Felthorpe 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 ...

. Felthorpe is located east 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 ...

and north-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 ...

History

Felthorpe's name is of mixed

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 ...

and

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

origin and derives from an amalgamation of the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

and

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 ...

for "Faela's outlying farmstead or settlement". 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, Felthorpe is listed as a settlement of 45 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 ...

Taverham Taverham is a large village and civil parish in Norfolk, in England. It is approximately 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Norwich. Taverham sits on the River Wensum. Taverham forms part the wider Norwich Built-up area. In 2001, Taverham ha ...

. In 1086, the village was divided between the

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

n estates of King William I, Alan of Brittany, Ralph de Beaufour, Walter Giffard and Reginald, son of Ivo. Felthorpe Watermill stood in the village, on a small tributary 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 ...

, since the later-Medieval period. In 1883, the mill was upgraded with a steam engine and subsequently demolished in 1927, though some foundations of the building and the wheelrace remain. Felthorpe Windmill stood within the parish from the late-18th century and closed sometime in the early-20th century. The land has reverted to agricultural use. Felthorpe Hall was built in the nineteenth century as a manor house and still stands today as a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

private residence. The hall was used as a

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

convalescence hospital during the First and

Second World Wars 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 ...

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Felthorpe has a population of 767 people which shows an increase from the 745 people recorded in the 2011 census.

St. Margaret's Church

Felthorpe's parish church is dedicated to Saint Margaret of Antioch and dates from the 17th century, with significant 19th-century restoration to the exterior and interior. St. Margaret's is located outside of the village on Bilney Lane and has been Grade II listed since 1961. St Margaret's has a good range of stained glass installed by

Ward and Hughes Ward and Hughes (formerly Ward and Nixon) was the name of an English company producing stained-glass windows. History Ward and Hughes was preceded by the company Ward and Nixon, whose studio was at 67 Frith Street, Soho. They created a large w ...

, with a further stone memorial plaque to Richard Inglett Fortescue Weston Conway, who died in the British colony of

Demerara Demerara (; , ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 unti ...

(now in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

) in 1856.

Felthorpe Air Crash

On 3 June 1966, a Hawker Siddeley Trident jetliner crashed in the parish after the aircraft entered into a deep stall which the pilot was unable to correct. The Trident entered a flat spin and crashed in a field immediately adjacent to Felthorpe airfield. The aircraft was on a test flight from Hatfield Aerodrome and all four crew were killed in the crash.

Felthorpe Airfield (Wood Farm)

Located to the southwest of the village is a grass airfield that was established in 1964. It is home to the Felthorpe Flying Group and is the base for a number of vintage aircraft, and also a Fokker Dr.I ''Dreidecker'' replica that first flew in 2018. The airfield suffered a suspected arson attack in February 2003, destroying a number of historic aircraft, and a hangar and other buildings.

Amenities

The village

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

has stood on its current site since the end of the 18th century and is still open today. The Mariner's Arms has been previously operated by Bullard's of Norwich, Watney-Mann and Brent Walker but today operates as a free house.

Governance

Felthorpe 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 Horsford & Felthorpe 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 ...

Broadland Broadland is a local government district in Norfolk, England, named after the Norfolk Broads. Its council is based at the Broadland Business Park on the outskirts of Norwich. The district includes the towns of Acle, Aylsham, Reepham, Spro ...

. The village's national constituency is Broadland and Fakenham which has been represented by the Conservative Party's Jerome Mayhew MP since 2019.

War memorial

St. Margaret's Church holds two memorials to 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 ...

, one a carved church screen detailing the men of Felthorpe who died during the conflict and a framed Roll of Honour with all the names of the men who served. The memorial lists the following men for the First World War: As well as 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 ...

References

External links

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