| Foulden | |
|---|---|
 All Saints' Church, Foulden | |
  Foulden Location withinNorfolk | |
| Area | 5.00 sq mi (12.9 km2) |
| Population | 441 (2021 census) |
| • Density | 88/sq mi (34/km2) |
| OS grid reference | TL764988 |
| • London | 79 miles (127 km) |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | THETFORD |
| Postcode district | IP26 |
| Dialling code | 01366 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| 52°33′33″N0°36′07″E / 52.55904°N 0.60201°E /52.55904; 0.60201 | |
Foulden/ˈfaʊldən/ is a village andcivil parish in theEnglish county ofNorfolk.
Foulden is located 12 miles (19 km) north west ofThetford and 29 miles (47 km) west ofNorwich, along theRiver Wissey.
Foulden's name is ofAnglo-Saxon origin and derives from theOld English for a hill with an abundance of domesticated birds.[1]
In theDomesday Book, Foulden is listed as a settlement of 64 households located in thehundred of South Greenhoe. In 1086, the village was divided between theEast Anglian estates ofAlan of Brittany,William de Warenne andWalter Giffard.[2]
Foulden Hall is a Sixteenth Century moated manorhouse located within the parish boundaries. The house was updated with aVictorian facade in the Nineteenth Century.[3]
In November 1981, Foulden was struck by anF0/T1 tornado, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreaks at the time.[citation needed]
According to the2021 census, Foulden has a population of 441 people which shows an increase from the 430 people recorded in the2011 census.[4]
TheRiver Wissey runs roughly west to east through the parish and the modern village sits overlooking the valley. Around the river some areas of fen (known as Borough Fen) survive andFoulden Common, aSite of Special Scientific Interest, is a large expanse of land in the north of the parish. Some of the parish is now planted withconifers and is part ofThetford Forest, managed by theForestry Commission.
Foulden's parish church dates from the Fourteenth Century and is located within the village on School Road. The church has been Grade I listed since 1960.[5]
All Saints' churchtower collapsed in the Eighteenth Century and sufferediconoclastic attacks by Sixteenth CenturyPuritans. The church also holds many memorial tombs from the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.[6] Today, the church is still in the care of theDiocese of Norwich but does not hold regular church services.[7]
Foulden village hall was built in the 1970s by the residents of the village and is available for private hire.[citation needed]
Foulden is part of theelectoral ward of Bedingfield for local elections and is part of thedistrict ofBreckland.
The village's national constituency isSouth West Norfolk which has been represented byLabour'sTerry Jermy MP since 2024.
Foulden War Memorial is a stone plinth with an octagonal shaft topped with a cross.[8] The memorial lists the following names for theFirst World War:[9]
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial/Commemoration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capt. | William A. CecilMiDMC | 2nd Bn.,Grenadier Guards | 16 Sep. 1914 | Soupir Cemetery |
| Dvr. | Frederick Twite | 209th Coy.,Royal Engineers | 26 Apr. 1917 | Cabaret-Rouge Cemetery |
| Dvr. | Horace J. Parnell | 124th Bde.,Royal Field Artillery | 21 Apr. 1918 | Couin British Cemetery |
| Pte. | William G. Thompson | 1st Bn.,Black Watch | 25 Sep. 1915 | Loos Memorial |
| Pte. | Stanley Twite | 8th Bn.,King's Royal Regiment | 28 Mar. 1918 | Arras Memorial |
| Pte. | John Ward | 7th Bn.,Norfolk Regiment | 12 Oct. 1916 | Grévillers Cemetery |
| Pte. | George Dixon | 9th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 15 Sep. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
Media related toFoulden, Norfolk at Wikimedia Commons[1]