Griston 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 Wayland area of the Breckland district within 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 ...

. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,206 in 206 households at the 2001 census,Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes
Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Retrieved 20 June 2009. increasing to a population of 1,540 in 246 households at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, it 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 Breckland. It has a church in the name of St. Peter and

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, a pub 'The Waggon And Horses', an elderly home 'Thorp House', a day care centre for the elderly, it hosts part of the

RAF Watton Royal Air Force Watton or more simply RAF Watton is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of East Dereham, Norfolk, England. Opened in 1937 it was used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) d ...

wartime

airfield An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

(now belonging to the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

), and the category C

Wayland (HM Prison) HM Prison Wayland is a Category C men's prison, located near the village of Griston in Norfolk, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History Wayland prison opened in 1985, and has been enlarged on three occasions. In ...

. It lies between the town Watton, Norfolk, where the nearest high school is Wayland Academy and a fellow Wayland village of Caston, where the nearest primary school is Caston CE VA Primary School.

History of Griston

The villages name origin is uncertain possibly 'griss's farm/settlement' or perhaps 'young pig farm/settlement'. The village can be traced way back to 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 ...

''. The local Griston Hall near Wayland Wood is in folklore the abode of the wicked uncle who ordered the death of his wards, the

Babes in the Wood Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents en ...

, so that he could inherit their property. The village sign reflects the story. The village used to be made up of houses built for prison officers that worked at the prison.

Watton and Griston Link

As part of the

Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United K ...

Connect2 project proposals are in place to create a cycling and walking route between Griston and the market town of Watton. The new route would follow the boundary of the Watton airfield and provide a shorter, traffic free alternative to the A1075. Norfolk County Council have allocated a £40,000 contribution towards funding of the scheme. A schematic map of the scheme has been published online.

References

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Griston Villages in Norfolk Breckland District Civil parishes in Norfolk {{Norfolk-geo-stub