| New Buckenham | |
|---|---|
 Market Cross | |
  New Buckenham Location withinNorfolk | |
| Area | 1.73 km2 (0.67 sq mi) |
| Population | 460 (2011)[1] |
| • Density | 266/km2 (690/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TM087904 |
| • London | 97 miles (156 km)[2] |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NORWICH |
| Postcode district | NR16 |
| Dialling code | 01953 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| 52°28′19″N1°04′23″E / 52.472°N 1.073°E /52.472; 1.073 | |
New Buckenham is a village andcivil parish in theEnglish county ofNorfolk.
The parish covers an area of 1.73 km2 (0.67 sq mi) and had a population of 468 in 197 households at the2001 census,[3] falling marginally to a population of 460 in 209 households at the 2011 census. The small parish includes only the village,New Buckenham Common and some outlying houses and farmland. It is in thelocal government district ofBreckland.
Anucleated village, New Buckenham has a medievalgrid plan encompassing agreen that originally served as themarket place. At the green there is a historicmarket house, a grade II-star listed building which features awhipping post,[4] and commonly called the Market Cross. The village entirely comprises aconservation area[5] together with the adjacentBuckenham Castle, which lies in the neighbouring parish ofOld Buckenham.
The B1113 road passes through the village, diagonally over the green, and then across the Common. This road runs to the city ofNorwich, 15 miles (24 km) distant to the north east.[2] The nearest towns areAttleborough andDiss, where there are mainline railway stations.
In general, the land slopes slightly downhill towards the south and the centre of the village lies at an elevation of around 46 metres (151 ft) above sea level.[6] A small watercourse (or "beck" in Norfolk dialect) runs across the Common and then along the southern edge of the village.
The parish borders the parishes ofBanham, Old Buckenham andCarleton Rode. The nearby hamlet of Dam Brigg lies in the parish of Banham.
New Buckenham was founded in the 12th century byWilliam d’Aubigny to accompany his new castle in themanor of Buckenham. The site hada common to the east and a limited area of arable land (the Haugh field) to the south.
The town was planned on a grid pattern and surrounded by a substantial wetmoat that connected to the castle's moat. In some places the moat was up to nine metres wide and three metres deep with an internal bank.[7] It was referred to as the ‘burgh ditch’ in 1493 and the area within it was known as ‘the burgage’.[8] By 1600 the moat was no longer being maintained and was becoming clogged with rubbish. in 1632 Charles Gosling, the owner of the Rookery, was given leave to build a barn across it.[9]
New Buckenham remained amarket centre and was joined to Norwich by aturnpike road in 1772.[10] However, it never grew into a larger settlement, and by the mid-19th century markets were no longer held although a small number of annualfairs were. The population peaked in the first half of the 19th century, with 795 inhabitants recorded in the 1831 census.[11]
The village has largely retained its original layout for which, according to thePevsner for Norfolk, ‘it deserves to be better known’,[12] and there has been little development beyond its medieval boundaries.[13] InNorfolk from the Air I,[14] New Buckenham is described as ‘a rare example of aNorman planned town that has not significantly expanded outside or shrunk within its original boundaries’. The original plan would have been altered by the foundation of theparish church between 1243 and the end of the thirteenth century. It was further modified by building over the southern part of the market place which had occurred by 1529: its original limit is marked by Boosey's Walk.[15] Later expansions of the settlement have occurred at Marsh Lane in the south and St Martin's Gardens in the north.
There remains a wealth of half-timbered housing hidden behind 18th and 19th century brick frontages, and forty buildings in the village are Grade IIlisted.[16] The green is a registeredcommon[16] and is still called the Market Place although no market or trading fair is now held in New Buckenham.
New Buckenham Silver Band was created in 1887 to celebrateQueen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and continues as one of the olderbrass bands in East Anglia.[17]
One of the two current pubs in the village, historically theGeorge Hotel but now named theInn on the Green, was built in 1898 as a railway hostelry in anticipation of the construction of a railway line that failed to materialise.[18]
There is aparish council that meets once a month.[19]
Since 2015, New Buckenham is in The Buckenhams & Banhamward ofBreckland district, which returns one councillor to the district council. Since 2010, the parish is part of the Parliamentaryconstituency ofMid Norfolk.
The green, Market Cross, church clock and Chapel Hill pump are maintained by a charitable trust called The High Bailiff's Trust.[20][21]
Historically the parish was part of thehundred of Shropham.[22]
As of 2019 the village has twopublic houses (theInn on the Green andThe King's Head),[23] and on King Street there is aconvenience store, with apost office counter, and next door atearoom. The Inn on the Green closed permanently in 2020 and planning permission has been granted for its conversion to residential.[24]
A modernvillage hall and playing field exists on the northern edge of the village,[25] and a separatecricket field lies in a corner of the Common, home to thevillage club.
New Buckenham's calendar includes a traditionalfete held on the August Bank Holiday, and a community gathering called the "Hair of the Dog Walk" which takes place onNew Year's Day.
The historic parish church, now a grade I listed building, is dedicated to Saint Martin and isChurch of England, coming under thediocese of Norwich.[26]
There were also Primitive and WesleyanMethodist churches in the village; the Primitive chapel was on Marsh Lane whilst the Wesleyan chapel was on Chapel Lane — both have been converted to houses. Until 2018 the school room adjacent to the Wesleyan chapel continued to be used by the Methodists but has now also been sold.
