Great Hockham is a village in the English county of Norfolk within the civil parish of Hockham.

Great Hockham lies 8 miles (13 km) north east of Thetford and 24 miles (39 km) south west from Norwich.

History

Great Hockham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the larger Hocca's homestead or village.[1]

In the Domesday Book, Hockham is listed as a settlement of 39 households in the hundred of Shropham. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of Roger Bigod.[2]

Hockham Hall was built in 1702 by Philip Ryley and was built on the old site of a medieval tithe barn.[3]

There remains of the Royal Observer Corps Orlit post which has been vandalised since it was abandoned.[4]

Geography

The A1075, between Thetford and Dereham, passes through the village.

Holy Trinity Church

Great Hockham's church is located just off Wretham Road and dates from the Fourteenth Century, having been Grade I listed since 1958.[5] The church no longer holds Sunday services.[6]

The church was restored in the 1950s and was once lavishly decorated, but these decorations were removed during the Reformation. Holy Trinity also features stained-glass depicting the Adoration of the Magi by Charles Eamer Kempe and Christ the Good Shepherd by E.R. Suffling.[7]

Governance

Great Hockham is part of the electoral ward of All Saints & Wayland for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.

The village's national constituency is Mid Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's George Freeman MP since 2010.

Notable Residents

  • Christopher Bush- (1885-1973) crime novelist, born in Great Hockham.[8]

War Memorial

Great Hockham War Memorial is a tall marble cross located inside Holy Trinity Churchyard.[9] The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:[10][11]

Rank Name Unit Date of Death Burial/Commemoration
LCpl. Frederick J. H. Gates 1/4th Bn., Norfolk Regiment 19 Apr. 1917 Gaza War Cemetery
A2C Thomas A. Edwards 9 Park, Royal Air Force 15 Feb. 1919 Maubeuge Cemetery
Gnr. Edward Burlingham 168th Bde., Royal Field Artillery 30 Oct. 1917 Minty Farm Cemetery
Pte. Edward W. Church 8th Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment 19 Apr. 1917 Loos Memorial
Pte. George W. Matthews 6th Bn., The Buffs 9 Aug. 1918 Franvillers Cemetery
Pte. Absolom Snowley 1st Bn., Coldstream Guards 14 Sep. 1914 La Ferté Memorial
Pte. Arthur Oldfield 2nd Bn., Coldstream Gds. 30 Sep. 1916 Thiepval Memorial
Pte. John C. Bell 17th Bn., Royal Fusiliers 30 Nov. 1917 Cambrai Memorial
Pte. Harry A. Bunnett 2nd Bn., Grenadier Guards 31 Oct. 1914 Menin Gate
Pte. Thomas R. Teasel 15th (Civil Service) Bn., London Regt. 20 Sep. 1917 Perth Cemetery
Pte. Reginald E. Kerridge 1st Bn., Middlesex Regiment 3 Nov. 1916 Grove Town Cemetery
Pte. Sydney A. Mason 1/4th Bn., Norfolk Regiment 19 Apr. 1917 Jerusalem Memorial
Pte. Leonard Matthews 1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt. 21 Jul. 1915 Holy Trinity Churchyard
Pte. George H. Ellis 7th Bn., Norfolk Regt. 5 Oct. 1915 Bethune Town Cemetery
Pte. George E. Frost 7th Bn., Norfolk Regt. 30 Mar. 1918 Condé Cemetery
Pte. H. William Church 1st Bn., Wiltshire Regiment 25 Feb. 1919 Terlincthun Cemetery
Pte. Sidney H. Matthews 10th Bn., Worcestershire Regiment 22 Mar. 1918 Arras Memorial

The following names were added after the Second World War:

Rank Name Unit Date of Death Burial/Commemoration
Sgt. Harry Parker Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 4 Jun. 1943 Holy Trinity Churchyard
ASn. Kenneth A. Smith HMS Pembroke 15 Jun. 1947 Holy Trinity Churchyard
ASn. William A. J. Pike HMS Victory 29 Jun. 1940 Holy Trinity Churchyard
LAC George H. Grimwood Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 5 Mar. 1945 Holy Trinity Churchyard
Rfn. Leonard A. Hawes 2nd Bn., Royal Irish Rifles 2 Dec. 1943 Sangro River War Cemetery

References

  1. ^ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  2. ^ "Hockham | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  3. ^ "mnf21180 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  4. ^ "mnf39523 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  5. ^ "CHURCH OF HOLY TRINITY, Hockham - 1077572 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  6. ^ "Great Hockham: Holy Trinity". www.achurchnearyou.com. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Great Hockham". www.literarynorfolk.co.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  9. ^ "WAR MEMORIAL IN THE GROUNDS OF HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, Hockham - 1391208 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Great Hockham". roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Geograph:: Garboldisham to Gunton :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hockham
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