Billingford 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the English county of

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 ...

. Billingford is located north of

Dereham Dereham (), also known historically as East Dereham, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about west of the city of Norwich ...

, with the civil parish being approximately in area.

History

The origin of the name 'Billingford' is uncertain, although it is certainly of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

origin. It derives from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

, either a ford at the ridge or the ford of the hill people. Despite this, Billingford parish shows signs of earlier habitation. Several artefacts from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

have been found in Billingford. Furthermore, the

Fen Causeway Fen Causeway or the Fen Road is the modern name for a Roman road of England that runs between Denver, Norfolk in the east and Peterborough in the west.Phillips, C.W. ''The Fenland in Roman Times''. Royal Geographical Society (1970). Its path c ...

, 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

road, ran through Billingford which has left many Roman artefacts. This led to excavations along the banks of the

River Wensum The River Wensum is a chalk river in Norfolk, England, Norfolk, England and a tributary of the River Yare, despite being the larger of the two rivers. The river is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservatio ...

during the 1990s. It was discovered that there was a significant Roman settlement in Billingford which is today a Scheduled Monument. One of the artefacts uncovered at the site is the golden medallion pictured below. Billingford is listed 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as consisting of 43 households in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

of Eynesford. At this time, Billingford was divided between the estates of Alan of Brittany, Ranulf Peverel and Humphrey, son of Aubrey. Billingford Hall is also located within the village. This manor house was built in the Eighteenth Century and has been Grade II listed since 1984. Within the grounds of the hall is an Eighteenth Century icehouse, which was also Grade II listed in 1984.

Geography

Billingford is located along the northern bank of the

and straddles the B1145 which runs from

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

and

Mundesley Mundesley /ˈmʌn.dzli/ is a coastal village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is north-northeast of Norwich, southeast of Cromer and north-northeast of the town of North Walsham. The nearest airport is Norw ...

. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 253.

St. Peter's Church

Billingford's parish church is dedicated to

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

and was largely built in the Fourteenth Century. The lectern within the church is shaped like an eagle and originates from the Sixteenth Century. The structure has been Grade I listed since 1960. Within the grounds of the church there is a Nineteenth Century schoolhouse, which is Grade II listed.

Governance

Billingford is part of the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of Upper Wensum for local elections and is part of 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 ...

. Bexwell's national constituency is

Mid Norfolk Mid Norfolk is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2010 by George Freeman (po ...

, which has been represented by the Conservative George Freeman since 2010.

War Memorial

St. Peter's Church also contains Billingford's War Memorial. The memorial is a wooden plaque which commemorates 31 men who served and returned, alongside nine men who died. The names of the dead are as follows: And, Arthur E. Clarke, Albert Howard and Harry Overman.

Notable People

* Thomas Anson (1818-1899), cricketer * Robert Curzon (c. 1491–1550), Member of Parliament * Gordon Flowerdew (1885-1918), Canadian soldier, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* Peter Parfitt (born 1936), cricketer * Horatio Walpole (1663 – 1717), Member of Parliament

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Billingford Parish Council
Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Breckland District {{Norfolk-geo-stub