Banham is an English 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, about north of Diss, east of

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

and south-west of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. It is home to Banham Zoo, a private collection open to the public for more than 40 years, which houses over 2000 animals. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, is a Grade I listed building. The name of the village derives from "Bean homestead/village", or perhaps "hemmed-in land where beans grow".

Population and governance

The civil parish has an area of 16.17 km² and in the 2001 census had a population of 1,443 in 573 households, including for census purposes the neighbouring village of Fersfield. This increased to a population of 1,481 in 603 households at the 2011 Census. For

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

, the parish lies in 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, municip ...

Breckland Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a la ...

. Since 2015, the parish has formed part of The Buckenhams and Banham

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, which returns one councillor to the district council.

Schools

Acorn Park School is a registered children's home and school for children and young people with autistic spectrum disorders and is part of the Acorn Care and Education Group. Banham Marshalls College, an independent school in the village, was subject to Norfolk's biggest ever child-cruelty investigation, along with another school in Banham which was known as The Old Rectory School. As a result of the investigation into the schools, which were for children with special needs and ostensibly specialised in Emotional and Behavioural Disorders, the proprietor of each and former head teacher, George Robson, received a two-year suspended prison sentence. George Robson died the day after his sentencing. The charges were brought by ex-pupils of the school dating as far back as 1976. Most of the charges related to The Old Rectory School, although some children from Banham Marshalls College had made complaints, some of which resulted in the conviction of David Clarke. Robson's brother, Anthony, was also sentenced for crimes committed at The Old Rectory School. Robert Wilson, a teacher and later principal, was likewise convicted of acts of cruelty involving vulnerable children, but was cleared on appeal on the basis that the judge had made an error in his summing-up. Given that the evidence was not consistent and the judge had misled the jury, the conviction was deemed to be unsafe. Banham Marshalls College was closed down by the government Department of Education in 2003. The site is now occupied by Acorn Park School, which has no connection with the former Banham Marshalls College.

Notable people

The village was the birthplace on 17 April 1795 of the schoolteacher, writer, poet and hymn writer

Emily Taylor Emily Taylor (7 April 1795 – 11 March 1872) was an English schoolmistress, poet, children's author, and hymnist. She wrote numerous tales for children, chiefly historical, along with books of instruction and some descriptive natural history. ...

.Alexander Gordon, "Taylor, Edgar (1793–1839)", rev. Eric Metcalfe, ODNB, Oxford University Press, 2004, pay-walled. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
/ref> The Rev.

Edward Thomas Daniell Edward Thomas Daniell (6 June 180424 September 1842) was an English artist known for his etchings and the landscape paintings he made during an expedition to the Middle East, including Lycia, part of modern-day Turkey. He is associated with the ...

of the Norwich School of painters, a talented amateur

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

and painter, was

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

of St Mary's for 18 months, from 1832.

War memorial

Banham's War Memorial is located on the Village Green and holds the names of forty eight of the fallen and it was unveiled in 1920 by the

Earl of Albemarle Earl of Albemarle is a title created several times from Norman times onwards. The word ''Albemarle'' is derived from the Latinised form of the French county of '' Aumale'' in Normandy (Latin: ''Alba Marla'' meaning "White Marl", marl being a ty ...

, then Honorary Colonel of the 4th Battalion

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

. It holds the following names for the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

: * Company Sergeant-Major Daniel J. Bowen (1889–1917), 4th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Lance-Sergeant Harrold G. Hunt (1886–1914), 1st Battalion,

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

* Lance-Corporal Richard Chapman (1884–1916), 1st Battalion,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

* Bugler Christopher J. Kemp (d.1915), 4th Battalion,

Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

* Driver Ernest Chapman (1878–1916),

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

* Pioneer Arthur H. Bush (1874–1919), 271st Railway Company,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

* Gunner John A. Turvey (1898–1917), 84th Battery,

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

* Rifleman Albert V. Rout (d.1918), 8th Battalion,

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

* Private Charles E. Ribbons (1889–1917), 4th Battalion,

Bedfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the World War ...

* Private J. Sydney Buttle (d.1918), 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment * Private James G. Cracknell (d.1916), 9th Battalion,

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence ...

* Private Fred C. Hunt (1888–1916), 1st Battalion,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

* Private Thomas J. Turvey (d.1917), 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards * Private Stanley Stainer (1889–1917), 7th Battalion,

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ( ...

* Private William G. Roberts (d.1915), 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment * Private Frederick Tite (1887–1917), 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment * Private Herbert Morley (d.1916), 6th Battalion, Essex Regiment * Private Benjamin S. Smith (d.1917), 11th (City of London) Battalion,

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

* Private Edgar C. Riches (1897–1916), 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards * Private Walter G. Lanchester (d.1918), 46th Company,

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

* Private James H. Scarfe (d.1917), 273rd Company, Machine Gun Corps * Private H. Frederick C. Taylor (1883–1918), Royal Marine Engineers * Private Ernest W. Morley (1890–1916), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Ernest Tite (d.1915), 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Ernest J. Blackburn (d.1916), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private John R. Fulcher (1895–1916), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Nelson G. Stevenson (1894–1915), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Edward J. Dunning (d.1917), 8th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Charles Rudd (1896–1916), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Rudolph Saunders (d.1916), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private William Saunders (1892–1917), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Charles H. Sharpe (d.1918), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Edward Wake (1892–1915), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Leonard F. Brewster (1898–1918), Norfolk Yeomanry * Private William Harvey (1897–1917), 6th Battalion,

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

* Private Sydney G. Lyng, 11th Battalion, Royal Tank Corps * Private George E. Knights (1898–1917), 6th Battalion,

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

* Private Edward A. J. Peck (1895–1918), 10th Battalion,

Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

* George D. Kemp * William Wright And, the following for the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

: * Corporal Arthur Smith (1914–1941), 8th Battalion,

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the World War I, First World War. Today, it is an Armoured warfare, armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks ...

* Able-Seaman Eric Bangay (d.1939), '' HMS Duchess (H64)'' * Able-Seaman Edwin G. Saunders (1921–1940), '' HMS Kent (54)'' * Marine Herbert W. Hansell (1903–1942), ''

HMS Erebus (I02) HMS ''Erebus'' was a First World War monitor launched on 19 June 1916 and which served in both world wars. She and her sister ship are known as the . They were named after the two bomb vessels sent to investigate the Northwest Passage as part ...

'' * Guardsman Edgar C. Wake (1923–1943), 5th Battalion, Grenadier Guards * Private Wilfred Peacock (1924–1944), 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment * Private Charles C. Robinson (1924–1945), 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment * Private Charles A. Weeds (d.1943), 2nd Battalion,

Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire R ...

References

External links

Information from Genuki Norfolk
on Banham *
Map of Banham

Bibliography

* {{authority control Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Breckland District