Wickmere is a village and a civil parish 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 A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 ...

, north 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-southwest 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 nearest railway station is at Gunton for the Bittern Line which runs between

Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is an English seaside town within the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban Distr ...

, Cromer and Norwich. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport. In the 2001 census it had a population of 125, which increased to 158 at the 2011 census. For the purposes of local government, the 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

Wickmere gets its name from the old English meaning ''Lake by a dairy farm''. The village is made up of a few cottages built to provide accommodation for the workers on the near-by Wolterton Estate, which was once the family seat of the younger brother of the Prime Minister, Robert Walpole. The parish has a long history that pe-dates the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

History

Over the years archaeological finds have proved that people have lived in the parish of Wickmere as far back as prehistoric times. These finds, made in 1991 take the form of prehistoric pot boiler.The Field Archaeology of the Mannington and Wolterton Estates: By A J Davison, 1997:Pub Norfolk and Norwich Archaeology Society XL, . These flints represent the use of fire by the early inhabitants of the area for the purposes of heating water for cooking and washing.

Bronze Age

Evidence has also been uncovered of activity here in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

with the find of Pieces of casting waste which might provide evidence for a metal working site in Wickmere. Discoveries by metal detectors of a copper alloy adza and an

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

head, along with pottery shreds are more evidence of activity here in this period.

Roman Period

Archaeological evidence has also found three possible Roman settlements around Wickmere. In these areas finds include Roman pottery, coins and casting waste, dolphin brooches, a spindle whorl, staff

ferrule A ferrule (a corruption of Latin ' "small bracelet", under the influence of ' "iron") is any of a number of types of objects, generally used for fastening, joining, sealing, or reinforcement. They are often narrow circular rings made from me ...

and part of an iron key.

The Norman Period

Wickmere 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 1085. In the great book Wickmere's population, land ownership and productive resources are documented. The parish recorded by the name of ''Wicmare'' or ''Wicmere''. The parish is Kings land with main tenant being Tihel de Hellean, from the Bishop of Bayeux, William de Warenne, also Robert de Courson from

Roger Bigot Roger Bigod (died 1107) was a Norman knight who travelled to England in the Norman Conquest. He held great power in East Anglia, and five of his descendants were earls of Norfolk. He was also known as Roger Bigot, appearing as such as a witness t ...

and the Abbot of Holme. The survey document revealed that the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Order held land here prior to 1066. It is also recorded that Wickmere had woodland, a share in a mill and numerous meadows.

Prominent buildings

The parish church of Saint Andrew

This parish churchThe Popular Guide to Norfolk Churches,1:North-East Norfolk, By D.P. Mortlock & C.V. Roberts, 1981, Pub:Acorn Editions, Page 106 Wickmere All saints, is mainly constructed from carrstone and has a Saxo-Norman

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...

St Andrew's on the European Round Tower Churches website
/ref> and west wall.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, Wickmere entry. The rest of the church dates from the 14th century. The windows in the aisle and chancel are decorated with tracery and are in the perpendicular style. the

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 ...

roof is a king-post construction, whilst 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 ...

roof is of King post design. Inside the church some of the benches date from medieval period, there is a 15th-century screen which has been restored but still retains four original panels with paintings of saints, although only Saint Andrew with his cross can be recognised. There are several notable memorials in the church, in particular, the tomb of the fifth

earl of Orford Earl of Orford is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1697 when the naval commander Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell was made Earl of Orford, in the County of Suffolk. He was c ...

, Baron Robert Horace Walpole. A white marble cartouche with cherub heads at the corners is to Henry Spelman, a soldier, who died in Calcutta in the Bengal.

Wolterton Hall

South of the village is the estate of Wolterton Hall. The hall was built for Horatio Walpole between 1727 and 1741 and was designed by the architect Thomas Ripley. Constructed from red brick with stone dressing the building stands in the form of a block of seven by three bays. The elevations are plain without decoration with the plan of the house being of triple pile and is an early example of the

palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

standard. On the garden side of the hall, George Repton added arcading and a staircase leading to a terrace in 1829. The interior of the house has fine examples of period fireplaces and plaster ceilings. Some restoration has been carried out in the 20th century. The Hall is a Grade II listed building.

The round tower of St Margaret’s Church

Within the grounds of Wolterton estate can be seen the remains of Saint Margaret's church. The round tower is all that remains of the church and the lost village of Wolterton which stood north of the church.

Gallery

File:Wickmere-g3.jpg, Saint Andrew Parish Church File:Wolterton Hall - south facade.jpg, South elevation of Wolterton Hall File:The ruined church of St Margaret.jpg, The remains of the round tower of Saint Margaret church

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Norfolk North Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk