Ringstead, Norfolk
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Ringstead 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the north-west corner of 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 ...
of
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 355 in 155 households at the 2001 census, reducing to 324 at the 2011 census. For the purposes of local government, 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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of
King's Lynn and West Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn. The district also includes the t ...
.


Name

The villages name means 'Ring place'. perhaps referring to a
stone circle A stone circle is a ring of megalithic standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being ...
or circular/round topographical feature. The village is referred to as Ringstead by the Ordnance Survey. The longer form of the name is Great Ringstead, which is preferred by the parish council. Historically, this was to distinguish the village from the neighbouring
deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the conve ...
of Barrett Ringstead, also known as Little Ringstead or Rinstead Parva. This was just to the west, and is now in the parish of
Old Hunstanton Old Hunstanton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 47 in 25 households at the 2001 census. The population had risen to 628 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local ...
.


Churches

The village had two parishes in the Middle Ages, which were consolidated in 1771 and so one church was abandoned. The surviving church is dedicated to St Andrew and has a 13th-century tower, 14th-century nave and 15th-century chancel. There was a major restoration in 1865, which involved the partial rebuilding of the tower and chancel east wall, as well as the addition of a south aisle and porch. The other church was dedicated to St Peter. Apart from its late 11th-century round tower, it was demolished in 1772 but the tower survives in a private garden at the end of Hall Lane, near Ringstead Bury House. The lost village of Little Ringstead had a church dedicated to St Andrew, which survives as a roofless ruin in an arable field to the west of Downs Farm. The remains have a rectangular plan, are 13th century and might comprise the chancel of a larger church. The village was depopulated by plague in 1349, but the church continued as a private chapel until it was converted into a barn in the 17th century. The ruined Chapel of St Andrew is Grade II* listed.


Notable buildings

Apart from the two churches, Ringstead has fourteen other
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s. These comprise the farmhouses at Bluestone, East End and Geddings Farms; the War Memorial; the Gin Trap Inn (the 17th-century village pub), the village windmill, the Ringstead Gallery, 22–26 High Street and residences called Old Rectory, Ringstead Bury House, Ringstead Bury Stables, Rose Cottage, The Lodge and The White House.


Downs

The Ringstead Downs comprise a partly wooded chalk ridge to the south-west of the village, and is important for it unimproved chalk grassland. A permissive footpath runs through it and links Ringstead to the nearby resort town of
Hunstanton Hunstanton (sometimes pronounced ) is a seaside resort, seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash. Hunstanton lies 102 miles (164 km) north-north-east of London an ...
.


Transport

The village is isolated. Although country lanes radiate to neighbouring villages, there is no A or B road, no direct route to the nearest town of Hunstanton and no public transport. There has been no bus service since the shutdown of the
Stagecoach in Norfolk Stagecoach in Norfolk (formerly Norfolk Green) was a bus operator based in King's Lynn in Norfolk, England. It operated public bus services in the counties of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire as well as numerous school and college servic ...
bus company in 2018. Before this, the village was on the route 31 from Fakenham to Hunstanton, allowing for connections to Norwich at the former place and King's Lynn at the latter.


Notable residents

* Julian Mond, 3rd Baron Melchett (9 January 1925 – 15 June 1973) – former chairman of
British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...
*Sonia Mond,
Sonia Melchett Sonia Elizabeth Sinclair, JP (née Graham; formerly Mond; born 6 September 1928), known as Sonia Melchett, is an English socialite and author. Formerly married to Julian Mond, Baron Melchett, she married the writer Andrew Sinclair after her hu ...
, Baroness Melchett – (6 September 1928; socialite and author *
Peter Mond, 4th Baron Melchett Peter Robert Henry Mond, 4th Baron Melchett (24 February 1948 – 29 August 2018), also known as Peter Melchett, was an English farmer, jurist and politician. He succeeded to the title of Baron Melchett in 1973. Early life The son of the Briti ...
– (28 February 1948– 28 August 2018) former
Lord in Waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...
, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and
Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...


Notes

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Ringstead


External links


St Peter's tower on the European Round Tower Churches website
{{authority control Villages in Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk