Alburgh

Alburgh (pronounced "Ah-brah") is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village lies about four miles (6 km) north-east of Harleston and 16 miles (26 km) south of Norwich.

For the town in Vermont, see Alburgh (town), Vermont.

Alburgh

All Saints Church, Alburgh
Alburgh
Location within Norfolk
Area6.42 km2 (2.48 sq mi)
Population410 (2011)[1]
• Density64/km2 (170/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTM267870
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHARLESTON
Postcode districtIP20
Dialling code01986
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament

Heritage

The earliest evidence of settlement at Alburgh is from the Mesolithic era. A Bronze Age barrow near the church was excavated in the 19th century, when bones were removed. Little has been recovered from the Iron Age, or the Roman or Saxon periods. However, there are plentiful medieval remains.[2]

Parts of the church of All Saints, Alburgh, date back to the 13th century. The noted church architect Richard Phipson restored it in 1876, adding "pinnacles with little flying buttresses" and reworking the chancel.[3] Today the church holds a service every Sunday as part of the Earsham benefice.[4] Its ring of eight bells is among the oldest in Norfolk. The churchyard is a conservation area.[5]

The former Methodist place of worship was converted into a dwelling in the 1960s.[6] The local public house, the Kings Head closed in 1956.[7]

Homersfield Bridge, which crosses the River Waveney between Alburgh and Homersfield, Suffolk, opened in 1870, making it the oldest surviving concrete bridge in Britain. Homersfield railway station, on the Waveney line and within the parish of Alburgh, opened in 1860 and closed in 1953. Apart from the church and the bridge, there are 17 other Grade II listed buildings in Alburgh, most of them residential.[8]

John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Alburgh in 1870–72: "ALBURGH, a parish in Depwade district, Norfolk; on an affluent[9] of the river Waveney, near the Bungay railway, 3½ miles NNE of Harleston. It has a post office under Harleston, and a fair on 21 June. Acres, 1,512. Real property, £3,699. Pop., 587. Houses, 130. The [landed] property is much subdivided. The living is a rectory in the Diocese of Norwich. Value, £395.* Patron, St. John's College, Cambridge. The church has a large Norman porch. There are [sic] a national school, and charities £240."[10]

Governance

The civil parish, including the hamlets of Piccadilly Corner and Alburgh Street, has an area of 6.42 sq. km. Its 2001 population of 349 in 149 households increased to 410 at the 2011 Census.[11] It has a parish council, which meets monthly.[12] It lies in the district of South Norfolk.[13]

Amenities and firms

Alburgh is on the No. 84 Konectbus service between Norwich and Harlestone, which runs in the daytime on Monday to Friday.[14] The village is served by Alburgh with Denton CE VC Primary School, which has about 100 pupils.[15] Among the regular events at the modern Village Hall are monthly film shows.[16] There are sports clubs for tennis, badminton and carpet bowls.[17]

Alburgh has two convenience stores, a brewery in Tunbeck Road,[18] an ice cream maker,[19] and garment-printing firm.[20]

References
  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  2. Norfolk Heritage Explorer Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  3. Wilson, Bill (2002). rev. Pevsner's Architectural Guides, Norfolk, Part 2. Yale UP, p. 177. ISBN 978-0-300-09657-6.
  4. Village site Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  5. A Church Near You Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  6. Norfolk Churches Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  7. Norfolk Public Houses Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  8. Listed Buildings Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  9. = tributary.
  10. Vision of Britain Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  11. "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  12. Parish Council Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  13. Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council, 2001. Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Retrieved December 2, 2005.
  14. Travelines Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  15. Norfolk CC 2 M Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  16. Alburgh Cinema at the Village Hall Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  17. Clubs and societies Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  18. Visit Norfolk Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  19. Commercial site Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  20. Retro Alley Retrieved 3 March 2016. Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
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