Blo' Norton
| Blo' Norton | |
|---|---|
 St Andrew, Blo Norton |
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 Blo' Norton
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| