Fordham
St Mary's Church, Fordham
Fordham is located in Norfolk
Fordham
Fordham
Location within Norfolk
Area8.94 km2 (3.45 sq mi)
Population71 
• Density8/km2 (21/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTL616997
• London76 miles (122 km)
Civil parish
  • Fordham
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDOWNHAM MARKET
Postcode districtPE38
Dialling code01366
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk
52°34′16″N 0°22′59″E / 52.571238°N 0.383148°E / 52.571238; 0.383148

Fordham is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located 2.2 miles (3.5 km) north of Downham Market and 39 miles (63 km) west of Norwich, located along the A10 between London and King's Lynn and close to the confluence of the River Wissey and River Great Ouse.

History

Fordham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a village or homestead close to a ford, likely across the River Great Ouse.[1]

The Parish of Fordham has been the site of discovery for several significant Bronze Age artefacts, including a hammer, a decorated sword and a socketed axehead.[2]

In the Domesday Book, Fordham is listed as a settlement of 22 households in the hundred of Clackclose. In 1086, the village was divided between the East Anglian estates of St Benedict's Abbey, Ralph Baynard, Henry de Ferrers, Reginald, son of Ivo and the Abbey of St Etheldreda, Ely.[3]

Snore Hall dates from the Medieval period and was originally built as a timber-framed, fortified manor-house. The building that stands today was built in early sixteenth century, with extensions made in the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. The hall has a good example of a sixteenth-century priest hole, and was the site of a council convened by King Charles I during the English Civil War.[4]

Geography

According to the 2001 Census, Fordham has a population of 71 residents living in 29 households. The parish has a total area of 3.45 square miles (8.9 km2).[5]

Fordham falls within the constituency of South West Norfolk and is represented in Parliament by Liz Truss of the Conservative Party. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

St Mary's Church

Main article: St Mary's Church, Fordham

The Church of England parish church, St Mary's, is now redundant and in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.[6] The church is a Grade II* listed building.[7] The church was largely built in the nineteenth century, with the chancel the only surviving feature from the Medieval period. The nave collapsed in the eighteenth century and the tower fell some time after.[8]

War memorial

Fordham shares a war memorial with the nearby villages of Denver, Ryston and Bexwell. The memorial takes the form of a stone cross atop an octagonal plinth, located on Denver's village green. The memorial lists the following Fordham men who died during the First World War:

And, the following for the Second World War:

Further reading

References

  1. ^ University of Nottingham. Retrieved January 03, 2023. http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Fordham
  2. ^ Robertson, D. (2005). Retrieved January 03, 2023. https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?TNF87-Fordham-(Parish-Summary)
  3. ^ Domesday Book. (1086). Retrieved January 03, 2023. https://opendomesday.org/place/TL6199/fordham/
  4. ^ Mellor, H., Rose, E. and Darch, E. (1989; 2005; 2008; 2017). Retrieved January 03, 2023. https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf4463
  5. ^ Office for National Statistics and Norfolk County Council. (2001). Retrieved June 20, 2009. Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes
  6. ^ Newsletter, Friends of Friendless Churches, Autumn 2011, pp. 4–6
  7. ^ Historic England, "Church of St Mary, Fordham (1205531)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 5 December 2011
  8. ^ Knott, S. (2005). Retrieved January 03, 2023. http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/fordham/fordham.htm
  9. ^ Dearsley, P. (2004). Retrieved January 03, 2023. http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Denver.html

External links

Media related to Fordham, Norfolk at Wikimedia Commons


Civil parishes of King's Lynn and West Norfolk
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