Swanton Morley 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 ...

situated 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 ...

. It is situated in the heart of Norfolk 18 miles from the centre 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 ...

and three miles from

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 ...

, at the geographical centre of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 2,415 in 783 households at the 2001 census, reducing to a population of 2,100 in 723 households at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government it is in the Elmham and Mattishall Division of

Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for Norfolk, England. Below it there are seven second-tier district councils: Breckland District, Breckland, Broadland, Borough of Great Yarmouth, Great Yarmo ...

and the Lincoln Ward of Breckland District Council. The village has a long history; it was documented in the 11th-century

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 ...

, and was home to the ancestors of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, 16th President of the United States. It has links to the armed forces through the nearby Robertson Barracks. The village has won several awards including the Calor Village of the Year award 2009/10 for the

East of England East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact ...

Geography

Swanton Morley is located centrally between the market towns of

Swaffham Swaffham () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District and England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of and in the U ...

and

Fakenham Fakenham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, about north-west of Norwich. The town is at the junction of several local roads, including the A148 from King's Lynn to Cromer, the A1067 to N ...

, Dereham being the closest at three miles away. The village is adjacent to Bylaugh and Bylaugh Hall and is 18 miles (29 km) from the city and

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

History

The first part of the village's name "Swanton" is derived 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 ''herdsman's enclosure''. The second part, "Morley", refers to Robert de Morli, who held the lordship of the manor in 1346. The village was the home of Richard Lincoln (1550–1620), a local churchwarden who built the building which is today The Angel

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 ...

. Lincoln was the wealthy grandfather of Samuel Lincoln, and Richard's coat-of-arms can be seen today in the east window of All Saints' Church in Swanton Morley. Richard Lincoln disinherited Samuel's father Edward from his will in favour of his fourth wife, thus throwing the

Lincoln family The Lincoln family is an American family of English origins. It includes the fourth United States Attorney General, Levi Lincoln Sr., governors Levi Lincoln Jr. (of Massachusetts) and Enoch Lincoln (of Maine), and Abraham Lincoln, the sixteent ...

into penury and forcing young Samuel to flee to

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Part of the Greater Boston region, it is located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of Massachusetts. At the 2020 ...

. His great-great-great-great-grandson was

, 16th President of the United States. Richard Lincoln is buried under the centre aisle of St Andrew's Church in

Hingham, Norfolk Hingham is a market town and civil parish in mid-Norfolk, England. The civil parish covers an area of and had a population of 2,078 in 944 households at the time of the 2001 United Kingdom census, 2001 census, increasing to 2,367 at the 2011 ce ...

, a privilege reserved for the

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

Notable buildings and facilities

On the top of a hill to the north of the village lies All Saints' Church, a large 14th-century

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

built to an ambitious design in comparison to the size of the village. In particular the aisles of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

extend to embrace the tower, which is supported on three sides by unusually large arches. All Saints is described by architectural critic

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

as "big and proud, and historically outstandingly interesting". In addition to worship, the bells are rung by the All Saints' Swanton Morley Bell Ringers. Also of historical interest is the Mill Bakery, which has been in business since 1645, and is one of a small number of Norfolk's organic bakeries. The Mill bakery has changed ownership and premises, and is currently owned by Budgens in

Drayton, Norfolk Drayton is a suburban village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located in the district of Broadland, north-west of Norwich and south of Aylsham. Today, Drayton is largely dominated by the Thorpe Marriott housing estat ...

and still continues production under the same name. The old premises including the historic mill were subsequently demolished. The village has two public houses, The Angel and Darbys, both of which serve authentic

real ale Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for ale that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous ca ...

. The Angel pub is a timber-framed building which was the ancestral home of the Lincoln family, built in the 17th century by Richard Lincoln and later refaced with brick in the 19th century. The

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

, a relatively new building, is centrally located and used for community events within the village. It is regularly used by the Swanton Morley Entertainers, the Under 5's Group and the local

Women's Institutes The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

group as well as other village groups. Sports clubs include the Swanton Morley Cricket Club and the Swanton Morley Bowls Club. The village also has its own doctor's surgery, a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

and Swanton Morley Primary School, a

voluntary controlled A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy th ...

primary school for children aged 4 to 11. Other facilities include a butcher's, a delicatessen and a convenience store. There are several areas to walk and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the village, including two large areas of

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

and several footpaths suitable for walks. There are also areas with opportunities for fishing on the nearby

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 ...

. There was formerly a

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

on the river which was burnt down in the 19th century. One of the former pubs in the village was called "The Papermakers". The village is home to Hunter's Hall, a large Victorian converted

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G ...

that hosts conferences and celebrations such as wedding receptions, along with

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

facilities on the Park Farm Estate on which the hall stands. In addition there are a number of holiday accommodation lets available within the village.

Military links

Since 1940 the village has been home to Robertson Barracks, formerly called RAF Swanton Morley. During 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 ...

the first British and US combined bombing raid was launched from Swanton Morley on 29 June 1942, with Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

and

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

present.24 Hours Museum – WW2 Events
Retrieved 16 January 2014 In 1996 the base was moved from RAF to Army control, renamed to Robertson Barracks in honour of Field Marshal Sir William Robertson and became the home to the

Light Dragoons The Light Dragoons (LD) is a cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment has a light cavalry role and specialises in mounted and dismounted reconnaissance. The Light Dragoons recruit mainly in Northern England, from County Durham, Northu ...

, a cavalry regiment. In March 2013 it was announced that the Light Dragoons would be leaving in 2015 and they have been replaced by 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards. The base is home to one of the best-preserved

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

air traffic control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled ai ...

Awards

The village was voted

village of the year in the Calor Village of the Year 2009/10 awards. The competition recognises villages that provide "a well-balanced, pro-active, caring community which has made the best of local opportunities to maintain and enhance the quality of life for all residents". The same year Swanton Morley won the EDP Norfolk Community of the Year award.

Notable inhabitants

* Henry Ainsworth (1571–1622), Nonconformist clergyman and scholar * Richard Lincoln (1550–1620), ancestor of

In fiction

Professor Swanton Morley, a character in Ian Sansom's comic thriller ''The Norfolk Mystery'' (2013) is named after the village.

Gallery

File:Village Sign - geograph.org.uk - 1244204.jpg, Swanton Morley's

village sign In many parts of England, an ornamental village sign is erected to announce the village name to those entering the village. They are typically placed on the principal road entrance or in a prominent location such as a village green. The desig ...

File:The Parish Church of All Saints - geograph.org.uk - 275461.jpg, All Saints' Church from Mill Street File:All Saints nave Swanton Morley.jpg, East end of the church from the nave File:Swanton Morley Bowls Club.jpg, Swanton Morley

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

club File:The Paper Makers - geograph.org.uk - 296524.jpg, The Paper Makers File:Road Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1244197.jpg, Bridge over the

outside the village

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
All Saints Church website

All Saints Swanton Morley Bell Ringers
{{Authority control Villages in Norfolk Lincoln family Civil parishes in Norfolk Breckland District