# Ditchingham

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Village in Norfolk, England

Human settlement in England

Ditchingham St. Mary's Church Ditchingham Location within Norfolk Area 8.56 km2 (3.31 sq mi) Population 1,823 (2021 census) • Density 213/km2 (550/sq mi) OS grid reference TM 340 910 • London 93 miles Civil parish Ditchingham District South Norfolk Shire county Norfolk Region East Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town BUNGAY Postcode district NR35 Dialling code 01986 Police Norfolk Fire Norfolk Ambulance East of England UK Parliament Waveney Valley List of places UK England Norfolk 52°28′00″N 1°26′37″E / 52.46676°N 1.44351°E / 52.46676; 1.44351

**Ditchingham** is a village and [civil parish](/source/Civil_parishes_in_England) in the [English](/source/England) [county](/source/County) of [Norfolk](/source/Norfolk).

Ditchingham is located 1.3 miles (2.1 km) north of [Bungay](/source/Bungay) and 12 miles (19 km) south-east of [Norwich](/source/Norwich), along the course of the [River Waveney](/source/River_Waveney).

## History

Ditchingham's name is of [Anglo-Saxon](/source/Anglo-Saxon) origin and derives from the [Old English](/source/Old_English) for the homestead or settlement of 'Dicca's' people.[1]

In the [Domesday Book](/source/Domesday_Book), Ditchingham is listed as a settlement of 36 households in the [hundred](/source/Hundred_(county_division)) of Lodding. In 1086, the village formed part of the [East Anglian](/source/East_Anglia) estates of [King William I](/source/William_the_Conqueror).[2]

In 1855, an Anglican convent known as the [Community of All Hallows](/source/Community_of_All_Hallows) was founded in Ditchingham by [Lavinia Crosse](/source/Lavinia_Crosse) and [Reverend William E. Scudamore](/source/William_E._Scudamore). The convent acted as a refuge for women in 'moral danger' and other destitute individuals. The community closed in 2018.[3]

[Lilias Rider Haggard](/source/Lilias_Rider_Haggard)'s novel, *The Rabbit Skin Cap (1939)* tells the life story of George Baldry, a local inventor and poacher. The picture on the front cover of the book is a painting by [Edward Seago](/source/Edward_Seago) of local schoolboy, Douglas Walter Gower. In later life, Gower discovered the tusk of a [woolly mammoth](/source/Woolly_mammoth) near the [long barrow](/source/Long_barrow) on [Broome Heath](/source/Broome_Heath) which is now displayed in [Norwich Castle Museum](/source/Norwich_Castle).[4]

Much of the surrounding countryside is part of the estate centred on [Ditchingham Hall](/source/Ditchingham_Hall) which was built in the 18th century and features gardens designed by [Capability Brown](/source/Capability_Brown). The Hall is the ancestral seat of the [Earl Ferrers](/source/Earl_Ferrers) and is currently in the possession of Robert Shirley, 14th Earl Ferrers.[5]

In the Nineteenth Century, a [silk](/source/Silk) factory was built in Ditchingham which was later converted into a [maltings](/source/Maltings) and later use as a depot for the [US Army](/source/US_Army) during the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War). The building was severely damaged by fire in 1999 and is now in residential use.[6]

## Geography

According to the [2021 census](/source/2021_United_Kingdom_census), Ditchingham has a total population of 1,823 people which demonstrates an increase from the 1,635 people listed in the [2011 census](/source/2011_United_Kingdom_census).[7]

Ditchingham is located on the course of the [River Waveney](/source/River_Waveney) with the junction of the [A143](/source/A143_road), between [Gorleston-on-Sea](/source/Gorleston-on-Sea) and [Haverhill](/source/Haverhill%2C_Suffolk), and the [B1332](/source/B_roads_in_Zone_1_of_the_Great_Britain_numbering_scheme), between [Trowse](/source/Trowse) and Ditchingham, is located in the parish.

