Bintree Explained

Country:England
Coordinates:52.772°N 0.99°W
Os Grid Reference:TG019236
Official Name:Bintree
Population:327
Population Ref:2021 United Kingdom census
Area Total Km2:5.99
Static Image Name:Bintree Mill by Mark Boyer.jpg
Static Image Caption:Bintry Mill 2005
Shire District:Breckland
Shire County:Norfolk
Region:East of England
Civil Parish:Bintree
Constituency Westminster:Mid Norfolk
Postcode District:NR20
Postcode Area:NR
Post Town:DEREHAM
Dial Code:01362
Type:Village

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

The village is about 7.2miles south-east of Fakenham and 16miles north-west of Norwich.

History

Bintree's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for Bynna's tree.[1]

Despite Bintree's Anglo-Saxon origins, there is evidence for much earlier habitation. Archeological evidence include Neolithic tools[2] and Roman pottery & coinage.[3]

Bintree is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a settlement of 29 households in the hundred of Eynesford. In 1086, Bintee was divided between the estates of Godric the Steward, Walter Giffard and Hagni the Reeve.[4]

In 1759, John Astley became Rector of Bintree whilst also holding the benefices of Brinton and Thornage.

In the Nineteenth Century, the Norfolk County School was built within the parish. In 1895, the school was closed and purchased by Edmund Watts who used it to train children from the care of Thomas John Barnardo for service with the Royal Navy. The school was used during the Second World War but demolished in the 1960s.[5]

Manor House, within Bintree, is a farmhouse that dates from the early Nineteenth Century and was formerly a property owned by the Holkham Estate.[6]

Richard Enraght, an Anglo-Irish Church of England priest, who had previously been imprisoned for attempting to bring more Catholic ritualism into Anglican church services, was appointed to the position of Vicar of St. Swithun's Church, Bintree in 1895. Enraght died within the parish in 1898 and is buried in St. Swithun's Churchyard.

Geography

Bintree is located along the A1067 which runs between Fakenham and Norwich. The River Wensum runs through the parish, though not through the village itself.

According to the 2021 census, there are 327 people who live in Bintree which decreased from the 2011 census which returned a total of 329 people.[7]

Amenities within the village include the Royal Oak Pub[8] and a farmshop.[9]

St. Swithun's Church

Bintree's parish church is dedicated to Saint Swithun and was largely rebuilt in the Fourteenth Century, with a replacement chancel being built in 1864. Stained glass within the church includes a depiction of the crucifixion by Alexander Gibbs, a depiction of Christ by William Wailes and the annunciation by Horace Wilkinson.[10] St. Swithun's Church has been Grade II listed since 1960.[11] Furthermore, there is a grave cover within St. Swithun's Churchyard that is Grade II listed, Historic England speculates that this is the grave of Richard de Langbrigg, a parish priest who died in 1270.[12]

Bintry Watermill

See main article: article and Bintry Watermill. Outside of the village lays Bintry watermill. A watermill has stood in this site since the mid-Fifteenth Century, though the present structure originates in the mid-Eighteenth Century. The structure is Grade II listed.[13]

Governance

Bintree is part of the electoral ward of Upper Wensum for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.

Billingford's national constituency is Mid Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's George Freeman since 2010.

Notable Residents

War memorial

Bintree's war memorial is located within St. Swithun's Churchyard and takes the form of a grey granite cross with a sword of sacrifice embossed in front. The war memorial was built in 1920 and has been Grade II listed since 2017.[14] It lists the following names for the First World War:

!Rank!Name!Unit!Date of Death!Other Commemoration / Burial
PrivateErnest G. VinceMachine Gun Corps28 December 1917St. Swithun's Churchyard, Bintree
PrivateBertie G. Wakefield9th Battalion, Royal Norfolks15 September 1916Thiepval Memorial
PrivateGeorge Spooner1/5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment12 August 1915Helles Memorial
PrivateW. George Watson7th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment9 November 1918Arras Road Cemetery, Roclincourt
And the following for the Second World War:
!Rank!Name!Unit!Date of Death!Other Commemoration / Burial
SapperSidney J. Stearman1021 Port Operating Company, Royal Engineers5 September 1944Florence War Cemetery

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Key to English Place-names . 2024-11-04 . kepn.nottingham.ac.uk.
  2. Web site: mnf21131 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer . 2024-11-04 . www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk.
  3. Web site: mnf7195 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer . 2024-11-04 . www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk.
  4. Web site: Bintree Domesday Book . 2024-11-04 . opendomesday.org.
  5. Web site: mnf2934 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer . 2024-11-04 . www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk.
  6. Web site: MANOR HOUSE, Bintree - 1342558 Historic England . 2024-11-04 . historicengland.org.uk . en.
  7. Web site: Bintree (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location . 2024-11-04 . citypopulation.de.
  8. Web site: Royal Oak, Bintree . 2024-11-04 . CAMRA - The Campaign for Real Ale . en.
  9. Web site: 2019-09-26 . Home - Algys Farm Shop a local farmshop supplying the local community with fresh fruit and vegetables. . 2024-11-04 . en-GB.
  10. Web site: Norfolk Churches . 2024-11-04 . www.norfolkchurches.co.uk.
  11. Web site: CHURCH OF ST SWITHIN, Bintree - 1077371 Historic England . 2024-11-04 . historicengland.org.uk . en.
  12. Web site: UNKNOWN GRAVE COVER IN THE CHURCHYARD IMMEDIATELY TO EAST OF CHANCEL OF CHURCH OF ST SWITHIN, Bintree - 1342557 Historic England . 2024-11-04 . historicengland.org.uk . en.
  13. Web site: BINTRY MILL INCLUDING BRIDGE AND MILLERS HOUSE, Bintree - 1077372 Historic England . 2024-11-04 . historicengland.org.uk . en.
  14. Web site: Bintree War Memorial, Bintree - 1442054 Historic England . 2024-11-04 . historicengland.org.uk . en.