Lenwade

Etymology

The name may mean 'ford of the slowly moving river'. The first element possibly means lane in the Scottish dialect sense of 'scarcely moving river'. The second element of the name is the Old English gewæd (ford).

Industry and the local economy

Much of the surrounding land is used for agriculture. However, due to its geographical location Lenwade became the centre of the sand and gravel extraction and the manufacturing of concrete products in the Wensum valley during the middle to late 20th century. The legacy of this activity can be seen in the many flooded gravel pits in the area. Today, these now mature lakes are popular with anglers, naturalists and bird watchers.

Industry today is concentrated to the southeast of Lenwade between the A1067 road and the former railway line. Concrete products, metal recycling, joinery and double glazing items are produced in the area.

Local tourist attractions include Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure theme park and the Lenwade country house hotel features in its grounds the only licensed zoological garden in the UK.

The Church of St Faith

Located on the busy A1067 Fakenham Road, the building started life as a Victorian mission church originally dedicated to All Saints. Despite its central location the church was little used and became redundant. Today, the church is fenced off and planned to become a residential development (July 2008).

Amenities

Amenities in the village include a village hall, primary school, doctor's surgery, general stores, garage, tea-rooms, butchers, bakers and a fish and chip shop.

Located close to A1067 and the River Wensum is the late 18th century Bridge Inn public house. The pub garden adjoins The Bridge Lakes (former gravel pits) and a section of the river where angling is possible. Matthew Brettingham's c.1741 triple arched brick bridge is depicted on the pub's sign. The bridge was demolished in 1993 and replaced by today's steel bridge.

Lenwade mill

There has been a watermill on the river at Lenwade for many centuries. The present building, dating from the late 19th century, has been converted to homes.

Railway history

Lenwade railway station was built in 1882 with direct trains to Norwich and King's Lynn. Passenger traffic ceased in 1959, but due to Lenwade's important Anglian cement and concrete works, the freight line was kept open to 1985. The former station today is a private residence and the track bed forms part of the Marriott's Way long-distance footpath.

References

References

1. [http://www.ruraldeprivation.norfolk.gov.uk/Settlement%20Profiles/Lenwade.doc 2001 census]{{dead link. (December 2017)
2. [https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/local/lenwade-broadland Lenwade, Broadland – area information, map, walks and more]. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
3. "Lenwade (Norfolk, East of England, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information".
4. Rye. J. ''Popular Guide to Norfolk Place Names'' (1991) {{ISBN. 0-948400-15-3
5. [http://www.lenwadecountryhousehotel.co.uk/index.html Lenwade country house hotel] {{Webarchive. link. (24 July 2008 . Retrieved 10 November 2008)
6. [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/lenwade/lenwade.htm St Faith church]. Retrieved 3 November 2008
7. [[Nikolaus Pevsner. Pevsner.N.]] & Wilson. B. ''[[The Buildings of England]] Norfolk3: North-West and South'' p25 (1999) [[Penguin books]] {{ISBN. 0-14-071060-4. Retrieved 11 November 2008
8. [http://www.lenwadebridgeinn.co.uk/ The Bridge Inn]{{dead link. (December 2017)
9. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080112014809/http://www.norwichchurches.co.uk/monuments/Matthew%20Brettingham/Matthew%20Brettingham.html Matthew Brettingham]. Retrieved 7 November 2008
10. [http://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Watermills/lenwade.html Lenwade Mill]
11. [http://www.peterboggis.co.uk/Marriotts_Way.htm Railway history]. Retrieved 4 November 2008