## St. Mary's Church

Ditchingham's parish church is dedicated to [Saint Mary](/source/Saint_Mary) and dates from the Fifteenth Century. St. Mary's is located on Church Lane and has been Grade I listed since 1960.[8]

St. Mary's was restored in 1846 by [Anthony Salvin](/source/Anthony_Salvin) and again in the 1870s by [Frederick Preedy](/source/Frederick_Preedy).The church boasts an interesting set of stained-glass windows depicting [Edmund Tudor](/source/Edmund_Tudor%2C_1st_Earl_of_Richmond) with [Lady Margaret Beaufort](/source/Lady_Margaret_Beaufort) as well as others which may have been imported from [Europe](/source/Europe) after the [Napoleonic Wars](/source/Napoleonic_Wars).[9]

## Chicken Roundabout

Ditchingham's [Chicken Roundabout](/source/Chicken_roundabout) had been home to a group of [feral chickens](/source/Feral_chickens) as early as the mid-1990s, cared for by a local man called Gordon Knowles. The number of birds living at the roundabout increased and declined over the years due to a range of factors including [Avian influenza](/source/Avian_influenza) and theft. In 2010, the remaining chickens were given to an animal charity with a plaque to Knowles' role in the community being erected in 2012.[10]

## Amenities

Parravani's ice creams were established in the village in the early C20, and Lamberts Coaches are another long-established local company.

Ditchingham & District Men's Shed, Earsham, Bungay NR35 2AF. currently mornings only.[https://menssheds.org.uk/find-a-shed/](https://www.ditchinghamshed.org/useful-information/)

## Notable residents

- [Sir John Hobart, 3rd Baronet](/source/Sir_John_Hobart%2C_3rd_Baronet)- (1628-1683) landowner and politician, born in Ditchingham.

- [Philip Bedingfield MP](/source/Philip_Bedingfield)- (d.1660) landowner and politician, lived in Ditchingham.

- [R-Adm. Samuel Sutton](/source/Samuel_Sutton)- (1760-1832) Royal Navy officer, lived & died in Ditchingham.

- [Lavinia Crosse](/source/Lavinia_Crosse)- (1821-1890) founder of the Community of All Hallows, Ditchingham.

- [Dr. James Franck Bright](/source/James_Franck_Bright)- (1832-1920) historian and academic, lived & died in Ditchingham.

- [Sir H. Rider Haggard KBE](/source/H._Rider_Haggard)- (1856-1925) author, lived & died in Ditchingham.

- [William Carr](/source/William_Carr_(biographer))- (1862-1925) biographer and historian, lived & died in Ditchingham.

- [Diana Athill OBE](/source/Diana_Athill)- (1917-2019) novelist and editor, brought up in Ditchingham.

- [Lt. Robert Shirley, Earl Ferrers](/source/Robert_Shirley%2C_13th_Earl_Ferrers)- (1929-2012) politician and aristocrat, lived in Ditchingham.

- [Kevin Steggles](/source/Kevin_Steggles)- (b.1961) [Ipswich Town](/source/Ipswich_Town_F.C.) and [Port Vale](/source/Port_Vale_F.C.) footballer, born in Ditchingham.

- [Deb Murrell](/source/Deb_Murrell)- (b.1966) cyclist, born in Ditchingham.

- [Jimmy Lewis](/source/Jimmy_Lewis_(cricketer))- (b.1967) [Norfolk](/source/Norfolk_County_Cricket_Club) cricketer, born in Ditchingham.

## Governance

Ditchingham is part of the [electoral ward](/source/Wards_and_electoral_divisions_of_the_United_Kingdom) of Ditchingham & Earsham for local elections and is part of the [district](/source/Non-metropolitan_district) of [South Norfolk](/source/South_Norfolk).

The village's national constituency is [Waveney Valley](/source/Waveney_Valley_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) which has been represented by the [Green Party's](/source/Green_Party_of_England_and_Wales) [Adrian Ramsay MP](/source/Adrian_Ramsay) since 2024.

