Lyng is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the English 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 No ...

. It is situated on the

River Wensum The River Wensum is a chalk river in Norfolk, England and a tributary of the River Yare, despite being the larger of the two rivers. The river is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation. The Wensum is ...

, some north-east of the town of East Dereham and north-west of the city 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 See of Norwich, with ...

. The village's name is likely derived 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 c ...

wordhlinc', meaning 'bank', 'ledge', or 'terrace'. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2011 census had a population of 807 in 356 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the Elmham and Mattishall division of

Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich. Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Distr ...

and the Upper Wensum ward of

Breckland District Council Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a l ...

. St. Margaret's Church and The Fox public house are located closer to the river with Lyng Stores and Tea Room located centrally in the village.

Churches

In medieval times, Lyng had two churches. St. Edmund's Chapel was the church of a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nunnery at Lyng Eastaugh, three quarters of a mile to the south-east of the village. It fell into ruin after being abandoned in the 13th century and all but a small stone pillar has disappeared. Clergyman and poet Ralph Knevet became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Lyng in 1652, and remained there for the rest of his life. He died in 1671 and was buried in the

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. Ov ...

of St. Margaret's Church. Charles Anson was another rector of Lyng from 1794. The church of St Margaret is still in use today and has regular services operated by the

Church Of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. Externally, the church appears to be 17th to 18th century, due to a large renovation that took place around that time. 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-type ...

dates from the 15th century, when it was most probably enlarged from the original medieval church which stood there. Lyng St Margaret also houses an altar cloth which was made in the 19th century from at least two 15th-century

vestments Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...

.Parish Summary: Lyng
Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 2018-12-03.

Other features

Lyng also has a

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

track located to the south of the village called Cadders Hill, run by the Norwich Vikings motorcycle club. The club holds the

British Motocross Championship The ACU British Motocross Championship (abbreviated to MXGB and currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Revo MXGB fuelled by Gulf Race Fuels) is the premier Motocross series United Kingdom. The championship is recognised as being the offic ...

, Eastern Centre Championship, and other events annually. The track is situated in a natural valley with Cadders Hill and the surrounding woodland as its main feature. Lyng had a mill house on the River Wensum built for milling flour, but later operated for both paper and flour. It ceased working in 1868. Like many villages in Norfolk, Lyng is surrounded by farmland. In 1999, Greenpeace activists, including The Lord Melchett, destroyed 6 acres of

genetically modified maize Genetically modified maize ( corn) is a genetically modified crop. Specific maize strains have been genetically engineered to express agriculturally-desirable traits, including resistance to pests and to herbicides. Maize strains with both tra ...

in Lyng as a form of civil disobedience.

Eastaugh

The hamlet of Eastaugh or Easthaugh, often known as Lyng Eastaugh, lies to the south-east of the main village near

Weston Longville Weston Longville is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, approximately north-west of Norwich. Its name is derived from the Manor of Longaville in Normandy, France, which owned the local land in the 12th century. It covers an area o ...

. It is the site of the ruin of the medieval chapel of St Edmund's.Ruins of St Edmund's Chapel, Lyng and multi-period finds
Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 2018-12-03.

References

External links

*
Information from Genuki Norfolk
on Lyng. Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Breckland District {{Norfolk-geo-stub