Brancaster
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Brancaster 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 ...
on the north coast of the English county
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 ...
. The civil parish of Brancaster comprises Brancaster itself, together with
Brancaster Staithe Brancaster is a village and civil parish on the north coast of the English county Norfolk. The civil parish of Brancaster comprises Brancaster itself, together with Brancaster Staithe and Burnham Deepdale. The three villages form a more or l ...
and Burnham Deepdale. The three villages form a more or less continuous settlement along the A149 at the edge of the Brancaster Manor marshland and the Scolt Head Island National Nature Reserve. The villages are located about west of
Burnham Market Burnham Market is a village and civil parish in the England, English county Norfolk. The village is located north-east of King's Lynn and north-west of Norwich. It is one of The Norfolk Burnhams, the Burnhams, a group of three adjacent vill ...
, north of the town of
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 north-west of the city 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 ...
. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2011 census had a population of 797 in 406 households. 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, municip ...
of
King's Lynn and West Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn. The district also includes the t ...
. In 2016, Janet Lake, the clerk to Brancaster Parish Council, reached 50 years of service in the post. The village's name means "Roman site of Branodunum", where the original Romano-British name may be preserved in the first element. The name is from British bran(n)o, "crow/raven" possibly used as a personal name, and duno-, "fortification". Alternatively, perhaps, "broomy Roman site".


Geography and geology

A petrified forest can be seen on the foreshore near Brancaster at low tide. It is about three-quarters of a mile west of the golf clubhouse and consists of material similar to compacted peat or brown coal (
lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest ...
). Remains also wash ashore after storms and can be found along the high-tide line. The material resembles black rubber but can be broken easily to reveal plant remains inside.


Governance

An
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 ...
in the same name exists. This ward had a population at the 2011 census of 1,293.


Branodunum – Roman settlement

There was a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
fort and settlement here named Branodunum to the east of the modern village. The Saxon Shore fort (and the related civilian settlement, much of which was destroyed during the construction of a locally opposed housing development in the 1970s) is visible only as grass-covered mounds and remains mainly unexcavated.


Shipwreck on the beach

The wreck that used to be visible at low tide but has now been almost completely covered by the westerly drifting sand was the 1021grt coaster ''SS Vina'' which was used for target practice by the RAF before accidentally sinking in 1944. The ''Vina'' was built at
Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
by Ramage & Ferguson in 1894 and was registered at
Grangemouth Grangemouth (; , ) is a town in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area in the central belt of Scotland. Historically part of the Counties of Scotland, county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firt ...
. She was a coast-hugging general cargo ship which would have worked the crossings between the east coast of England and through to the
Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
. As she neared the end of her useful seagoing life in 1940, ''Vina'' was requisitioned as a naval vessel for wartime use as a
blockship A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used as a waterway. It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of at Portland ...
, carrying a crew of 12. With
Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
being a strategic port on the east coast, the ultimate fate for the ship would have been to have had her hold filled with concrete and explosives and she would have been sunk at the harbour mouth, blocking entry in the event of a Nazi invasion. Once this threat passed, she was taken out of blockship service and towed up the east coast towards Brancaster where she was used as a target for the RAF before the planned
invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...
in 1944. Originally anchored further out to sea on the Titchwell side as a target for cannon shell trials, she dragged her anchor on 20 August 1944, in a north-westerly gale and ran ashore. Numerous efforts have been made to remove the wreck from the sandbank as the ship is not only a danger to navigation but also attracts holiday makers who walk out to the vessel's remains at low tide. Various parts have been removed and, in 1968, her bronze propeller was blown off by salvagers and floated across the harbour channel. Removal efforts have long been abandoned as uneconomic. Lives have been lost due to attempts to reach the ''Vina'' as it is on the far side of a fast-flowing tidal harbour channel. Local lifeboats and RAF rescue helicopters have been pressed into service on many occasions. A warning sign on the wreck advises anyone reaching it to return to the beach immediately.


National Trust and the beach

The beach area and some of the marshes are managed by the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
.


Royal West Norfolk Golf Club

The village is home to the Royal West Norfolk Golf Club., it was founded in 1892, its design being from Holcombe Ingleby. In 2014 it was listed as the 47th best golf course in the UK and Ireland by '' Golf Monthly'' magazine.


Space programme

In the 1950s and '60s, Brancaster was considered as a possible location for the launching site for the
British space programme The British space programme is the British government's work to develop British space capabilities. The objectives of the current civil programme are to "win sustainable economic growth, secure new scientific knowledge and provide benefits to al ...
."Norfolk's place in the space race" BBC Norfolk
This idea was expanded to include the village becoming the base for a facility that could be used by a spaceplane to undertake secret flights over the USSR. Development would have meant that the village would probably have been razed and the villagers rehoused. The eventual installation of oil rigs in the North Sea saw the idea shelved, as the risk, however slight, of atmospheric re-entry material hitting the rigs, was too great.


War memorial

Brancaster's war memorial is located in St Mary the Virgin's Churchyard and is a stone
Celtic cross upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...
. It 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: David Fernie, George Lake, Cyril Thompson-Large, Charles Purer and John Ramsay. As well as 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 ...
: The memorial also lists the name of John Sharp DFC who was killed during the
Berlin Blockade The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...
.


Notable people

* John Brancastre (died 1218), churchman and administrator, was Vicar of Brancaster and was probably born in the village. * John Weatherhead (1775–1797), Royal Navy officer, was born here, son of a Rector * Captain Sir William Bolton (1777–1830), Royal Navy officer, grew up at Brancaster, where his father was Rector. * Herbert Reeve (1868–1956), Rector of Brancaster 1924 to 1945 * Felicity Tree (1894–1978), socialite daughter of
Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End theatre, West End, winning ...
, lived at Brancaster


References

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Brancaster


References

* Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 250 – Norfolk Coast West''. . * Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001).
Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes
'. Retrieved 2 December 2005. *'Suffolk Norfolk Life', No. 236, April 2009, pp 12–16; No. 251, July 2010, pp 32–35;& No. 263, July 2011, pp 32–36 (John Ramm)


External links


Brancaster Staithe and Burnham Deepdale
Guide to these two villages and the beautiful north Norfolk coast
Information from Genuki Norfolk
on Brancaster. {{authority control Villages in Norfolk Populated coastal places in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Beaches of Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk