Caistor St Edmund

Village in Norfolk, England

Human settlement in England

Caistor St Edmund and Bixley

District

South Norfolk

Shire county

Norfolk

Region

East

CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townNORWICHPostcode districtNR14Dialling code01508PoliceNorfolkFire Norfolk Ambulance East of England

List of places: UK; England; Norfolk

52°35′12″N 1°17′59″E / 52.586781°N 1.29982°E / 52.586781; 1.29982

Caistor St Edmund is a village and former civil parish on the River Tas, now in the parish of Caistor St Edmund and Bixley, in the South Norfolk district, in Norfolk, England. The parish covered an area of 6.55 square kilometres (2.53 sq mi) and had a population of 270 people in 116 households at the 2001 Census which increased to 289 people by the 2011 Census.

History

The remnants of the capital of the Iceni tribe, Venta Icenorum, are located nearby and are now in the care of the Norfolk Archaeological Trust. It is presumed that the Stone Street Roman road runs from Dunwich in Suffolk to Caistor St Edmund.

Caistor St Edmund's name hails back to its Romans origins with 'Caistor' referring to the Old English for a Roman settlement, added to a dedication for the East Anglian King, Saint Edmund.^[1]

In the Domesday Book of 1086, Caistor St Edmund is recorded as a settlement of 26 households in the hundred of Henstead. The village was divided between Ralph de Beaufour and Bury St Edmunds Abbey.^[2]

Caistor Old Hall was built in 1612 for Thomas Pettus, 1st Baronet and remained in the Pettus family until the Nineteenth Century when it passed to the Spurrells of Thurgarton.

On 1 April 2019, the parish was merged with Bixley to form "Caistor St Edmund and Bixley".^[3]

St. Edmund's Church

Caistor St. Edmund's Parish Church is of Norman origin and is dedicated to Saint Edmund. Throughout the years, parts of the Roman ruins located around the village have been cannibalised to further extend the church which leaves it with an almost unique character. ^[4]

Notable residents

Boudica – Iceni rebel (possible)

In popular culture

Steve Coogan's comedy character, Alan Partridge was married in St. Edmund's Church.

War memorial

Caistor St Edmund's War Memorial is located in St. Edmund's Churchyard and was unveiled in 1922 by Reverend John Warren. It lists the following names for the First World War:

Second-Lieutenant Richard La Fontaine Whittall (1893–1915), Headquarters, 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division
Cadet J. Derek Corbould-Warren (d.1917), Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Corporal George Franklin (1885–1914), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
Lance-Corporal Arthur C. Fuller (1883–1915), Military Foot Police
Private William Leech (1894–1917), 4th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
Private Walter Ellis (1894–1917), 5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
Rifleman Charles E. Back (1897–1917), 21st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps
Rifleman Walter W. J. Blake (1898–1918), 3rd Battalion, Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)

And, the following for the Second World War:

Sergeant Cedric R. Minns (1921–1943), No. 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF^[5]

References

^ University of Nottingham. (2022). Retrieved November 19, 2022. http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Caister%20St.%20Edmund
^ Domesday Book. (1086). Retrieved November 19, 2022. https://opendomesday.org/place/TG2303/caistor-st-edmunds/
^ South Norfolk Government. (2018). Retrieved November 19, 2022. http://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/Reviews/Eastern/Norfolk/South%20Norfolk/CGR/South%20Norfolk%20DC%20(ROCG)%20Order%202018.pdf Archived 6 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine
^ Knott, S. (2020). Retrieved November 19, 2022. http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/caistorstedmund/caistorstedmund.htm
^ Peck, M. (2017). Retrieved November 19, 2022. http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/CaistorStEdmund.html