Roughton is a village and 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

. The village is south of

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are Nor ...

, north 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 ...

, and north-west of

North Walsham North Walsham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England, within the North Norfolk district. Demography The civil parish has an area of and in the 2011 census had a population of 12,634. For the purposes of local government, the pa ...

. It straddles the

A140 The A140 is an A roads in Great Britain, 'A-class' road in Norfolk and Suffolk, East Anglia, England partly following the route of the Roman Pye Road. It runs from the A14 road (Great Britain), A14 near Needham Market to the A149 road, A149 so ...

between Cromer and Norwich and the B1463. The villages name means 'Rough farm/settlement', referring to the character of the ground.

The Village Today

Facilities in the village include a church, primary school, public house, village hall, fish and chip shop, play area, garage, windmill and fishing lake.Village website
Retrieved 11 January 2014

The Parish Church

Roughton church, St Mary's, is one of 124 existing

round-tower church Round-tower churches are a type of church found mainly in England, mostly in East Anglia; of about 185 surviving examples in the country, 124 are in Norfolk, 38 in Suffolk, six in Essex, three in Sussex and two each in Cambridgeshire and Berkshi ...

es in

. The tower is believed to be of

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 ...

origin and much of the main body of the building is Victorian.

The Einstein connection

In September 1933,

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

was brought to live in a small hut on Roughton Heath after fleeing

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Commander Oliver Locker-Lampson MP offered Einstein a refuge in Norfolk before he travelled to the United States. While here, he was sculpted by

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911. He often produc ...

. A

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

commemorating Einstein's stay can be found at the entrance of the ''New Inn'' public house in the village. On 7 October 1933, he set sail from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

for a new life in the United States and never returned to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Einstein's visit inspired several works, including Mark Burgess’s radio play ''Einstein in Cromer'',

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

’s opera ''Einstein on the Beach'', and a song of the same name by

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mil ...

.Einstein on the beach
by Alison Boyle, Curator of Astronomy and Modern Physics Science Museum , London, 17 August 2010 , Accessed 31 August 2012 The story behind Einstein's visit to Roughton has been told in a book - ''Saving Einstein. When Norfolk Hid a Genius. The Double Life of Oliver Locker-Lampson.''

Disappearance of April Fabb

The schoolgirl

April Fabb April Fabb (22 April 1955 – disappeared 8 April 1969) was an English schoolgirl who disappeared on 8 April 1969, when aged 13, between the villages of Metton, Norfolk, Metton and Roughton, Norfolk, Roughton in Norfolk, England, United Kingdom ...

was cycling from

Metton ''Metton'' is a runny French cheese made in Franche-Comté, mostly used as an ingredient for making Cancoillotte. The traditional process to produce Cancoillotte with metton is to cook it in an earthenware pot with some water or milk, then to add ...

nearby to visit her sister in Roughton when she disappeared without trace on 8 April 1969.April Fabb
Retrieved 18 March 2012

Public transport

The nearest railway station is at Roughton Road for the

Bittern Line The Bittern Line is a railway branch line in Norfolk, England, that links to . It passes through the Broads on its route to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the north Norfolk coast. It is named after the bittern, a rare bird found in t ...

, which runs between

Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is an English seaside town within the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban Distr ...

, Cromer, and Norwich. The nearest airport is

Norwich International Airport Norwich Airport is an international airport in Hellesdon, Norfolk, England, north of Norwich. In 2017, Norwich Airport was the 28th busiest airport in the UK and busiest in the East Anglia region. Norwich Airport has a CAA Public Use Aero ...

. Sanders provide a regular bus services to Norwich, Sheringham, Cromer, and

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

References

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

External links

St Mary's on the European Round Tower Churches website Norfolk Green bus serviceKonectbus timetableRoughton Chip ShopThe New Inn RoughtonBBC Norfolk
{{authority control North Norfolk Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk