Santon Downham

History

The village was the administrative centre for the Eastern Forestry Commission for many years, following the planting of tens of thousands of trees in the Breckland to form the Thetford Forest. The District office and staff were housed in a 1960s office building close to the site of the now-demolished Downham Hall. The Hall garden formed the base for the nursery department of the district. The Forestry Commission repair depot was built close by in an award-winning building, next to which stood the Forestry Commission fire station. A Bedford 'Green Goddess' fire tender and a water tanker were kept in the fire station due to the high fire risk in the area.

In 1972 the bridge over the River Little Ouse appeared in programme 50 of the fifth series of BBC's sitcom Dad's Army, when Captain Mainwaring and his troops attempt to demolish it.

Climate

Santon Downham has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).

|Jan record high C= 16.7 |Feb record high C= 19.4 |Mar record high C= 25.0 |Apr record high C= 28.2 |May record high C= 28.8 |Jun record high C= 34.6 |Jul record high C= 39.0 |Aug record high C= 35.3 |Sep record high C= 31.7 |Oct record high C= 29.3 |Nov record high C= 18.8 |Dec record high C= 16.0 |year record high C= |Jan record low C= -18.9 |Feb record low C= -15.0 |Mar record low C= -12.2 |Apr record low C= -9.7 |May record low C= -7.7 |Jun record low C= -5.6 |Jul record low C= -1.1 |Aug record low C= -1.7 |Sep record low C= -5.6 |Oct record low C= -8.7 |Nov record low C= -11.1 |Dec record low C= -16.1 |year record low C=

The highest temperature since records began in 1959 was 39.0 °C on 19 July 2022 and the lowest was -18.9 °C on 23 January 1963.

Santon Downham is a known frost hollow and on 1 and 3 June 1962 it recorded the UK's lowest June temperature on record with -5.6 °C, a record it also shares with Dalwhinnie in the highlands of Scotland. The temperature can go below freezing at any time of the year.

Transport

The Santon Downham Tramway was a 6-kilometre (3.7 mi) long narrow-gauge railway, which was operated around 1918 to 1922.

References

References

1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Office for National Statistics.
2. [http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/38314C3E-02A0-4515-92FE-8909C6FDB3A3/0/Parishestimates01to05.pdf Estimates of Total Population of Areas in Suffolk] {{webarchive. link. (2008-12-19 Suffolk County Council)
3. "Dad's Army filming locations - Santon Downham - Find That Location".
4. "Dad's Army – Santon Downham".
5. "Santon Downham UK climate averages". Met Office.
6. (August 2025). "Monthly Temperature Extremes". Roost Weather.
7. https://www.roostweather.com/ukobs/temp_station_extreme_map.php{{Dead link. (August 2025)
8. https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-extremes