Halvergate 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 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 ...

, between the Rivers Bure and Yare. The civil parish also includes the hamlet of Tunstall. Halvergate is located south-east of Acle and 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 ...

History

Halvergate'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 land costing half a heriot. 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 ...

, Halvergate is listed as a settlement of 69 households

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 Walshamshire. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of King William I. Halvergate Hall was built in 1840 for Sir Cyrus Gillet. Stracey Arms Windpump was built in 1883 to drain water from the surrounding marshland into the River Bure. The mill ceased working in 1946 but was used as a fortified pillbox during 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 mill briefly operated as a tea room which closed in 2024. Mutton's Mill was originally known as Manor Mill but was eventually named after the last mill keeper, Fred Mutton. In 1944, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator of the 466th Bombardment Group crashed in the parish after taking-off from RAF Attlebridge killing all of its crew. A group of enthusiasts excavated the wreck in 1979 and were startled to discover the bomb load still in place.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Halvergate has a population of 585 people which shows a decrease from the 907 people recorded in the 2011 census. Halvergate is within The Broads National Park and is close to Halvergate Marshes, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

. The Weavers' Way footpath passes through the village.

Church of St. Peter & St. Paul

Halvergate's parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul and dates from the Fifteenth Century. The church is located within the village on 'The Street' and has been Grade I listed since 1962. St. Peter & St. Paul's is no longer open for Sunday services. The church was renovated several times during 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 ...

, most notably in the 1870s by Richard Phipson. Despite this, there is still some surviving Fifteenth Century stained-glass windows.

Amenities

Acle & Halvergate Cricket Club play home games at the Queen Elizabeth II Playing Fields close to the village. The club operates several teams including a youth setup with the First XI playing in the Premier Division of the Norfolk Cricket Alliance. The Red Lion Pub has been open in the village since at least 1789. The pub remains open.

Governance

Halvergate is part of the electoral ward of Marshes 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 ...

of Broadland. The village's national constituency is Broadland and Fakenham which has been represented by the Conservative Party's Jerome Mayhew MP since 2019.

References

External links

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