In the Domesday Book, Burnham Thorpe is listed as a settlement of 58 households in the hundred of Gallow. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of William de Warenne and Robert de Verly.[3]
In 1758, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson KB, 1st Viscount Nelson was born in the Rectory in Burnham Thorpe. Nelson served a distinguished career in the Royal Navy, leading his men to victories at the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Trafalgar among others. Nelson is proudly remembered in the village, with multiple monuments erected in his honour. The Rectory where Nelson was born has since been demolished, with its site being marked by a roadside plaque.[4]
The village's main public house was built in 1637 and was known as The Plough until 1798 when it was renamed The Lord Nelson in honour of the victory at the Battle of the Nile. Nelson held a dinner here for the men of the village prior to his departure to join HMS Agamemnon.[5] The pub survives to this day and is operated by Woodforde's Brewery.[6]
Other listed buildings in Burnham Thorpe include Manor House (Seventeenth Century with Medieval stone)[7], Ivy Farm Barn (Sixteenth Century)[8], School House (Seventeenth Century)[9] and East End Farm House (Seventeenth Century).[10]
Birthplace of Nelson, now demolished; the Rectory, Burnham Thorpe
Geography
According to the 2021 census, the population of Burnham Thorpe is 131 people which shows a slight decrease from the 144 people listed in the 2011 census.[12]
Burnham Thorpe's parish church is located along Church Lane where a church has stood since the Domesday Book of 1087.[13] The present building has an arcade dating from the 13th-century, aisles from the 14th-century and the clerestorey, north porch and chancel date from the 15th-century. A bell tower of three stages at the west end also dates from the 15th-century, due to these features the church is a Grade I listed building.[14]
Additionally, the church boasts several memorials to both Horatio Nelson and to his father, Edmund Nelson and a large stone font, in which the former was baptised.[15]
The village's national constituency is North West Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's James Wild MP since 2010.
War Memorial
Burnham Thorpe's war memorial is a stone latin cross located inside All Saint's Churchyard, it has been Grade II listed since 2017.[16] The following men are listed for the First World War:[17]
