Hilborough is a village and a
civil parish in the
English county of
Norfolk. The village is south of
Swaffham, west-southwest of
Norwich and north-northeast of
London.
The population of the parish (including Bodney) at the 2011 Census was 243. The village straddles the
A1065 between Swaffham and
Brandon. The nearest railway station is at
Brandon 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, a ...
which runs between
Cambridge and
Norwich.
History
Hilborough has an entry in the
Domesday Book 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. The ancestors of
Admiral Nelson, including the Admiral's father, the
Reverend Edmund Nelson
The Reverend Edmund Nelson (19 March 1722 – 26 April 1802) was a British priest who was Rector of Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk and the father of Admiral Horatio Nelson.
Early life and family
Nelson was born in Cambridge on 19 March 1722, one ...
, who left for
Burnham Thorpe 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, 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
Admiral Nelson. 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 was born here in 1814. She was a school principal and missionary in Singapore.
*
Chris Mead (1 May 1940 – 16 January 2003) was a British
ornithologist
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
, author and
broadcaster, and an influential member of the
British Trust for Ornithology
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020.
History
Beginnings
In 1931 Max Nicholson wrote:
In the United State ...
(BTO).
*
Hugh van Cutsem (21 July 1941 – 2 September 2013) was an English landowner, banker, businessman and horse-breeder.
*
Fiona Richmond (born 2 March 1945) is a former
glamour model and
actress.
*
Harriet Mead
Harriet Rebecca Mead (born 2 September 1969) is an English wildlife artist specialising in metal sculptures.
Mead's work is inspired by animals and birds. From an early age she was encouraged to observe and develop a keen interest in British w ...
(born 2 September 1969) is a contemporary wildlife artist and President of the
Society of Wildlife Artists.
References
{{authority control
Villages in Norfolk
Civil parishes in Norfolk
Breckland District
