Hockwold cum Wilton
| Hockwold cum Wilton | |
|---|---|
 Hockwold cum Wilton Village Sign | |
  Hockwold cum Wilton Location within Norfolk | |
| Area | 11.99 sq mi (31.1 km2) |
| Population | 1,304 (2021 census) |
| • Density | 109/sq mi (42/km2) |
| OS grid reference | TF615205 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | THETFORD |
| Postcode district | IP26 |
| Dialling code | 01842 |
| UK Parliament | |
Hockwold cum Wilton is a civil parish and village in the English county of Norfolk.
Hockwold is located 10 miles (16 km) west of Thetford and 34 miles (55 km) south-west of Norwich.
History
[edit]Hockwold cum Wilton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the hock forest and willow-tree farmstead.[1]
In the Domesday Book, Hockwold cum Wilton is recorded as a settlement of 12 households in the hundred of Grimshoe. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of William de Warenne.[2]
Several Roman buildings have been found in Hockwold cum Wilton including a former temple in Sawbench Woods.[3] In 1962, a hoard of silver cups were found in the parish which are currently held by the British Museum.[4]
The only pilgrim badge of Saint Andrew to be found outside of Scotland and London was found in the parish in the 1980s.[5]
Geography
[edit]According to the 2021 census, Hockwold cum Wilton has a population of 1,304 people which shows an increase from the 1,195 people listed in the 2011 census.[6]
St. James' Church
[edit]Hockwold cum Wilton's parish church is dedicated to Saint James the Great and dates from the Fourteenth Century. St. James' is located on Church Lane and has been Grade I listed since 1959.[7][8] The church holds intermittent Sunday service.[9]
St. Peter's Church
[edit]There is another derelict church dedicated to Saint Peter in Hockwold cum Wilton which dates from the Fourteenth Century. St. Peter's is located on Station Road and has been Grade I listed since 1959.[10] The church is no longer open for Sunday service and is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[11]
The church features several stained-glass windows designed by Clayton and Bell depicting the Crucifixion, the Resurrection and the Ascension.[12]
Hockwold Hall
[edit]Hockwold Hall is an Elizabethan house on the site of an earlier manor. The manor of Hockwold is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. 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 John Tyndale (Tyndall), Baron Tyndale of Thetford, Governor of The Tower of London, KB (1475–1539) was born at Hockwold Cum Wilton Manor as was his son Sir Thomas Tyndale (Tyndall) 1505–1583, who also died there. Sir John's brother, William Tyndale (Tyndall) (1484–1536), a 16th-century scholar and linguist died a martyr for translating the scriptures from Greek and Hebrew into vernacular English so that commoners could read the Bible for themselves, rather than having to depend on the church hierarchy to interpret the official Latin Vulgate. The Tyndale Bible was the basis for the King James Bible and it survived book burners, but he did not survive. Tyndale was tied to a stake, strangled with a rope and torched outside a castle near Brussels on October 6, 1536.[13][14]
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.
The gates to the hall are reputedly haunted by a white lady who supposedly unnerves drivers.[15]
Governance
[edit]Hockwold cum Wilton is part of the electoral ward of Feltwell for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.
The village's national constituency is South West Norfolk which has been represented by Labour's Terry Jermy MP since 2024.
War Memorial
[edit]Hockwold cum Wilton War Memorial is an obelisk memorial in St. James' Churchyard. The Second World War part of the memorial was unveiled in 1947 by Brig-Gen. Henri de Lotbiniere and the Reverend N.R.M. Hawthorn.[16] The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:[17]
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial/Commemoration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCpl. | George Stokes | 5th Bn., Dorsetshire Regiment | 6 Oct. 1917 | Dozinghem Cemetery |
| AS | Charles A. Rayner | HMS Hawke (Cruiser) | 15 Oct. 1914 | Chatham Naval Memorial |
| Gnr. | Percy Jacob | 14th Bde., Royal Horse Artillery | 24 Aug. 1918 | Saint-Amand Cemetery |
| Pte. | Albert W. Harrison | 4th Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment | 27 Aug. 1918 | Vis-en-Artois Memorial |
| Pte. | Charles E. Trudgill | 2nd Bn., Border Regiment | 19 Apr. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | J. William Cooper | 8th Bn., East Surrey Regiment | 28 Oct. 1918 | Roisel Cemetery |
| Pte. | Alfred A. Hicks | 1st Bn., Essex Regiment | 13 Aug. 1915 | Helles Memorial |
| Pte. | George W. Harrod | 10th Bn., Essex Regt. | 22 Oct. 1918 | Le Cateau Cemetery |
| Pte. | Frank Arnold | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 19 May 1916 | Faubourg Cemetery |
| Pte. | Frank S. Arnold | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 15 Jan. 1916 | Carnoy Military Cemetery |
| Pte. | Herbert Fincham | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 4 Jun. 1916 | Arras Memorial |
| Pte. | Elijah Johnson | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 1 May 1915 | Boulogne Eastern Cem. |
| Pte. | Walter Arnold | 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 26 Mar. 1916 | Basra Memorial |
| Pte. | Victor J. T. Malling | 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 2 May 1916 | Basra War Cemetery |
| Pte. | Kent Palmer | 7th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 1 Oct. 1915 | Loos Memorial |
| Pte. | Reginald Arnold | 8th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 19 Jul. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Frank Green | 8th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 10 Nov. 1917 | Harelbeke Cemetery |
| Pte. | Robert Burgg | 9th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 26 Sep. 1915 | Loos Memorial |
| Pte. | Reginald Mayes | 9th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 15 Sep. 1916 | Guillemont Road Cem. |
| Pte. | Zachariah Harrison | 2nd Bn., Suffolk Regiment | 28 Mar. 1918 | Arras Memorial |
| Pte. | Arthur R. Carpenter | 11th Bn., Suffolk Regt. | 1 Jul. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | George Kemp | 15th Bn., West Yorkshire Regiment | 15 May 1918 | Bergen Cemetery |
The following names were added after the Second World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial/Commemoration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FO | Jack W. Walters DFC | No. 7 Squadron RAF (Lancaster) | 20 May 1944 | Runnymede Memorial |
| LCpl. | Frederick W. Green | 1 Coy., Corps of Military Police | 5 Sep. 1944 | Gradara War Cemetery |
| Pte. | John E. Jarred | 5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment | 7 Nov. 1943 | Kanchanaburi War Cemetery |
References
[edit]- ^ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "Hockwold | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "MNF5367 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "MNF5395 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "MNF23340 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "Hockwold cum Wilton (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "CHURCH OF ST JAMES, Hockwold cum Wilton - 1077725 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "St James', Hockwold". www.achurchnearyou.com. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "CHURCH OF ST PETER, Hockwold cum Wilton - 1306877 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Trust, Churches Conservation. "St Peter's Church, Hockwold". Churches Conservation Trust. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ Fineberg, Gail (July 1997). "'Let There Be Light' (July 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin". www.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Genealogical Memoirs of the Extinct Family of Chester of Chicheley, Their Ancestors and Descendants. London. 1878.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "The Paranormal Database - Norfolk". www.paranormaldatabase.com. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "Hockwold cum Wilton War Memorial, Hockwold cum Wilton - 1450859 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "Geograph:: Wheatacre to Yelverton :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
External links
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