West Walton 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 King's Lynn and West Norfolk District 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. The parish of West Walton, in the 2001 Census, had a population of 1,659, increasing to 1,731 at the 2011 Census.

History

The name West Walton is thought by James Rye to derive from the

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 ...

meaning of the 'settlement by the wall' which refers to the village's proximity to a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

sea wall or defence. West Walton was established by the time of the Norman Conquest. The village's population, land ownership and productive resources were detailed in its 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 1085. In the great book West Walton is recorded by the name 'Waltuna'. The parish was held by William de Warenne with the Abbot of St Peter and St Paul, Cluny from him, The Abbot of Ely before and after 1066, and Oder from Ralph de Beufour. The survey mentions ½ church, 38 salt houses and 1100 sheep. The survey also records the presence of a fishery. In the ''Domesday'' survey fractions were used to indicate that the entry, in this case the church, was situated within more than one parish.

Geography

The village and parish of West Walton is in the western part of the county of Norfolk. The western flank of the parish is also the county border between Norfolk and

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

and is also the course of the

River Nene The River Nene ( or : see below) is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in Northamptonshire.OS Explorer Map sheet 223, Northampton & Market Harborough, Brixworth & Pitsford Water. The river is about long, about of w ...

. On the southern flank is the parish of

Walsoken Walsoken is a settlement and civil parish in Norfolk, England, which is conjoined as a suburb at the northeast of the town of Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire. The parish of Walsoken in the 2001 census, had a population of 1,484 rising slig ...

. To the north is Walpole and to the east is Marshland St James. The village is west-north-west 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 ...

, west-south-west of King's Lynn and north 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 ...

and its location makes it, along with Walsoken, the most westerly village in Norfolk. The nearest town is

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles ...

which is south of the village. The nearest railway station is at Watlington, Norfolk for the Fen Line which runs between King's Lynn and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport.

Governance

For the purposes of local government, the parish 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 King's Lynn and West Norfolk. West Walton parish council has 11 councillors. The councillors elect a chair. West Walton is part of the electoral ward of Walton. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 2,641.

Landmarks

Church

St Mary's Church dates from the 13th century built about 1240.Norfolk 2: Norfolk: North-west and South, 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, North Runcton entry. 0-300-09657-7 The church's campanile, or bell tower is detached about 60 feet from the main building of the church.The King's England series, Norfolk, by Arthur Mee,Pub:Hodder and Stoughton,1972, page 270 Saxthorpe, The tower is supported at its base by four open arches. At each corner is a buttress which rises pinnacles with gabled niches in the first, second and third storey. The tower is topped with a carved parapet walls. The west doorway to the church is flanked on either side by buttresses, a result of remedial works carried out here after the foundations failed not long after the church was built. The south porch is arched with arcaded buttress on each side. The nave is arcaded with six bays on each side. The arches are supported on pillars which are encircled by detached shafts topped with capitals of stone carved foliage. The hammerbeam roof dates from the 15th century and is supported by 24 carved angels holding shields. The bell tower, and the church, are both recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as Grade I

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The bell tower is under the care of the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. The tower is 77 feet high (23 metres) high to parapet, or 90 feet (27 metres) high when the pinnacles are included.

Towermill

Ingleborough tower windmill is one mile north of the village, and is in the yard of Hill House Farm along with a house and assorted farm buildings. The mill is now in a state of disuse. It was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1951.

Gallery

File:St Mary's church West Walton.jpg, Saint Mary's parish church, West Walton File:St Mary's Church tower, West Walton, Norfolk.jpg, Saint Mary's Bell Tower File:St Mary the Virgin, West Walton, Norfolk - East end.jpg, Inside St Mary's Church File:West Walton Ingleborough Towermill.jpg, Ingleborough Tower Windmill

References

External links

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