Herringfleet

History

Herringfleet was occupied during the Roman period, and there have been archaeological finds made dating occupation to the Neolithic period. According to the Domesday Book of 1086, a manor of one carucate was owned by the King.

The place-name ‘Herringfleet’ is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as ‘Herlingaflet’. It appears as ‘Herlingefleth’ in the Feet of Fines in 1202, as ‘Herlingflet’ in 1254 in the ‘Valuation of Norwich’, and as ‘Heringflete’ circa 1255 in the ‘Calendar of Charters and Rolls in the Bodleian Library’. The name means “the stream of Herala’s people”.

During the medieval period, a ferry was established across the Waveney at St Olaves. St Olaves Priory was founded nearby in about 1216 by Roger Fitz Osbert as an Augustinian priory. It was dedicated to St Olav and operated until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537, controlling the Herringfleet parish church as well as those at Burgh St Peter and Hales as well as land at Tibenham. The site is largely in ruins, although the undercroft survives in good condition.

By around 1509 the first stone bridge across the Waveney had been built, possibly replacing a bridge first mentioned in 1298. This was replaced with a cast iron bowstring girder suspension bridge in 1847. The bridge is the only crossing point on the Waveney between Great Yarmouth and Beccles.

Henry Jerningham owned the priory site by 1546 and a Tudor manor house was built on the site. By the 18th century the manor was owned by the Leathes family, and Herringfleet Hall dates from this time, the new hall having been built to replace an older manor house to the south. A series of duck decoys are known to have been operated at Fritton Decoy at the north-east boundary of the former parish at this time, and are believed to date from the 17th century.

The Great Yarmouth to Beccles railway line opened in 1859 and passed through the former parish, with a station at St Olaves. This operated until 1959. On the western edge of the former parish, Herringfleet Windmill, a timber smock drainpipe windpump, was built in about 1820. It is a Grade II* listed building and is within the area of The Broads national park.

During World War II parts of the parish, including the area around Fritton Decoy, were used for training ahead of the Normandy landings in 1944. The 79th Armoured Division used the site for the testing and development of amphibious DD tanks from 1943, and it was used until 1947 as part of the British Army's Assault Training and Development Centre, and later became part of the Specialised Armour Development Establishment. Other areas in Herringfleet and the surrounding area were used as campsites for the units involved in training.

Church of St Margaret

The parish church, which is dedicated to St Margaret, is one of around 40 round-tower churches in Suffolk.{{efn|The exact number of round-tower churches in the county is a matter of debate. Some sources list 38, others cite between 40 and 43. They almost all date from the late Anglo-Saxon or early Norman periods and were mostly built between the 11th and 14th-centuries. There are around 183 round-tower churches in England, most of them in Norfolk, which has around 124, and Suffolk. The parish came under the control of St Olave’s Priory after it was established in the 13th century.

The nave doorway dates from the 12th century and there are 12th- and 13th-century windows in both the nave and chancel. The church was restored from 1824 by the Leathes family, and contains Victorian stained glass windows as well as painted glass dating from as early as the 14th century. The church is a Grade I listed building.

Two bells hang in the tower, one cast by William and Alice Brend of Norwich in 1611, the other by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1837.

