Kelling (also known as ''Low Kelling'' or ''Lower Kelling'') 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 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 ...

. Kelling is located west of

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 north 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 ...

, along the A149 and within the Norfolk Coast AONB.

History

Kelling'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 ''Cylla'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 ...

, Kelling is listed as a settlement of 81 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 Holt. 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

Hugh d'Avranches Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'Avra ...

, Roger, son of Rainard and Ralph, son of Hagni. Between 1903 and 1905, Home Place was built as the residence of the Reverend Percy R. Lloyd by

Edward Schroeder Prior Edward Schroeder Prior (1852–1932) was a British architect, instrumental in establishing the Arts and Crafts movement. He was one of the foremost theorists of the second generation of the movement, writing extensively on architecture, art, c ...

in the

Arts and Crafts Style The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

. Kelling Hall was built in 1913 by

Sir Edward Maufe ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English language, English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in Fren ...

in the

Arts and Crafts style The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

for Henri Deterding KBE, one of the founders of the

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

. 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 ...

, numerous static defences were built in the parish to defend against a possible

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

invasion.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Kelling has a population of 173 people which shows a decrease from the 177 people recorded in the 2011 census.

Kelling Heath Kelling Heath is an biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Holt and Weybourne in Norfolk, England. It is in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Geology Kelling Heath lies on the Cromer Ridge, a glacial mora ...

is 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 A149, between

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

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

, passes through the village.

St. Mary's Church

Kelling's parish church is dedicated to

Saint Mary 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 ...

and dates from the medieval period. St. Mary's is located on 'The Street' and has been Grade II listed since 1960. The church is open twice a month for Sunday service. St. Mary's holds a

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 ...

dating from the Fifteenth Century and holds stained-glass windows from the same period depicting various female saints. There is also a stained-glass window from the 1930s designed by

Harry Mileham Harry Robert Mileham was an English artist. He was born in 1873 and died in 1957. He studied at Lambeth School of Art and Royal Academy Schools. During his studies in 1895, the artist received a gold medal and a Travelling Studentship at the R ...

which depicts

Saint Francis St. Francis or Saint Francis may refer to: Roman Catholic saints *Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), Italian founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) *Francis of Paola (1416–1507), Italian (Calabrian) founder of the Order of the Minims * ...

and a set of royal arms from the reign of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

which may be earlier.

Amenities

The village has a reading room, which is now a book shop, gallery and tea-room. There is a small

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

school house built in 1876 and opened October 1877, still in use as a primary school today on the coastal side of the A149 just opposite the reading room.

Governance

Kelling 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 Coastal 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 Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

Steff Aquarone MP since 2024.

War Memorial

Kelling War Memorial is a memorial cross located at the junction of the A149 and 'The Street' which 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

Gallery

Image:Oldkelling.jpg, The street circa 1911 Image:The street kelling.JPG, The Street Image:Thestreet kelling.JPG , The Street Image:Old Reading Room.jpg, The Old Reading Room Image:Kelling village 12th April 2008 (2).JPG, The Old Reading Room Image:Kelling village 12th April 2008.JPG, Kelling Village School Image:Kelling War Memorial 12th April 2008.JPG, Kelling War Memorial Image:poppy2004.JPG, Poppies in field near Kelling June 2002 Image:Pillbox.JPG, World War II

Type 22 Pillbox British hardened field defences of World War II were small fortified structures constructed as a part of British anti-invasion preparations. They were popularly known as '' pillboxes'', a reference to their shape. Background With the Germa ...

on the shingle beach at Kelling Image:Norcon Pillbox.jpg, World War II Norcon pillbox on Kelling Hard

References

Neighbouring villages

* Weybourne *

Salthouse Salthouse is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the salt marshes of North Norfolk. It is north of Holt, west of Sheringham and north of Norwich. The village is on the A149 coast road between K ...

High Kelling High Kelling is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. High Kelling is east of Holt and west of Cromer, along the A148 road. History High Kelling's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for th ...

Cley next the Sea Cley next the Sea (, ) is a village and civil parish on the River Glaven in the England, English county of Norfolk, England, Norfolk. Cley next the Sea is located north-west of Holt, Norfolk, Holt and north-west of Norwich. History The vil ...

Wiveton Wiveton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the west bank of the River Glaven, inland from the coast and directly across the river from the village of Cley next the Sea. The larger village of Bl ...

External links

* {{Civil Parishes of North Norfolk Villages in Norfolk North Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Coastal erosion in the United Kingdom

History

Geography

St. Mary's Church

Amenities

Governance

War Memorial

Gallery

See also

References

Neighbouring villages

External links