Middleton 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 The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

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 Nor ...

. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,516 in 621 households at the 2001 census, reducing to 1,450 at the 2011 Census. The village's name means 'Middle farm/settlement'. Middleton is the second village on the

A47 road The A47 is a major road in England linking Birmingham to Lowestoft, Suffolk. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114. From Peterborough eastwards, it is a trunk road (sections west of the A1 road h ...

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 Episcopal see, See of ...

, after

North Runcton North Runcton is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is west of Norwich, south-south-west of King's Lynn and north of London. The village is located a small distance south-west of the A47 between King's ...

, and lies approximately east of

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, nor ...

. The A47, the main road of Norfolk, effectively divides the village in two, and has long been a site of road traffic accidents. Fair Green and Blackborough End are also areas of Middleton. Fair Green is on the northern part of the village, whilst Blackborough End is in the southern half of the village. Middleton has a primary school, Middleton V.C. Primary School, a village hall, a post office and a car repair garage called Total Motors. The village church is called Saint Mary's, and the current Rector is the Revd Jim Ryan. The church is situated beside the A47, opposite the Middletons Steakhouse & Grill. The village had a petrol filling station, but this closed during the 1990s. The village also has a golf club.

Governance

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 ...

in the same name exists. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 2,298.

Middleton Castle

Middleton Castle was founded by

William d'Ecouis William d'Ecouis (sometimes referred to as William de Schoies) was an early Anglo-Norman baron, who is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'' of 1086 as a substantial holder of land and manors. William d'Ecouis founded Middleton castle, a motte-an ...

. It was a motte and bailey fortress which was thought to be constructed from timber. The large motte is surrounded by a wide ditch.

Public houses

There are currently two pubs in Middleton, the Crown, now called Middletons which is a bar and grill and the Gate Inn. The Crown has spent many years opening and closing with new tenants. The earliest recorded landlord was William Newman, who lived there in 1836, although the pub is known to have been there before this, as it is shown in historical maps. The Gate Inn, which may have been opened in c. 1845, is situated on Hill Road in Fair Green. Its first owner is recorded as Ann Bardell. The current owner Mr. McAllister has been the landlord since Christmas 2008 and offers service as a traditional country pub. As well as being a dog friendly establishment, the Gate Inn offers traditional homecooked foods. Previously, there have been a few other pubs in Middleton. These included the ''Castle Inn'', which was opened by Bedingfield Bardell in c. 1845, later on sold to Thomas Edward Bagge of Gaywood Hall, and closed in 1969. The Wheatsheaf, which was only open from 1858 to 1879 had two owners, George Smith and Robert Rye. Finally the Royale Oak, which was situated on East Winch Road in Blackborough End. The first landlord was Robert Berry, who opened the pub in 1851. The pub closed in 1963. Some of Robert Berry's descendants still live in Middleton, and its surrounding villages,

and

East Winch East Winch is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located south-east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich. History East Winch's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the ...

Primary school

Middleton's children are served by the Middleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School. In June 2008 it was announced that the school was to be provided with a new hall and that the temporary classrooms would be replaced in 2010–11.

Governance

Middleton is a parish of the

Kings Lynn and West Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a local government district with borough status in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 Census was 147,451. History The district w ...

district council, which is responsible for the most local services. Norfolk County Council is responsible for roads, some schools and social services. For Westminster elections the parish forms part of the

North West Norfolk North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

constituency, represented by James Wild (Conservative).

Railway

From 1846 to 1968 village was served by Middleton Towers railway station on the

Dereham Dereham (), also known as East Dereham, is a town and civil parish in the Breckland District of the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about 15 miles (25 km) west of the city of Norwich and 25 miles (4 ...

secondary line. Although the passenger route has been closed the station remains as a sand loading depot and has been the destination of a number of charter trains.

Middleton bomb

On Monday 26 April 2010, bomb disposal experts were called to the village after a dog walker discovered an unexploded grenade in a field behind the primary school on School Road. Police were called at 7.00 am and are also investigating as to how the device, believed to date back to 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 opposi ...

, ended up in the field in the first place. The Ammunition Technician, from the bomb disposal team, said: “We were called to attend the scene following a call from police that an unexploded hand grenade had been discovered. The number 36 Mills grenade was then destroyed by demolition. We suspect someone has disposed of it in the field which is highly irresponsible and we would urge this person to contact the police in future.” Middleton Primary School was closed as a result of the find.Army blows up hand grenade found near Norfolk school
Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 26 April 2010.

Middleton air crash

On 23 November 1944 a

Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

aircraft which had taken off from nearby Little Snoring airfield crashed into Middleton Fen. Eyewitnesses saw the plane spiralling out of a cloud. It then righted itself before spinning into the ground. Both the pilot and navigator were killed. Mosquito DD736 was piloted by Flying Officer Charles Preece from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada. He was one of two brothers and the son of a railway engineer on the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

. He is buried at St Thomas a Beckett Church,

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

, Bedfordshire. The navigator was a wartime hero – Flying Officer Frederick Ruffle DFC of 515 squadron. Before the crash Fred had flown over 61 sorties on intruder operations. Most of them with the elite 8 Group

pathfinder Pathfinder may refer to: Businesses * Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International * Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature Computing and information science * Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser * Pathfinder ( ...

squadron. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for the part he played in a succession of bombing raids on the

Dortmund–Ems Canal The Dortmund–Ems Canal is a long canal in Germany between the inland port of the city of Dortmund () and the seaport of Emden. The artificial southern part of the canal ends after at Herbrum lock near Meppen. The route then takes the r ...

in Germany. Fred left a wife and a ten-month-old daughter. He is buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, High Hurstwood just off the

A26 A26 or A-26 may refer to: Roads * List of A26 roads Transportation * Douglas A-26 Invader, a light attack bomber built by Douglas * Aero A.26, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft of the 1920s * Focke-Wulf A 26, a German Focke-Wulf aircraft * Blekinge- ...

between Crowborough and

Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology 'Uckfield', first recorded in writing as ...

in Sussex. The aircraft had taken off so the pilot could train on a system known as

Serrate Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied p ...

. This was a device which enabled the Mosquito crew to home in on a German night fighter's airborne radar transmissions. In the late 1970s the aircraft was excavated from Middleton Fen by the

R.A.F. 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 ...

and aircraft enthusiasts. Parts of the aircraft were taken to the Tower Museum at Bassingbourn in Cambridgeshire.

Notes

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Middleton

Bibliography

External links

{{authority control Villages in Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk