Wretham
{{Short description|Civil parish in Norfolk, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Wretham
| static_image_name = St Ethelbert's church East Wretham Norfolk (264040847).jpg
| static_image_caption = St Ethelbert's parish church
| coordinates = {{coord|52.479|0.818|type:city(500)_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference = TL915905
| population = 374
| population_ref = (2011 Census)
| area_total_km2 = 32.25
| civil_parish = Wretham
| shire_district = Breckland
| shire_county = Norfolk
| region = East of England
| country = England
| constituency_westminster = South West Norfolk
| postcode_district = IP24
| postcode_area = IP
| post_town = Thetford
| dial_code = 01953
| london_distance =
| website = [http://www.wretham.net/ Wretham Village Website]
}}
Wretham ({{IPAc-en|'|r|ɛ|t|ə|m}} {{Respell|RET|əm}}) is a civil parish in the Breckland district{{cite web |publisher=Office for National Statistics and Norfolk County Council |year=2001 |url= http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/consumption/groups/public/documents/general_resources/ncc017867.xls |title=Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes |access-date=2 December 2005}}{{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170211032229/http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/consumption/groups/public/documents/general_resources/ncc017867.xls |date=11 February 2017}} of Norfolk, England. The parish includes the village of East Wretham, which is about {{convert|6|mi|0}} northeast of Thetford and {{convert|25|mi}} southwest of Norwich.{{cite map |publisher=Ordnance Survey |year=1999 |series=OS Explorer |section=229 |title=Thetford in the Brecks |ISBN=0-319-21861-9}} It also includes the villages of Illington and Stonebridge. The parish has an area of {{convert|32.25|km2|abbr=on}}. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 374 people in 141 households.{{NOMIS2011 |id= E04006195 |title=Wretham Parish |access-date=27 June 2019}}
History
The place-name "Wretham" is derived from Old English. It means "the hām (place) where crosswort grew".{{sfn|Ekwall|1960|loc=Wretham}}
The Church of England parish church of St Ethelbert in East Wretham was built in the 12th century and rebuilt in 1865.{{sfn|Pevsner|1962|p=391}} It is a Grade II* listed building.{{NHLE |num=1170650 |desc=Church of St Ethelbert |grade=II* |access-date=28 June 2019}}
The former parish church of St Lawrence in West Wretham was built in the 14th century and is now a ruin.{{sfn|Pevsner|1962|p=392}} It is a Scheduled Monument{{NHLE |num=1004015 |desc=Ruins of St Lawrence's Church |access-date=28 June 2019}} and Grade II listed building.{{NHLE |num=1342773 |desc=Church of St Lawrence |grade=II |access-date=28 June 2019}}
RAF East Wretham was a Royal Air Force air station. It was commissioned in 1940 and operational until November 1945. It was then a resettlement camp for Polish refugees until 1946. The former air station is now part of the British Army's Stanford Training Area (STANTA).
The licensee of the Dog and Partridge local pub opposed the smoking ban that was introduced in England in July 2007.{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1563889/Christopher-Bookers-notebook.html |publisher=Telegraph Newspapers |title=Smokers take a stand at the Dog and Partridge |date=23 September 2007 |access-date=21 June 2009 |place=London |first=Christopher |last=Booker |author-link=Christopher Booker}}
=1981 air crash=
On Wednesday 4 February 1981 at 4pm, a F-111 aircraft of the 494th Tactical Fighter Squadron crashed. The aircrew were taken by helicopter to RAF Lakenheath. Firemen arrived from Thetford. The pilot was 31, and the weapon systems officer was 29.''Diss Express Friday 6 February 1981, page 1[https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/153002 1981 crash]
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last=Ekwall |first=Eilert |author-link=Eilert Ekwall |orig-year=1936 |year=1960 |title=Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names |edition=4th |place=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0198691033 |at=Wretham }}
- {{cite book |last=Pevsner |first=Nikolaus |author-link=Nikolaus Pevsner |year=1962 |title=North-West and South Norfolk |series=The Buildings of England |volume=2 |place=Harmondsworth |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0-14-071024-8 |pages=391–392 }}
External links
{{Commons category|Wretham}}
- {{oscoor gbx|TL915905_region:GB_scale:100000}}
- [http://www.wretham.net/ Wretham Village Website]
- {{cite web |url= http://www.origins.org.uk/genuki/NFK/places/w/wretham_east/ |title=Norfolk: East Wretham |publisher=GENUKI}}
{{Civil Parishes of Breckland}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Civil parishes in Norfolk
{{Norfolk-geo-stub}}