Colkirk
Encyclopedia
Colkirk is a village
(population 547) situated about two miles south of Fakenham
in the county of Norfolk
, England
. Dating from at least the time of the Domesday Book
the village
currently has about 500 inhabitants
living in about 200 dwellings. The village has a church, (St. Mary's), in the north west corner of the village, a Village Hall, a church pond (known as the Church Pit in Norfolk dialect
), a Camping Land (land once used for the game Camping, "camp" meaning battle in Old English
). There is also a thriving village school for students from the age of four to eleven, a lively village Pub called "The Crown" and a playing field for soccer, cricket
, rounders
and school sports days.
The village lies close to the source of the River Wensum
which is between Colkirk, Oxwick
and Whissonsett
.
or Danish
word, meaning "the church of Cola", from "kirk" meaning church and "Cola" being the name of the builder or first owner of a church perhaps over a thousand years ago. The present church may possibly be on the same site as the original building and is of medieval origin.
At the time of the Domesday Book, the whole estate of the manor
of Colkirk belonged to the bishop
. At that time the cathedral
was at North Elmham
and the Domesday Book records how much land the bishop held in Colkirk, how many sheep and pigs
he kept and how many people worked on his estate.
Details of the original moated manor house
and buildings, which included a dovecote
and private chapel and was situated near Long's Lane off Dereham
Road, were described in a document of 1296.
Soon after the cathedral
was established in Norwich
in 1101, the Bishop
gave Colkirk to one of the knights of his private army. This knight
named himself after the village "Richard of Colkirk" and he and his successors lived at the manor house until 600 years ago, after which the house within the moat
was allowed to fall into decay.
About 400 years ago in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth I, the village began to look more like the Colkirk of today. Brick
and flint
started to replace timber
framed wattle and clay as building materials. Some of the earliest brick and flint houses remain today, "Starre" and "Gable End" being among the oldest houses in the village and Colkirk Hall was built towards the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I around 1595. The Timperley
family were one of the first recorded occupants of the Hall. The Timperley
family, after whom the Timperley
Estate was named, fell on hard times and lost most of their land as a penalty for helping to defend King's Lynn
against Oliver Cromwell
's troops in 1643. Colkirk Hall was subsequently bought by Marquis Townshend, since when it has been occupied as a farm house.
Other changes were taking place in Colkirk at this time. One by one the small farmers who comprised the village population were becoming poor and sold their land to richer men. In this way there came to be just a few big farms in the village as there are today. With the formation of the big farms came the division of the old, big village fields into the smaller fields, bounded by hedges
, which still exist today. All the land in the Parish
was finally brought into use when the commons were enclosed and the big woods cut down about 150 years ago.
The period 1820 to 1845 saw a population
increase in the village and a number of houses were built or rebuilt about this time. These houses can be recognised as they were generally of red brick
, rather than flint. The "Crown" was rebuilt by the Parish
in 1827 and Colkirk House was built in 1837.
Since then, most of the houses on the right hand side of School Road were built as model cottages
, by Canon Hoare, when he was Rector
of Colkirk. The School was rebuilt in 1851 and the Infants' Room added in 1894. A Chapel was established in the village in the 1830s; however, the building erected in 1875 has now been demolished.
There was a Co-op
in the village founded 120 years ago, having occupied three different sites in its time and finally situated in Dereham Road was closed in the 1960s.
Other facilities, which were once part of village life and have passed into history, include a Pork Butcher's Shop, a General Store and a Carpenter
and Undertaker, all on Hall Lane, together with a Blacksmith
and a Baker's Shop on Dereham Road. The last to be closed being the Village Shop and Post Office
which was on the junction of Dereham Road and Crown Road.
The Village Hall was built some 140 years ago by one of the Rectors of Colkirk and is now owned by the Parish.
Census population figures for the village show little change during the latter part of the 19th Century and at around 450 are about 100 fewer than the present day.
In the 1883 Kelly's Directory
described the village thus:
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
(population 547) situated about two miles south of Fakenham
Fakenham
Fakenham is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, some north east of King's Lynn, south west of Cromer, and north west of Norwich....
in the county of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Dating from at least the time of the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
the village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
currently has about 500 inhabitants
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
living in about 200 dwellings. The village has a church, (St. Mary's), in the north west corner of the village, a Village Hall, a church pond (known as the Church Pit in Norfolk dialect
Norfolk dialect
The Norfolk dialect, also known as Broad Norfolk, is a dialect that was once, and to a great extent, still is spoken by those living in the county of Norfolk in England...
), a Camping Land (land once used for the game Camping, "camp" meaning battle in Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
). There is also a thriving village school for students from the age of four to eleven, a lively village Pub called "The Crown" and a playing field for soccer, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, rounders
Rounders
Rounders is a game played between two teams of either gender. The game originated in England where it was played in Tudor times. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a round wooden, plastic or metal bat. The players score by...
and school sports days.
The village lies close to the source of the River Wensum
River Wensum
The River Wensum is a chalk fed river in Norfolk, England and a tributary of the River Yare despite being the larger of the two rivers. The complete river is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation ....
which is between Colkirk, Oxwick
Oxwick
Oxwick is a hamlet in the English county of Norfolk. It lies close to the source of the River Wensum and lies one mile south of the village of Colkirk.-External links:...
and Whissonsett
Whissonsett
Whissonsett is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is miles south of the of Fakenham, west north west of Norwich and miles north north east of London. The nearest railway station is at Wymondham for the Breckland Line which runs between Norwich and...
.
History
The name Colkirk is an Anglo-SaxonOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
or Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
word, meaning "the church of Cola", from "kirk" meaning church and "Cola" being the name of the builder or first owner of a church perhaps over a thousand years ago. The present church may possibly be on the same site as the original building and is of medieval origin.
At the time of the Domesday Book, the whole estate of the manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Colkirk belonged to the bishop
Bishop of Norwich
The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided...
. At that time the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
was at North Elmham
North Elmham
North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 1,428 in 624 households as of the 2001 census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of Breckland....
and the Domesday Book records how much land the bishop held in Colkirk, how many sheep and pigs
PIGS
PIGS is a four letter acronym that can stand for:* PIGS , Phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis, class S, a human gene* PIGS , the economies of Portugal, Italy , Greece and Spain...
he kept and how many people worked on his estate.
Details of the original moated manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
and buildings, which included a dovecote
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...
and private chapel and was situated near Long's Lane off Dereham
Dereham
Dereham, also known as East Dereham, is a town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, some 15 miles west of the city of Norwich and 25 miles east of King's Lynn. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of...
Road, were described in a document of 1296.
Soon after the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
was established in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
in 1101, the Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
gave Colkirk to one of the knights of his private army. This knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
named himself after the village "Richard of Colkirk" and he and his successors lived at the manor house until 600 years ago, after which the house within the moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
was allowed to fall into decay.
Reign
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...
of Queen Elizabeth I, the village began to look more like the Colkirk of today. Brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
and flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
started to replace timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
framed wattle and clay as building materials. Some of the earliest brick and flint houses remain today, "Starre" and "Gable End" being among the oldest houses in the village and Colkirk Hall was built towards the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I around 1595. The Timperley
Timperley
Timperley is a village within the Altrincham area, of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Situated within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, Timperley is approximately seven miles southwest of Manchester....
family were one of the first recorded occupants of the Hall. The Timperley
Timperley
Timperley is a village within the Altrincham area, of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Situated within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, Timperley is approximately seven miles southwest of Manchester....
family, after whom the Timperley
Timperley
Timperley is a village within the Altrincham area, of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Situated within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, Timperley is approximately seven miles southwest of Manchester....
Estate was named, fell on hard times and lost most of their land as a penalty for helping to defend King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
against Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
's troops in 1643. Colkirk Hall was subsequently bought by Marquis Townshend, since when it has been occupied as a farm house.
Other changes were taking place in Colkirk at this time. One by one the small farmers who comprised the village population were becoming poor and sold their land to richer men. In this way there came to be just a few big farms in the village as there are today. With the formation of the big farms came the division of the old, big village fields into the smaller fields, bounded by hedges
Hedge (gardening)
A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and tree species, planted and trained in such a way as to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area. Hedges used to separate a road from adjoining fields or one field from another, and of sufficient age to incorporate larger trees, are...
, which still exist today. All the land in the Parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
was finally brought into use when the commons were enclosed and the big woods cut down about 150 years ago.
The period 1820 to 1845 saw a population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
increase in the village and a number of houses were built or rebuilt about this time. These houses can be recognised as they were generally of red brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
, rather than flint. The "Crown" was rebuilt by the Parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in 1827 and Colkirk House was built in 1837.
