Geldeston is a village and
civil parish in the
English county
The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...
of
Norfolk. The village is located north-west of
Beccles and south-east of
Norwich, on the north bank of the
River Waveney.
History
Geldeston's name is of
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
origin and derives from the
Old English
Old English (, ), 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 was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
for Gyldi's farmstead or settlement.
Geldeston is not listed in the
Domesday Book.
Geldeston is home to a
crinkle crankle wall (located close to the village green), which are found most commonly in Suffolk.
Geography
According to the
2011 Census, Geldeston has a population of 397 residents living in 179 households. Furthermore, the parish covers a total area of .
Geldeston falls within the
constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
of
South Norfolk and is represented at
Parliament by
Richard Bacon MP of the
Conservative Party. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the
district of
South Norfolk.
St. Michael's Church
Geldeston's parish church is dedicated to
Saint Michael and is one of Norfolk's 124 remaining
round-tower churches. The church was significantly remodelled in the mid-Nineteenth Century based on the designs of Thomas Penrice and
J. L. Clemence
John Louth Clemence (1822, Lowestoft, Suffolk – 1911, Mutford, Suffolk) was an English architect, active in Suffolk, particularly Lowestoft.
Early life
Clemence learnt his trade from 1839 to 1843 in the London offices of C.R. Cockerell. He t ...
, with stained-glass depicting the Risen Christ installed by
Leonard Walker
Leonard Walker (1877 – 13 June 1964) was a British painter and stained glass designer. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Biography
Walker was a student at St John's Wood Art Scho ...
in the mid-Twentieth Century. St Michael is a
Church of England church, falling under the
Diocese of Norwich.
The current incumbent of the parish is the Reverend David Smith, who was licensed as priest-in-charge of the Waveney Benefice and the Raveningham Group on 4 March 2020. He moved from the Harling United Benefice in southwest Norfolk. The previous rector, until June 2018, was Julie Oddy-Bates.
Amenities
The village hall was originally opened in 1924.
It underwent significant renovation from 2016 onwards and is now a registered charity.
Notable people
*
Dorothy Hodgkin
Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin (née Crowfoot; 12 May 1910 – 29 July 1994) was a Nobel Prize-winning British chemist who advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of biomolecules, which became essential fo ...
(1910-1994) –
Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner
References
External links
Geldeston Village Hall websiteGeldeston Village, Norfolk
village website
St Michael's on the European Round Tower Churches Website''Tidings: Parish News for Ellingham, Gillingham, Geldeston, Kirby Cane and Stockton''
print and online editions.
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Villages in Norfolk
Civil parishes in Norfolk