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Bawburgh

Coordinates:52°38′00″N1°11′00″E/ 52.6333°N 1.1833°E/52.6333; 1.1833
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Bawburgh
Signpost in Bawburgh
Bawburgh is located in Norfolk
Bawburgh
Bawburgh
Location withinNorfolk
Area5.82 km2(2.25 sq mi)
Population595 (2011)
Density102/km2(260/sq mi)
Civil parish
  • Bawburgh
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNORWICH
Postcode districtNR9
Dialling code01603
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk
52°38′00″N1°11′00″E/ 52.6333°N 1.1833°E/52.6333; 1.1833

Bawburgh(/ˈbbər,ˈbɔːbərə/)[1]is a village andcivil parishin theSouth Norfolkdistrict ofNorfolk,England, lying in the valley of theRiver Yareabout 5 miles (8.0 km) west ofNorwichcity centre. According to the2001 censusit had a population of 466, increasing to 595 at the 2011 census.[2]Bawburgh is very close to the relatively newNorfolk and Norwich University Hospitaland theBowthorpeEstate.

The name is first recorded asBauenburcin 1086 and is fromOld English'stronghold of a man called Beawa.'[3]

The mill at the centre of the village was the original site of the manufacture ofColman'smustard.

There is apubcalled The King's Head.

Bawburgh is a significant location in the legend ofSt Walstan,the 10th-11th century patron saint of farm labourers. According to legend, Walstan was born at Bawburgh (or possibly Blythburgh in Suffolk) into a Saxon noble family circa 970, but at the age of 12 gave up his privileged life, choosing instead to work as a farm labourer in Taverham. His initial journey on foot from Bawburgh to Taverham took Walstan through Costessey, where he donated his noble garments to two passing peasants. After many years, Walstan's imminent death was foretold by an angel and he asked a priest for the last rites; no water was available but a miraculous spring welled up on the spot. On his death, Walstan's body was returned to Bawburgh on a cart drawn by two white oxen. The oxen stopped at Costessey, where a second spring gushed forth and at Bawburgh, where a third spring appeared. St Walstan's Well at Bawburgh is the only one of the legendary springs that remains identifiable. Walstan's body was taken into the church and Bawburgh became the centre of a cult of pilgrimage, with several miracles recorded.[4]

Church of St Mary & St Walstan

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The church ofBawburgh St Mary and St Walstanis one of 124 existinground-tower churchesinNorfolk.St Walstan's Day is celebrated on an annual basis with a church service and walk to the nearby St Walstan's Well. The church is a Grade I listed building.[1].There is acanonical sundialon the south wall.

War memorial

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Bawburgh's War Memorial is located in St. Mary and St. Walstan's Churchyard and holds the following names for theFirst World War:

And, the following for theSecond World War:

  • Leading-Airman Percy W. ClitheroeDSM(1916–1941),HMS Victorious (R38)
  • Corporal Herbert H. Mortimer (1913–1944), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment

References

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  1. ^G.M. Miller,BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names(Oxford UP, 1971), p. 12.
  2. ^"Civil Parish population 2011".Archived fromthe originalon 6 March 2016.Retrieved6 September2015.
  3. ^A.D. Mills,Dictionary of English Place-Names(Oxford UP, 2nd ed., 1998), p. 29.
  4. ^"Norfolk Churches".
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