Baconsthorpe 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer, and the largest town is North Walsham. The district also includes the towns of Fakenham, Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Shering ...

district of the English

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. It is south-east of Holt, south of

Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is a seaside town and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District ...

and north of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

Population and governance

The civil parish has an area of 5.53 km². In the 2001 census it had a population of 232 in 105 households. This eased to 215 at the Census 2011, and was estimated at 216 in 2019. For local government, the parish is in 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, municip ...

of North Norfolk.

Heritage

The village's name derives from "Bacon's outlying farm/settlement", Bacon being the surname of the local landowner in Norman times. The ruins of the 15th-century Baconsthorpe Castle lie about to the north of the village. The medieval Anglican Church of St Mary was restored in 1868 and 1958. It contains monuments from the 15th–18th centuries and some 16th-century glass saved from the castle.

Accommodation

There is a tourist campsite with full amenities at Pitt Farm near the west end of the village. Some bed-and-breakfast accommodation and holiday lets are also available. Other facilities and services can be found in the nearby town of Holt.

Notable residents

In order of birth: * John Baconthorpe '' ic' or Bacon (c. 1290–1347),

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

friar and

scholastic philosopher Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and C ...

, born at Baconsthorpe * John Heydon or Baxter (died 1479) rose from the

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

ry to become prominent as a lawyer. *Sir Henry Heydon (died 1504), lawyer, courtier and landowner, died at Baconsthorpe. *Sir Christopher Heydon (1561–1623), soldier, astrologer, and a county member of Parliament for Norfolk, ran his Norfolk estates from Baconsthorpe Castle. * Robert Brightiffe (c. 1666–1749), a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and a member of Parliament for Norwich and recorder there, was born at his father's house in Baconsthorpe.John Venn, "Brightiffe, Robert", in ''

Alumni Cantabrigienses ''Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900'' is a biographical register of former members of the University of Cambridge whic ...

'' (Part I, from earliest times to 1751, vol. i Abbas–Cutts; Cambridge University Press, 1922)

War memorial

Baconsthorpe's War Memorials take the form of two plaques in St. Mary's Church, they hold the following names for the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

: * Corporal Horace E. Dew (d.1916), 7th 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 ...

* Gunner George R. Cooper (1891–1917), 'A' Depot,

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

* Rifleman Robert Jermy (d.1918), 9th (London) Battalion, Queen Victoria's Rifles * Private E. F. Frank Thursby (1896–1917), 2nd Battalion,

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

* Private Henry J. Smith (d.1917), 2nd Battalion,

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

* Private Frederick B. Dew (1893–1916), 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Frederick Knowles (d.1916), 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private A. W. Richard Cletheroe (1896–1917), 5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private William T. Jarvis (1897–1917), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * William J. Barnes And, the following for the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

: * Corporal Leslie F. Smith (d.1944), 1st Battalion,

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and ...

* Ordinary-Seaman Geoffrey D. Grout (1919–1940), '' HMS Forfar (F30)''

References

External links

*
Information from Genuki Norfolk
on Baconsthorpe * {{authority control Baconsthorpe, Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk North Norfolk