Blofield is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the

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 ...

district 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 Nort ...

, England. The parish includes Blofield and the hamlets of Blofield Heath and Blofield Corner and, according to the 2001 census, had a population of 3,221, increasing to 3,316 at the 2011 Census. It is on the A47, five miles (8 km) east 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 ...

and west of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of ...

. Since construction of a bypass in 1982, the A47 no longer passes through the village.

History

Mentioned 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 ...

as ''Blafelda'' and ''Blauuefelde'', Blofield has a long history. There are a number of theories regarding the origins of its name, which may derive from the Anglo-Saxon for blue ''Blech'' or ''Bleo'', blossom ''Bloo'' or blow ''Blowan'', along with the word for field ''Feld''. The oldest building in the village is the Parish Church of St Andrew and St Peter, built sometime between 1420 and 1444, and largely replacing an earlier Norman structure. Large in size, it reflects the prosperity of the wool trade over this period.

Blofield today

Village amenities include the recently re-opened and refurbished ''Kings Head'' public house, Blofield County Primary School, a doctors surgery, a library, scout hut, newsagent, post office/ convenience store, fish and chip shop, florist, hairdresser, an outdoor leisure and camping store, a farm shop and a solicitor's office. Sporting and social facilities are also provided by The Margaret Harker Hall and Blofield Court House constitute the meeting place for a number of village groups, such as the

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being t ...

(which was formed in 1918, and claims to be the oldest in

), Guides, badminton club, slimming groups and playgroup for children of pre-school age. The Court House also hosts regular film shows showing recent releases usually on the first or second Friday of every month. During the day it is served by the hourly 15 bus to

operated by

First Norfolk & Suffolk First Eastern Counties is a bus operator providing services in Norfolk and Suffolk in eastern England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. It has seven depots which are part of five operating areas spread out across East Anglia. The five operatin ...

; there is no service in the evenings or on Sundays. The nearest railway station is about a mile away, in the village of

Brundall Brundall is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located on the north bank of the River Yare opposite Surlingham Broad and about 7 miles (11 km) east of the city of Norwich. History Brundall's name is of Ang ...

. Blofield Heath has one Indian restaurant, ''The Tamarind'', and a post office/convenience store. Heathlands Community Centre is a focal point for social activities and the village also has a primary school, Hemblington County Primary. A

pre-school playgroup A pre-school playgroup, or in everyday usage just a playgroup, is an organised group providing care and socialisation for children under five. The term is widely used in the United Kingdom. Playgroups are less formal than the preschool education o ...

also operates from Heathlands.

Sport

Blofield has a tennis Club founded in 1924 with 4 grass courts and 1 hard court open to members. Blofield has two

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

clubs: * Norwich United F.C. who play at Plantation Park, just outside the village centre but within the parish * Blofield United F.C. who play in the Anglian Combination Premier Division, their home ground at the Margaret Harker Hall playing field in the centre of the village.

Notable people

* Sir Arthur Borton - Governor of Malta 1878-1884 was born in Blofield in 1814. * Darren Eadie - former football player who played for Norwich City and Leicester City. *

John Edrich John Hugh Edrich, (21 June 1937 – 23 December 2020) was an English first-class cricketer who, during a career that ran from 1956 to 1978, was considered one of the best batsmen of his generation. Born in Blofield, Norfolk, Edrich came from ...

- England Test cricketer from 1963 to 1976, was born in Blofield in 1937. * Ken Brown - Norwich City manager from 1980 to 1987.

War Memorial

Both World Wars had an enormous impact on Blofield, which is remembered by a stone

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses e ...

located in St. Andrew's and St. Peter's Churchyard. It bears the following names for the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

: * Lieutenant Reginald E. Blyth (d.1916), ''

HMS Barham Three warships of the Royal Navy have been given the name HMS ''Barham'' in honour of Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham. A fourth was planned but never completed: * was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line launched in 1811. She was reduced to ...

'' * Leading-Seaman Arthur J. Ward (1888-1918), HMS Nicator * Leading-Seaman Robert J. Payne (1897-1918), ''HMS Racoon'' * Leading-Stoker Arthur J. Smith (1876-1916), ''

HMS Invincible Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Invincible''. * was originally the French 74-gun ship of the line ''L'Invincible'', captured off Cape Finisterre in 1747. She was the first purpose-built 74-gun ship of the line to serve in th ...

'' * Corporal William Brown (1880-1917), 1st 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 ...

* Lance-Corporal James W. Jaggs (d.1918), 9th Battalion,

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

* Lance-Corporal Benjamin Marshall (d.1918), 1/4th Battalion,

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment o ...

* Private William Hanton (d.1917), 11th Battalion,

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. T ...

* Private Harry Gostling (1893-1916), 4th Battalion,

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

* Private Herbert C. Waterton (d.1916), 12th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment * Private Bernard H. Limpus (1876-1917), 24th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers * Private Alec R. East (1895-1917), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private William G. Green (1898-1917), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Frederick W. Symonds (1892-1916), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Charles H. J. Marler (1885-1917), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Benjamin Newstead (1886-1916), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Reginald Gunns (1891-1916), 8th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Thomas B. Farman (d.1915), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private William R. Gowen (1891-1917), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Herbert G. Houghton (1895-1918), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Ernest A. Ling (1898-1918), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Albert Newstead (1893-1918), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Samuel J. Shreeve (1890-1916), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Russel J. Symonds (d.1915), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private George W. Burdett (d.1916), 2nd 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 ...

* Rifleman Ernest L. Lynes (1895-1915), 7th Battalion,

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United S ...

* Rifleman Alfred J. Simmons (d.1918), 2nd Battalion,

Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifl ...

* Sapper Walter F. Foulger (1884-1917), 130th (Field) Company, Royal Engineers * Philip S. Barber * Percy H. Hall * A. Nelson Rose * William Turner 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

: * Lance-Corporal Matthew Hanton (1903-1942), 6th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Able-Seaman Ronald C. A. Marshall (1919-1940), ''

HMS Ivanhoe Two ships of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the ...

'' * Leading-Aircraftman E. R. John Spooner (1922-1942),

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

* Guardsman Benjamin D. Barber (1920-1940), 1st Battalion,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremoni ...

* Private Stanley C. Trett (1920-1942), 6th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Richard Beck * Reggie Bussey Smith, L and Taylor, J. (2003). Retrieved November 06, 2022. http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Blofield.html

References

External links

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