## War Memorial

Ditchingham War Memorial is located inside St. Mary's Church and is a brass structure including a life-sized prone statue of a British soldier created by [Derwent Wood](/source/Derwent_Wood). The memorial lists the following names for the [First World War](/source/First_World_War):[11][12]

Rank Name Unit Date of death Burial Sgt. Herbert H. Bird 2/6th Bn., Gloucestershire Regiment 19 Jul. 1916 Loos Memorial Sgt. Ernest W. Seeley 6th Bn., South Lancashire Regiment 10 Aug. 1915 Helles Memorial LSgt. Hubert G. Strowger 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regiment 31 Dec. 1916 Basra Memorial Cpl. Bertie A. Johnson 7th Bn., Suffolk Regiment 27 Mar. 1918 Pozières Memorial Cpl. J. William Sampson 7th Bn., Suffolk Regt. 27 Mar. 1918 Pozières Memorial LCpl. Harold C. Edmunds 1st Bn., Cambridgeshire Regiment 18 Sep. 1918 Épehy Wood Cemetery LCpl. Gordon C. Williams 1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment 30 Aug. 1918 Terlincthun Cemetery Gnr. Harry Runicles 86th Bde., Royal Field Artillery 9 Jul. 1916 Thiepval Memorial Gnr. George A. Smith 321st Bty., Royal Garrison Artillery 3 Jun. 1917 Lijssenthoek Cemetery Pte. Harold A. Fiske A Coy., Army Service Corps 20 Apr. 1915 All Saints' Cemetery, Earsham Pte. Ernest A. Reynolds 8th Bn., Border Regiment 5 Jul. 1916 Thiepval Memorial Pte. Philip C. Simmons 5th Bn., The Buffs 28 Sep. 1916 North Gate War Cemetery Pte. Ralph R. Butcher 2nd Bn., Coldstream Guards 16 Sep. 1916 Lesbœufs Cemetery Pte. Daniel D. Fairhead 34th Bn., Royal Fusiliers 14 May 1918 St. Sever Cemetery Pte. Jacob E. Kent 1st Bn., Royal Irish Fusiliers 18 Apr. 1918 Tyne Cot Pte. Sidney Bird 76th Coy., Machine Gun Corps 29 Sep. 1917 Brandhoek Cemetery Pte. Albert V. Gorbel 1st Bn., Middlesex Regiment 26 Aug. 1916 Thiepval Memorial Pte. Reginald H. V. Dobbie Wellington Regt., NZEF 8 Aug. 1915 Chunuk Bair Memorial Pte. Augustus G. Williams 1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment 25 Oct. 1914 Le Touret Memorial Pte. Harry Codling 1/4th Bn., Norfolk Regt. 20 Aug. 1915 Helles Memorial Pte. William H. Norman 8th Bn., Norfolk Regt. 22 Oct. 1916 Thiepval Memorial Pte. Arthur Gillingwater 9th Bn., Norfolk Regt. 13 May 1916 La Brique Cemetery Pte. Harry A. Hale 1st Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment 21 Dec. 1916 Caterpillar Valley Cemetery Pte. Kenneth R. Hamilton 1st Bn., Northamptonshire Regt. 19 Nov. 1916 St. Sever Cemetery Pte. Herbert Prior 2nd Bn., Queen's Royal Regiment 2 Apr. 1917 Croisilles Cemetery Pte. Alan G. Attoe 15th (Reserve) Bn., Rifle Brigade 1 Jan. 1918 Bungay Cemetery Pte. Arthur L. Garrould 15th Bn., Royal Scots 9 Apr. 1918 Three Trees Cemetery Pte. L. Claud Gray 1/4th Bn., Suffolk Regiment 29 Aug. 1916 Thiepval Memorial Pte. George H. Hansy 7th Bn., Suffolk Regt. 9 Sep. 1915 Nieppe Cemetery Nurse Mary A. Rodwell[a] Queen Alexandra's Nursing Corps 17 Nov. 1915 Hollybrook Cemetery

And, the following from the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War):

Rank Name Unit Date of death Burial 2Lt. Jerome E. Treherne Ox and Bucks Light Infantry 27 Jul. 1944 Hermanville War Cemetery LAC James C. Lambert Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 31 Dec. 1941 St. Mary's Churchyard Gnr. Frederick A. Plumb 127th Bty., Royal Artillery 14 Feb. 1941 St. Mary's Churchyard Pte. Sidney D. Fairhead 5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment 23 Jun. 1943 Kanchanaburi War Cemetery Pte. William Reeve 1st Bn., Hertfordshire Regiment 1 Dec. 1941 Knightsbridge War Cemetery

