Waxham is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of

Sea Palling Sea Palling is a village and civil parish covering in the English county of Norfolk. The village is south-east of Cromer, north-east of Norwich and north-east of London. The village lies east of the A149 road, A149 between Kings Lynn and G ...

, in the

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a ...

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. It lies on the north-east coast of the county. Buildings in the village include Waxham Hall, the 14th-century St. John's Church and the 16th-century Waxham Great Barn. Waxham Hall is reputedly haunted by the ghosts of six members of the Brograve family, all of whom died in battle. It is said that an 18th-century owner of the house once invited them all to dinner. Waxham Great Barn (Listed Grade 1) built about 1570, at 178 feet long is one of the largest

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. ...

s of its age in the country. It has recently been restored and opened to the public. The village has an extensive beach backed by dunes. Many migrant

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s pass through the area in spring and autumn and

common crane The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') and the Siberi ...

s feed in fields near the village. In 1931 the parish had a population of 84.

History

The villages name origin is uncertain 'Waegstan's homestead/village', or 'watch-stone homestead/village'. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Palling.

Notable people

Anne Townshend Anne Townshend or Anne Bacon; Anne, Lady Townshend (August 1573 – November 1622) was a British Puritan gentlewoman and benefactor of Puritan causes. Life Townshend was born in Waxham in 1573 and was baptised on 7 August. Her parents were Anne ( ...

, benefactor, was born here in 1573.Gaby Mahlberg, ‘Townshend , Anne, Lady Townshend (1573–1622)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oct 2005; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 11 Oct 2017
/ref> *

Henry Woodhouse (MP) Henry Woodhouse (c. 1545 – 8 October 1624), of Hickling and Waxham, Norfolk, was an English politician. Henry Woodhouse was the second son of Sir William Woodhouse and his second wife Elizabeth Calthorpe, widow of Sir Henry Parker. He was a ...

(1545-1634)

Lordship of Waxham

The Lordship of Waxham has a rich documented history that covers many centuries. Most feudal titles were created after the Norman invasion of England in 1066, but lordships pre-date this. It was held by

St Benet's Abbey St Benet's Abbey was a medieval monastery of the Order of Saint Benedict, also known as St Benet's at Holme or Hulme. It was situated on the River Bure within the Broads in Norfolk, England. St Benet is a medieval English version of the name of ...

and Alan the Earl of Richmond a Breton noble who fought for Stephen of England. The present-day holder of the Lordship of Waxham is Stephen David Young, a businessman originally from Buckinghamshire. This is a

Feudal Lordship Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

, or honour or dignity, rather than a peerage. The

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

can still call a

Court Leet The court leet was a historical court baron (a type of manorial court) of England and Wales and Ireland that exercised the "view of frankpledge" and its attendant police jurisdiction, which was normally restricted to the hundred courts. Etym ...

, these generally had a jury formed from the freehold tenants or freeman of the Manor. The jury's role was similar to that of the doomsmen of the Anglo-Saxon period and included electing the officers (other than the steward who was appointed by the Lord), to bring matters to the attention of the court and deciding on them. The officers of the Court Leet could include some or all of the following: the Steward, the chief official of the Lord of the Manor, and judge; and the Manor Bailiff, who summoned the jury and, if necessary performed arrests, as well as generally supervising Court matters.

In film

Whistle and I'll Come to You (Omnibus) "Whistle and I'll Come to You" is a 1968 BBC television drama adaptation of the 1904 ghost story 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' by M. R. James. It tells of an eccentric and distracted professor who happens upon a strange whistle whi ...

, 1968, was partially filmed at Waxham.

References

External links