Wortwell

{{Short description|Village in Norfolk, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Use British English|date=May 2025}}

{{Infobox UK place | country = England | coordinates = {{coord|52.41382|1.34525|display=inline,title}} | os_grid_reference = TM276848 | official_name = Wortwell | population = 561 | population_ref = (2011) | area_total_km2 = 4.6 | shire_district = [[South Norfolk]] | shire_county = [[Norfolk]] | region = East of England | civil_parish = Wortwell | constituency_westminster = | postcode_district = IP20 | postcode_area = IP | post_town = HARLESTON | dial_code = 01986 | london_distance = |static_image_name = The Wortwell Bell Public House - geograph.org.uk - 1136838.jpg |static_image_width = |static_image_caption= Wortwell Village Pub }}

'''Wortwell''' is a village and [[civil parish]] in the [[England|English]] [[county]] of [[Norfolk]] and adjoining the county of [[Suffolk]]. It is located on both the [[River Waveney]] (which forms the county boundary) and the [[A143 road]], some {{convert|10|mi|km}} east of [[Diss, Norfolk|Diss]] and {{convert|18|mi|km}} west of [[Lowestoft]]. The city of [[Norwich]] lies approximately {{convert|15|mi|km}} to the north.{{ref|osexp1}}{{ref|osexp2}}

==Correct pronunciation== "Wottel"<ref>https://friendsofnorfolkdialect.com/portfolio-items/norfolk-placenames/</ref>

==History and Geography==

The village name originates from roughly 1704 when naturally occurring 'Wort' was found to spring from a well fed by a water source near the local river Waveney. When the local brewer was satisfied with the beer brewed from the 'Wortwell', he would ring a bell to let the local residents know it was ready for drinking, which also gave the local drinking establishment its name, established as a pub in 1836.

The civil parish has an area of {{convert|4.6|km2|abbr=on|order=flip}} and in the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 census]] had a population of 574 in 243 households, the population decreasing to 561 at the 2011 census.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11130983&c=IP20+0EG&d=16&e=62&g=6450410&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1441624772085&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|access-date=7 September 2015}}</ref> For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the [[Non-metropolitan district|district]] of [[South Norfolk]].{{ref|osnncc}}

The village of Wortwell is one of the few in Norfolk not to be listed in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086. Until the end of the 19th century, Wortwell was a hamlet within the parish of Mendham-in-Norfolk (the modern village of Mendham is south of the River Waveney in [[Suffolk]]), becoming a parish in the 1885 boundary alterations.{{fact|date=May 2021}}

[[Ezekiel Blomfield]] (1778–1818), a [[Congregational]] minister, author and compiler of religious works and works on natural history, was buried on 21 July 1818 in the grounds of the Meeting House at Wortwell.<ref name="BNB">{{cite book |title= [[Dictionary of National Biography]] |year=1886|publisher=[[Smith, Elder & Co.]] |page=231 }}</ref><ref name="Wortwell1">{{cite web| title =The United Reformed Church, Wortwell (125 High Road, Wortwell, Norfolk IP20 0EF) |publisher=British Listed Buildings| url= http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-226352-the-united-reformed-church-wortwell-norf | access-date=20 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="Wortwell2">{{cite web| title =URC, Wortwell | url= http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/wortwell/wortwellchapel.htm| access-date=20 December 2013}}</ref>

Wortwell has a well-established football club, and its two football teams currently compete in the Anglian Combination Football League, with the first team playing in Division 2 and the reserves playing in Division 6. Home games are played at the rec at Wortwell community centre village hall. The large community village hall, known as "The Core"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wortwell Community Centre |url=https://wortwellcore.co.uk/ |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=wortwellcore.co.uk}}</ref>, is run as a charity to benefit the local area. It is home to a number of clubs and classes, and they hold regular events, including quiz and bingo nights.

==References== {{reflist}}

*{{note|osexp1}} Ordnance Survey (1999). ''OS Explorer Map 230 - Diss & Harleston''. {{ISBN|0-319-21862-7}}. *{{note|osexp2}} Ordnance Survey (1999). ''OS Explorer Map 231 - Southwold & Bungay''. {{ISBN|0-319-21858-9}}. *{{note|osnncc}} Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20170211032229/http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/consumption/groups/public/documents/general_resources/ncc017867.xls Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes]''. Retrieved 2 December 2005.

==External links== {{Commons category|Wortwell}} *[https://www.dissexpress.co.uk/ Diss Express] - village's local newspaper website {{oscoor gbx|TM276848}}. *[http://www.origins.org.uk/genuki/NFK/places/w/wortwell/ Information from Genuki Norfolk] on Wortwell *[http://www.wortwellcommunitycentre.co.uk/events.php Wortwell Community Centre] - Village Events page.

[[Category:Villages in Norfolk]] [[Category:Civil parishes in Norfolk]]