| Fordham | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's Church, Fordham | |
  Fordham Location withinNorfolk | |
| Area | 3.45 sq mi (8.9 km2) |
| OS grid reference | TL616997 |
| • London | 76 miles (122 km) |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DOWNHAM MARKET |
| Postcode district | PE38 |
| Dialling code | 01366 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| 52°34′16″N0°22′59″E / 52.571238°N 0.383148°E /52.571238; 0.383148 | |
Fordham is a small village andcivil parish in theEnglish county ofNorfolk.
Fordham is located 2.2 miles (3.5 km) north ofDownham Market and 39 miles (63 km) west ofNorwich, located along theA10 betweenLondon andKing's Lynn and close to the confluence of theRiver Wissey andRiver Great Ouse.
Fordham's name is ofAnglo-Saxon origin and derives from theOld English for a village or homestead close to aford, likely across the River Great Ouse.[1]
The parish of Fordham has been the site of discovery for several significantBronze Age artefacts, including a hammer, a decorated sword and a socketed axehead.[2]
In theDomesday Book, Fordham is listed as a settlement of 22 households in thehundred of Clackclose. In 1086, the village was divided between theEast Anglian estates ofSt Benedict's Abbey, Ralph Baynard,Henry de Ferrers, Reginald, son of Ivo and theAbbey of St Etheldreda, Ely.[3]
Snore Hall dates from the Medieval period and was originally built as a timber-framed, fortified manor-house. The building that stands today was built in early sixteenth century, with extensions made in the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. The hall has a good example of a sixteenth-centurypriest hole, and was the site of a council convened byKing Charles I during theEnglish Civil War.[4]
There were once threepubs in Fordham including the Green Dragon which suffered from a severe fire in 1803 which consumed a nearby granary as well.[5]
During theSecond World War, several defences were built in Fordham to protect the railway line against a possibleGerman invasion.[6][7]
Due to the small size of Fordham's population, it is not listed separately in the census.[8]
Fordham is located along theA10, betweenLondon andKing's Lynn, and close to the confluence of theRiver Wissey andRiver Great Ouse.
Fordham's parish church is dedicated toSaint Mary and dates from the late-Thirteenth Century. St. Mary's is located on a small track off theA10 and has been Grade II listed since 1951.[9]
St. Mary's suffered from a major collapse in the Eighteenth Century which caused significant damage to the nave and tower.[10] Today, the church is in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churchless but is closed for repairs.[11]
Fordham is part of theelectoral ward of Denver for local elections and is part of thedistrict ofKing's Lynn and West Norfolk
The village's national constituency isSouth West Norfolk which has been represented byLabour'sTerry Jermy MP since 2024.
Fordham shares a war memorial with the nearby villages ofDenver,Ryston andBexwell. The memorial takes the form of a stone cross atop an octagonal plinth, located on Denver's village green. The memorial lists the following men who died during theFirst World War:[12][13]
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of death | Burial/Commemoration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sgt. | Harry Dungay | 1st Bn.,Lincolnshire Regiment | 1 Nov. 1914 | Menin Gate |
| LCpl. | Robert Dungay | 7th Bn.,Bedfordshire Regiment | 16 Nov. 1916 | Regina Trench Cemetery |
| Pte. | Herbert Fuller | 1st Bn.,Cambridgeshire Regiment | 22 Mar. 1918 | Pozières Memorial |
| Pte. | Alfred Symonds | 1st Bn., Cambridgeshire Regt. | 17 Feb. 1917 | Wimereux Cemetery |
| Pte. | Frank Plaice | 17th Bn.,Liverpool Regiment | 12 Oct. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Harold S. Tingay | 1/8th Bn.,West Yorkshire Regiment | 20 Oct. 1917 | Wimereux Cemetery |
| Pte. | James Pope | 1/5th Bn.,York and Lancaster Regiment | 12 Apr. 1918 | Cabaret Rouge Cemetery |
The following names were added following theSecond World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of death | Burial/Commemoration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spr. | Leslie Holman | 251 Coy.,Royal Engineers | 9 Nov. 1943 | Kranji War Memorial |
Media related toFordham, Norfolk at Wikimedia Commons