Bodham 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 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 ...

. Bodham is located south-west 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 ...

, north-east of Holt 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 ...

History

Bodham's name is of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

origin and derives from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

for ''Boda's'' homestead or hemmed-in land. 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, Bodham is listed as a settlement of 21 households in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

of Holt. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of Hugh de Montfort and

Walter Giffard Walter Giffard (April 1279) was Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of York. Family Giffard was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton in Wiltshire,Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Archbishops' a royal justice, ...

. The village sign shows a representation of a medieval tax collector going about his employment. The tax collector's name was Boda and is mentioned in the

, which confirms his existence and the fact that he lived there. Bodham means "Boda's Village". In the 1980s, a pair of late-Nineteenth Century shoes were found beneath the floorboards of 'Highbury', a cottage within the village. It is speculated that the shoes were left in the house to ward away evil spirits.

Geography

According to data from the 2021 census, Bodham has a population of 479 people which decreased from the 484 people listed in the 2011 census. The A148, between

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

and

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 ...

, runs through the village. The nearest railway station is at

for the

Bittern Line The Bittern Line is a railway branch line in Norfolk, England, that links to . It passes through the Broads on its route to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the north Norfolk coast. It is named after the Eurasian bittern, bittern, a r ...

which runs between

and Norwich. The nearest airport is

Norwich International Airport Norwich Airport is an international airport in Norfolk, England, north of the city of Norwich. In 2023, Norwich Airport was the 25th Busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic, busiest airport in the UK and busiest in ...

. Bodham is located south of the North Norfolk Coast.

All Saints' Church

Bodham's parish church appears to be Medieval in origin but is largely what remains of significant restoration in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Within the church is a plain

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

, a set of royal arms from the reign of Queen Anne and stained glass windows designed by J & J King. All Saints' Church has been Grade II listed since 1960.

Village Amenities

Rock Bodham

Rock Bodham is a small music festival that grew from the dissolution of Bodham Big Weekend. In conjunction with the music festival, Rock Bodham also organises the village firework display, liaises with Father Christmas to provide and deliver presents for the village children. Rock Bodham also raises money for local good causes.

Bodham and Beckham Village Hall

Bodham and Beckham Village Hall is a modern hall less than twenty years old. It is regularly used by Bodham Bingo Club, yoga classes, church events. Regular quiz night fundraisers are held four times a year, in February, May, September and December. The hall is heated by electric heaters. Grants from Norfolk Community Foundation have been obtained to put in equipment for film showing and regular monthly shows are held on Friday during the winter. A loop system has also been installed to help the hearing impaired.

Bodham Playing Field

Bodham Playing Field, which is situated on Cromer Road, has a full-size football pitch and a 'juniors' pitch. The Playing Field Committee has had the pavilion refurbished with the help of grants from Bodham Bingo Club, Awards for All Lottery Fund and North Norfolk District Council's Active Communities Fund. There are two changing rooms, showers, toilets and a fully fitted kitchen, all inside the pavilion. Attached is a referees room. An additional facility is a disabled toilet accessible with the use of a RADAR Key. The Playing Field Committee have now taken over responsibility for the floodlights. The Bodham Football Club is made up of players from outside the village. Many fund raising events are held throughout the year to support the playing Field. Grants have been obtained to purchase exercise equipment. This was made possible by grants from Norfolk Community Foundation, Awards for All, Bodham Bingo Club, Sports Relief, Active Norfolk, Bodham Big Weekend and Bodham Horticultural Show.

Other

Also within the village is a

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

and MG dealership called Crayford & Abbs Ltd. and a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

called the 'Red Hart Inn' on The Street.

Governance

Bodham is part of the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of Gresham for local elections and is part of 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 ...

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 ...

. The village's national constituency is

, which has been represented by the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

Steff Aquarone MP since 2024.

War Memorial

Bodham's war memorial takes the form of two plaques, one metal and the other stone, fixed to the outside of All Saints' Churchtower, just outside of the village. The memorial lists 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 ...

: 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 ...

References

External links

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