Hilborough 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 authorit ...

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 south of

Swaffham Swaffham () is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District and English county of Norfolk. It is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,9 ...

, west-southwest 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 north-northeast of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The population of the parish (including Bodney) at the 2011 Census was 243. The village straddles the A1065 between Swaffham and

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name *Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

. The nearest railway station is at

for the

Breckland Line The Breckland line is a secondary railway line in the east of England that links in the west to in the east. The line runs through three counties: Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk. It takes its name from the Breckland region of Norfolk, ...

which runs between

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

and

History

Hilborough 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 manus ...

of 1086. In the great book Hilborough is recorded by the name ''Hildeburhwella''. The main landholder was William de Warenne. The main tenant was named as William. The survey also notes that there were three mills, and five

beehives A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...

. The ancestors of

Admiral Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

, including the Admiral's father, the Reverend Edmund Nelson, who left for

Burnham Thorpe Burnham Thorpe is a small village and civil parish on the River Burn and near the coast of Norfolk, England. It is famous for being the birthplace of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, victor at the Battle of Trafalgar and one of Britain's greatest he ...

shortly before Horatio was born, were rectors of the parish church of All Saints at Hilborough between 1734 and 1806. In the 1990s the Hilborough Estate was bought by

Hugh van Cutsem Hugh Bernard Edward van Cutsem (21 July 1941 – 2 September 2013) was an English banker, businessman, landowner and horse-breeder. Early life Hugh Bernard Edward van Cutsem was born on 21 July 1941.Gordon Cramb ''Financial Times'', 6 Septembe ...

, who built a neo-Palladian mansion designed by architect Francis Johnson. The efforts of the van Cutsem family and their estate workers resulted in the Hilborough Estate becoming one of the country's leading wild-bird shoots, winning awards for their conservation work.

Notable people

The family of

. Nelson’s grandfather, father, uncle-by-marriage and his brother were all rectors of All Saints parish church in the village. As a young boy Nelson stayed with his uncle and grandmother in Hilborough. After the battle of the Nile, Nelson was created Baron Nelson of the Nile and Hilborough.

Other notable people

Sophia Cooke Sophia Cooke (27 February 1814 – 14 September 1895) was a British missionary and schoolmistress at what is now St. Margaret's Secondary School in Singapore. She arranged church services in Chinese and helped distribute bibles in Malay and Arabi ...

was born here in 1814. She was a school principal and missionary in Singapore. *

Chris Mead Christopher John Mead (1 May 1940 – 16 January 2003) was a popular British ornithologist, author and broadcaster, and an influential member of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Mead was an avid lover of jazz, (watching) rugby, motor rac ...

(1 May 1940 – 16 January 2003) was a British ornithologist, author and broadcaster, and an influential member of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). *

(21 July 1941 – 2 September 2013) was an English landowner, banker, businessman and horse-breeder. *

Fiona Richmond Fiona Richmond (born 2 March 1945) is an English former glamour model and actress. She became a British sex symbol in the 1970s for her appearances in numerous risqué plays, comedy revues, magazines and films. She has been described as one of ...

(born 2 March 1945) is a former

glamour model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Though ...

and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. * Harriet Mead (born 2 September 1969) is a contemporary wildlife artist and President of the

Society of Wildlife Artists The Society of Wildlife Artists is a British organisation for artists who paint or draw wildlife. It was founded in 1964. Its founder President was Sir Peter Scott, the current President of the society is British artist Harriet Mead. The society ...

References

{{authority control Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Breckland District