Drayton, Norfolk, is a suburban village in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

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 ...

. The village is located in the district of

Broadland Broadland is a local government district in Norfolk, England, named after the Norfolk Broads. The population of the local authority district taken at the 2011 Census was 124,646. Its council is based in Thorpe St Andrew. In 2013, Broadland w ...

, north 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 ...

, on the

A1067 road A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...

between

Hellesdon Hellesdon is a village and suburb of Norwich in the District of Broadland in Norfolk, England. It lies approximately north-west of Norwich city centre and has a population of 11,132, according to the 2011 Census. Norwich International Airport is ...

and Taverham. Today, Drayton is largely dominated by the Thorpe Marriott housing estate built in the late Twentieth Century.

History

Drayton's name is of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

origin and derives from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

for a farmstead or settlement where logs were dragged. In the early Twentieth Century, several

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

artefacts including coins and pottery were unearthed close to the village with a further Anglo-Saxon cemetery being discovered on the banks of the nearby River Wensum. The cemetery has yielded Anglo-Saxon brooches, daggers and pottery. 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 ...

, Drayton is listed as a settlement of ten households in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Taverham. In 1086, the village was part of the estates of Ralph de Beaufour. Throughout the mid-Fifteenth Century, Drayton was part of the estates of

Sir John Fastolf Sir John Fastolf (6 November 1380 – 5 November 1459) was a late medieval English landowner and knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He has enjoyed a more lasting reputation as the prototype, in some part, of Shakespeare's charact ...

, a prominent English soldier in the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagene ...

and the basis of Shakespeare's Sir John Falstaff. Fastolf built Drayton Lodge in 1437 as a fortification overlooking the Wensum. By the time of Falstolf's death in 1459, his estates passed into the hands of John Paston which was fiercely contested by John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk who's estates consisted of the neighbouring village of Costessey. The clashes resulting from the dispute are documented in the Paston Letters. Though Drayton Lodge was partly demolished in 1465, the ruins are still visible today. To the west of Drayton is a rare example of a private

fallout shelter A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War. During ...

built to Government specification during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

Geography

During the 2011 Census, Drayton was recorded as two wards. Drayton North has a population of 3,102 people residents in 1,288 households whilst Drayton South has a population of 2,387 residents living in 1,039 households. Drayton falls within the

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of Norwich North and is represented at

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

by Chloe Smith MP of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

St. Margaret's Church

Drayton's parish church is dedicated to Saint Margaret and is of uncertain Medieval origin. St. Margaret's was heavily remodelled in the Nineteenth Century, a process made necessary by the church tower collapsing into the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

in 1850. The church displays good examples of Continental stained glass depicting Anna the Prophetess,

Saint Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and Saint Elizabeth.

Amenities

Drayton has a petrol station (all night), Barclays Bank, estate agent, two post offices, butcher, doctors’ surgery and late night pharmacy, Lloyd's chemist, a Dental practice, baker, patisserie, florist, four hairdressers, beautician, dress shop, two industrial estates and several public houses including the Cock Inn and the Red Lion, and Stower Grange hotel and restaurant. It also has three Tesco outlets. The village also has the Longdale and King George V playing fields, the Bob Carter Sports and Community Centre and an insurance broker
Drayton Insurance
. Drayton also has Low Road Potato Farm which serves the local community and businesses with potatoes and vegetables. R G Carter construction and farms' businesses are located here. Furthermore, nearby Thorpe Marriott has its own shopping centre at Acres Way, including a fish shop, mini Tesco, the Otter public house and an estate agent. Drayton has two schools, Drayton Community Infant School for children aged 4 to 6 which was given a 'Requires Improvement' rating by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, incl ...

in 2022 and Drayton Church of England Junior School for children aged 6 to 11 which was rated as 'Good' in 2013. Thorpe Marriott is served by Trinity Ecumenical Church (Methodist & Anglican) and by St Margaret's Drayton and St Edmund's Taverham, partner churches with local Methodists in the Trinity LEP (Local Ecumenical Partnership). St Margaret's, together with Drayton Methodist and Trinity Churc

are members of 'Churches Together in Drayton, Taverham & Thorpe Marriott'.

Transport

Drayton railway station Drayton railway station is a former station in Norfolk, England. Constructed by the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway in the 1880s, on the line between Melton Constable and Norwich, it was closed to passengers in 1959. It served the sett ...

opened in 1882 as a stop on the

Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated ...

route between Melton Constable and

. The station was closed in 1959 and today the route forms part of Marriott's Way, the long-distance foot and cyclepath between

and Aylsham.

Notable Residents

* Cpt. Harry Cator VC (1894-1966)- British soldier, civil servant and recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

War Memorial

Drayton's war memorial takes the form of a carved stone plaque inside St. Margaret's Church. The memorial lists the following names for the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

: * Lieutenant Samuel S. Wainwright (1890-1917), 6th Battalion,

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

* Private Cyril P. Steward (1893-1918), 16th Battalion, Army Cyclist Corps * Private Ben Stevenson (d.1917), 4th Battalion,

Bedfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World Wa ...

* Private Charles E. Stevenson (d.1917), 13th Battalion,

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot a ...

* F. W. Bailey * T. E. Barrett * J. W. Clarke * C. H. Warnes * W. H. Waters And, the following for the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

: * Major John C. Bunting (1910-1944),

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

* Captain Ernest L. Wilson (d.1939),

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

* Sergeant Basil V. Clinton (1923-1945),

No. 247 Squadron RAF No. 247 Squadron was formerly a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was also known as No. 247 (China British) Squadron in recognition of the donations made by the British communities of the foreign concessions established on the Chinese coast. ...

* Able-Seaman Harry A. G. Holman (1919-1942), '' HMS Curacoa'' * Corporal Charles S. Gould (1920-1944),

* Lance-Corporal Godfrey G. Alderton (1917-1942), 6th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Driver Arthur W. Chambers (1918-1944), Royal Army Service Corps * Ordinary-Seaman Kenneth J. Pratt (1925-1943), '' HMS Tynedale'' * Private George E. Ruddock (1924-1944), 5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Harold G. Carman (1915-1945), 6th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Leonard Stevenson (1923-1944), 6th Battalion, Parachute Regiment * A. J. Foster * W. Symonds St. Margaret's also holds a memorial for the three civilian war dead likely killed during the Norwich Blitz of the Second World War. They are listed as Thomas H. Bell (1917-1941), R. H. Clarke and S. G. Fox. Pye, A. (2015). Retrieved December 25, 2022. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4571610

References

External links

Just Drayton
{{authority control Broadland Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk