Hoveton

Correct pronunciation

; "Hofton"

History

Hoveton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for Hofa's farmstead.

In the Domesday Book, Hoveton is listed as a settlement of 58 households in the hundred of Tunstead. In 1086, the village was divided between the East Anglian estates of St. Benet's Abbey and Roger of Poitou.

Hoveton & Wroxham Railway Station opened in the village in 1874 and still operates as a stop on the Bittern Line, between Norwich and Sheringham.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Hoveton has a population of 2,127 people which shows an increase from the 1,759 people recorded in the 2011 census.

Hoveton is located within the Norfolk Broads close to Hoveton Great Broad and Hoveton Little Broad.

St. John's Church

Hoveton's parish church is dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist and dates from the Twelfth Century. St. John's is located on Horning Road and has been Grade II listed since 1955. The church remains open for Sunday service twice a month.

St. John's features a good collection of Seventeenth Century stained-glass roundels as well as numerous memorials to the Blofeld family, including one to Captain John S. Blofeld who died in the service of the East India Company near Hyderabad in 1803. There is also a stained-glass window designed by Ninian Comper depicting the Risen Christ.

Hoveton Hall

Main article: Hoveton Hall

Hoveton Hall was built between 1809 and 1812 by Humphry Repton for Mrs Christabell Burroughes. Today, the house is in the care of the Buxton family.

Amenities

Roys of Wroxham, dubbed "the world's largest village store", has a store in Hoveton which has stood in the village since 1899.

Broadland High Ormiston Academy is located in Hoveton and is part of the Ormiston Academies Trust.

Notable residents

• Anthony Aufrère- (1757-1833) antiquary and barrister, born in Hoveton Hall.
• Alan Hunter- (1922-2005) crime fiction author, born in Hoveton.
• Sir John Blofeld- (b.1932) barrister and judge, born in Hoveton.
• Henry Blofeld OBE- (b.1939) journalist and cricket commentator, born in Hoveton.
• Tom Blofeld- (b.1964) author and owner of Bewilderwood, born in Hoveton.

In popular culture

The Norfolk landscape painter John Crome, an associate of John Sell Cotman and others of the Norwich School, made an etching of Hoveton around 1812. Today, the painting is held by the National Gallery of Canada.

Governance

Hoveton is part of the electoral ward of Hoveton and Tunstead for local elections and is part of the district of North Norfolk.

The village's national constituency is North Norfolk, which has been represented by the Liberal Democrat Steff Aquarone MP since 2024.

War Memorial

Hoveton's war memorial is a stone plaque in St. John's Church which lists the following names for the First World War:

References

References

1. Hales,J. and Bennett, W. "Looking at Norfolk" (October 1971), Charles N. Veal & Company.
2. https://www.literarynorfolk.co.uk/norfolk_place_names.htm
3. "Key to English Place-names".
4. "Hoveton [St John and St Peter] {{!}} Domesday Book".
5. "Hoveton (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location".
6. {{NHLE
7. "Hoveton: St John".
8. "Norfolk Churches".
9. {{NHLE
10. "Roys History".
11. Trust, Ormiston Academy. "Broadland High Ormiston Academy - Welcome".
12. "Hoveton St. Peter".
13. "Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Hoveton St John".
14. "Geograph:: Hackford to Hunworth :: War Memorials in Norfolk".