Caston

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Norfolk, England}}

{{Infobox UK place

| country = England

| coordinates = {{coord|52.54346|0.88295|display=inline,title}}

| os_grid_reference = TL955978

| official_name = Caston

| population = 480

| population_ref = (2021)

| area_total_km2 = 6.37

| static_image = ChurchofTheHolyCross.jpg

| static_image_width = 240px

| static_image_caption = Church of the Holy Cross

| shire_district = Breckland

| shire_county = Norfolk

| region = East of England

| civil_parish = Caston

| constituency_westminster = Mid Norfolk

| postcode_district = NR17

| postcode_area = NR

| post_town = ATTLEBOROUGH

| dial_code = 01953

| london_distance =

| website = http://www.castonparishcouncil.co.uk/

}}

Caston is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.

Caston is located {{Convert|3.2|mi|km}} south-east of Watton and {{Convert|18|mi|km}} west of Norwich.

History

Caston's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for "Catt's farmstead or settlement".{{Cite web |title=Key to English Place-names |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Caston |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk}}

In the Domesday Book, Caston is recorded as a settlement of 56 households in the hundred of Wayland. The village was divided between the estates of King William and William de Warenne.{{Cite web |title=Caston {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/TL9597/caston/ |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=opendomesday.org}}

The remains of a fifteenth century stone cross are mounted on the village green, this monument was originally larger and more ornately carved until it was smashed by Puritans during the seventeenth century. The stone was originally a waypoint for pilgrims travelling to the Walsingham Shrines.{{Cite web |title=MNF5775 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF5775 |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}

During the sixteenth century, Caston was the residence of Edward Gilman, who was one of the earliest recorded ancestors of Abraham Lincoln.{{Cite web |title=Abraham Lincoln Family Group {{!}} Edward Gilman {{!}} Ahnentafel No: 516 (7637) |url=https://famouskin.com/family-group.php?name=7637+abraham+lincoln&ahnum=516 |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=famouskin.com}}

Caston Windmill was built in the nineteenth century for Edward Wyer. Today, the mill is in private ownership and is Grade II listed.{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Mills - Caston tower windmill |url=https://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Windmills/caston-towermill.html |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=www.norfolkmills.co.uk}}

Demography

By 1848, the village had a population of 513.{{cite web |title=Caston - Catterick A Topographical Dictionary of England. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp531-534 |website=British History Online |publisher=S Lewis, London 1848 |access-date=22 January 2025}}According to the 2021 census, Caston has a population of 480 people which shows an increase from the 443 people recorded in the 2011 census.{{Cite web |title=Caston (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastofengland/admin/breckland/E04006101__caston/ |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=www.citypopulation.de}}

Transport

The B1077 road, between Carbrooke and Ipswich, runs through the parish. The village is served by Konectbus routes 81, 82 and X6, part of the Norwich park and ride scheme.

File:Caston village sign Norfolk England.jpg

Notable buildings

=Church of the Holy Cross=

Caston's parish church dates from the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, stands at the junction between Stow Bedon and Attleborough Roads and has been Grade I listed since 1958.{{Cite web |title=CHURCH OF HOLY CROSS, Caston - 1076784 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1076784?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} The church was heavily restored in 1850s and features several Medieval, stained-glass roundels which were re-set after damage during the Second World War. The church also boasts a grand candelabra which originally came from Hampton Court Palace and came to Caston via Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Churches |url=http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/caston/caston.htm |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=www.norfolkchurches.co.uk}}

=War Memorial=

Caston's war memorial is a wheel-cross made of Aberdeen granite on the Village Green which was unveiled in 1920.{{Cite web |title=Caston War Memorial, Caston - 1442404 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1442404?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:{{Cite web |title=Geograph:: Caister to Croxton :: War Memorials in Norfolk |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/War-Memorials-in-Norfolk/5 |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=www.geograph.org.uk}}{{Cite web |title=Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Caston |url=https://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Caston.html |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=www.roll-of-honour.com}}

class="wikitable"

!Rank

!Name

!Unit

!Date of Death

!Burial

2Lt.

|Frederick C. Corley

|8th Bn., Border Regiment

|12 Apr. 1918

|Ploegsteert Memorial

Sgt.