Great Ellingham 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 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 ...

. Great Ellingham is located north-west of

Attleborough Attleborough is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish located on the A11 road (England), A11 between Norwich and Thetford in Norfolk, England. The parish is in the district of Breckland (district), Breckland and has an area ...

and south-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 ...

. The civil parish also includes the hamlets of Bow Street and Stalland Common.

History

Great Dunham'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 the larger settlement of ''Ella'' or ''Eli's'' people. 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 ...

, Great Ellingham is listed as a settlement of 47 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 Shropham. In 1086, the village was part of the

East Anglian East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

estates of

Henry de Ferrers Henry de Ferrers (died by 1100), magnate and administrator, was a Normans, Norman who after the 1066 Norman conquest of England, Norman conquest was awarded extensive lands in England. Origins He was the eldest son of Vauquelin de Ferrers and i ...

and Ralph de Beaufour. Several Fifteenth Century buildings have survived in Great Ellingham including Mill Farmhouse, Tannery Farm and Ye Olde Thatche Shoppe.

Great Ellingham Windmill Great Ellingham Windmill is a Grade II listed tower mill in Great Ellingham, Norfolk, England which has been converted to residential accommodation. History Great Ellingham Mill was described as "newly erected" when advertised for sale by auct ...

was built in 1849 and ceased working in 1922. Today, the windmill is in the process of redevelopment. RAF Deopham Green spills into the parish of Great Ellingham which was home to the 452nd Bomb Wing of the US Eighth Air Force.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Great Ellingham has a population of 1,267 people which shows an increase from the 1,132 people recorded in the 2011 census. Great Ellingham is located on the B1077, between

Carbrooke Carbrooke is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Carbrooke is located east of Watton, north-east of Thetford and west of Norwich. History Carbrooke's name is of mixed Anglo-Saxon and Viking origin and derives fro ...

and

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

St. James' Church

Great Ellingham's church is dedicated to Saint James and dates from the Fourteenth Century. The church is located within the village on Church Street and has been Grade I listed since 1958. St. James' remains open for Sunday services once a month. St. James' was heavily restored in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

as well as stained-glass installed by King & Son of Norwich.

Amenities

Great Ellingham Primary is part of the Great Ellingham & Rocklands Schools Federation. The headteacher is Mrs J. Dekker. The Crown Pub has stood in the parish since 1784. The pub remains open to this day.

Teddy Bear Festival

The village is locally renowned for its annual Teddy Bear Festival, which runs for two weeks in July. Alongside other events, villagers build and display straw bears in their gardens to create a "Teddy Bear Trail". Since the start of the festival in 2004, around £50,000 has been raised for local good causes and charities.

Governance

Great Ellingham 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 All Saints & Wayland 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 ...

Breckland Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a la ...

. The village's national constituency is

South West Norfolk South West Norfolk is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 by Terr ...

which has been represented by Labour's Terry Jermy MP since 2024.

War Memorial

Great Ellingham's war memorial is built into the wall of St. James' Churchtower and 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 ...

: The following names were added 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 ...

References

Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Breckland District {{authority control