Thornage 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 2.7 miles south-west of

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 ...

, 23.2 miles north-west 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 11.3 miles east of

Fakenham Fakenham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, about north west of Norwich. The town is the junction of several local roads, including the A148 from King's Lynn to Cromer, the A1067 to Norwic ...

, and straddles the B1110 road between

and Guist. The nearest railway station is at

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 ...

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

, Cromer and Norwich. The nearest airport is at

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 ...

History

The villages name means 'thorn-tree park'. Thornage has an entry in the

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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1085. In the great book Thornage is recorded by the name ‘’Tornedis’’, the main land holder being Bishop William. The survey also lists 3 mills.

The Iron Foundry

In the 19th century there was a

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

in the village; the foundry was run initially by John Mann, and later by his nephew, Alfred Abram, and is depicted on the

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 ...

Thornage Hall

Thornage Hall is a former grange of the

Bishops of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher. The see is in the ...

. There has been a manor house on this site since the time of the Normans. The hall was built c. 1482 by Bishop Goldwall of Norwich. After the dissolution of the monasteries the hall was given to Sir William Butts by Henry VIII. In the 17th century both ends of the Hall were demolished and remodelled, but the hall windows and doorways in the centre block were retained. In 1988 a 17th-century sewer tunnel was rediscovered. Nearby there is a large brick

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

, dating from 1728, and barns of flint and brick dating from 1718 and 1727.

Thornage Watermill

The

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

is located to the north east of the village and stands on the

river Glaven The River Glaven in the eastern English county of Norfolk is long and flows through picturesque North Norfolk countryside to the North Sea. Rising from a tiny headwater in Bodham the river starts miles before Selbrigg Pond where three sma ...

whose course was altered to enable construction of the mill on a site able to hold the mill dam without flooding the surrounding area. A watermill was first recorded on this site in the

; in the 13th century it was known as ''Feldmille''. The present watermill, built of Norfolk red brick with a pantile roof, stopped working in 1938 and the building is now a private residence. In its working order the watermill had a breastshot 13' x 6' wheel, made entirely out of wood, which powered 4 pairs of stones driven from above and controlled by two sets of flyball governors. Three pairs of French burr stones still remained in 2011, along with some of the mill machinery, which has been incorporated into the living area of the private residence conversion.

The Parish Church of All Saints

The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

of the present Parish Church of All Saints was constructed in the early part of the 14th century. The church was substantially renovated in 1898 and in 1904. Three Norman windows can be seen in the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and the chancel. At some time the church had a south aisle, as the blocked up arcade shows. Inside the church is the tomb chest of Sir William Butts, who died in 1583. His father, also named Sir William Butts, was the chief physician in the household of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. The church's communion plate is very ancient, as is the

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...

, on which are inscribed the words ''"was the gyfte of John Butts (or Butes), and Margaret, his wife - 1456".''

Notable people

* Sir William Butts was a Fellow of the

College of Physicians A college of physicians is a national or provincial organisation concerned with the practice of medicine. {{Expand list, date=February 2011 Such institutions include: * American College of Physicians * Ceylon College of Physicians * College of Phy ...

and became physician to

, whose confidence he enjoyed to a remarkable degree. He was a keen supporter of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. William was educated at

Gonville Hall Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

, Cambridge, of which he became a Fellow. He proceeded to become a B.A. in 1506, M.A. in 1509, and M.D. in 1518. He was made a Fellow of the College of Physicians on 9 November 1529. He was the friend of Thomas Cardinal Wolsey,

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry' ...

, and

Hugh Latimer Hugh Latimer ( – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Bishop of Worcester during the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555 under the Catholic Queen Mary I he was burned at the s ...

. William was knighted by Henry VIII, under the title of Sir William Butts, of Norfolk. He was immortalised by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, in his play "Henry VIII", and his portrait is in Holbein's picture of the delivery of the Charter to the Barber Surgeons. Sir William's family had been in possession of the manor of Thornage for some considerable time when he was additionally given the Hall, once the grange of the Bishop of Norwich, by Henry VIII in 1536. Hans Holbein d

* John Astley was Rector, 1758–1803

John Archibald Venn John Archibald Venn (10 November 1883 – 15 March 1958) was a British economist. He was President of Queens' College, Cambridge, from 1932 until his death, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University 1941–1943, university archivist, and a ...

, ''

Alumni Cantabrigienses ''Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900'' is a biographical register of former members of the University of Cambridge whic ...

: Part II. 1752–1900'', Vol. I (1940)
p. 88
/ref>

References

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Thornage {{authority control North Norfolk Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk