Population 460 (2011) Civil parish New Buckenham Country England Area 173 ha District Breckland District | OS grid reference TM087904 Region East Sovereign state United Kingdom Shire county Norfolk | |
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New Buckenham is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 1.73 km2 (0.67 sq mi) and had a population of 468 in 197 households at the 2001 census, falling marginally to a population of 460 in 209 households at the 2011 Census. It is in the local government district of Breckland. The village lies between the towns of Diss and Attleborough, centred on an ancient green with a whipping post. The village is close to Old Buckenham. New Buckenham's calendar includes a traditional August Bank Holiday Fete.
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Map of New Buckenham, UK
A planned town
New Buckenham was founded in the 12th century by William D’Albini to service his new castle at Buckenham, with a common to the east and a limited area of arable land (the Haugh field) to the south. The town itself was planned on a grid pattern and surrounded by a substantial wet moat that connected it to the castle. tn some places The moat was up to nine metres wide and three metres deep with an internal bank. It was referred to as the ‘burgh ditch’ in 1493 and the area within it was known as ‘the burgage’. By 1600 the moat was no longer being maintained and was becoming clogged with rubbish. in 1632 Charles Gosling, the owner of the Rookery, was given leave to build a barn across it The foundation was not a failure. New Buckenham remained a market centre and was joined to Norwich by a turnpike road in 1772. However, it never grew into a larger settlement. This has meant not only that it has retained its original layout for which, according to the revised Pevsner for Norfolk, ‘it deserves to be better known’, but also that there has been very little development beyond its medieval boundaries. In Norfolk from the Air I New Buckenham is described as ‘a rare example of a Norman planned town that has not significantly expanded outside or shrunk within its original boundaries’. The plan must have been altered by the foundation of the parish church between 1243 and the end of the thirteenth century. It was further modified by building over the southern part of the market which had occurred by 1529: Its original limit is marked by Booseys Walk There is a wealth of half-timbered housing hiding behind 19th century brick frontages and over sixty dwellings are Grade II listed.