| Riddlesworth | |
|---|---|
 St Peter's Church at Riddlesworth Hall School | |
  Riddlesworth Location withinNorfolk | |
| Area | 8.26 km2 (3.19 sq mi) |
| Population | 147 |
| • Density | 18/km2 (47/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TL966819 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DISS |
| Postcode district | IP22 |
| Dialling code | 01953 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| 52°24′02″N0°53′22″E / 52.40055°N 0.88951°E /52.40055; 0.88951 | |
Riddlesworth is acivil parish in theEnglish county ofNorfolk.It covers an area of 8.26 km2 (3.19 sq mi) and had a population of 147 in 48 households at the2001 census.[1] For the purposes of local government, it falls within thedistrict ofBreckland.
Situated just beyond Riddlesworth Hall and school, St Peter's has an early 14th-century west tower and the plain octagonal font is 15th century.There is a fine monument toSir Drue Drury (died 1617) of a kneeling knight with angels holding back curtains. The floor slabs at the end of the east end of the nave tell the sad tale of two ladies who were killed in their beds at the hall when a chimney stack fell on them in the'furious hurricane' of 1703.
It is home to theRiddlesworth Hall, a listed Grade II former country house, built in 1792 and subsequently reconverted into a privatepreparatory school, whereDiana, Princess of Wales was a pupil.[2] Set in large grounds, the school was acquired by the Confucius International Education Group in 2015 and catered for children from the age of 7. The school closed in April 2023.
During theSecond World War, part of Riddlesworth Park was given over to aBritish Army camp for British troops. In 1946 this camp was redesignated as one of the nearly 150 Polish resettlement camps. These camps were set up under thePolish Resettlement Act 1947 to receive the nearly 250,000 Polish troops anddisplaced Poles stationed all over Europe at the end of the war.[3] Riddlesworth Camp was one of five set up in Norfolk to receive 4,500 troops and housed the 3rd Heavy Machine Gun Battalion of the3rd Carpathian Infantry Division. This unit had fought through Italy at all the major battles against German forces and had distinguished itself at theBattle of Monte Cassino in May 1944. The majority of the Polish troops from this camp decided to stay in England after 1948 and were gradually found jobs in the locality and made new lives for themselves.[citation needed]
In 2016, a permanent memorial to the Division was unveiled by the Polish Ambassador to the United Kingdom,Witold Sobków. The memorial was designed and built by local people with the support of the Parish Council. The project was led byPhilip Bujak whose father, having served with the Division in Italy, came to Riddlesworth in 1946. Remains of the camp buildings can still be seen amongst the trees.
Media related toRiddlesworth at Wikimedia Commons