Kimberley is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Kimberley and Carleton Forehoe 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 ...

. Kimberly is located north-west of

Wymondham Wymondham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. It lies on the River Tiffey, south-west of Norwich and just off the A11 road (England), A11 road to London. The pari ...

and 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

Kimberley's 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 ''Cyneburg's'' wood clearing. 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 ...

, Kimberley is listed as a settlement of 31 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 Forehoe. In 1086, the village was part of the

East Anglian 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, ...

estates of King William I. Kimberley Hall was built in the late Sixteenth Century as the residence of the

Wodehouse family Wodehouse ( "wood-house") is an English name, English surname and barony. The baronetcy was created in 1611, the barony in 1797. Since 1866 it has been held by the Earl of Kimberley, the current Baron Wodehouse being John Wodehouse, 5th Earl of ...

who had strong links to Kimberley. The gardens of the hall were sculpted by

Capability Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...

. Kimberley Park Railway Station opened in 1847 on the Norfolk Railway between

and

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 ...

. The station closed in 1969 but re-opened in 2004 as a stop on the

Mid-Norfolk Railway The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway, one of the longest in Great Britain. Preservation efforts began in 1974, but the line re-opened to passengers only in the mid-1990s as part of the "new generation" o ...

. The parish absorbed the parish of Carleton Forehoe on the 1 April 1935.

Geography

In 1931 the parish of Kimberley had a population of 163, this was the last time separate population statistics were collected for Kimberley as in 1935 the parish was merged. The

River Tiffey The River Tiffey is a small river in Norfolk, England and a tributary of the River Yare. It rises near Hethel and passes through Wymondham before flowing generally north-eastwards passing through Kimberley, Carleton Forehoe, Wramplingham Wr ...

flows through the village. As do both the B1108, between Carbrooke and

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, and the B1135, between Toftwood and Bracon Ash.

St. Peter's Church

Kimberley's former 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 dates from the Fifteenth Century. St. Peter's is located on 'The Green' and has been Grade II listed since 1959. The church is open for Sunday service once a month and is part of the Upper Yare Benefice. St. Peter's holds a stained-glass window depicting Saint Frances,

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

and Saint Bridget of Ireland which was designed by

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832� ...

as well as various memorial windows to members of the Wodehouse family.

Notable Residents

* Roger Woodhouse MP- (1541-1588) politician, born in Kimberley. * Sir Thomas Wodehouse, 2nd Baronet- (1585-1658) politician, born in Kimberley. * John Jenkins- (1592-1678) composer, lived & died in Kimberley. * Sir Philip Wodehouse, 1st Baronet- (d.1623) soldier and politician, born in Kimberley. * Alice Sutcliffe- (d.1634) religious writer, born in Kimberley. * Sir John Wodehouse, 4th Baronet- (1669-1754) politician, born in Kimberley. *

William Wodehouse William Wodehouse (c. 1706 - 13 May 1737), of Kimberley, Norfolk, was a British Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1737. Wodehouse was the eldest son of Sir John Wodehouse, 4th Baronet and his wife Mary Fermor, daughte ...

- (1706-1737) politician, born in Kimberley. * Henry Wodehouse- (1799-1834) MCC cricketer, born in Kimberley. * Ernest Raikes OBE- (1863-1931)

cricketer and legal advocate, born in Kimberley. * James Hambro- (b.1949) banker and businessman, lives in Kimberley.

Governance

Kimberley 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 Wicklewood 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

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 Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

George Freeman since 2010.

War Memorial

Kimberley's war memorial is a wooden plaque in St. Peter's Church which 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 ...

References

External links

Parish Council Website
Villages in Norfolk Former civil parishes in Norfolk South Norfolk {{authority control