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Halvergate

Village in Norfolk, England

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Halvergate is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, between the Rivers Bure and Yare. The civil parish also includes the hamlet of Tunstall.

Halvergate is located 2.8 miles (4.5 km) south-east of Acle and 12 miles (19 km) east of Norwich.

01History

Halvergate's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the land costing half a heriot (a death duty of military equipment).

In the Domesday Book of 1086, Halvergate is listed as a settlement of 69 households hundred of Walshamshire. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of King William I.

Halvergate Hall was built in 1840 for Sir Cyrus Gillet.

In 1944, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator of the 466th Bombardment Group crashed in the parish after taking-off from RAF Attlebridge, killing all of its crew. A group of enthusiasts excavated the wreck in 1979 and were startled to discover the bomb load still in place.

Howard's Mill
Howard's Mill

02Geography

According to the 2021 census, Halvergate has a population of 585 people which shows a decrease from the 907 people recorded in the 2011 census.

Halvergate is within The Broads National Park and is close to Halvergate Marshes, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Weavers' Way footpath passes through the village.

03Church of St. Peter & St. Paul

Halvergate's parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul and dates from the Fifteenth Century. The church is located within the village on 'The Street' and has been Grade I listed since 1962. St. Peter & St. Paul's is no longer open for Sunday services.

The church was renovated several times during the Victorian era, most notably in the 1870s by Richard Phipson. Despite this, there is still some surviving Fifteenth Century stained-glass windows.

04Windmills

Halvergate has several windmills. One is a corn mill, the others are drainage mills.

  • High's Mill is a tower mill built in the early 19th century. It has been conserved.
  • Howard's Mill is a tower mill built in the mid 19th century. It has been restored.
  • Key's Mill is a tower mill built in the 1700s. It has been conserved.
  • Mutton's Mill is a tower mill built c.1830. It has been restored.
  • Stone's Mill is a tower mill built in the mid 19th century. It is derelict.

05Amenities

Acle & Halvergate Cricket Club play home games at the Queen Elizabeth II Playing Fields close to the village. The club operates several teams including a youth setup with the First XI playing in the Premier Division of the Norfolk Cricket Alliance.

The Red Lion Pub has been open in the village since at least 1789. The pub remains open.

06Governance

Halvergate is part of the electoral ward of Marshes for local elections and is part of the district of Broadland.

The village's national constituency is Broadland and Fakenham which has been represented by the Conservative Party's Jerome Mayhew MP since 2019.

Watch videos about HalvergateExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Halvergate, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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