Bexwell

The name Bexwell is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for Beac's spring or stream.{{Cite web |title=Key to English Place-names |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Bexwell |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk}}

Bexwell is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as consisting of 18 households in the hundred of Clackclose. At this time, Bexwell was divided into the estates of Roger Bigod, the Abbey of St. Etheldreda, Henry de Ferrers and Reginald, son of Ivo.{{Cite web |title=Bexwell {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/TF6303/bexwell/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=opendomesday.org}}

St. Mary's Church, Bexwell is one of the 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk. It was likely built during the Twelfth Century and contains memorials Henry Bexwell and Francis Bachcroft within.{{Cite web |title=Bexwell |url=http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/bexwell/bexwell.htm |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=www.norfolkchurches.co.uk}} The church was restored in the Nineteenth Century and was further refurbished in the 1980s by local fundraising.{{Cite web |title=St-Mary's-Church-Bexwell - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF2470-St-Mary's-Church-Bexwell |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}

There is also a late Fifteenth Century stone barn which stands adjacent to the A1122, King's Lynn to Colchester. It is likely that this structure was built as a gatehouse to Ryston Hall and was later repurposed as a barn. It was re-roofed in the Twentieth Century. The building has been Grade II listed since 1984.{{Cite web |title=BARN 110 METRES NORTH OF ST MARYS CHURCH, Ryston - 1077854 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1077854?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}

Bexwell Hall Farmhouse, along Bexwell Lane, originates from the late Sixteenth Century but has been extensively remodelled since. This structure has been Grade II listed since 1989.{{Cite web |title=BEXWELL HALL FARMHOUSE, Ryston - 1251340 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1251340?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}

File:Stone barn at Bexwell, near Downham Market, Norfolk - geograph.org.uk - 40374.jpgIn the 1931 Census, Bexwell had a population of 60.{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10068770/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Bexwell AP/CP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=23 September 2022}} On 1 April 1935, the parish was abolished and merged with Ryston.{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10068770|title=Relationships and changes Bexwell AP/CP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=23 September 2022}}

St. Mary's Church holds a Roll of Honour to the villagers who fought during the First World War which includes the names of seven individuals in total.{{Cite web |title=Bexwell - Roll of Honour |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/106709 |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=Imperial War Museums |language=en}} Included in this is Second-Lieutenant Charles D. Prangley (1897-1916) who fought with the 1st Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment and was killed on 25 September 1916, during the Battle of the Somme.{{Cite web |title=Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Denver incorporating Fordham, Ryston, Roxham and Bexwell |url=https://roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Denver.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=roll-of-honour.com}} Prangley occupies Grave V. D. 7 of the Guards' Cemetery, Lesbœufs, Commonwealth War Graves Commission. (2022). Retrieved November 02, 2022. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/543482/charles-dean-prangley/ and is also commemorated on the Denver War Memorial.

Some parts of Bexwell were part of RAF Downham Market during the Second World War.

Bexwell is part of the electoral ward of Ryston for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

Bexwell's national constituency is South West Norfolk, which has been represented by Labour's Terry Jermy MP since 2024.

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• [http://www.bexwell-church.co.uk/ St Mary's Church website]
• [https://www.roundtowerchurches.net/norfolk/norfolk-a-b/bexwell-2/ St Mary's on the European Round Tower Churches Website]

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Category:Villages in Norfolk

Category:Former civil parishes in Norfolk

Category:King's Lynn and West Norfolk

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