Testerton is a small village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of

Pudding Norton Pudding Norton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and (including Testerton) had a population of 267 in 126 households at the 2001 census, falling to 252 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of ...

, in the North Norfolk district, in the 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 ...

, England. It is located between the village of

Great Ryburgh Great Ryburgh is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ryburgh, in the North Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. In 1961 the parish had a population of 484. On 1 April 1987 the parish was abolished and merged w ...

and the market town of

Fakenham Fakenham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, about north west of Norwich. The town is the junction of several local roads, including the A148 from King's Lynn to Cromer, the A1067 to Norw ...

. In 1931 the parish had a population of 53. Testerton is one of a clutch of deserted villages and associated churches within a few kilometres of

History

The villages name means 'East farm/settlement'. The initial T- is probably a remnant of Old English 'aet'. Although mentioned 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 ...

, Testerton appears to have decayed during the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

period, and by the beginning of the 17th century the parish had only 18

communicant The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

s. By the end of that century the parish church of

Saint Remigius Remigius (french: Remi or ; – January 13, 533), was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event ...

was already very ruined, and at some point after this time the walls were completely removed. The only surviving remnant of the medieval village is the church, which retains the western part of the west tower, and is believed to have had a rectangular

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

apsidal In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

chancel. The tower dates to the late 14th or 15th century, though the rest of the church is likely to have dated to the 11th or 12th century. Apart from the Church of St Remigius, Testerton Hall also presents some architectural interest. The present Grade II Listed house is only the rear service wing of what was once a much larger building, dating to 1802. With two storeys in seven bays, the building is constructed from red brick and has a south facade in the Georgian architecture style. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Pudding Norton.

References

*Morris, J. (General Editor), (1984). ''Domesday Book, 33 Norfolk, Part I and Part II'', Chichester: Phillimore & Co *Pevsner, N. and Wilson, B. (1999). ''The Buildings of England. Norfolk 2: North-West and South'', London: Penguin Books.
A Vision of Britain Through Time: Testerton CP
by H. Shouthall, retrieved 7 December 2006
UK & Ireland Genealogy Pages
by Pat Newby, retrieved 8 December 2006

by Simon Knott, retrieved 8 December 2006

External links

Villages in Norfolk Former civil parishes in Norfolk North Norfolk {{Norfolk-geo-stub