| Burgh St Peter | |
|---|---|
 St. Mary's Church | |
  Burgh St Peter Location withinNorfolk | |
| Area | 8.41 km2 (3.25 sq mi) |
| Population | 290 (2021) |
| • Density | 34/km2 (88/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TM4693 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Beccles |
| Postcode district | NR34 |
| Dialling code | 01502 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| 52°29′03″N1°38′20″E / 52.48403°N 1.63902°E /52.48403; 1.63902 | |
Burgh St Peter is a village andcivil parish in theEnglish county ofNorfolk.
Burgh St Peter is located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-east ofBeccles and 17 miles (27 km) south-east ofNorwich.
Burgh St Peter's name is ofAnglo-Saxon origin and derives from theOld English for St. Peter's fortification.[1]
Burgh St Peter is not listed in theDomesday Book and it is likely that the village was included in the entry forWheatacre.[2]
According to the2021 census, Burgh St Peter has a population of 290 people which shows a slight increase from the 274 people recorded in the2011 census.[3]
Burgh St Peter is located along the course of theRiver Waveney.
The village's firstparish church was presumably dedicated toSaint Peter. Its ruins were about1⁄4 mile (400 m) southwest of the present parish church, but have disappeared.[4]
The present parish church is next to the Waveney about 2 miles (3 km) east of the village. It is built offlint with some red brickwork. Its earliest parts are 13th-century, including the north and south doors of thenave. Thechancel,piscina,sedilia and some of the windows are early 14th-century. Thebaptismal font is late 14th-century[4] and the timber frame of the nave roof is 15th-century. The chancel roof is newer, but is continuous with that of the nave. Both are thatched.[5]
In the 16th century work began on a west tower of flint with angle buttresses of brick. It is not clear if it was ever completed, but by the late 18th century it was reported to be "ruinous".
In 1793 Rev. Samuel Boycott, who was bothlord of the manor and vicar of the parish, was granted afaculty by theDiocese of Norwich to rebuild or complete the tower as hismausoleum. The result is an unusual, possibly uniqueGeorgian Gothick brick tower in which each stage is smaller than those below.[6]
Thepulpit was installed in 1811, again at the expense of the Boycott family.[6] A rood screen was added in the late 19th[5] or early 20th century.[6] St Mary's is aGrade II* listed building.[5]
Burgh St Peter had twotower mills. One ground corn and the other pumped water to drain the land.
The corn mill was a red brick tower built about 1825. It was five storeys high and had four sails. By 1872 an auxiliary steam engine had been installed to work the mill when there was too little wind. By 1937 it was out of use and had lost one pair of sails. It was in a similar condition in 1949, but by 1989 the remaining sails had been removed and the tower had been reduced to three storeys. It has now been converted into part of a house.[7]
The pumping mill was also a brick tower with four sails. It was still intact in 1920.[8]
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Charles Boycott, grandson of Rev. Samuel Boycott, was born at Burgh St Peter in 1832 and is buried here. Whereas his father and grandfather were ordained into theChurch of England, from 1849 Charles was acaptain in the39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot serving in Ireland. In 1852 he left the Army and became a farmer outsideBallinrobe,County Mayo inConnacht. In 1873 he became a tenant and theland agent of theEarl of Erne, who was anabsentee landlord.
A poor harvest in 1880 led to a rent dispute between the Earl and his poorer tenants. Boycott tried to evict the defaulters but was resisted, and Boycott's workforce either deserted him or was forced out of his service by his opponents, leaving his crops unharvested. Despite help with his harvest byOrange Order volunteers from two counties inUlster, and protection by theRoyal Irish Constabulary and a detachment of the19th Royal Hussars, Boycott found his position untenable and left Ireland under military escort. The incident led both toland reform in Ireland and to Boycott's name becoming a verb for "a systematic refusal of normal commercial or social relations".[9]
In 1886 Boycott became a land agent atFlixton in Suffolk. He died there in 1897 and was buried at Burgh St Peter, where his nephew Rev. Arthur St John Boycott conducted his funeral.
Burgh St Peter is part of theelectoral ward of Thurlton for local elections and is part of thedistrict ofSouth Norfolk.
The village's national constituency isSouth Norfolk which has been represented by theLabour'sBen Goldsborough MP since 2024.
The men who died in theFirst World War andSecond World War are listed on the war memorial in St. Mary's Churchyard in nearbyAldeby.[10] The following men listed on the memorial were from Burgh St Peter and died during the First World War:[11]
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pte. | Herbert Gibbs | 2nd Bn.,Royal Warwickshire Regiment | 9 Oct. 1917 | Tyne Cot |
| B1C | Ernest G. Barber | HMS Dreadnought | 15 May 1915 | Osmondwall Cemetery,Hoy |
And, the following from theSecond World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC2 | Royal C. Bailey | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve | 20 Oct. 1944 | St. Mary's Churchyard, Burgh St. Peter |
Media related toBurgh St Peter at Wikimedia Commons