Sloley 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 north-north-east 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 ...

, south-south-east of

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are Nor ...

and 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 village lies south of the town of

North Walsham North Walsham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England, within the North Norfolk district. Demography The civil parish has an area of and in the 2011 census had a population of 12,634. For the purposes of local government, the pa ...

Worstead railway station Worstead railway station is on the Bittern Line in 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 Suf ...

, on the Bittern Line between

and Norwich, is about from the centre of the village. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport. The parish had a population of 257 at the 2011 Census. The civil parish of Sloley has an area of and includes the small village of Frankfort. 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 North Norfolk.

Description

The parish of Sloley lies in the northwest of the county of

. It is bounded on the southeast with the parish of Tunstead, whilst to the west lies the parish of Scottow. The northern boundary is with the parishes of Westwick and

Worstead Worstead is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It lies south of North Walsham, north of Wroxham, and north of Norwich. The village is served by Worstead railway station on the Bittern Line. For the purposes of local ...

. The northeast corner is crossed north to south by the Bittern railway line which runs between

and Norwich. Dissecting the parish east to west is New Barn lane, which follows the route of an old Roman road that was an extension to the

Fen Causeway Fen Causeway or the Fen Road is the modern name for a Roman road of England that runs between Denver, Norfolk in the east and Peterborough in the west.Phillips, C.W. ''The Fenland in Roman Times''. Royal Geographical Society (1970). Its path ...

and is thought to be a major east–west route which continued to Smallburgh, and possibly continued to Caister or an important port since eroded by the sea. The name Sloley comes from the 7th-century

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 "sla" meaning "sloe", plus "leah", a wood or clearing; hence, "leah where sloes grew".

The Domesday Book

Sloley 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 where it, its population, land ownership and productive resources were extensively detailed. In the survey Sloley is recorded by the name of ''Slaleia''. The abbot of Holme, Ralph de Beaufour and Reynald Fitzlvo are recorded as the main tenants. The survey also lists is a church.

Notable buildings and structures

The parish church of Saint Bartholomew

The parish church of

Saint Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو� ...

is located to the south-east of the village. The church tower is offset to the north of the main body of the church, the result of rebuilding and extensions built on to this church in the 14th and 15th centuries.Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East, By

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

and Bill Wilson, Sloley entry, page 316. The north aisle has been constructed on what was the site of the original Norman church in the 15th century.The Popular Guide to Norfolk Churches,1:North-East Norfolk, By D.P. Mortlock & C.V. Roberts, 1981, Pub:Acorn Editions, Page 84 Sloley St Batholomew, The arcades and clerestory were built in the 15th century, along with a south aisle and new south porch and the top of the tower added. Also during this time the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

arch was moved south and it to is now off-centre. The south aisle is larger than the north in order to accommodate an altar tomb to Oliver le Gros who was Lord of the Manor who lived at Sloley Old Hall, and who died in 1448. Other internal features are some 15th-century carved bench ends, 17th- and 18th-century floor tombs, 19th-century box pews and a two-decker pulpit and 18th- and 19th-century monuments, some in Gothic Revival style. The font is a fine example and is octagonal carved stone showing the seven sacraments and the Baptism of Christ with four small lions on the corners of the foot.

Sloley Old Hall

Sloley Old Hall belonged to the Le Gros family, who were at one time Lords of the manor of Sloley with family records which run back to the reign of King Steven. At one time the Le Gros family were major holders of land within the county of

and Sloley Old Hall was numbered among their manorial establishments. The existing house, which was known as Frankfort Manor, was built by Oliver Le Gros in the 16th century. Harman, who married the last of the Le Gros family, sold to Robert Walpole. The house then passed into the ownership of the Neville family, whose descendants still own the surrounding estate. The house as part of the Sloley Estate. The hall was once lived in by Sylvia Townsend Warner, a well-known author, who lived there with her lover Valentine Ackland also a poet. Alarmed by the growing threat of fascism, both women were active in the Communist Party of Great Britain, and visited

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. They lived together from 1930 until Ackland's death in 1969.

References

External links

.
Information from Genuki Norfolk
on Sloley. {{authority control Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk North Norfolk