Wiggenhall St Germans 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 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 ...

in the East of England. It is 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 south-west of King's Lynn. The parish covers an area of and had a population of 1,373 in 554 households in the 2011 census. St Mary, Wiggenhall St Mary, Norfolk - geograph

St Mary, Wiggenhall St Mary, Norfolk - geograph

Ruined church of Wiggenhall St Peter - geograph

The parish is situated on the River Great Ouse which divides the village into two parts. Most of the parish lies below the

high-water mark A high water mark is a point that represents the maximum rise of a body of water over land. Such a mark is often the result of a flood, but high water marks may reflect an all-time high, an annual high (highest level to which water rose that ...

and some areas are level with the bed of the river, which is confined by high

banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

. The parish includes the hamlets of Wiggenhall St Mary the Virgin and Wiggenhall St Peter and the settlements of Eau Brink and Saddlebow. It was the site of Fitton, the ancient seat of the

Howard family The House of Howard is an English noble house founded by John Howard, who was created Duke of Norfolk (third creation) by King Richard III of England in 1483. However, John was also the eldest grandson (although maternal) of the 1st Duke of the ...

, later the

dukes of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

; their former hall of 1570-77 is now the Grade II* listed building Fitton Oake. The parish has a Good Ofsted-rated Primary School, (March 2016). The villages name means 'Wicga's nook of land'. St German's Church is a Grade I

listed building 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 ...

. St Mary the Virgin's Church, also Grade I, 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 ruined St Peter's Church is a Grade II* listed building.

History

During

WWII 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 opposin ...

two

Hawker Hurricanes The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

collided over the parish. The crash site was investigated by a local local aviation society and a book published.

Governance

Wiggenhall St Germans is part of the electoral ward called Wiggenhall. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 2,102.

References

External links

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

History

Governance

See also

References

External links