Wroxham
| Wroxham | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinates | 52 ° 42 ′ N , 1 ° 25 ′ E | ||
| OS National Grid | TG3017 | ||
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| Residents | 1523 (as of 2001) | ||
| surface | 6.21 km² (2.4 mi² ) | ||
| Population density | 245.2 inhabitants / km² | ||
| administration | |||
| Post town | NORWICH | ||
| ZIP code section | NR12 | ||
| prefix | 01603 | ||
| Part of the country | England | ||
| region | East of England | ||
| Shire county | Norfolk | ||
| District | Broadland | ||
| Civil Parish | Wroxham | ||
| British Parliament | North Norfolk | ||
Wroxham is a village and civil parish in Norfolk . The village spreads over an area of 6.21 km² and in 2001 the population was 1532, spread over 666 households. The village is on the Norfolk Broads on the south side of a curve of the River Bure . It is on a hill above the Bure, between Belaugh to the west and Wroxham Broad to the southeast. Wroxham is about 8 miles northeast of Norwich . The village is connected to this city by the A1151 . In the area there is more agriculture. Large, moist forest areas extend along the river. The village belongs to the District of Broadland . The Wroxham Broads, the river and the surrounding area are regulated by the Broads Authority . On the north side of the Bure is the village of Hoveton , which is often confused with Wroxham.
Wroxham Bridge
Wroxham Bridge was built of brick and stone in 1619, replacing a bridge built in 1576. It replaced an even older but probably wooden bridge. It is described as one of the two most difficult bridges to cross by boat (next to Potter Heigham's ). There is a station house by the bridge on the Hoveton side that helps boats pass through for £ 6 per boat.
Wroxham Broad
Wroxham Broad is about 1 mile downstream from Wroxham Bridge. Wroxham Broad has an area of 34.4 hectares and an average depth of 1.3 meters. The area lies west of the Bure, with two passable openings between the river and the Broad. The area is known for its sailing sport and is home to the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club . It is also an important place for the flora and fauna. Between 2000 and 2005, the island between the two canals that connect Wroxham Broad to the Bure was renewed to counteract erosion and improve ecology. The project was an initiative of the Broads Authority , the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club and the local landowner Trafford Estates. The undergrowth was cleared and a stretch of sand mounds was piled up, allowing the return of Cyprus grass, thatch and rushes. In 2005 it was reported that bird populations had increased, including kingfishers and the rare silk warbler , who chose the island as a breeding site. Large numbers of ducks, including pochard and tufted ducks, wintered nearby. There was also a greater spread of wildflowers and bog plants, including orchids. During the 2004 work, volunteer workers came across an undiscovered WWII grenade while doing dredging.
"Capital of the Broads"
Wroxham is often described as the "Capital of the Broads" and was the first port of call in the Broads for boating holidays and excursions from the late 19th century when the expansion of the rail network made it easier to travel to. The East Norfolk Railway reached Wroxham between 1874 and 1876, and John Loynes started the first boat rental business on the Broads in Wroxham. He had previously started in Norwich in 1878.
Wroxham and Hoveton
Both Wroxham and Hoveton have various boat and vehicle rentals. Other sources of industrial income are the canning of berries. Wroxham once had a public building (the castle on Norwich Road), post office and elementary school (on Church Lane) - for much of the 20th century - but all of them have now been closed. There are still a few small shops on Norwich Road and a small public library was built near Bridge Broad, a small area near the Wroxham Bridge, in the 1960s.
Wroxham is now almost entirely united with Hoveton . Each village is on one side of the river, with commercial activity mainly developing in Hoveton. The area around the Wroxham Bridge is a local shopping mall mainly for the Roys of Wroxham store . The shop was built on this site in 1899 and has been the largest shop in the village since the 1930s. Roys of Wroxham is on the Hoveton side of the river, as is the post office and Hotel Wroxham. It appears that the riverside part of Hoveton was named after the Wroxham Bridge. This part is the business center of both places. The station in Hoveton, but originally called "Wroxham Station", is now called Hoveton and Wroxham Railway Station . It is on the Bittern Line from Norwich to Cromer and Sheringham and is the terminus of the narrow-gauge Bure Valley Railway to Aylsham .
Important buildings
The Church of St. Mary the Virgin stands at the top of a steep drop on the River Bure, built of flint with limestone and roofs made of lead. It has a tall tower and a south entrance, which was built in the 12th century in the Norman style . It is stained blue, with seven columns and three shafts, which the historian Nikolaus Pevsner describes as "barbaric and magnificent". The church was restored in the Victorian era . In the church graveyard is the Trafford Mausoleum, which has a medieval appearance but was built in 1831. The area around the church is the historical core of the village. A mansion, which was made of bricks and a roof with roof tiles and stands southeast of the church, has a half-timbered structure that was built in 1623. Its stepped gable wall has a Danish influence. A red brick hut from 1820 adjoins the church cemetery.
Another important building is Keys Hill House, built around 1890 by Edward Boardman, a Norwich architect, on the east side of Norwich Road. The country house is in the Jacobean style. It was later used as a kind of old people's home. The actor, musician and producer George Formby Jr. owned a house called Heronby on the river in Wroxham. It is a thatched roof house built on Beech Road in 1907. Nearby is the Charles family property where a Georgian-style property called Wroxham House was built in the mid-1920s and badly damaged in 1954. Closer to Wroxham Broad to the south is an 18th-century brick house that used to belong to the Trafford family, but is now an inn.
Literary references
1920s children's author Arthur Ransome visited Wroxham in the 1930s. In his book Coot Club (1934) he described the hustle and bustle on the river at Wroxham Bridge with the many boats such as dinghies , punting boats, motor boats and sailing yachts.
Wroxham in the dinghy business
In April 2011 a branch of the Wherry Yacht Charter Charitable Trust was opened for the restoration of Norfolk Wherrys on Hartwell Road. Work began with the restoration of the Norada dinghy . Restorations of the Olive and Hathor are planned over the next two years. Since the boats were restored, they have been available for school and youth groups as well as for private use. The Heritage Lottery Fund paid a third of the costs .
Barton House Railway
The Barton House Railway is a miniature steam locomotive, two of which are currently in service. It's big enough to carry passengers. There is also a full-size signal box as well as signals and a museum for objects from the railway sector. The museum has existed since 1963 and is located in a garden on the river side on Hartwell Road. It is on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway , which was used by many trains in East Anglia until 1947. The Barton House Railway is run by volunteers and receives donations through charity events.
Web links
- Information from Genuki Norfolk on Wroxham.
Individual evidence
- ^ Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes ( Memento from June 21, 2009 on WebCite ) ( MS Excel ; 107 kB), accessed on December 20, 2011.
- ↑ a b Wroxham Conservation Area ( Memento from July 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.9 MB), accessed on December 20, 2011.
- ^ Ordnance Survey (2005). OS Explorer Map OL40 - The Broads . ISBN 0-319-23769-9 .
- ^ Wroxham Broad island restored in innovative partnership project ( Memento September 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), accessed December 20, 2011.
- ^ Wroxham , accessed December 21, 2011.
- ^ St Mary, Wroxham , accessed December 23, 2011.
- ^ Wroxham , accessed December 23, 2011.
- ^ Wherry Yacht Charter Charitable Trust , accessed December 23, 2011.
- ↑ Wroxham base opened for wherries' restoration , accessed December 23, 2011.
- ↑ Home , accessed December 23, 2011.