Hempstead is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Norfolk. The village is 2.7 miles south-southeast of the town of Holt, and 11.2 miles southwest of Cromer. In the last Census, carried out in 2021, the population of Hempstead was counted as 173,[1] slightly reducing from 177[2] at the 2011 Census. For local government purposes, the village is within the district of North Norfolk.
History
Hempstead's name is most likely derived from Old English, meaning 'the hemp place'. Hemp was a crop which was grown locally for the manufacture of ropes. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Hempstede, and was part of the estate of the Manor of Holt at the time.
In the fifteenth century the Stapleton family held the manor of Hempstead. It passed by marriage to the Calthorpe family, who remained there until the 1570s.
The 2021 United Kingdom census reported a resident population for Hempstead of 173, a 2.3 per cent decrease from the 2011 census.
The Parish Church
All Saints' church was founded in the late Anglo-Saxon period and is Grade II* listed. The nave dates from the thirteenth century, and is located slightly to the south of the site of the original Anglo-Saxon building. The south porch is Tudor, while the round apse at the east end was completed in 1930, notable for being thatched. At the western end of the church is a short red-brick tower, built in 1744 to replace the original Anglo-Saxon tower which had collapsed c.1705.[4]
Benefice and events
The church and its parish are a member of the 'Barningham Group' and the benefice of Matlaske: a benefice containing 10 parishes under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Norwich.
The parish holds a church fête every summer and is currently the most successful in the benefice.
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