| Rackheath | |
|---|---|
 Holy Trinity Church, Rackheath | |
  Rackheath Location withinNorfolk | |
| Area | 7.52 km2 (2.90 sq mi) |
| Population | 1,972 (2011)[1] |
| • Density | 262/km2 (680/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TG279139 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NORWICH |
| Postcode district | NR13 |
| Dialling code | 01603 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| 52°40′31″N1°22′12″E / 52.6753°N 1.3701°E /52.6753; 1.3701 | |
Rackheath is a village andcivil parish in theEnglish county ofNorfolk, and is roughly 6 miles (9.7 km) north-east ofNorwich city centre. It covers an area of 7.52 km2 (2.90 sq mi) and had a population of 1,551 in 625 households at the2001 census,[2] increasing to a population of 1,972 in 762 households at the 2011 Census.For the purposes of local government, it falls within thedistrict ofBroadland. It is the site of a proposed neweco-town.
The villages name origin is uncertain 'Narrow landing place' or perhaps, 'hollow landing place' or 'narrow path landing place'.
The A1151 Norwich to Wroxham Road runs through the parish dividing it in two. There is a small settlement (originally known as Great Rackheath or Rackheath Magna) near the 14th century listed church of All Saints (redundant since the 1970s)[3][4] to the north, and the now much larger settlement of New Rackheath (but originally known as Little Rackheath or Rackheath Parva) to the south.[5] All Saints church has a 12th-centurycanonical sundial on the south wall. New Rackheath contains the modern (1959) Holy Trinity Church[6] as well as the 1930sart deco styleSole and Heel public house, which is situated in the part of the village known locally as Slipper Bottom (or Slipper's Bottom). Rackheath's other pubs are theRacecourse Inn, originally theWashington Hotel, on Salhouse Road; and theGreen Man, on the Wroxham Road, which dates from before 1826 and closed in November 2011.[7]
Rackheath was the location of aSecond World WarUSAAFbase, the most easterly and therefore the nearest toGermany of all British wartime airfields. Near the village sign on Salhouse Road, next to the gate of Holy Trinity Church, is a memorial plaque to the467th Bombardment Group, which consisted of four squadrons who flewB-24 Liberators from the base in support of the Allied advance across Europe. Part of the former airfield is now Rackheath Industrial Estate.
In 2008, controversial proposals were made for a new eco-town containing over 5100 homes to be built in Rackheath andSalhouse[8] on farmland formerly the site of the Second World WarRAF Rackheath airfield. The proposals have attracted much criticism, mainly because the eco-town is to be built on agreenfield site, within a mile ofThe Broads National Park. A local group calling themselvesSNUB, or Stop Norwich UrBanisation, was set up to oppose these proposals.
These proposals include the provision of a new railway station[9] on theBittern Line. A halt for the village had been considered in the early days of the railway.[10]
http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Rackheath
Media related toRackheath at Wikimedia Commons
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
