Hales 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 English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 ...

. Hales is located south-east of

Loddon Loddon may refer to: Places *Loddon, Norfolk in England, UK *Shire of Loddon, a local government area in Victoria, Australia (since 1995) **Bridgewater On Loddon, Victoria, a town in Victoria, Australia Rivers *River Loddon, a tributary of the Riv ...

and south-east 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

Hales' name is 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 and derives from the

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 nooks of land. 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 ...

, Hales is listed as a settlement of 54 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 Clavering. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of Roger Bigod,

Godric the Steward Godric or Godric the Steward or Godric dapifer (died 1114) was an Englishman around the time of the Norman Conquest. Godric was a native Englishman who was the dapifer, or steward, of the Earl of East Anglia, Ralph de Gael. Godric may have been a ...

, St Edmunds Abbey and Ralph Baynard.

Hales Hall Hales Hall is a notable English country house in Loddon, Norfolk, largely dating from the 15th century. It was once the seat of the Hobart family, including Sir James Hobart, who became attorney general to King Henry VII in 1485. History The ...

was built in 1478 by Sir James Hobart, the Attorney General of

King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry ...

. Hobart acquired the estate from Sir Roger de Hales, whose daughter had married the Duke of Norfolk. In 1666, the last Hales heiress was Lady Dionysia Williamson, who left her estate to her nephew, John Hoskins. In 1957, two Gloster Meteors of No. 74 Squadron RAF crashed in Hales after a mid-air collision. Both pilots (FO W.R. Taylor of

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England with a population of 29,678 in 2021. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry ...

and FO R.G. Baillie of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

) were killed.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Hales has a total population of 525 people which demonstrates an increase from the 469 people listed in the 2011 census. Hales is located at the junction of the A146, between

and

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

, and the B1136, between Hales and

Haddiscoe Haddiscoe is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk Non-metropolitan district, district of the England, English county of Norfolk. The parish also includes the small hamlet of Thorpe-next-Haddiscoe. Haddiscoe is located north-west of ...

St Margaret's Church

Hales' parish church is dedicated to

Saint Margaret the Virgin Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr () in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in Western Christianity, on 30th of July (Julian calendar) by the Eastern Orthodox Church, and on Epip ...

and is one of Norfolk's 124 remaining

round-tower churches Round-tower churches are a type of church found mainly in England, mostly in East Anglia; of about 185 surviving examples in the country, 124 are in Norfolk, 38 in Suffolk, six in Essex, three in Sussex and two each in Cambridgeshire and Berks ...

. St. Margaret's is located outside of the village on Church Lane and has been Grade I listed since 1960. The church is no longer open for Sunday services and is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. St. Margaret's was lightly restored in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

Herbert John Green Herbert John Green (1850/51 – 1918) was an English architect who was born near Ipswichelectoral 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 Loddon & Chedgrave 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 ...

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. The largest town is Wymondham, and the district also includes the towns of Costessey, Diss, Harleston, Hingham, Loddon and Long Stratton. The council was based in Long S ...

. The village's national constituency is

which has been represented by the Labour's Ben Goldsborough MP since 2024.

War Memorial

Hales War Memorial is shared with nearby

Heckingham Heckingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Heckingham is located east of Loddon and south-east of Norwich, along the course of the River Chet. History Heckingham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives ...

and is a rough-hewn Celtic cross on Yarmouth Road. The memorial was damaged in a car accident in 1999 and was subsequently restored. The memorial lists 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 ...

: The following names were added after 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 ...

Footnotes

Notes

References

External links

St Margaret's on the European Round Tower Churches WebsitePhotos from Geograph
Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk {{authority control