Worstead

Worstead
Festival day on the Church Plain
Worstead is located in Norfolk
Worstead
Worstead
Location within Norfolk
Area10.65 km2 (4.11 sq mi)
Population922 (2011)
• Density87/km2 (230/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTG3026
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNORTH WALSHAM
Postcode districtNR28
Dialling code01692
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk
52°46′59″N 1°24′47″E / 52.783091°N 1.413116°E / 52.783091; 1.413116

Worstead /ˈwʊstɪd/ is a village and civil parish in the North Norfolk district of Norfolk, England.

In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 862 in 365 households;[1] the population increased to 922 at the 2011 census.[2]

History

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The village's name means "enclosure place".[3]

In the Domesday Book of 1086, Worstead is called Wrdesteda and Ordested. King Canute gave the village to the abbots of St. Benet's Abbey on the River Bure in the Norfolk Broads. At the time of the Domesday Book, the village had two churches, one of which is believed to have been St Andrew's Church, of which no remains exist.[4]

The village became prosperous from the twelfth century when weavers from Flanders arrived in the area. They had been encouraged to settle in Norfolk by King Edward III of England, who had married a Flemish princess. Worsted cloth derives its name from this weaving heritage, although it is no longer manufactured in the village and the last weaver, John Cubitt, died in 1882 at the age of 91. The oldest Act of Parliament kept in the House of Lords Record Office is the Taking of Apprentices for Worsteads in the County of Norfolk Act of 1497.[5] Weaving and spinning demonstrations are part of the annual Worstead Festival on the last weekend in July.[6]

Geography

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The village is 3 miles (5 km) south of North Walsham, 5 miles (8 km) north of Wroxham, and 13 miles (21 km) north of Norwich, and is covered by a conservation area.[7] The civil parish has an area of 10.65 km2. The parish includes the hamlets of Bengate, Briggate, Lyngate, and Meeting Hill[8] at the north-east, and Withergate just to the north of the village. Another settlement is along Station Road in the south-west of the parish, with houses, and a food factory which since 2015 has been operated by potato supplier Albert Bartlett.[citation needed] The North Walsham and Dilham Canal runs along the north-east parish boundary at Briggate.

Governance

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Worstead parish council, consists of 9 members, and meets at the Village Hall.[9]

Worstead electoral ward elects a councillor to North Norfolk District Council (one of 40).[10] with the most recent election in 2019. Before boundary changes in 2019, this ward stretched north to Suffield. The (pre-2019) ward had a population of 2,384 in 2011.[11] Since 2019 the ward comprises the parishes of Worstead, Westwick, Scottow, Swanton Abbott, and Skeyton.[12]

Amenities

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St Mary's church, a Grade I listed building[13]

As of 2020 the village has a primary school (Worstead Church of England Primary School),[14] a village hall (the Queen Elizabeth Hall)[15] and adjacent recreation ground,[16] a pub with guest accommodation (The White Lady — formerly the New Inn),[17] a Church of England parish church (St Mary the Virgin),[18] and on Thursdays, mobile post office and fish and chips vans set up on the Church Plain.

The village is served by Worstead railway station on the Bittern Line.[19][20]

There is an annual festival which was first held in 1966, although it was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to Coronavirus.[21][22]

References

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  1. ^ Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes Archived 2017-02-11 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 December 2005.
  2. ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Key to English Place-names".
  4. ^ Norfolk Heritage Explorer Parish summary
  5. ^ 12 Hen. 7. c. 1
  6. ^ Worstead village history. Retrieved 15 December 2005.
  7. ^ Conservation area, North Norfolk District Council (2012)
  8. ^ full name is Meeting House Hill; Norfolk Heritage Explorer site of Baptist Chapel, Meeting House Hill
  9. ^ Worstead Parish Council The Council
  10. ^ North Norfolk District Council Your Councillors
  11. ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  12. ^ North Norfolk District Council Ward boundaries 2019
  13. ^ Historic England St Mary, Worstead
  14. ^ Worstead Church of England Primary School
  15. ^ Queen Elizabeth Hall
  16. ^ Worstead Parish Council Services and Amenities
  17. ^ WhatPub White Lady, Worstead
  18. ^ A Church Near You Worstead: St Mary
  19. ^ Ordnance Survey (2002). OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East. ISBN 0-319-21888-0.
  20. ^ Ordnance Survey (2005). OS Explorer Map OL40 - The Broads. ISBN 0-319-23769-9.
  21. ^ Worstead Festival
  22. ^ Johnson, Sabrina (19 March 2021). "Worstead Festival cancelled for second year running". Eastern Daily Press. Archant Community Media. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Worstead.
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