Notes

References

References

1. [https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/media/pdfs/herringfleet.pdf Herringfleet], Suffolk Heritage Explorer, [[Suffolk County Council]]. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
2. [http://www.ashvillages.org.uk/our-area/ Our area], ASH Villages, Somerleyton, Ashby and Herringfleet parish council. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
3. [https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/12764/waveney-parishes-order-1987.pdf The Waveney (Parishes) Order 1987] {{Webarchive. link. (28 August 2021 , [[Local Government Boundary Commission for England]]. Retrieved 2020-01-25.)
4. Clapham L (2014) [https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/graphic-the-day-six-suffolk-villages-moved-into-norfolk-and-651046 The day six Suffolk villages moved into Norfolk – and it definitely wasn't an April Fools' joke], ''[[Eastern Daily Press]]'', 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
5. [http://lound.onesuffolk.net/assets/Uploads/Neighbourhood-Planning/Final-Draft.pdf Lound with Ashby, Herringfleet and Somerleyton Neighbourhood Plan], Lound Parish Council, 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
6. [[Eilert Ekwall]], ’The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names’, p.236.
7. "Herringfleet - Heston A Topographical Dictionary of England.". S Lewis, London 1848.
8. [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1172374 St. Olave's Priory], List entry, [[Historic England]]. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
9. [http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF10715-Ruins-of-St-Olave%27s-Priory-Fritton-and-St-Olaves&Index=2&RecordCount=4&SessionID=39431d8c-f6f1-4d9e-a89b-f78c275f5973 Ruins of St Olave's Priory, Fritton and St Olaves], Norfolk Heritage Explorer, [[Norfolk County Council]]. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
10. [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/st-olaves-priory/history/ History of St Olaves Priory], [[English Heritage]]. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
11. Page W ed. (1975) 'Houses of Austin canons: Priory of Herringfleet', in ''A History of the County of Suffolk: Volume 2'', pp.100–101. London: Victoria County History. ([http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/suff/vol2/pp100-101 Available online] at British History Online. Retrieved 2021-03-17.)
12. [https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/Monument/MSF23237 Monument record HRF 014 - Manor House Farm; Herringfleet Hall (1880s); Old Hall (1837)], Suffolk Heritage Explorer, [[Suffolk County Council]]. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
13. [[Ralph Payne-Gallwey. Payne-Gallwey R]] (1886) ''The book of duck decoys, their construction, management, and history'', pp. 164–167. London: John van Vorst. ([https://archive.org/details/bookofduckdecoys00paynega/page/164/mode/2up Available online]. Retrieved 2021-03-13.)
14. [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1183297 Herringfleet Marsh Mill], List entry, [[Historic England]]. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
15. Sommers M (2013) [https://suffolkarchaeology.co.uk/reports-pdfs/2013_052.pdf Tank Training Site, Fritton Lake Somerleyton, Ashby & Herringfleet HER ref. SOL 029], Archaeological Survey Report, [[Suffolk County Council]]. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
16. [https://theddaystory.com/markers/duplex-drive-tank-training-wing-freshwater-fritton/ Duplex Drive Tank Training Wing, Freshwater (Fritton)], The D-Day Story, Portsmouth. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
17. [https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/Monument/MSX27212 Monument record SOL 030 - Site of World War Two military training area, probably related to Herringfleet military camp], Suffolk Heritage Explorer, [[Suffolk County Council]]. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
18. [https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/monument/MSX27213 Monument record SOL 031 - Site of World War Two military training area, probably related to Herringfleet military camp], Suffolk Heritage Explorer, [[Suffolk County Council]]. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
19. [https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/Monument/MSX27214 Monument record SOL 032 - Site of World War Two military training area, probably related to Herringfleet military camp], Suffolk Heritage Explorer, [[Suffolk County Council]]. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
20. [https://thetempletrail.com/round-tower-churches-map/ Round Tower Churches Map], The Temple Trail. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
21. [https://wealdanddownlandchurches.co.uk/suffolk-churches/ Suffolk Churches], Weald and Downland Churches. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
22. [http://greatenglishchurches.co.uk/html/norfolk_round_tower_churches.html Norfolk Round Tower Churches], Great English Churches. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
23. Hart S (2019) [https://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/roundtower/roundtower.htm Round Tower Churches], Building Conservation, Cathedral Communications. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
24. Knott S [http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/abround.htm Suffolk churches with round towers], Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
25. [https://www.roundtowers.org.uk Welcome to the Round Tower Churches Society], The Round Tower Churches Society. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
26. Four of the churches now in Norfolk were previously in Suffolk before [[Local Government Act 1972|boundary changes in 1974]].}} It dates from the medieval period, with the tower thought to date from the 11th-century at the latest, with a possibility of it dating from the [[Anglo-Saxon]] period, although this is considered unlikely due to its construction in [[Caen stone]].Hart S [http://www.roundtowers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Herringfleet-RT-by-Stephen-Hart.pdf Herringfleet, St Margaret], Round Tower Churches Society. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
27. [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1031950 Church of St Margaret], List entry, [[Historic England]]. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
28. Knott S (2008) [http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/herringfleet.htm St Margaret, Herringfleet], Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
29. [https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?tower=20830 Herringfleet Tower details], Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 2022-03-10