Barsham & Houghton St Giles Parish Council
VILLAGE HISTORY
Barsham
East Barsham is a village within the civil parish of Barsham in the English county of Norfolk.
The village is one of four settlements within the parish of Barsham. The other villages are North Barsham, West Barsham and Houghton St Giles.
East Barsham is 3 miles north of the town of Fakenham, 23.8 miles west of Cromer and 117 miles north of London.
Originally all four villages had their own parishes, but these were merged to create a single civil parish in 1935.
East Barsham Manor is an early Tudor manor house built in 1520. The house is constructed from red brick and tile. The roof is adorned with chimneys, some with twists and finials built in a mellow brick.
Some of the brickwork is thought not to be original being from restoration work carried out in 1919 and 1938. The gatehouse dates from a later period.
The house was built between 1520 and 1530 for Sir Henry Fermor. Henry VIII was once a guest at the manor house on his way to a pilgrimage at Walsingham. Henry VIII walked the two miles from the manor, barefoot, to the shrine at Walsingham.
All Saints Church is now only the remnant of a once larger church. The tower dates from the 17th century and is truncated to a little above the roofline of the nave. It now serves as the porch on the north side of the nave.
This arrangement is very unusual in north Norfolk. The porch probably stands on the north side because that is where the manor house is. The church is Grade II* listed. The war memorial, opposite the church, is Grade II listed.
The 18th Baron Hastings, Fr Delaval Loftus Astley, was Rector (priest) of East Barsham. He died in 1872
The Barsham Arms, formally The White Horse Inn is situated next to East Barsham Manor. The Inn originates from the 17th century and is Grade II listed.
Houghton St Giles
Houghton Saint Giles is a village within the civil parish of Barsham in the English county of Norfolk. It has also been referred to as Houghton-le-Dale or Houghton-in-the-Hole.
The villages name means 'hill-spur farm/settlement'.
The Church of England parish church of Saint Giles was largely rebuilt by William Eden Nesfield in 1877 and much of the building materials for the new church were reused from an older church on the site. At the western end of the church there is a low tower with a pyramid cap. The nave and the chancel are under one tiled roof. The church is a Grade I listed building.
