Brooke 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the 2011 Census. History The district was formed on 1 April 19 ...

district 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, about 7 miles south 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 roughly equidistant from Norwich and Bungay.

History

Brook's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

for a small stream. 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 manus ...

, Brooke is described as consisting of 41 households which belong to Bury St Edmunds Abbey.

Geography

According to the 2011 Census, the population of Brooke and Howe is 1,399 people.

St. Peter's Church

Brooke's Parish Church is dedicated to

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

and is one of the 124 remaining round-tower churches in Norfolk.

Places of Interest

Primary-age children attend Brooke Primary School, located in the village. Brooke's village

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

is called 'The White Lion' and dates back to the 1800s.

Governance

An electoral ward of the same name exists. This ward had a total population of 2,662 at the 2011 Census.

Notable Residents

* Sir Astley Cooper- British surgeon and anatomist * Edward Seago- English artist * Bernard Matthews- founder of Bernard Matthews Farms * Caroline Cossey- British model and actress

War Memorial

Brooke War Memorial is a stone cross memorial located in St. Peter's Churchyard and lists the following for the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

: * Leading-Seaman Christopher Jay (1883-1914), '' HMS Hawke'' * Sergeant Charles R. Burroughs (1890-1914), 1st Battalion,

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

* Lance-Corporal Matthew A. Evans (1881-1918), 10th Battalion,

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

* Lance-Corporal R. Charles Sturman (1894-1916), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Gunner Cecil R. Parfitt (1878-1917), 25th (Anti-Aircraft) Company,

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

* Private George Cooper (1892-1916), 3rd Battalion,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

* Private Llewellyn Dredge (d.1915), 1st Battalion,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

* Private E. E. Victor French (1898-1918), 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment * Private Charles H. Bullen (1880-1918), 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers * Private George A. Turner (1883-1916), 9th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers * Private Robert Sayer (1883-1916), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Charles R. Baldwin (1893-1915), 4th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Edwin J. Cubitt (1894-1917), 4th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Frederick J. Sayer (1896-1917), 4th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private James P. Norman (1897-1917), 8th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Sidney G. Sturman (1891-1915), 8th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Harry B. J. Whitwood (1894-1917), 1st Battalion,

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

And, the following for the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

: * Flight-Sergeant Frederick G. Clarke (1925-1945),

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

* Sergeant Peter B. Corbett (1917-1941),

No. 90 Squadron RAF No. 90 Squadron RAF (sometimes written as No. XC Squadron) is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. History World War I No. 90 Squadron was formed as a fighter squadron of the Royal Flying Corps at Shawbury in Shropshire on 8 October 1917, movin ...

* Gunner Frederick S. Sayer (1919-1941), 3rd Maritime Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

* Private Edward A. C. Utting (1924-1944), 2/5th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) * D. Gooch Furthermore, a brass plaque is located inside St. Peter's Church commemorating the following from the Boxer Rebellion: * Assistant-Paymaster Arthur Bunbury (1877-1900), '' HMS Hermione'' Peck, M. (2017). Retrieved November 12, 2022. http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Brooke.html

Notes

External links

St Peter's on the European Round Tower Churches Website
Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk {{Norfolk-geo-stub