## Notes

### References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Key to English Place-names"](http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Ditchingham). *kepn.nottingham.ac.uk*. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Ditchingham | Domesday Book"](https://opendomesday.org/place/TM3292/ditchingham/). *opendomesday.org*. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["All Hallows: Ditchingham convent to close after 150 years"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-43172433). *BBC News*. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Long barrow and round barrows on Broome Heath, Broome - 1004002 | Historic England"](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1004002). *historicengland.org.uk*. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["DITCHINGHAM HALL, Ditchingham - 1153041 | Historic England"](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1153041). *historicengland.org.uk*. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["MNF23024 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer"](https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF23024). *www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk*. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Ditchingham (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location"](https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastofengland/admin/south_norfolk/E04006539__ditchingham/). *www.citypopulation.de*. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["CHURCH OF ST MARY, Ditchingham - 1050612 | Historic England"](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1050612?section=official-list-entry). *historicengland.org.uk*. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Norfolk Churches"](http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/ditchingham/ditchingham.htm). *www.norfolkchurches.co.uk*. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Tributes to 'Ole Chicken Man of Bungay' who catapulted roundabout into national spotlight"](https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/20763987.tributes-ole-chicken-man-bungay-catapulted-roundabout-national-spotlight/). *Eastern Daily Press*. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Ditchingham"](https://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Ditchingham.html). *www.roll-of-honour.com*. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Geograph:: Denton to Dunton cum Doughton :: War Memorials in Norfolk"](https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/War-Memorials-in-Norfolk/6#denton-to-dunton-cum-doughton). *www.geograph.org.uk*. Retrieved 2 January 2025.

### Footnotes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Nurse Rodwell was likely killed in the sinking of [HMHS Anglia](/source/HMHS_Anglia) which struck a mine in the English Channel.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Ditchingham](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ditchingham).

- [Bath Hills Footpath](https://web.archive.org/web/20070504003635/http://www.bungay-suffolk.co.uk/tourism/bigod.htm) — Bungay Tourism

- [Map sources](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Ditchingham&params=52.466644_N_1.443511_E_region:GB_scale:100000_region:GB_scale:100000) for Ditchingham

- [Information from Genuki Norfolk](http://www.origins.org.uk/genuki/NFK/places/d/ditchingham/) on Ditchingham.

v t e Civil parishes of South Norfolk Alburgh Aldeby Alpington Ashby St Mary Ashwellthorpe and Fundenhall Aslacton Barford Barnham Broom Bawburgh Bedingham Bergh Apton Bracon Ash Bramerton Brandon Parva, Coston, Runhall and Welborne Bressingham Brockdish Brooke Broome Bunwell Burgh St Peter Burston and Shimpling Caistor St Edmund and Bixley Carleton Rode Carleton St Peter Chedgrave Claxton Colney Costessey Cringleford Denton Deopham Dickleburgh and Rushall Diss Ditchingham Earsham East Carleton Easton Ellingham Flordon Forncett Framingham Earl Framingham Pigot Geldeston Gillingham Gissing Great Melton Great Moulton Haddiscoe Hales Heckingham Hedenham Hellington Hempnall Heywood Hethersett Hingham Holverston Howe Keswick and Intwood Ketteringham Kimberley and Carleton Forehoe Kirby Bedon Kirby Cane Kirstead Langley with Hardley Little Melton Loddon Long Stratton Marlingford and Colton Morley Morningthorpe and Fritton Mulbarton Mundham Needham Newton Flotman Norton Subcourse Poringland Pulham Market Pulham St Mary Raveningham Redenhall with Harleston Rockland St Mary Roydon Saxlingham Nethergate Scole Seething Shelfanger Shelton and Hardwick Shotesham Sisland Spooner Row Starston Stockton Stoke Holy Cross Surlingham Swainsthorpe Swardeston Tacolneston Tasburgh Tharston and Hapton Thurlton Thurton Thwaite Tibenham Tivetshall Toft Monks Topcroft Trowse Wacton Wheatacre Wicklewood Winfarthing Woodton Wortwell Wramplingham Wreningham Wymondham Yelverton

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ditchingham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditchingham) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditchingham?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.