Coston, Norfolk

Coston
St. Michael's Church
Coston Location within Norfolk
Civil parish	Brandon Parva, Coston, Runhall and Welborne
District	South Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NORWICH
Postcode district	NR9
Dialling code	01603
UK Parliament	Mid Norfolk

Coston is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Brandon Parva, Coston, Runhall and Welborne, in the English county of Norfolk.

Coston is located 4.2 miles (6.8 km) north-west of Wymondham and 10 miles (16 km) west of Norwich. The village is located on the course of the River Yare.

History

Coston's name is of joint Anglo-Saxon and Viking origin and derives from an amalgamation from the Old English and Old Norse for Karr's farmstead or settlement.[1]

Coston does not feature in the Domesday Book.[2]

Two businesses that are accessible to the public operate in Coston. A booking only fishing venue (carp) at Coston Day Ticket Fishing Lake[3] and the Coston Hall Dairy where raw milk can be purchased.[4]

On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Runhall.[5]

Geography

The village is divided from nearby Runhall by the River Yare. In 1931 the parish had a population of 33,[6] this was the last time separated population statistics for collated for Coston.

St. Michael's Church

Newer front porch (c. 18th century)

St Michael, hidden by the trees

Coston's parish church is dedicated to Saint Michael and dates from the Thirteenth Century. St. Michael's is located on Church Lane and has been Grade II listed since 1983.[7]

St. Michael has been abandoned since the late-Eighteenth Century and is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, who have re-roofed and restored the church is recent years. The church holds a notable memorial to Charles Capp who was killed in an accident at Runhall Mill in 1883.[8]

Governance

Coston is part of the electoral ward of Wicklewood for local elections and is part of the district of South Norfolk.

The village's national constituency is Mid Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative Party's George Freeman MP since 2010.

War Memorial

Coston's war memorial is a brass plaque in the nave of St. Michael's Church.[9] The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:[10]

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Burial
2Lt.	Frederick Abel	3rd Bn., Norfolk Regiment	30 Dec. 1917	Shatby War Cemetery
Pte.	Horace W. Balls	1/4th Bn., Norfolk Regt.	19 Apr. 1917	Gaza War Cemetery
Rfn.	Norman F. Wace	13th Bn., Rifle Brigade	4 Nov. 1918	Ghissignies Cemetery

References

1. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
2. "Map | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
3. "Coston Lakes Day Ticket Lake in Norfolk". Retrieved 28 April 2022.
4. "Raw Milk - Fresh from the Farm". Coston Hall Dairy. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
5. "Relationships and changes Coston AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
6. "Population statistics Coston AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
7. "CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL, Brandon Parva, Coston, Runhall and Welborne - 1373066 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
8. "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
9. "Coston - WW1 Plaque". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
10. "Geograph:: Caister to Croxton :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2024.