Elsing

Elsing is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is approximately 5 miles (8 km) miles north-east of the town of East Dereham and 12 miles (19 km) north-west of the city of Norwich. The nearest village is Lyng, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north-east.

Elsing

St Mary's Church
Elsing
Location within Norfolk
Area6.34 km2 (2.45 sq mi)
Population229 (2001 census)
• Density36/km2 (93/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTG051166
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDEREHAM
Postcode districtNR20
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament

The civil parish has an area of 634 hectares and in the 2001 census had a population of 229 in 105 households. For the purposes of local government Elsing falls within the Upper Wensum Ward of Breckland District Council and the Elmham and Mattishall Division of Norfolk County Council.

History

Elsing in the Domesday Book is listed as "Helsinga"; this name derives from an Old Scandinavian person name with 'ingas', meaning a "settlement of the family or followers of a man called Elesa".[1] His image is depicted on the village sign together with a hunting hound.

At the Norman conquest, the manor was given to Earl Warren and then passed by inheritance to the Foliot, Hastings and Brown families. [2]

In the medieval era Elsing was a town with a population of over a thousand, and had its own market and guildhall.

Notable buildings

St Mary's Church, built in 1347, has the widest pillarless nave in East Anglia. There is a brass commemorating the life of Sir Hugh Hastings, the lord of the manor.

The Hastings family built the moated Elsing Hall in 1470. The hall incorporates a priest hole used during the 16th century to hide Catholic priests from persecution.

Other historic landmarks include the gardens at Elsing Hall, the Guildhall, the Rectory, The Mermaid Inn public house (c.1540), and Elsing Mill on the River Wensum.

BBC reporter Bob Simpson (1944 – 2006) lived in the village and is buried in the churchyard.[3]

References
  1. Mills, Anthony David (2003); A Dictionary of British Place Names, p.175, Oxford University Press, revised edition (2011). ISBN 019960908X
  2. "Eynford Hundred: Elsing Pages 201-203 An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 8. Originally published by W Miller, London, 1808". British History Online. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  3. "SIMPSON". Telegraph. 2006.



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