Hardingham

{{Infobox UK place

| country = England

| coordinates = {{coord|52.59469|1.01667|display=inline,title}}

| os_grid_reference = TG044039

| official_name = Hardingham

| population = 335

| population_ref = (2021 census)

| shire_district = Breckland

| shire_county = Norfolk

| region = East of England

| civil_parish = Hardingham

| constituency_westminster = Mid Norfolk

| postcode_district = NR9

| postcode_area = NR

| post_town = NORWICH

| dial_code = 01953

| london_distance =

| hide_services =

| website = https://hardinghamparish.wixsite.com/home

| static_image = Village sign - geograph.org.uk - 846717.jpg

| static_image_width = 240px

| static_image_caption = Hardingham Village Sign

| area_total_sq_mi = 3.78

}}

Hardingham is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish also includes the hamlet of Danemoor Green, located about one mile north-east of the village.

Hardingham is located {{Convert|4.5|mi|km}} north-west of Wymondham and {{Convert|12|mi|km}} west of Norwich.

History

Hardingham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the homestead of Hearda's people.{{Cite web |title=Key to English Place-names |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Hardingham |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk}}

Hardingham is not recorded in the Domesday Book.

The parish also includes the location of the medieval settlement of Flockthorpe, which was probably abandoned due to the ravages of the Black Death.{{Cite web |title=MNF2966 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF2966 |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}

In the Sixteenth Century, Sir Thomas Gresham built a moated residence in Hardingham.{{Cite web |title=MNF2973 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF2973 |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}

Hardingham Watermill is first recorded in 1766 and was eventually closed in 1933. The mill building was burnt down in 1966 as part of the film The Shuttered Room starring Oliver Reed, despite a last minute intervention by Sir Ian Gilmour MP.{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Mills - Hardingham watermill |url=https://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Watermills/hardingham.html |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.norfolkmills.co.uk}}

Hardingham Railway Station opened in 1847 as a stop on the Wymondham-Dereham Railway Line. The station closed to passengers in 1969 but still operates periodically on the Mid-Norfolk Railway.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Hardingham has a population of 335 people which shows an increase from the 267 people recorded in the 2011 census.{{Cite web |title=Hardingham (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastofengland/admin/breckland/E04006124__hardingham/ |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.citypopulation.de}}

St. George's Church

Hardingham's parish church is dedicated to Saint George and dates from the Thirteenth Century. St. George's is located outside of the village on Church Road and has been Grade I listed since 1960.{{Cite web |title=CHURCH OF ST GEORGE, Hardingham - 1342569 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1342569?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} The church holds sporadic church services and is part of the Barnham Broom & Upper Yare Benefice.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-13 |title=Hardingham St George |url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/10112/service-and-events/events-all/ |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.achurchnearyou.com |language=en}}

St. George's holds a memorial to Major William Mordaunt Marsh Edwards VC who lived in the parish and was awarded the Victoria Cross in the Anglo-Egyptian War as well as several original battlefield crosses from the First World War.{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Churches |url=http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/hardingham/hardingham.htm |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.norfolkchurches.co.uk}}

Governance

Hardingham is part of the electoral ward of Mattishall for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.

The village's national constituency is Mid Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's George Freeman MP since 2010.

War Memorial

Hardingham's war memorial is an elaborate wooden memorial in St. George's Church which lists the following names for the First World War:{{Cite web |title=Geograph:: Hackford to Hunworth :: War Memorials in Norfolk |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/War-Memorials-in-Norfolk/10 |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.geograph.org.uk}}

class="wikitable"

!Rank

!Name

!Unit

!Date of Death

!Burial/Commemoration

Lt.

|Geoffrey S. Walley

|5th Bn., King's Royal Rifle Corps

|20 Aug. 1916

|Dernancourt Cemetery

2Lt.