Garboldisham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for Gaerbald's homestead or village.[1] Others argue it has a Viking origin with Garbold being a famous Viking.[2] As described above, the boundary between Anglian, Viking and possibly even Iceni is blurred in the light of recent genetic and linguistic research. To the south of the village are the hamlets of Smallworth and Broomscot Common, the name of the latter possibly recalling the village's ancient pagan past, but more likely perhaps an affiliation to a Scandinavian with the surname Brun.[3] This name might reflect the Viking invasions or Scandinavian connections of the Wuffingas, founders of the kingdom of East Anglia. It might even go further back in time, according to unsubstantiated theories that the pre-Roman Iceni inhabiting this area were Old English speakers rather than Cymric/Welsh.[4]
There is a 10-foot high Bronze Age round barrow on Garboldisham Heath, known locally as 'Soldier's Hill' and 'Boadicea's Grave', although there is no evidence that Queen Boudicca is buried here.[5] Local antiquarian Basil Brown carried out an excavation at the mound around 1963, and uncovered a burial urn, some cremated human bone, two flint flakes and a flint scraper. The burial probably dates from around 1300 BC.[6]
According to the 2011 Census, Garboldisham has a population of 969 residents living in 432 households. Furthermore, the parish covers a total area of 13.79 square miles (35.7 km2).[8]
Garboldisham's parish church dates from the mid-Fifteenth Century and is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The church holds a rare East Anglian example of a Galilee porch with the interior decoration largely the remnants of a Nineteenth Century restoration by James Powell and Sons.[9]
Garboldisham also holds the ruins of All Saints' Church, which was abandoned in 1734 after the tower collapsed into the nave,[10] and a Methodist Chapel on the southern side of the A1066.
Amenities
The village contains a Post Office with independent shop, selling a range of groceries as well as East Anglian regional "gourmet" produce.
The majority of local children attend Garboldisham CofE Primary School which was rated by Ofsted as an 'Inadequate' school in 2019[11] and subsequently gained academy status and joined the St. Benet's Trust.
The Fox public house, on the crossroads of the A1066 and Hopton/Harling Road, closed in 2007 but was purchased by a village consortium in 2016 and reopened in December that year.[citation needed][12]
Garboldisham has active cricket teams.
In Popular Culture
The "Garboldisham Road" was mentioned in the A Bit of Fry and Laurie sketches "Information"[13] and "Strawberries and Cream".[14]
Garboldisham's war memorial takes the form of a stone octagonal shaft on a two-stepped plinth topped with a cross adorned with a carving depicting Saint George and the Dragon, located at the junction of Manor and Church Road. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:
Maj. George F. Molineux-Montgomerie (1869–1915), 3rd Bn., Grenadier Guards
Capt. Wilfred G. Flack (1889–1917), 1st Bn., Royal Fusiliers
