Bawdeswell
| Bawdeswell | |
|---|---|
 All Saints Church, Bawdeswell |
|
 Bawdeswell
|
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| Bawdeswell shown within Norfolk | |
| Area | 4.87 km2 (1.88 sq mi) |
| Population | 828 (2011 census.) |
| • Density | 170/km2 (440/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TG046208 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DEREHAM |
| Postcode district | NR20 |
| Dialling code | 01362 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Bawdeswell is a small rural village and civil parish in the Breckland district of the county of Norfolk, England. At the time of the 2011 census it had a population of 828 and an area of 487 hectares. The village is situated almost in the centre of Norfolk about 14 miles (23 km) northwest of Norwich. It is on a Roman road that ran east-west between Durobrivae near modern Peterborough and Smallburgh, crossing the Fen Causeway.
The village is recorded in the Domesday Book as Balderwella. It was the home of Chaucer's Reeve in The Reeve's Prologue and Tale in the Canterbury Tales.
The medieval parish church was destroyed in World War II when hit by a de Havilland Mosquito bomber.
The village name appears to be unique, with no other example being found by internet searches, and has been spelt as Baldereswella, Baldeswell, Badswell, Bawsewella and Baldeswelle – in 1807 it was officially Baldeswell. The exact meaning of the name of the village is uncertain. However, wella is a well, 'stream' or 'spring', and it is clear that there has always been water here with quite a number of wells still surviving, the water table being 12 feet (3.7 m) or less. Baldhere is an Anglo-Saxon man's name, composed of Old English elements meaning 'bold, strong' and 'army', and may date back before the 7th century. In Norse it was a mythological son of the God Odin and in Swedish meant 'The God of Light'. The name of the village may thus stem from the Old English given name Baldhere and refers to a source of water belonging to or possibly discovered by him. Therefore, an original spelling may have been Baldhereswella. In his An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: volume 8, historian, social and landscape geographer Francis Blomefield considers the meaning of balder could be quick running water and ascribes the same meaning to Boldre, Hampshire and Baldersdale, North Yorkshire.
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