Bessingham is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of

Sustead Sustead is a small village and parish in the county of Norfolk, England, about four miles south-west of Cromer. The parish also includes the villages of Bessingham and Metton. The parish is bounded by Aldborough and Hanworth to the south, Ro ...

, 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 of

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 lies north-north-west of

Aylsham Aylsham ( or ) is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Bure in north Norfolk, England, nearly north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea ...

and south-south-west of

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. It is north of Norwich, northwest of North Walsham and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local ...

. In 1931 the parish had a population of 122. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Sustead. The village's name means 'Homestead/village of Basa's people'. The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin (and for a short while after the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

to St. Andrew), is one of the oldest round tower churches in England and was restored in 1869. Many of its stained glass windows were installed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and designed by C. E. Kempe and Co. and

James Powell and Sons The firm of James Powell and Sons, also known as Whitefriars Glass, were London-based English glassmakers, leadlighters and stained-glass window manufacturers. As Whitefriars Glass, the company existed from the 18th century, but became well kno ...

. The manor was acquired by the Paston family, who are chiefly remembered for their fifteenth-century

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech or none in the case of a silent letter; any of the symbols of an alphabet * Letterform, the g ...

, and later the

Anson family The Anson family is a British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Anson family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Anson family include the earldom of Lichfield (since 1831) and the Anson baron ...

, and in 1766 the village's main estate was purchased by

John Spurrell John Spurrell (1681/1682–3 January 1763) was mayor of Norwich in 1737. He served as alderman of South Consiford ward for nearly 40 years and was also sheriff of Norwich in 1728. His portrait by William Smith, dated 1758, hangs at St. Andrew's ...

, a yeoman farmer from neighbouring

Thurgarton Thurgarton is a small Village#United Kingdom, village in rural Nottinghamshire, England. The village is close to Southwell, Nottinghamshire, Southwell, and Newark-on-Trent and still within commuting distance to Nottingham. It is served by Thur ...

. The Spurrells expanded the estate, benefiting from the

enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

of the

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

in the 1820s, and in 1870 Daniel Spurrell built a new Manor House, with lawns, a walled garden and parkland laid out around it. Daniel's daughter Katherine Anne Spurrell bred daffodils in the grounds of the Manor House, some of which received the

Award of Merit The Award of Merit, or AM, is a mark of quality awarded to plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). The award was instituted in 1888, and given on the recommendation of Plant Committees to plants deemed "of great merit for exhibitio ...

from the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

, and the daffodil Narcissus 'Katherine Spurrell' was named after her by Edward Leeds. Another famous resident of the Manor House in the late nineteenth century was a bear, brought to Bessingham from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

by Daniel's son Robert, a cavalry officer. Bessingham was described as a 'ghost village' in the 1960s when most of its cottages stood empty or in ruins. The Manor House became derelict after the estate was sold in 1970. It was then scheduled for demolition and then the “building plot” put on the open market as an opportunity to build a brand new patiche ‘Manor House” in the grounds. William Hickey bought and restored the original dilapidated house, winning the Graham Allen’s award for “restoration and conservation” and the house is now a venue for parties and celebrations . St. Mary's Church holds a small plaque to the two Bessingham men who gave their lives in 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 ...

. They are listed as: * Private Charles J. Tuck (1894-1917), 5th 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 Herbert E. Roper (d.1918),

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 Foo ...

Smith, L. (2003). Retrieved November 2, 2022. http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Bessingham.html

References

External links

St Mary's on the European Round Tower Churches Website
{{authority control Villages in Norfolk Former civil parishes in Norfolk North Norfolk