Burnham Thorpe
{{Short description|Hamlet in Norfolk, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = England
| official_name = Burnham Thorpe
| coordinates = {{coord|52.936|0.760|display=inline,title}}
| population = 131
| population_ref = (2021)
| area_total_km2 = 9.56
| civil_parish = Burnham Thorpe
| shire_district = King's Lynn and West Norfolk
| shire_county = Norfolk
| region = East of England
| constituency_westminster = North West Norfolk
| post_town = KING'S LYNN
| postcode_district = PE31
| postcode_area = PE
| dial_code = 01328
| os_grid_reference = TF855412
| static_image_name = Burnham-Thorpe-church-All-Saints.jpg
| static_image_caption = All Saints' Church
}}
Burnham Thorpe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is famous for being the birthplace of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, victor at the Battle of Trafalgar and one of Britain's greatest heroes. At the time of his birth, Nelson's father, Edmund Nelson, was rector of the church in Burnham Thorpe.[http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/burnhamthorpe/burnhamthorpe.htm All Saints ]
Burnham Thorpe is located {{Convert|19|mi|km}} north-east of King's Lynn and {{Convert|31|mi|km}} north-west of Norwich.
History
Burnham Thorpe's name is of combined Anglo-Saxon and Viking origin, and derives from the Old English for a settlement along the River Burn with the Old Norse for an outlying farmstead.{{Cite web |title=Key to English Place-names |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Burnham%20Thorpe |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk}}
In the Domesday Book, Burnham Thorpe is listed as a settlement of 58 households in the hundred of Gallow. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of William de Warenne and Robert de Verly.{{Cite web |title=Burnham Thorpe {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/TF8541/burnham-thorpe/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=opendomesday.org}}
In 1758, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson KB, 1st Viscount Nelson was born in the Rectory in Burnham Thorpe. Nelson served a distinguished career in the Royal Navy, leading his men to victories at the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Trafalgar among others. Nelson is proudly remembered in the village, with multiple monuments erected in his honour. The Rectory where Nelson was born has since been demolished, with its site being marked by a roadside plaque.{{cite web|url=http://norfolkcoast.co.uk/location_norfolk/vp_burnhamthorpe.htm|title=Burnham Thorpe|publisher=norfolkcoast.co.uk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927225409/http://www.norfolkcoast.co.uk/location_norfolk/vp_burnhamthorpe.htm|archive-date=2007-09-27}}
The village's main public house was built in 1637 and was known as The Plough until 1798 when it was renamed The Lord Nelson in honour of the victory at the Battle of the Nile. Nelson held a dinner here for the men of the village prior to his departure to join {{HMS|Agamemnon|1781|6}}.{{Cite web |title=THE LORD NELSON PUBLIC HOUSE, Burnham Thorpe - 1273705 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1273705?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} The pub survives to this day and is operated by Woodforde's Brewery.{{Cite web |title=Pub {{!}} The Lord Nelson {{!}} Burnham Thorpe |url=https://www.nelsonslocal.com/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=The Lord Nelson |language=en}}
Other listed buildings in Burnham Thorpe include Manor House (Seventeenth Century with Medieval stone),{{Cite web |title=MANOR HOUSE, Burnham Thorpe - 1239418 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1239418?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} Ivy Farm Barn (Sixteenth Century),{{Cite web |title=IVY FARM BARN, Burnham Thorpe - 1239420 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1239420?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} School House (Seventeenth Century){{Cite web |title=SCHOOL HOUSE, Burnham Thorpe - 1273656 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1273656?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} and East End Farm House (Seventeenth Century).{{Cite web |title=EAST END FARM HOUSE, Burnham Thorpe - 1273638 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1273638?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}
Burnhamthorpe Road in Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada was named after Burnham Thorpe, the homeplace of settler, John Abelson.{{Cite web |title=Burnhamthorpe – Heritage Mississauga |url=https://heritagemississauga.com/burnhamthorpe/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |language=en-US}}File:The Rectory, Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk RMG BHC1772.jpg
Geography
According to the 2021 census, the population of Burnham Thorpe is 131 people which shows a slight decrease from the 144 people listed in the 2011 census.{{Cite web |title=Burnham Thorpe (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastofengland/admin/kings_lynn_and_west_norf/E04006294__burnham_thorpe/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=www.citypopulation.de}}
The B1355, between Fakenham and Burnham Norton, runs through the parish as does the course of the River Burn.
All Saints' Church
Burnham Thorpe's parish church is located along Church Lane where a church has stood since the Domesday Book of 1087.{{cite web |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?TNF249-Parish-Summary-Burnham-Thorpe-(Parish-Summary) |title=Parish Summary: Burnham Thorpe |author= |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk |publisher=Norfolk Historic Environment Service |access-date=9 November 2023}} The present building has an arcade dating from the 13th-century, aisles from the 14th-century and the clerestorey, north porch and chancel date from the 15th-century. A bell tower of three stages at the west end also dates from the 15th-century, due to these features the church is a Grade I listed building.{{Cite web |title=CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS, Burnham Thorpe - 1239270 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1239270?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}
Additionally, the church boasts several memorials to both Horatio Nelson and to his father, Edmund Nelson and a large stone font, in which the former was baptised.{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Churches |url=http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/burnhamthorpe/burnhamthorpe.htm |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=www.norfolkchurches.co.uk}}
Famous residents
- Sir William Calthorpe KB (1410–1494), knight and High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, born in Burnham Thorpe
- Reverend Edmund Nelson (1722–1802), clergyman, Rector of Burnham Thorpe from 1755
- Catherine Suckling (1725–1767), mother of Horatio Nelson, lived in Burnham Thorpe
- William Nelson, Earl Nelson (1757–1835), clergyman, born in Burnham Thorpe
- Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson KB, Viscount Nelson (1758–1805), naval commander, born in Burnham Thorpe
- Frances Nelson, Viscountess Nelson (1758–1831), wife of Horatio Nelson, lived in Burnham Thorpe
- Solly Zuckerman, Baron Zuckerman KCB (1904–1993), zoologist and researcher, took the title Baron of Burnham Thorpe
- Miranda Raison, Anglo-French actress, born in Burnham Thorpe
Governance
Burnham Thorpe is part of the electoral ward of Burnham Market & Docking for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.
The village's national constituency is North West Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's James Wild MP since 2010.
War Memorial
Burnham Thorpe's war memorial is a stone latin cross located inside All Saint's Churchyard, it has been Grade II listed since 2017.{{Cite web |title=Burnham Thorpe War Memorial, Burnham Thorpe - 1441781 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1441781?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} The following men are listed for the First World War:{{Cite web |title=Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Burnham Thorpe |url=https://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/BurnhamThorpe.html |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=www.roll-of-honour.com}}
class="wikitable"
|+ !Rank !Name !Unit !Date of Death !Burial |
Gnr.
|Edward W. Ward |189th Bde., Royal Field Artillery |24 Oct. 1918 |
OS
|William J. Mason |25 Feb. 1915 |
Pte.
|Edward Futter |7th Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment |23 Mar. 1918 |
Pte.
|Frank C. Futter |3rd Bn., Coldstream Guards |11 May 1915 |
Pte.
|William Futter |8th Bn., King's Own Royal Regiment |28 Mar. 1918 |
Pte.
|Walter F. Futter |7th Bn., Norfolk Regiment |13 Oct. 1915 |
Rfn.
|William Johnson |11th Bn., King's Royal Rifle Corps |27 Mar. 1918 |
And, the following for the Second World War:
class="wikitable"
|+ !Rank !Name !Unit !Date of Death !Burial |
PO
|John Hibberd |15 Jul. 1944 |
Sgt.
|Peter F. Bolderstone DFM |30 Nov. 1944 |
LAC
|Jack Ives |Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |17 Nov. 1942 |All Saints' Churchyard |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline|Burnham Thorpe}}
{{Civil Parishes of King's Lynn and West Norfolk}}
{{Authority control}}