Grimston, Norfolk

{{Infobox UK place

| country = England

| coordinates = {{coord|52.77195|0.54993|display=inline,title}}

| os_grid_reference = TF721224

| official_name = Grimston

| population = 2,020

| population_ref = (2021 census)

| static_image = St Botolph, Grimston, Norfolk - geograph.org.uk - 309218.jpg

| static_image_caption = St Botolph's Church

| shire_district = King's Lynn and West Norfolk

| shire_county = Norfolk

| region = East of England

| civil_parish = Grimston

| constituency_westminster = North West Norfolk

| postcode_district = PE32

| postcode_area = PE

| post_town = KING'S LYNN

| dial_code = 01485

| london_distance =

| area_total_sq_mi = 6.98

}}

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

Grimston is located {{Convert|5.7|mi|km}} east of King's Lynn and {{Convert|33|mi|km}} north-west of Norwich.

History

In 1860, a substantial Roman villa was discovered in Grimston, which was excavated in 1905.{{Cite web |title=MNF3575 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF3575 |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}

Grimston's name is of mixed Anglo-Saxon and Viking origin and derives from an amalgamation of the Old English and Old Norse for Grimr's farm or settlement.{{Cite web |title=Key to English Place-names |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Grimston |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk}}

In the Domesday Book, Grimston is recorded as a settlement of 142 households in the hundred of Freebridge. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William de Warenne, Roger Bigod of Norfolk and Berner the Bowman.{{Cite web |title=Grimston {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/TF7221/grimston/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=opendomesday.org}}

Grimston, and the nearby hamlet of Pott Row, were significant centres of pottery production from the 11th to 16th centuries, and important suppliers of this to Scandinavia. Grimstonware has been found as far afield as Italy and Spain. Pots often had faces carved just under the rim. Some of these can be seen in local museums including the Castle Museum, Norwich.{{Cite web |title=MNF11789 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF11789 |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}

The parish also includes the deserted medieval settlement of Wyveling, which was probably abandoned due to the ravages of the Black Death.{{Cite web |title=MNF3324 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF3324 |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Grimston has a population of 2,020 people which shows an increase from the 1,980 people listed in the 2011 census.{{Cite web |title=Grimston (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastofengland/admin/kings_lynn_and_west_norf/E04006317__grimston/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.citypopulation.de}}

The B1153, between Narborough and Brancaster, passes through the village.

Grimston Warren Pit is a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the abundance of fossils from the Lower Cretaceous Period.

St. Botolph's Church

Grimston's parish church is dedicated to Saint Botolph and dates from the Thirteenth Century. St. Botolph's is located within the village on Gayton Road and has been Grade I listed since 1960.{{Cite web |title=CHURCH OF ST BOTOLPH, Grimston - 1342401 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1342401?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} The church no longer holds Sunday services but is part of the Gayton, Grimston & Great Massingham Benefice.{{Cite web |title=Grimston: St Botolph |url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/2636/service-and-events/events-all/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.achurchnearyou.com |language=en}}

St. Botolph's has an impressive collection of medieval bench-ends and a stained-glass window installed in 1851 by the workshop of Michael O'Connor depicting Saint Paul before Herod Agrippa.{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Churches |url=http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/grimston/grimston.htm |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.norfolkchurches.co.uk}}

Notable Residents

Adam Thoroughgood- (1604-1640) Virginia settler, born in Grimston.

Governance

Grimston is part of the electoral ward of Gayton & Grimston 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

Grimston War Memorial is a tall stone wheel cross in St. Botolph's Churchyard which was restored in 1990.{{Cite web |title=Grimston War Memorial, Grimston - 1453024 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1453024?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:{{Cite web |title=Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Grimston |url=https://roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Grimston.html |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=roll-of-honour.com}}{{Cite web |title=Geograph:: Garboldisham to Gunton :: War Memorials in Norfolk |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/War-Memorials-in-Norfolk/9#garboldisham-to-gunton |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.geograph.org.uk}}

class="wikitable"

!Rank

!Name

!Unit

!Date of Death

!Burial/Commemoration

St1C

|Alfred Rumbles

|HMS Pathfinder

|5 Sep. 1914

|Queensferry Cemetery

Cpl.