Reedham 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
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 ...
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 ...
and within
The Broads
The Broads (known for marketing purposes as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly used ...
. It is on the north bank of the
River Yare
The River Yare is a river in the English county of Norfolk. In its lower reaches it is one of the principal navigable waterways of The Broads and connects with the rest of the network.
The river rises south of Dereham to the west to the villag ...
, east of the city 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 ...
, south-west of the town of
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
and the same distance north-west of the
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
town of
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 ...
. The village's name means 'reedy homestead/village' or 'reedy hemmed-in land'.
History

Before the draining of the marshes towards
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
, Reedham was a coastal village which included a Roman lighthouse. Fragments of Roman brick and stone can be found in the local church.
King
Edmund of East Anglia is said to have lived here. The Fastolf family, whose most celebrated member was
Sir John Fastolf, are recorded here from the 13th century.
Polkey's Mill is a derelict grade II* listed windpump dating from about 1880.
On 21 February 1944, two
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
B-17s from the
385th Bombardment Group collided above Reedham. All 21 crew members died in the crash. The two bombers were on their way back to
RAF Great Ashfield after a bombing run on
Diepholz Air Base.
Geography
The civil parish includes a significant area of nearby marshland, together with the famously isolated settlement of
Berney Arms. It has an area of and in the
2001 census had a population of 925 in 406 households, increasing to a population of 1,207 in 505 households at the
2011 census.
For the purposes of local government, the parish lies within 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 ...
of
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 ...
.
Transport
Reedham railway station is a stop on the
Wherry Lines. Services provided by
Greater Anglia connect the village with , and (via ). The line to Lowestoft crosses the river on
Reedham Swing Bridge
Reedham Swing Bridge, on the site of a Victorian era, Victorian swing bridge, is still in use at Reedham, Norfolk, England.
It carries the Wherry Lines, Wherry railway line, between Norwich and Lowestoft, across the River Yare near Reedham rai ...
.
Reedham Ferry, a
chain ferry
A cable ferry (including the types chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...
just outside the village, is the only road crossing point on the River Yare between Norwich and Great Yarmouth.
The village is served by two bus routes, operated by ''Our Bus'' and ''Ambassador Travel''; they link the area to
Acle
Acle ( ) is a market town on the River Bure on the The Broads, Norfolk Broads in Norfolk, located halfway between Norwich and Great Yarmouth. It has the only bridge across the River Bure between Wroxham and Great Yarmouth.Ordnance Survey (2005). ...
,
Beighton,
Cantley and
Gorleston.
See also
* was a
References
http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Reedham
External links
*
Information from Genuki Norfolkon Reedham.
{{authority control
Villages in Norfolk
Broadland
Civil parishes in Norfolk