Poringland is a village in the district of

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the 2011 Census. History The district was formed on 1 April 197 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It lies south of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

city centre and north of

Bungay Bungay () is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . It lies in the Waveney Valley, west of Beccles on the edge of The Broads, and at the neck of a mean ...

. Its population has rapidly grown in the past 50 years. It covers an area of and had a population of 3,261 living in 1,403 households at the 2001 census, the population increasing to 3,802 at the 2011 Census. Poringland was previously also known as both East Poringland and Great Poringland, and was part of the ancient

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Henstead. The place-name 'Poringland' is first attested 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086, where it appears as 'Porringhelanda', the meaning of which is uncertain. Some believe the name derives from 'Poor spring land', because it has poor

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

, containing much clay. This village contains many public services. These include two pubs, a supermarket, estate agents, takeaways, a restaurant and various shops. The church of Poringland All Saints is one of 124 existing

round-tower church Round-tower churches are a type of church found mainly in England, mostly in East Anglia; of about 185 surviving examples in the country, 124 are in Norfolk, 38 in Suffolk, six in Essex, three in Sussex and two each in Cambridgeshire and Berksh ...

es in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

. The

village sign In many parts of England, an ornamental village sign is erected to announce the village name to those entering the village. They are typically placed on the principal road entrance or in a prominent location such as a village green. The design ...

, which stands close to the church and the village pond, depicts the artist

John Crome John Crome (22 December 176822 April 1821), once known as Old Crome to distinguish him from his artist son John Berney Crome, was an English landscape painter of the Romantic era, one of the principal artists and founding members of the Norw ...

, founder of the Norwich School of artists, working on his famous painting 'The Poringland Oak'. Cromes Oak Close in the village is named after the artist. Many of Crome's paintings are available to view at the

Norwich Castle Norwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. William the Conqueror (1066–1087) ordered its construction in the aftermath of the Norman conquest of England. The castle was used as ...

Museum. The original of the Poringland Oak hangs in Room 7 at

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in E ...

. The village of

Framingham Earl Framingham Earl is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located north-west of Loddon and south-east of Norwich. History Framingham Earl's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old Eng ...

which borders Poringland, contains the local High School. The

River Chet The River Chet is a small river in South Norfolk, England, a tributary of the River Yare. It rises in Poringland and flows eastwards through Alpington, Bergh Apton, Thurton and Loddon. At Loddon it passes under the A146 through Loddon Mil ...

(Norfolk) rises in Poringland. The German writer W.G. Sebald lived in Poringland until his death in a car crash in 2001. A former Norwich City and Scotland international footballer

Robert Fleck Robert William Fleck (born 11 August 1965, in Glasgow) is a former Scottish professional footballer and manager. Fleck played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Scottish Premier League for Rangers, in England for Chelsea in the ...

also lived in Poringland.

Ronan Parke Ronan Parke (born 8 August 1998) is an English singer from Poringland, Norfolk, UK who came runner-up in the fifth series of ITV show '' Britain's Got Talent'' in 2011 when he was 12 despite being the bookies' favourite to win. Since appearing ...

, runner-up of

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

in 2011, also resides in the village. As does former Norwich City and Everton manager,

Mike Walker Mike Walker is the name of: Sports * Mike Walker (rugby union) (1930–2014), Scottish rugby union player * Mike Walker (English footballer) (born 1945), former English footballer * Mike Walker (Welsh footballer) (born 1945), former Welsh footbal ...

Governance

Poringland is part of the electoral ward called Poringland with the Framinghams. The population as of the 2011 census was 4,826.

References

External links

All Saints on the European Round Tower Churches websitePoringland Primary SchoolPoringland Parish Council
Villages in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk {{Norfolk-geo-stub