Wretham

Wretham is a civil parish in the Breckland district^[1] of Norfolk, England. The parish includes the village of East Wretham, which is about 6 miles (10 km) northeast of Thetford and 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Norwich.^[2] It also includes the villages of Illington and Stonebridge. The parish has an area of 32.25 km² (12.45 sq mi). The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 374 people in 141 households.^[3]

Wretham
St Ethelbert's parish church
Wretham Location within Norfolk
Area	32.25 km2 (12.45 sq mi)
Population	374 (2011 Census)
• Density	12/km2 (31/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TL915905
Civil parish	Wretham
District	Breckland
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Thetford
Postcode district	IP24
Dialling code	01953
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	South West Norfolk
Website	Wretham Village Website
List of places UK England Norfolk 52.479°N 0.818°E / 52.479; 0.818

History

The place-name "Wretham" is derived from Old English. It means "the hām (place) where crosswort grew".^[4]

The Church of England parish church of St Ethelbert in East Wretham was built in the 12th century and rebuilt in 1865.^[5] It is a Grade II* listed building.^[6]

The former parish church of St Lawrence in West Wretham was built in the 14th century and is now a ruin.^[7] It is a Scheduled Monument^[8] and Grade II listed building.^[9]

RAF East Wretham was a Royal Air Force air station. It was commissioned in 1940 and operational until November 1945. It was then a resettlement camp for Polish refugees until 1946. The former air station is now part of the British Army's Stanford Training Area (STANTA).

The licensee of the Dog and Partridge local pub opposed the smoking ban that was introduced in England in July 2007.^[10]

References

1. "Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes". Office for National Statistics and Norfolk County Council. 2001. Retrieved 2 December 2005.Archived 11 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine
2. Thetford in the Brecks (Map). OS Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 1999. § 229. ISBN 0-319-21861-9.
3. UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Wretham Parish (E04006195)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
4. Ekwall 1960, Wretham.
5. Pevsner 1962, p. 391.
6. Historic England. "Church of St Ethelbert (Grade II*) (1170650)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
7. Pevsner 1962, p. 392.
8. Historic England. "Ruins of St Lawrence's Church (1004015)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
9. Historic England. "Church of St Lawrence (Grade II) (1342773)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
10. Booker, Christopher (23 September 2007). "Smokers take a stand at the Dog and Partridge". London: Telegraph Newspapers. Retrieved 21 June 2009.

Bibliography

• Ekwall, Eilert (1960) [1936]. Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wretham. ISBN 0198691033.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1962). North-West and South Norfolk. The Buildings of England. Vol. 2. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 391–392. ISBN 0-14-071024-8.

External links

• Map sources for Wretham
• Wretham Village Website
• "Norfolk: East Wretham". GENUKI.