Stow Bedon is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Stow Bedon and Breckles, in the

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 ...

district of 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 ...

. Stow Bedon adjoins the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Lower Stow Bedon, although the two are often considered to be one village. In the south of the parish is the village of Breckles. In 2011 the merged parish had a population of 290. The village's name means 'Place'. The village was held by John di Bidun in the 13th century. 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 ...

of 1086 mentions both Stow Bedon (together with Caston) and Breckles. The inclosure act mentions Stow Bedon as a 'Free Village' and mentions how the village "maintained an independent spirit". Further records show that during

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's Jubilee, instead of the traditional roasting of an ox, Stow Bedon only roasted a pig. Kelly's Directory for 1883 records that Stow Bedon had a population of 324 with a total of 35 dwellings. It has been assumed in recent times, however, that the true number of houses during this period would have been greater. The village church dates from the 14th century and is dedicated to St Botolph; it is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building. The south and west of the area is a separate ecclesiastical parish, and its church, St Margaret's at Breckles, is Grade I listed. A station at Stow Bedon, on the Thetford & Watton Railway, opened in October 1869 and closed with the line in June 1964. The Great Eastern Pingo Trail, a 13-kilometre circular walk, starts and finishes in the village. Parking is on the A1075, in the former railway station yard. The village fete is held annually in June, and St Botolph's church holds a flower festival. Stow Bedon is closely connected to the towns of Watton,

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

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

Governance

On 1 April 1935 the parish of Breckles was merged with Stow Bedon. The merged parish is now called "Stow Bedon and Breckles". In 1931 the parish (prior to the merge) had a population of 245.

References

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Stow%20Bedon Villages in Norfolk Former civil parishes in Norfolk Breckland District {{Norfolk-geo-stub