Hockwold cum Wilton

Hockwold cum Wilton

St Peter's Church, Hockwold cum Wilton
Hockwold cum Wilton
 Hockwold cum Wilton shown within Norfolk
Area  31.05 km2 (11.99 sq mi)
Population 1,233 (2001 census[1])
   – density  40/km2 (100/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTF615205
DistrictKing's Lynn and West Norfolk
Shire countyNorfolk
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town THETFORD
Postcode district IP26
Dialling code 01842
Police Norfolk
Fire Norfolk
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK ParliamentNorth West Norfolk
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk

Coordinates: 52°27′54″N 0°32′31″E / 52.465°N 0.542°E

Hockwold cum Wilton ("Hock/mallow wood and willow-tree farm/settlement"[2]) is 10 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk, England and is in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. It is located near several USAF airbases, notably RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall. It is situated on the boundary between the geographical areas of the Breckland - a region of sandy heathland now largely forested - and the flat, low-lying Fens, with some characteristics of both.

The village is the location of the primary campus of Iceni Academy. Previously this was Hockwold Primary School. The village has two churches (St Peter's and St James') and a Methodist chapel.

History

Hockwold Treasure on display in the British Museum, Roman, 1st century AD
An important Roman hoard of silver tableware and coins was found in Hockwold in 1962. It is now part of the Roman-British collections at the British Museum.[3]

Originally, the village was located next to the river. However, after the black plague infected the village, it was burnt down and relocated a mile to the north.

Trivia

The village is also rumoured to be haunted by several ghosts. The gates of Hockwold Hall, a large manor house and estate, are said to be haunted by the White Lady, a cause of distraction to many drivers on their way through the village, while the Little Ouse River that runs past the village is rumoured to be haunted by a group of nuns and a horseman.

Hockwold Hall

Hockwold Hall is an Elizabethan house on the site of an earlier manor. The manor of Hockwold is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Hockwold Hall, with origins in the late 15th century, is a Tudor manor house with a substantial extension built by a Royal Prince at the end of the 19th century.

Sir William Tyndall is recorded as owning the Estate in 1489. The royalist Arthur Heveningham lived at the Hall until 1657: his brother, William Heveningham, was one of the regicides of Charles I, and his daughter Abigail married John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol. Sir Cyril Wyche, a founder member of the Royal Society, took over the estate in 1688 and lived there until 1707. Prince Victor Duleep Singh, the eldest son of the last Maharaja of Lahore, a godson of Queen Victoria, came to live at Hockwold Hall in 1895.

Notes

  1. ↑ Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  2. ↑ "Hockwold cum Wilton". English Place-Name Society database. Nottingham University. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  3. ↑ British Museum Collection

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hockwold cum Wilton.

Hockwold Cricket Club.