Easton 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 English 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 located 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 east of Dereham, along the A47 between

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

and Lowestoft.

History

Easton'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 the eastern farmstead or settlement. In the Nineteenth Century, archaeologists discovered a Forth Century Roman hoard consisting of 4,000 coins, yet there is little evidence of any Roman settlement in the vicinity of Easton. 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 ...

, Easton is listed as a settlement of 17 households in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Forehoe. In 1086, the village formed part of the East Anglian estates of Alan of Brittany.

Geography

According to 2011 Census, Easton has a population of 1,514 residents living in 609 households. The parish covers a total area of . Easton falls within the constituency of South Norfolk and is represented at

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

by Richard Bacon MP of the Conservative Party. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of South Norfolk.

St. Peter's Church

Easton'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 was left towerless after a collapse in the Eighteenth Century, which was subsequently replaced by a

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

which also does not survive. St. Peter's was heavily restored in the Nineteenth Century by Richard Phipson with the large crucifix that hangs above the chancel arch originally hanging in St Gregory's Church, Norwich. The church font is a relic of the Thirteenth Century and is made out of Purbeck Marble.

Royal Norfolk Showground

The Royal Norfolk Showground is located within the parish and has acted as the venue for the Royal Norfolk Show since the 1950s, when the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association purchased the ground. Today, the showground features a open site with a indoor Showground Arena. The showground continues to host events throughout the year.

Easton College

The parish is the site of Easton College, a large agricultural college offering courses in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

and arboriculture. The college is centred around Easton Hall, an Eighteenth Century manor house with Grade II listed status.

Amenities

The majority of local children attend St. Peter's Church of England Primary School which is part of the Diocese of Norwich Academies Trust. In 2016, the school was awarded an 'Outstanding' rating by Ofsted. Easton F.C. play home games at Easton College and play in the Anglian Combination League.

Notable Residents

* Cardinal Adam Easton (1328-1397)- English clergyman and Dean of York

War Memorial

Easton's war memorial takes the form of two plaques (one brass and one wooden) inside St. Peter's Church. The memorial 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 ...

: * Pvt. Edgar Bennington (1876-1915), 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. ...

* Pvt. Alfred Pease (1892-1917), 1/5th Battalion, Loyal Regiment * Pvt. Arthur Scarfe (1898-1917), 117th Company, Machine Gun Corps * Pvt. Charles Burridge (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 ...

* Pvt. Frederick Burridge (1895-1915), 3rd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Pvt. Edgar O. Springall (d.1917), 12th (Yeomanry) Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * H. Bennington * B. Hook * E. Mortimer * H. Mortimer Simak, E. Retrieved December 28, 2022. https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/16771/War-Memorial-St-Peter-Church.htm

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Norfolk South Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk