

at the time of the 1086

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

but by 1202 was established as a separate manor, held by Roger Bozun. It stayed in the Bozun family until the mid 16th century, and it latterly became the property of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. The Church of St John the Evangelist is a Grade II* listed building, dating from about 1300, and restored in 1867. The records of rectors start in 1304. The former Crown public house and former Methodist Chapel are now private residences.

Clubs

The long established ladies' group, gardener's and bowls clubs are active in Ovington. More recently an Allotment Association has been formed cultivating land behind the church.Ovington Allotment Association
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Fairs

Ovington holds a Christmas Bazaar in the Village Hall and a summer fete in the grounds surrounding the hall.

References

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Ovington {{authority control Breckland District Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk