Lyng, Norfolk
| Lyng | |
|---|---|
 The Mill House on the River Wensum at Lyng | |
  Lyng Location within Norfolk | |
| Area | 7.99 km2 (3.08 sq mi) |
| Population | 860 (2021) |
| • Density | 108/km2 (280/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TG 068 176 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NORWICH |
| Postcode district | NR9 |
| Dialling code | 01603 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Lyng is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the River Wensum, some 10 km (6.2 mi) north-east of the town of East Dereham and 20 km (12 mi) north-west of the city of Norwich.[1]
The civil parish has an area of 7.99 km2 (3.08 sq mi) and in the 2021 census had a population of 860 people in 360 separate households (in the 2011 census had a population of 807 in 356 households).[citation needed] For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the Elmham and Mattishall division of Norfolk County Council and the Upper Wensum ward of Breckland District Council.[2]
History[edit]
The village's name is likely derived from the Old English word 'hlinc', meaning 'bank', 'ledge', or 'terrace',[3][4] possibly deriving from a river terrace.[5]
Human activity in the Lyng area dates back to the paleolithic period, with two flint handaxes from the period found in a gravel pit there in the 1960s. In 1916, archaeologists observed a probable mesolithic flint working site. Evidence of activity in the Early Bronze Age has been found, but there is currently no sign of Iron Age activity in the area.[5]
There is significant evidence of a Roman presence in the area, including a pottery kiln in the east of the parish as well as coins, pottery fragments, brooches, and a copper alloy votive hammer. Saxon finds are also present, including a rare Middle Saxon spur and a Late Saxon brooch.[5]
Churches[edit]
In medieval times, Lyng had two churches. St. Edmund's Chapel was the church of a Benedictine nunnery at Lyng Eastaugh, three quarters of a mile to the south-east of the village.[6] It fell into ruin after being abandoned in the 13th century and all but a small stone pillar has disappeared.[7]
St Margaret's Church is the oldest surviving building in the parish, from the medieval period.[5] It is still in use today and has regular services operated by the Church Of England.[citation needed] Externally, the church appears to be 17th to 18th century, due to a large renovation that took place around that time. The nave dates from the 15th century, when it was most probably enlarged from the original medieval church which stood there. Lyng St Margaret also houses an altar cloth which was made in the 19th century from at least two 15th-century vestments.[5]
Clergyman and poet Ralph Knevet became rector of Lyng in 1652, and remained there for the rest of his life. He died in 1671 and was buried in the chancel of St. Margaret's.[8] Charles Anson was another rector of Lyng from 1794.[9]
Other features[edit]
Lyng also has a motocross track located to the south of the village called Cadders Hill, run by the Norwich Vikings motorcycle club. The club holds the British Motocross Championship, Eastern Centre Championship, and other events annually. The track is situated in a natural valley with Cadders Hill and the surrounding woodland as its main feature.[citation needed]
Lyng had a mill house on the River Wensum originally built for milling flour, which later operated for both paper and flour.[10] It burned down, but was rebuilt in 1778.[11] The village developed a long-standing family economy of papermaking from the mill, in which wives and daughters prepared discarded linen for pulping. During the Swing Riots in 1830, when it was identified that the newly erected rag "chopping machines" that were used to make paper at the mill had disrupted this economy, Luddites armed with "axes, hammers, bars and bludgeons" attacked the machines in 1832 and destroyed the building.[12][11] The mill was rebuilt and used until 1865, but still remains next to a three-arched bridge over the Wensum river, and both are Grade II listed buildings.[11]
Multiple post-medieval kilns are present in Lyng, including multiple lime kilns in existence since at least 1836,[13] and one of which was a brick kiln that was turned up by ploughing in 1977.[14]
A World War II type 22 concrete pillbox built in 1940 still exists to the south of Lyng Easthaugh, possibly used alongside gun emplacements or a searchlight battery.[15]
Like many villages in Norfolk, Lyng is surrounded by farmland. On 26 July 1999, Greenpeace activists, led by Lord Melchett, destroyed 6 acres of genetically modified maize at Walnut Tree Farm in Lyng as a form of civil disobedience.[16][17][18] The protest created national headlines. Melchett was refused bail, but he and the other 27 activist co-defendants were acquitted of theft and criminal damage the next year.[19][20]
Eastaugh[edit]
The hamlet of Eastaugh or Easthaugh, often known as Lyng Eastaugh, lies to the south-east of the main village near Weston Longville. It is the site of the ruin of the medieval chapel of St Edmund's.[21]
References[edit]
- ^ Great Britain. Ordnance Survey (1999), East Dereham & Aylsham : Castle Acre & Reepham, Southampton, U.K.: Ordnance Survey, ISBN 0-319-21869-4, OCLC 61504634, retrieved 10 October 2022
- ^ "Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001)". 11 February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2005.
- ^ Mills, A. D. (2003). A dictionary of British place-names. A. D. Mills. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 311. ISBN 978-0-19-173944-6. OCLC 54381298.
- ^ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Parish Summary: Lyng Archived 3 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
- ^ Pinner, Rebecca (2015). The cult of St Edmund in medieval East Anglia. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. pp. 185–6. ISBN 978-1-78204-533-5. OCLC 914165854.
- ^ "MNF3048 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "Eynford Hundred: Ling | British History Online". British-history.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ The gentleman's magazine. (1731). The gentleman's magazine. Volume 97 (Being the Twentieth of a New Series. Part the First.), January – June 1827. Wellcome Library. London : E. Cave.
- ^ "Norfolk Mills – Lyng watermill". www.norfolkmills.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ a b c "MNF12698 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ Rosenband, Leonard (2 May 2004). "Comparing combination acts: French and English papermaking in the age of revolution". Social History. 29 (2): 165–185. doi:10.1080/0307102042000207831. hdl:2027/spo.0642292.0028.003. ISSN 0307-1022. S2CID 143823700. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ "MNF16656 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "MNF12943 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "MNF32443 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "GM crops: The Greenpeace activists who risked jail to destroy a field of maize". BBC News. 20 September 2020. Archived from the original on 26 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ Rose, Chris (3 September 2018). "Lord Melchett obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ Joyce, Peter (2017). The Policing of Protest, Disorder and International Terrorism in the UK Since 1945. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 115. ISBN 9781137290595.
- ^ Rose, Chris (3 September 2018). "Lord Melchett obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ Vidal, John (28 July 1999). "Lord Melchett refused bail". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ Ruins of St Edmund's Chapel, Lyng and multi-period finds Archived 3 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Norfolk Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
External links[edit]
- Map sources for Lyng, Norfolk
- Information from Genuki Norfolk on Lyng.