Swannington 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 The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...

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 ...

, United Kingdom. The villages name means 'Farm/settlement connected with Swan'.

Location

The village is located approximately north-west of Norwich between the villages of

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 ...

Felthorpe Felthorpe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Felthorpe is located east of Dereham and north-west of Norwich. History Felthorpe's name is of mixed Anglo-Saxon and Viking origin and derives from an amalgamation o ...

Brandiston Brandiston is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Brandiston is located south-east of Reepham and north-west of Norwich. Brandiston's civil parish also includes the small hamlet of Guton. History Brandiston ...

and Cawston. It covers an area of .

Population

Swannington had a population of 287 in 120 households at the 2001 census, including

Alderford Alderford is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, about north-west of Norwich. The name "Alderford" derives from the Old English meaning "alder-tree ford". The civil parish has an area of 1.80 square kilometres and in ...

and increasing to a population of 366 in 149 households at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, it falls 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 ...

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 ...

Buildings and amenities

As it is a very small village it has very few amenities. There is a farm butchery and garden centre/nursery. The parish church and children's play area complete the facilities. The parish church of St Margaret has a massive west tower and an extension, built in 1980, on the north side. Features of interest include the 15th-century chancel roof, the stained glass of the east window, the

Purbeck marble Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone. Geology S ...

font and a Norman pillar

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

Tourism

Large house by Swannington village sign - geograph

Visitors to the village may be confused by the split nature of the village, some may first arrive in Swannington (Upgate), a collection of larger houses around Upgate Common, but this is separated from the main village by a short stretch of farmland. Swannington itself is spread around a village green split by a small stream (or beck) on which can be found a former pump and the recent addition of a contemporary village sign. The village holds an open gardens event every two years. Both are well attended and raise money for the church. The village is crossed by the Norwich Fringe Project footpathsNorwich fringe project
Retrieved 5 March 2009 and is within easy reach of

Marriott's Way The Marriott's Way is a footpath, cycle-path and bridleway in north Norfolk, England, between Norwich and Aylsham via Themelthorpe. It forms part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) (Route 1) and the red route of Norwich's Pedalways cycle ...

, a path on the former railway line running from

Aylsham Aylsham ( or ) is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Bure in north Norfolk, England, nearly north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea ...

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 ...

. RAF Swannington, a

World War II 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 ...

airfield, now dismantled, was constructed to the north of the village.

Notes

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Swannington

External links

Village WebsiteSt.Margaret's Church Website
Broadland Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk {{Norfolk-geo-stub