Quidenham

Quidenham is a small rural village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 22.51 km2 (8.69 sq mi) and had a population of 576 in 183 households at the 2001 census,[2] falling to a population of 560 living in 189 households at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of Breckland.

Quidenham

Quidenham St Andrew
Quidenham
Location within Norfolk
Area22.51 km2 (8.69 sq mi)
Population560 (2011)[1]
• Density25/km2 (65/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTM 027 878
Civil parish
  • Quidenham
District
  • Breckland
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNORWICH
Postcode districtNR16
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England

It is situated 10 miles (16 km) north-east of the town of Thetford and 24 miles (39 km) south-west of the city of Norwich.[3]

The place-name 'Quidenham' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Cuidenham', and means 'Cwida's ham or village'. The name 'Cwida' corresponds to the Old High German name 'Quito'.[4]

There is a local tradition that Queen Boudica or Boadicea is buried in Quidenham.

Quidenham Hall is now a monastery of Carmelite nuns. A hospice for sick children occupies the site of some former staff cottages on the property. It is run independently of the monastery under the management of East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH), a registered charity under the patronage of the Duchess of Cambridge.[5]

The church of Quidenham St Andrew is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk.

Quidenham was the location of the music festival Play Fest, which ran for two years from 2011 until 2013.[6]

The civil parish includes the historic parish and still separate settlement of Wilby, which has its own historic church. Further, the old parishes of Eccles and Hargham now form part of Quidenham civil parish, each with their own historic church still in existence.

Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit is partially located in Quidenham parish, albeit 2 miles (3.2 km) to the north-west of the village. Eccles Road railway station, on the Breckland Line between Cambridge and Norwich, is a similar distance to the north of the village.[3]

References
  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  2. Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  3. Ordnance Survey (1999). OS Explorer Map 230 - Diss & Harleston. ISBN 0-319-21862-7.
  4. Eilert Ekwall, Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p.377.
  5. "Quidenham in History". Carmelite Monastery, Quidenham. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  6. Woods, Ben. "Norfolk music festival Playfest set for liquidation". Edp24.co.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2018.

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