Since then, most of the houses on the right hand side of School Road were built as model cottages
Cottage
__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
, by Canon Hoare, when he was Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Colkirk. The School was rebuilt in 1851 and the Infants' Room added in 1894. A Chapel was established in the village in the 1830s; however, the building erected in 1875 has now been demolished.
There was a Co-op
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
in the village founded 120 years ago, having occupied three different sites in its time and finally situated in Dereham Road was closed in the 1960s.
Other facilities, which were once part of village life and have passed into history, include a Pork Butcher's Shop, a General Store and a Carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
and Undertaker, all on Hall Lane, together with a Blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
and a Baker's Shop on Dereham Road. The last to be closed being the Village Shop and Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
which was on the junction of Dereham Road and Crown Road.
The Village Hall was built some 140 years ago by one of the Rectors of Colkirk and is now owned by the Parish.
Census population figures for the village show little change during the latter part of the 19th Century and at around 450 are about 100 fewer than the present day.
In the 1883 Kelly's Directory
Kelly's Directory
Kelly's Directory was a trade directory in the United Kingdom that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses of local gentry, landowners, charities, and other facilities. In effect, it was a Victorian version of today's...
described the village thus:
COLKIRK is a parish about two miles south from FakenhamFakenhamFakenham is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, some north east of King's Lynn, south west of Cromer, and north west of Norwich....
, in the Western division of the county, Launditch hundred, union of Mitford and LaunditchMitford and LaunditchMitford and Launditch Hundred was an old grouping of parishes for administrative purposes in the County of Norfolk, England. It is located around East Dereham and is bordered by Walsingham Hundred, Aylsham Hundred, Horsham St...
, county court district of East Dereham, rural deanery of ToftreesToftreesToftrees is a hamlet within the civil parish of Dunton in the English county of Norfolk. The hamlet is 2.3 miles south west of Fakenham, 27.3 miles north west of Norwich and 113 miles north north east of London. The nearest railway station is at Sheringham for the Bittern Line which runs between...
and archdeaconry and diocese of NorwichNorwichNorwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
: the village is situated on a height, commanding a fine prospect. The church of St. Mary the Virgin is a small plain GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
building of flintFlintFlint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
consisting of chancelChancelIn church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, naveNaveIn Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and north aisle, and towerTowerA tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
with 5 bellBell (instrument)A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
s, and contains memorials to the TimperleyTimperleyTimperley is a village within the Altrincham area, of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Situated within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, Timperley is approximately seven miles southwest of Manchester....
and other families: there are several stained windows. The register dates from the year 1538. The living is a rectoryRectoryA rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
, consolidated with OxwickOxwickOxwick is a hamlet in the English county of Norfolk. It lies close to the source of the River Wensum and lies one mile south of the village of Colkirk.-External links:...
, joint yearly value £800, with residence, in the gift of and held since 1868 by the Rev. Walter Marsham Hoare M.A. of Exeter College, Oxford. The charities amount to £30 yearly, principally for fuel. The Marquis Townshend is lord of the manorLord of the ManorThe Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
and principal landowner. The soilSoilSoil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
is mixed; subsoilSubsoilSubsoil, or substrata, is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. The subsoil may include substances such as clay and/or sand that has only been partially broken down by air, sunlight, water, wind etc., to produce true soil...
, clayClayClay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
. The chief cropsAgricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
are wheatWheatWheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, turnips and barleyBarleyBarley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
. The area is 1,482 acres (6 km2); rateable value, £2,508; and the population in 1881 was 431.
The following people are listed as tradespersons in the village:
PARISH CLERK - Mr William Smith
POST OFFICE — Mr William Thompson
NATIONAL SCHOOL - Miss H. Harrold, mistress
ST. MARYS CHURCH - Reverend Walter Marsham Hoare M.A.
COLKIRK HOUSE - Mr Stephen Ratcliffe Pope
COMMERCIAL
Mr Jones Abraham - shoe maker; Mrs Mary Chambers - Farmer, The Hall; Mr William Farrow - Shopkeeper; Mr Thomas Richard Goggs - Farmer; Mr George Harper - Basket Maker; Mrs Ann Howard - Grocer; Mr. John Howe - Publican, The Crown; Mr. James Nelson - Carpenter; Miss Elizabeth Raven and Miss Mary Ann Raven - Farmers; Mr John Rutland - Jobbing Gardener; Mr Charles Smith - Farmer; Mr Charles Spinks - Baker; Mr William Thompson - Carpenter & Post Office; Mr Matthew Wright - Beer Retailer & Blacksmith;