Bunwell is a parish (population 1024) situated 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, approximately 7 miles south-east of
Attleborough
Attleborough is a market town and civil parish located on the A11 between Norwich and Thetford in Norfolk, England. The parish is in the district of Breckland and has an area of .
The 2001 Census recorded the town as having a population of 9 ...
. The parish includes the
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
s of Bunwell Hill, Bunwell Street, Great Green, Little Green and Low Common.
Heritage
Bunwell's name 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 settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
for a stream with an abundance of reeds.
Bunwell does not have an entry for 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 ...
.
Governance
An
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
in the same name exists. This ward stretches south to Tibenham with a total population taken at the 2011 census of 2,737.
St. Michael's Church
Bunwell's Parish Church is of
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
origin and is dedicated to
Saint Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
. The great east window dates back to Easter of 1914.
Places of Interest
Bunwell Primary School & Nursery is part of the Co-operative Education East Multi-Academy Trust and was rated as 'Good' by
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
in 2019.
Sport and Recreation
Bunwell Athletic Football Club play home games at the Bunwell Recreation Ground and compete in the Norwich and District Sunday League. The operations of the club were put in jeopardy in 2016 after an arson attack, yet the club was able to continue due to support from the local community and Norfolk FA.
A
greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...
track was opened on the meadow just off the Turnpike road where
hare coursing
Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight, not by scent.
In some countries, it is a legal, competitive activity in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and tur ...
used to take place . The racing was independent and not affiliated to the
National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom.
History
The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) was formed in 1928 and this body would be responsible for regulation, licensing and the r ...
. Racing took place from 1935 to 1940 but the site closed during
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 opposin ...
.
War Memorial
Bunwell's War Memorial takes the form of two wooden plaques located inside St. Michael's Church. It lists the following names 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 ...
:
* Company-Sergeant-Major Frederick W. Barker MC (1872-1916), 9th 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 Frederick J. W. Line (d.1915), 5th 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. ...
* Lance-Corporal Harry Revell (d.1917), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
* Gunner Alec Gooch (1893-1917), 70th (Siege) Battery,
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 William Churchill (d.1918), 5th Battalion,
Dorsetshire Regiment
The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In 19 ...
Royal Irish Fusiliers
The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in ...
* Private Charles Breeze (1894-1916), 1st Battalion,
King's Regiment (Liverpool)
The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which we ...
* Private Benjamin N. Ager (1887-1917), 22nd Battalion,
Manchester Regiment
The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th ...
* Jack Bush
* Wilfred Chapman
* John Clarke
* Edward Dixon
* Henry Kent
* William Kleburgh
* Albert Pearce
* Bert Sale
* Jack Smith
* Reggie Smith
* Arthur Ward
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 opposin ...
:
* Flight-Lieutenant Hubert B. Kelly (1913-1944),
No. 254 Squadron RAF
No. 254 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was the designation of a number of units formed throughout the 20th century.
History World War One
No. 254 Squadron first formed in 1918 as a coastal reconnaissance squadron operating from Prawle Point. ...
* Warrant-Officer Burney E. R. Whitehouse (d.1944),
No. 7 Squadron RAF
No. 7 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook (UK variants), Boeing Chinook HC6 from RAF Odiham, Hampshire.
History
Formation and early years
No. 7 Squadron was formed at Farnborough Airfield on 1 May 1914 as the last squa ...
* Leading-Aircraftman Anthony W. Turner (1922-1944),
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) and ...
Glider Pilot Regiment
The Glider Pilot Regiment was a British airborne forces unit of the Second World War, which was responsible for crewing the British Army's military gliders and saw action in the European theatre in support of Allied airborne operations. Establish ...
* Driver William G. Parry (1914-1944), 239th (General Transport) Company,
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...
* Gunner Leonard E. Potter (1921-1944), 98th (Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry) Field Regiment
* Private Robert E. Rush (1909-1944), 2nd Battalion,
West Yorkshire Regiment
)
, march = ''Ça Ira''
, battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine
, anniversaries = Imphal (22 June)
The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...
Notable Residents
Several members of 'Mona Mcnee's Love Children' (a local band) were born in the village.