Colby, Norfolk

Colby
St. Giles' Church
Colby is located in Norfolk
Colby
Colby
Location within Norfolk
Area8.34 km2 (3.22 sq mi)
Population492 (2021 census)
• Density59/km2 (150/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTG222316
• London131 miles (211 km)
Civil parish
  • Colby CP
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNORWICH
Postcode districtNR11
Dialling code01263
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk
52°50′10″N 1°17′56″E / 52.83598°N 1.29883°E / 52.83598; 1.29883

Colby is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.

Colby is located 3.8 miles (6.1 km) west of North Walsham and 15 miles (24 km) north of Norwich.

History

Colby's name is of Viking origin and derives from the Old Norse for either Kolli's farm settlement or a hill farm settlement.[1]

In the Domesday Book, Colby is recorded as a settlement of 21 households in the hundred of South Erpingham. In 1086, the village formed part of the East Anglian estates of King William I.[2]

During the Second World War, searchlight batteries and an anti-aircraft emplacement were built near Colby.[3]

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Colby has a population of 492 people which shows a minor decrease from the 494 people recorded in the 2011 census.[4]

St. Giles' Church

Colby's parish church is dedicated to Saint Giles and dates from around 1300. St. Giles' is located on Long Lane and has been Grade II listed since 1960.[5]

St. Giles' was significantly extended in the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Centuries and subsequently in the Victorian era. The font dates from the Fifteenth Century with a Victorian top and close to the font was where a finger of St. Giles was held as a relic before the English Reformation.[6]

Notable Residents

Governance

Colby is part of the electoral ward of Erpingham for local elections and is part of the district of North Norfolk.

The village's national constituency is North Norfolk, which has been represented by the Liberal Democrat Steff Aquarone MP since 2024.

War memorial

Colby's war memorial is a set of stone plaques inside the south porch of St. Giles' Church. It lists the following names for the First World War:[7][8]

Rank Name Unit Date of Death Burial
2Lt. Reginald A. Sarsby 10th Bn., Norfolk Regiment 22 Dec. 1915 Guards Cemetery
Pnr. Charles H. Lee Royal Engineers 14 Nov. 1918 St. Giles' Churchyard
Pte. Stanley A. Jordan 15th Bn., Cheshire Regiment 27 Mar. 1918 Pozières Memorial
Pte. D'Arcy W. W. Hardingham 13th Bn., East Surrey Regiment 28 Sep. 1918 St. Giles' Churchyard
Pte. Frederick Doughty Hertfordshire Regiment 31 Jul. 1917 Menin Gate
Pte. Stanley H. Rouse 2nd (City) Bn., London Regiment 3 Apr. 1918 Chauny Cemetery
Pte. William E. Daniels 2/6th Bn., Norfolk Regiment 20 Mar. 1915 St. Giles' Churchyard
Pte. Frederick J. Matthews 7th Bn., Norfolk Regt. 13 Oct. 1915 Loos Memorial
Pte. Cecil H. Burdett 8th Bn., Norfolk Regt. 23 Jul. 1916 La Neuville Cemetery
Pte. Bertie H. Lowne 8th Bn., Norfolk Regt. 11 Aug. 1917 Menin Gate
Pte. Alfred E. Turner 9th Bn., Norfolk Regt. 21 Sep. 1916 Grove Town Cemetery
Pte. Arthur W. Cooper 7th Bn., Suffolk Regiment 27 Mar. 1918 Pozières Memorial

And, the following from the Second World War:

Rank Name Unit Date of Death Burial
Cpl. Edward L. Hall 5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment 23 Oct. 1943 Chungkai War Cemetery
Pte. Sidney Hudson 2nd Bn., Lincolnshire Regiment 8 Jul. 1944 Ranville War Cemetery

References

  1. ^ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Colby | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  3. ^ "mnf38508 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Colby (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  5. ^ "CHURCH OF ST GILES, Colby - 1373434 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  6. ^ "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Geograph:: Caister to Croxton :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  8. ^ "Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Colby". roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 13 December 2024.