Bowthorpe is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

an village to the west of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

, in the county of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Geography

Bowthorpe is primarily a residential area, but includes a large

industrial estate An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...

(Bowthorpe Industrial Estate; occupied by mix-use commercial business, including the technology sector) and one small out-of-town shopping centre, containing a supermarket and various smaller retail outlets. A

community hall Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

is situated close to Bowthorpe village centre. A

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, a ...

was located near the centre until it closed in 2018. Most of present-day Bowthorpe has been developed from the 1970s onward. Bowthorpe is divided into four distinct areas: *Clover Hill *Chapel Break *Three Score *Bowthorpe Industrial Estate The largest of these areas is Clover Hill, a mix of council development and private housing, making up almost two-thirds of Bowthorpe. Clover Hill, situated to the east of the other three areas was developed in the 1970s and 1980s. Further development of the mainly private housing estates, Chapel Break and Three Score took place in the 1990s and early 2000s. Bowthorpe differs from the nearby estates of Earlham and Costessey; by having a high variability of housing stock, and a centrally planned network of bus and bicycle-only lanes. Large open spaces and parks border the periphery of the Bowthorpe housing estate, with Bowthorpe Park between the north of the estate and Dereham Road, and the

Yare The River Yare is a river in the English county of Norfolk. In its lower reaches it is one of the principal navigable waterways of The Broads and connects with the rest of the network. The river rises south of Dereham to the west to the villag ...

Marshland and Bowthorpe Southern Park bordering the south and west of the estate.

History

Bowthorpe's name is of Norse origin and refers to 'Bui's' farm or settlement. In the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

, Bowthorpe is recorded as being made up of 19 households and being owned principally by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

. In 1549, Robert Kett briefly camped at Bowthorpe at the beginning of the rebellion that was to bear his

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A persona ...

. On 10 July 1549, the Sheriff of Norfolk, Sir Edward Wyndham, was nearly pulled from his house by the rebels in the village as he tried to persuade them to disband. This helped to inspire further people from Norwich to join Kett at his camp in the village. Kett quickly decided that Bowthorpe was too exposed for a rebel camp, and moved on to

Mousehold Heath Mousehold Heath is a freely accessible area of heathland and woodland which lies to the north-east of the medieval city boundary of Norwich, in eastern England. The name also refers to the much larger area of open heath that once extended f ...

Politics

Bowthorpe Ward falls within the Norwich South constituency (despite being located slightly north), which has been held by the Labour

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) Clive Lewis since 2015. Although the ward returned several

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

councillors to

Norwich City Council Norwich City Council is the city council for the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It consists of 39 councillors, elected to represent 13 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under Labour control and led by Alan Waters. It f ...

in the late 2000s, it is presently provides 3 safe seats for the Labour Party, and following the 2019 local elections represented by Councillors Sally Button, Sue Sands and Mike Sands.

Education

Bowthorpe is home to three schools; made up of two infant schools and one junior school. One infant school is located in Clover Hill, the other schools are located in Chapel Break. There was originally a Bowthorpe High School, which was actually located in nearby Earlham. Bowthorpe High School has since been demolished and replaced with a

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire ...

and private housing. The nearest high schools to Bowthorpe are

Ormiston Victory Academy Ormiston Victory Academy (formerly Costessey High School) is a secondary school and sixth form located in Costessey, Norfolk, England. The Academy has specialisms in Science and Applied Learning. The Academy catchment area covers Easton, Marl ...

(previously Costessey High School), and the

City Academy Norwich City Academy Norwich is a secondary school in Norwich, England. It opened in September 2009, replacing Earlham High School. It is located near the University of East Anglia in Norwich. The Academy, an 11-16 school, is a Single Academy trust, and ...

(previously Earlham High School).

Transport

Bowthorpe is served by a frequent bus service, operated by First Norfolk & Suffolk, to the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

(UEA), Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH, formerly known by the acronym N&N), West Earlham, Norwich City Centre and

Old Catton Old Catton is a suburban village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk which lies to the north-east of central Norwich. The parish is bounded by the Norwich International Airport at Hellesdon to the west and Sprowston to the east. ...

Sport

Bowthorpe makes a notable contribution to local sport, providing grounds for Norwich's largest

5-a-side football Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players (four outfield players and a goalkeeper). Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are ...

complex. Bowthorpe also was the home of Sunday League team Wendene Wanderers, who folded towards the end of 2010 due to lack of finance. Wendene was mainly a youth club, with many teams ranging from Under-6s to Under-16s.

Famous residents

* Herbie Hide- Retired heavyweight boxer and former resident *

Paul McVeigh Paul Francis McVeigh (born 6 December 1977) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City, Burnley and Luton Town in the English Leagues. Club career Born in Belfast, McVeigh started his c ...

- Retired

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

football player and former resident *

Martin Tyler Martin Tyler (born 14 September 1945) is an English football commentator. He has worked as a commentator for Sky Sports since 1990, covering the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, as well as other domestic and international competition ...

- English football commentator and former resident

References

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Bowthorpe

External links

{{authority control Villages in Norfolk Areas of Norwich History of Norfolk