Burnham Market 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 English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 village is located north-east 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

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 ...

. It is one of the Burnhams, a group of three adjacent villages that were merged: Burnham Sutton, Burnham Ulph and Burnham Westgate. In 2022, Burnham Market was rated among the "20 most beautiful villages in the UK and Ireland" by

Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club me ...

in 2020.

History

Burnham Market'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 settlement on the River Burn where there is a market. Burnham Market is not listed 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 ...

. In 1952, the

West Norfolk Junction Railway The West Norfolk Junction Railway was a standard gauge eighteen and a half-mile single-track railway running between Wells-next-the-Sea railway station and Heacham railway station, Heacham in the England, English county of Norfolk. It opened in ...

, which ran through the village, was closed. This railway had linked with

Holkham Holkham is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is dominated by the stately home and estate, Holkham Hall, and a beach, Holkham Gap, at the centre of Holkham National Nature Reserve. Holkham is loc ...

Wells-next-the-Sea Wells-next-the-Sea is a port town on the north coast of Norfolk, England. The civil parish has an area of and in 2001 had a population of 2,451,Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household c ...

Hunstanton Hunstanton (sometimes pronounced ) is a seaside resort, seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash. Hunstanton lies 102 miles (164 km) north-north-east of London an ...

and

Kings 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 ...

. The

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

still stands on the road to

North Creake North Creake is a village and civil parish in the north west of the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 414 in 184 households at the 2001 census, reducing to 386 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of loca ...

. Burnham Westgate Hall is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

built in the 1780s by

Sir John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the Ro ...

for

Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford (3 March 1737 – 19 January 1793) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 until 1784 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Camelford. He was an art connoisseur. Early life Pit ...

. The Hall was built on the existing Polstede Hall, which had been built in the 1750s by

Matthew Brettingham Matthew Brettingham (1699 – 19 August 1769), sometimes called Matthew Brettingham the Elder, was an English architect who supervised the construction of Holkham Hall, and became one of the best-known architects of his generation, despi ...

for Pinckney Wilkinson MP. In 1933, the Hall passed to the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. Membership Service in th ...

and after 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 ...

it was used as an old people's home. From 1990 onwards, it has become the private residence of Baroness Rawlings.

Geography

According to the 2011 census, Burnham Market had a population of 877 people,City Population. (2022). Retrieved November 14, 2022. https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastofengland/norfolk/E34001083__burnham_market/ which fell to 724 people by the 2021 census. Burnham Market is located at the junction between the B1155, between

Great Bircham Great Bircham is a village, part of the civil parish of Bircham, in the English county of Norfolk. Great Bircham is located 12 miles north-east of the town of King's Lynn, and 38 miles north-west of the city of Norwich. History Bircham' ...

and

, and B1355, between A148 and A149.

Churches

Burnham Market is home to several churches. St. Mary's Church is of

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

origin and is dedicated to

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. St. Mary's was significantly remodelled in the 14th, 15th and 19th centuries and is currently a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The church bells date to the 17th century. All Saints' Church is of Norman origin and was heavily remodelled in the 14th century, with further minor alterations in the 19th century. St. Henry Walpole Catholic Church, Burnham Market's Catholic Church, was constructed in 1959 and is dedicated to Saint Henry Walpole, an

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

Catholic martyr. The church conducts weekly

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

on a Friday and Sunday.

Notable Residents

Sir Mordaunt Martin, 4th Baronet Sir Mordaunt Martin, 4th Baronet (c. 1740 – 24 September 1815) was son of Sir Roger Martin, 3rd Baronet and Sophia Mordaunt. He inherited his baronetcy from his father, who was the third Martin Baronets#Martin baronets, of Long Melford (1667), ...

(1740-1815) nobleman, lived in Burnham Market. *

Sir Roger Martin, 5th Baronet Sir Roger Martin, 5th Baronet (22 February 1778 - 15 December 1854) was son of Sir Mordaunt Martin, 4th Baronet and Everilda-Dorothea Smith. He inherited his baronetcy from his father, who was the fourth Martin Baronets#Martin baronets, of Long M ...

(1778-1854) nobleman, lived in Burnham Market. *

Anne Elliot Anne Elliot is the protagonist of Jane Austen's sixth and last completed novel, ''Persuasion'' (1817). Anne Elliot was persuaded, when she was 19 years old, to break off her engagement with Frederick Wentworth, a promising young lieutenant in th ...

(1856-1941) novelist, lived in Burnham Sutton. * Emma Elliot – English writer and novelist * Lady Margaret Douglas-Home (1906-1996) musician and writer, lived in Burnham Market. * Major David Jamieson VC CVO (1920-2001) Army officer, died in Burnham Market. *

Patricia Rawlings, Baroness Rawlings Patricia Elizabeth Rawlings, Baroness Rawlings (born 27 January 1939) is a Conservative Party politician and former frontbencher in the House of Lords. She was also a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1989 to 1994. She was Chairman o ...

(b.1939) politician, lives in Burnham Market. *

Sandra Chick Alexandra "Sandra" Chick (born 2 June 1947) is a former field hockey player from Zimbabwe, who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Her identical twin sister Sonia Robertson was one ...

(b.1947) hockey player, born in Burnham Market. * Sonia Robertson (b.1947) hockey player, born in Burnham Market. *

Steve Deere Stephen Herbert Deere (born 31 March 1948) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender for Norwich City, Scunthorpe United, Hull City, Barnsley, Stockport County, Bridlington Town, and Scarborough. Early life Deere ...

(b.1948) footballer, born in Burnham Market.

Governance

Burnham Market 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 Burnham Market & Docking 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 ...

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 ...

. The village's national constituency is

North West Norfolk North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

which has been represented by the Conservative's James Wild MP since 2010.

War Memorial

Burnham Market's war memorial 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 ...

located on the marketplace which has been Grade II listed since 2018. The memorial lists war dead from Burnham Market as well as Burnham Westgate, Burnham Sutton and Burnham Norton. The following soldiers from Burnham Market died during 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

References

External links

Burnham Market Village Plan, with detailed Ordnance Survey mapInformation from Genuki Norfolk
on Burnham Market. {{authority control Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk