Cockthorpe
{{Short description|Village in Norfolk, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Cockthorpe
| country = England
| region = East of England
| shire_district = North Norfolk
| shire_county = Norfolk
| civil_parish = Binham
| static_image = All Saints Cockthorpe.jpg
| static_image_width = 250px
| static_image_caption = All Saints' Church
| population =
| population_ref =
| population_density =
| os_grid_reference = TG982422
| coordinates = {{coord|52.94|0.94|display=inline,title}}
| post_town = Wells-next-the-Sea
| postcode_area = NR
| postcode_district = NR23
| dial_code = 01328
| constituency_westminster = North Norfolk
| london_distance =
}}
Cockthorpe is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Binham, in the English county of Norfolk.
Cockthorpe is located {{Convert|6.4|mi|km}} north-west of Holt and {{Convert|26|mi|km}} north-west of Norwich. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Binham.{{cite web |title=Relationships and changes Cockthorpe AP/CP through time |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10015870 |accessdate=2 October 2022 |publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time}}
History
The village's name is of mixed Viking and Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from an amalgamation of the Old Norse and Old English for a outlying farmstead or settlement with an abundance of either chickens or gamebirds.{{Cite web |title=Key to English Place-names |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Cockthorpe |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk}}
In the Domesday Book, Cockthorpe is recorded as a settlement of 5 households in the hundred of Greenhoe. In 1086, the village formed parts of the estates of William de Beaufeu.{{Cite web |title=[Cock] Thorpe {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/TF9842/cock-thorpe/ |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=opendomesday.org}}
In the 17th century, Cockthorpe provided a number of notable Royal Navy officers, including Sir Christopher Myngs, Sir John Narborough, and Sir Cloudesley Shovell.{{Cite book |last=Rodger |first=N. A. M. |title=The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649 - 1815 |date= |publisher=Penguin |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-14-102690-9 |location= |pages=217}}
Between 1940 and 1961, Cockthorpe was host to RAF Langham, a satellite airfield for RAF Bircham Newton operated by RAF Coastal Command.{{Cite web |title=Langham-airfield-and-dome-trainer - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF1891-Langham-airfield-and-dome-trainer |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}
Geography
In 1931 the parish had a population of 55,{{cite web |title=Population statistics Cockthorpe AP/CP through time |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10015870/cube/TOT_POP |accessdate=2 October 2022 |publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time}} this was the last time that separate population statistics were collated for Cockthorpe.
The nearest railway station is at Sheringham for the Bittern Line which runs between Sheringham, Cromer and Norwich. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport.
All Saints' Church
Cockthorpe's parish church is located on Airfield Road and dates back to the Eleventh or Twelfth Centuries.{{Cite web |title=All-Saints'-Church-Cockthorpe - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF1888-All-Saints'-Church-Cockthorpe |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}
All Saints' fell into disuse during the Second World War but features Medieval wall paintings which were uncovered in the 1990s as well as stained-glass windows designed by J. & J. King of Norwich.{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Churches |url=http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/cockthorpe/cockthorpe.htm |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=www.norfolkchurches.co.uk}}
Notable Residents
- Colonel Christopher Calthorpe- (c.1560-1662) Virginian settler and representative, born in Cockthorpe.{{Cite web |last=Richter |first=Julie |title=Christopher Calthorpe (ca. 1560–1662) |url=https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/calthorpe-christopher-ca-1560-1662/#start_entry |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=Encyclopedia Virginia |language=en-US}}
- Vice-Admiral Sir Christopher Myngs- (1625-1666) naval officer and privateer, likely born in Cockthorpe.
- Admiral Sir John Narborough- (1640-1688) naval officer, likely born or lived in Cockthorpe.
- Fleet Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell- (1650-1707) naval officer, born in Cockthorpe.
Governance
Cockthorpe is part of the electoral ward of Priory for local elections and is part of the district of North Norfolk.
The village's national constituency is North Norfolk, which has been represented by the Liberal Democrat Steff Aquarone MP since 2024.
War Memorial
There is no war memorial in Cockthorpe and it is possible that the village is one of the undocumented Thankful Villages.