Lessingham is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is 16.3 south-east of

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are Nor ...

, 17.6 miles north-east of Norwich and 136 miles north-east of London. The village lies 9 miles south-east of the town of

North Walsham North Walsham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England, within the North Norfolk district. Demography The civil parish has an area of and in the 2011 census had a population of 12,634. For the purposes of local government, the pa ...

. The nearest railway station is at

Worstead Worstead is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It lies south of North Walsham, north of Wroxham, and north of Norwich. The village is served by Worstead railway station on the Bittern Line. For the purposes of local ...

for the

Bittern Line The Bittern Line is a railway branch line in Norfolk, England, that links to . It passes through the Broads on its route to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the north Norfolk coast. It is named after the bittern, a rare bird found in t ...

which runs between Sheringham, Cromer and Norwich. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport. The parish also includes the village of Eccles-on-Sea and the hamlet of Hempstead. The village has a history stretching back for centuries, but not much documentation survives. The name Lessingham derives from the 'homestead of the Leofsige's people'

The Community

Lessingham is a very active community making the most of its smart well-kept village hall.

The Parish Church

St Andrew's church - scratch dial - geograph

The parish church of Lessingham is called All Saints. The nave and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

are as one and have a thatched roof. The church tower dates from the later part of the 13th century, although the windows in the belfry date from the 14th century. The font is from the 13th century, is constructed from Purbeck marble and is octagonal in shape.The Buildings of England, Norfolk 1, Norwich and North-east, by Nikolaus Pevsner and Bill Wilson, Description of the Church, page 583. The village also has a Methodist Church which is situated on the parish boundary between Lessingham and the nearby village of Ingham.

The Village Pub

The village

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

is called the Star Inn and is on Star Hill. The main feature of this traditional village pub is the huge

inglenook An inglenook or chimney corner is a recess that adjoins a fireplace. The word comes from "ingle", an old Scots word for a domestic fire (derived from the Gaelic ''aingeal''), and "nook". The inglenook originated as a partially enclosed hear ...

fireplace with wood-burning stove which is alight during the winter months. The Inn is a free house and has a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance ...

External links

A Chronology of Medieval Lessingham

References

Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk North Norfolk {{Norfolk-geo-stub