Worstead 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 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 ide ...

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 lies south 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 ...

, north of

Wroxham Wroxham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish of Wroxham has an area of 6.21 square kilometres, and in 2001, had a population of 1,532 in 666 households. A reduced population of 1,502 in 653 households ...

, and north 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 is served by

Worstead railway station Worstead railway station is on the Bittern Line in 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 Suf ...

on the Bittern Line. 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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of North Norfolk. The civil parish has an area of 10.65 km² and in the 2001 census had a population of 862 in 365 households; the population increased to 922 at the 2011 census. The hamlets of Bengate, Briggate, Lyngate, and Meeting Hill are located in the northeast of the parish, and Withergate just to the north of the village. Another recognisable settlement is along Station Road in the southwest of the parish, where houses and a food factory (since 2015 operated by Albert Bartlett) are. The North Walsham & Dilham Canal runs along the northeast parish boundary at Briggate.

History

The villages name means 'enclosure place'. 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 manus ...

of 1086, Worstead is called ''Wrdesteda'' and ''Ordested''. King

Canute Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...

gave the village to the abbots of St. Benet's Abbey on the

River Bure The River Bure is a river in the county of Norfolk, England, most of it in the Broads.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map OL40 - The Broads''. . The Bure rises near Melton Constable, upstream of Aylsham, which was the original head of ...

in the

Norfolk Broads 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 North ...

. At the time of the Domesday Book, the village had two churches, one of which is believed to be St Andrew's Church, of which no remains exist. The village became very prosperous from the twelfth century when

weavers Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...

from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

arrived in the area. They had been encouraged to settle in Norfolk by King

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

who had married a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

princess.

Worsted Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham ...

cloth derives its name from this weaving heritage, although it is no longer manufactured in the village and the last weaver, John Cubitt, died in 1882 at the age of 91. The oldest

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

kept in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

Record Office is the ''Taking of Apprentices for Worsteads in the County of Norfolk Act'' of 1497. Weaving and spinning demonstrations are part of the annual Worstead Festival on the last weekend in July. The village is covered by a conservation area.

Amenities

As of 2020 the village has a primary school (Worstead Church of England Primary School), a

village hall A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as: United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...

(the Queen Elizabeth Hall) and adjacent recreation ground, a pub with guest accommodation (''The White Lady'' — formerly the ''New Inn''), a Church of England

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

(St Mary the Virgin), and on Thursdays, mobile post office and fish and chips vans set up on the Church Plain. There is an annual festival which was first held in 1966.

Governance

The parish has a parish council, consisting of 9 members. It meets at the Village Hall. An electoral ward in the same name exists, for the purpose of electing a councillor to North Norfolk District Council (one of 40). The current councillor is Saul Penfold, with the most recent election in 2019. Before boundary changes in 2019, this ward stretched north to Suffield. The (pre-2019) ward had a population of 2,384 in 2011. Since 2019 the ward comprises the parishes of Worstead, Westwick, Scottow, Swanton Abbott, and Skeyton.North Norfolk District Council
Ward boundaries 2019

References

External links

Information from Genuki Norfolk
on Worstead
Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk North Norfolk