Great Bircham
| Great Bircham | |
|---|---|
 Signpost in Great Bircham | |
  Great Bircham Location within Norfolk | |
| OS grid reference | TF768325 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | King's Lynn |
| Postcode district | PE31 |
| Dialling code | 01485 |
| UK Parliament | |
Great Bircham is a village, part of the civil parish of Bircham, in the English county of Norfolk.
Great Bircham is located 12 miles north-east of the town of King's Lynn, and 38 miles north-west of the city of Norwich.
History
Bircham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the large settlement near to the newly broken land.[1]
Bircham is listed in the Domesday Book as a settlement of 21 households in the hundred of Docking. In 1086, Bircham Newton was part of the estates of Ralph de Beaufour and William d'Ecouis.[2]
Great Bircham Windmill was built in 1846 by George Humphrey and was restored in 1977. The mill remains open to visitors today.[3][4]
During the First World War, a Great Bircham resident, Sergeant Robert J. England, was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry in France. On 24 October 1918, Sgt. England led his men in flanking a group of German machine-gun nests and succeeded in capturing them.[5]
On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished to form Bircham.[6]
Geography
In 1931 the parish had a population of 327.[7] This was the last time separate population statistics were collected for Great Bircham as in 1935 the parish was merged to form Bircham.
Great Bircham sits along the B1153, between Narborough and Brancaster.
St. Mary's Church
Great Bircham's church is dedicated to Saint Mary and dates from the Fourteenth Century with earlier features. St. Mary's is located within the village on Stanhoe Road and has been Grade I listed since 1953.[8] The church holds Sunday services three times a month.[9]
Governance
Great Bircham is part of the electoral ward of Bircham with Ruddhams for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.
The village's national constituency is North West Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's James Wild since 2010.
War Memorial
Great Bircham War Memorial is shared with Bircham Newton and is a stone cross atop a marble plaque. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:[10][11]
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial/Commemoration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2Lt. | Sidney A. Wharton | 8th Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 1 Jul. 1917 | Dive Copse Cemetery |
| A/Bdr | Albert T. Wacey | 113th Bty., Royal Garrison Artillery | 4 Mar. 1915 | Merville Cemetery |
| Cpl. | George England | 2nd Bn., West Yorkshire Regiment | 1 Jan. 1917 | Guards' Cemetery |
| M1C | Bertie A. Taylor | No. 57 Squadron RAF | 30 Jul. 1918 | Huby-Saint-Leu Cemetery |
| St1C | Edward R. Chaplin | HMS Aboukir | 22 Sep. 1914 | Chatham Naval Memorial |
| Dvr. | John D. Beeston | 665 HT Coy., Army Service Corps | 2 Jul. 1918 | St. Mary's Churchyard |
| Pte. | Frank A. Hammond | 2nd Bn., Coldstream Guards | 28 Aug. 1918 | Ligny Cemetery |
| Pte. | Jacob Osborne | 2/4th Bn., Wellington's Regt. | 24 May 1918 | Bienvillers Cemetery |
| Pte. | Thomas H. Wharton | 9th Bn., Essex Regiment | 3 Jul. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | John M. Osborne | 24th Bn., Royal Fusiliers | 15 Sep. 1918 | St. Sever Cemetery |
| Pte. | Arthur A. Hammond | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 8 Jun. 1915 | Menin Gate |
| Pte. | Robert Miles | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 4 Sep. 1916 | Flatiron Copse Cemetery |
| Pte. | Frederick Hubbard | 7th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 10 Nov. 1918 | Brebières Cemetery |
| Pte. | Robert J. Easter | 6th Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment | 4 Nov. 1918 | Preux-au-Bois Cemetery |
| Rfn. | James E. King | 18th (Irish) Bn., London Regiment | 25 Oct. 1918 | Belgrade Cemetery |
The following names were added after the Second World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial/Commemoration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sgt. | Rhoddna A. Osborne | 2nd Bn., Grenadier Guards | 10 Apr. 1945 | Reichswald Cemetery |
| LSmn. | Eric V. Briston | HMS Verdun | 22 Mar. 1946 | St. Mary's Churchyard |
References
- ^ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
- ^ "[Great] Bircham | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
- ^ "Norfolk Mills - Gt Bircham tower windmill". www.norfolkmills.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
- ^ "mnf1720 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
- ^ "Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Great Bircham". roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
- ^ "Relationships and changes Great Bircham AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Population statistics Great Bircham AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "CHURCH OF ST MARY, Bircham - 1077807 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
- ^ "Great Bircham: St Mary the Virgin". www.achurchnearyou.com. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
- ^ "Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Great Bircham". roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
- ^ "Geograph:: Garboldisham to Gunton :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
External links
