Field Dalling
{{Short description|Village in Norfolk, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|52.91118|0.98345|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference = TG007390
| official_name = Field Dalling
| population = 299
| population_ref = (2021 census)
| shire_district = North Norfolk
| shire_county = Norfolk
| region = East of England
| civil_parish = Field Dalling
| constituency_westminster = North Norfolk
| postcode_district = NR25
| postcode_area = NR
| post_town = HOLT
| dial_code = 01328
| london_distance = {{convert|107|mi}}
| static_image_name = St Andrew's Church, Field Dalling - geograph.org.uk - 1055990.jpg
| static_image_width =
| static_image_caption = St. Andrew's Church
| area_total_sq_mi = 4.97
}}
Field Dalling is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
Field Dalling is located {{convert|4.5|mi}} west of Holt and {{convert|23|mi}} north-west of Norwich. The parish of Field Dalling also includes the smaller village of Saxlingham.
History
Dalling's name dates to Anglo-Saxon times and derives from the Old English for the settlement of 'Dalla's people'. The prefix 'field' was added to distinguish it from nearby Wood Dalling, {{convert|9|mi}} to the north-west.{{Cite web |title=Key to English Place-names |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Field%20Dalling |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk}}
Two possible sites of Roman settlement have been identified within the parish, with artefacts such as coins, pottery and brooches being unearthed which leads to the conclusion that Field Dalling was the site of Roman industrial activity.{{Cite web |title=mnf25251 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf25251 |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}
In the Domesday Book of 1086, Field Dalling is listed as a settlement of 38 households in the hundred of Greenhoe. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of King William I, Alan of Brittany and Roger Bigot.{{Cite web |title=[Field] Dalling {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/TG0039/field-dalling/ |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=opendomesday.org}}
The Jolly Farmers pub opened in Field Dalling in 1789 and finally closed in 1977, after the death of the last landlord, Charles Cox.{{Cite web |title=JOLLY FARMERS - FIELD DALLING |url=https://www.norfolkpubs.co.uk/norfolkf/fielddalling/fielddjf.htm |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.norfolkpubs.co.uk}}
During the Second World War, two spigot mortar emplacements were built in Field Dalling to provide anti-tank weaponry for the Home Guard to resist a potential German invasion of Great Britain.{{Cite web |title=mnf24569 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf24569 |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}
Geography
According to the 2021 census, Field Dalling with Saxlingham has a population of 299 people which shows an increase from the 285 people recorded in the 2011 census.{{Cite web |title=Field Dalling (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastofengland/admin/north_norfolk/E04006415__field_dalling/ |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.citypopulation.de}}
St. Andrew's Church
Field Dalling's parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew. Its tower dates from the fourteenth century and its nave and chancel from the fifteenth century. St Andrew's Church is located within the village on Langham Road and has been Grade I listed since 1959.{{Cite web |title=CHURCH OF ST. ANDREW, Field Dalling - 1049788 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1049788 |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}
The font inside St Andrew's dates from the fifteenth century. The stained glass is largely the work of the Victorian glazier William Warrington, depicting the Good Samaritan, the Parable of the Sower and the Crucifixion.{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Churches |url=http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/fielddalling/fielddalling.htm |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=www.norfolkchurches.co.uk}}
Amenities
The village has experienced a slow decline over the years; the primary school closed in 1977, the last pub in the village closed in 1986, and the post office and shop had closed down by the end of the 1990s. Apart from the church, the playground/recreation area and the village hall are the only amenities left in Field Dalling today. However, on occasions the village hall has hosted 'pub nights'. In the past there were amenities such as a bigger playing field, a football team, and a reading room.
Currently new houses for rent are being built just off the Holt Road as part of a Victory Housing Trust scheme.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
Governance
Field Dalling 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
Field Dalling's war memorial is a bronze plaque, with a wooden backing located inside St Andrew's Church. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:{{Cite web |title=Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Field Dalling |url=https://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/FieldDalling.html |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.roll-of-honour.com}}{{Cite web |title=Geograph:: Fakenham to Fundenhall :: War Memorials in Norfolk |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/War-Memorials-in-Norfolk/8#fakenham-to-fundenhall |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.geograph.org.uk}}
class="wikitable"
|+ !Rank !Name !Unit !Date of Death !Burial/Commemoration |
2Lt.
|Roger Chaworth-Musters |7 May 1917 |
St1C
|Richard Bridgwater |9 Jul. 1917 |
LCpl.
|William C. Bilham |11th Bn., Suffolk Regiment |28 Apr. 1917 |
Pte.
|Ernest W. Doughty |6th Bn., Essex Regiment |25 Feb. 1919 |St. Andrew's Churchyard |
Pte.
|Herbert Cooke |10th Bn., Essex Regt. |9 Mar. 1917 |
Pte.
|Herbert G. Doughty |10th Bn., Essex Regt. |13 Apr. 1918 |
Pte.
|Thomas S. Lucas |1st Bn., Leicestershire Regiment |5 Apr. 1918 |
Pte.
|Ernest R. Knights |1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment |28 Jun. 1918 |Aire Communal Cemetery |
There is no memorial for the fallen of the Second World War but the following men are known to have died in the conflict and were from Field Dalling:
class="wikitable"
|+ !Rank !Name !Unit !Date of Death !Burial/Commemoration |
LAC
|Raymond H. Harcourt |Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |8 Nov. 1944 |
Gnr.
|Wilfred H. Blazier |164 (HAA) Regt., Royal Artillery |21 Aug. 1943 |St. Andrew's Churchyard |
Pte.
|George T. Hall |5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment |15 Nov. 1943 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline|Field Dalling}}
{{Civil Parishes of North Norfolk}}
{{authority control}}