Brumstead (or Brunstead) is a village and a

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 ...

. The village is located north-west of Stalham and north-east 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 village is locally known as Brunstead, as depicting on the village sign.

History

Brumstead'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

broom A broom (also known as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a ...

steading. 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 ...

, Brumstead is recorded 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 Happing. In 1086, the village was part of the estates of Roger Bigod. Listed buildings within Brumstead include Brumstead Grange (Seventeenth Century) and Brumstead Hall (Fifteenth Century) with two Eighteenth Century barns. During the early phases of 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 ...

, an anti-aircraft position was built in Brumstead Parish, but it was later abandoned.

Geography

The parish had in 2001 census, a population of 84. At the 2011 census the population remained less than 100 and was included in the civil parish of

East Ruston East Ruston is a village and a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the England, English county of Norfolk. The village is located south-east of North Walsham and north-east of Norwich. History East Ruston's name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...

. The

B1159 The B1159 is a road in Norfolk, England, running for about between Cromer and Caister-on-Sea, parallel to and at a short distance from the northeastern coast of Norfolk. From north to south the road passes through: * Overstrand *Sidestrand * ...

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 ...

and

Caister-on-Sea Caister-on-Sea, also known colloquially as Caister, is a large village, seaside resort and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Caister is located north of Great Yarmouth and east of Norwich. History Caister's history dates bac ...

, bisects the parish. The nearest railway station is at

North Walsham North Walsham is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. The town is located south of Cromer and Norwich is south. Demography The civil parish has an area of ...

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

St. Peter's Church

Brumstead's parish church is dedicated to

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

and dates from the Fourteenth Century. St. Peter's is located on 'The Avenue' and has been Grade II listed 1955. The church was restored twice in the Nineteenth Century: once in the 1830s and again in the 1870s. The church boasts a Fourteenth Century

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 ...

and stained-glass designed by J. & J. King, depicting Saint Peter and

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. Within St. Peter's Churchyard, there is an early-Eighteenth Century headstone with a skull & crossbones carving as well as a headstone dedicated to Mary Cubett.

Governance

Brumstead 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 Happisburgh 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 Steff Aquarone MP since 2024.

War Memorial

Brumstead's War Memorial is a white marble carved open book with an accompanying wreath, located inside St. Peter's Church. 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 ...

References

External links

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