Bradenham, Norfolk

Bradenham
St Mary's Church, now redundant
Bradenham is located in Norfolk
Bradenham
Bradenham
Location within Norfolk
Area16.55 km2 (6.39 sq mi)
Population695 (2021 census)
• Density42/km2 (110/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTF 9208
Civil parish
  • Bradenham
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townThetford
Postcode districtIP25
Dialling code01362/01760
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk
52°38′24″N 0°50′38″E / 52.640°N 0.844°E / 52.640; 0.844

Bradenham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of the town of Dereham and 19 miles (31 km) west of the city of Norwich.[1] The parish was formed of the parishes of East Bradenham and West Bradenham which have been joined. It includes the hamlets of High Green and West End.[2][3]

History

In the Domesday Book, Bradenham is recorded as a settlement of 53 households in the hundred of Greenhoe and was part of the estates of William de Warenne, Ralph of Tosny and Ralph Baynard.[4]

West Bradenham Hall was built at some point between the 16th and mid-18th centuries,[2] replacing an earlier building surrounded by a medieval moat. It was owned by the Haggard family and was the birthplace of H. Rider Haggard. Admiral Nelson is recorded as having stayed at the house.[5] East Bradenham Hall, dating form the 17th-century, was rebuilt at around 1800.[6]

From 1795,[7] Stephen Watson's gibbet was located on common land between West Bradenham and Holme Hale.[8] This remained hanging until at least October 1837,[9] being the last gibbet to stand in Norfolk,[10] and was at some point after this buried; it was discovered like this by H. Rider Haggard in 1899 and given to Norwich Castle Museum.[11]

During the Second World War, a decoy airfield was built in the village.[12]

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Bradenham has a population of 695 people which shows a slight decrease from the 700 people recorded in the 2011 census.[13]

The River Wissey rises in the parish and flows to the west, whilst the River Yare rises to the east of Bradenham and flows to the east.

Churches

West Bradenham's parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew and located on Church Lane. The church is early medieval in origin and features stained-glass windows depicting the Gospels by the O'Connor Brothers and an east window depicting the Crucifixion of Christ by William Wailes.[14] It is Grade I listed.[15]

St Mary's Church, East Bradenham is dedicated to St Mary. It has been redundant since 1973[3] and is also Grade I listed.[16]

Notable people

The Haggard family lived at West Bradenham Hall. The author H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925) recorded details of his life at the house.[5]

Governance

Bradenham is part of the electoral ward of Saham Toney for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland. It is part of the Mid Norfolk parliamentary constituency.

References

  1. ^ Ordnance Survey (1999). OS Explorer Map 237 – Norwich. ISBN 0-319-21868-6.
  2. ^ a b Parish Summary: Bradenham, Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  3. ^ a b Knott S (2007) St Mary, East Bradenham, Norfolk Churches Site. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  4. ^ "[East and West] Bradenham | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  5. ^ a b "mnf8718 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  6. ^ Manor House (formerly East Bradenham Hall), Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  7. ^ Tarlow, Sarah (2017), "How to Hang in Chains: How, Where and When Eighteenth-Century Sheriffs Organised a Gibbeting", The Golden and Ghoulish Age of the Gibbet in Britain, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 33–78, doi:10.1057/978-1-137-60089-9_2, ISBN 978-1-137-60088-2, retrieved 2025-12-15{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  8. ^ Whyte, Nicola (1 April 2003). "The Deviant Dead in the Norfolk Landscape". Landscapes. 4 (1): 24–39. doi:10.1179/lan.2003.4.1.24. ISSN 1466-2035.
  9. ^ Tarlow, Sarah (2017), "How to Hang in Chains: How, Where and When Eighteenth-Century Sheriffs Organised a Gibbeting", The Golden and Ghoulish Age of the Gibbet in Britain, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 33–78, doi:10.1057/978-1-137-60089-9_2, ISBN 978-1-137-60088-2, retrieved 2025-12-15{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  10. ^ "Norfolk's last post medieval gibbet". Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  11. ^ Tarlow, Sarah (1 December 2014). "The Technology of the Gibbet". International Journal of Historical Archaeology. 18 (4): 668–699. doi:10.1007/s10761-014-0275-0. ISSN 1092-7697. PMC 4372825. PMID 25834380.
  12. ^ "mnf13552 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  13. ^ "Bradenham (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". citypopulation.de. Archived from the original on 2024-11-11. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  14. ^ "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2024-11-12. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  15. ^ "CHURCH OF ST ANDREW, Bradenham - 1342620 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2024-12-01. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  16. ^ "CHURCH OF ST MARY, Bradenham - 1151958 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2024-07-22. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Bradenham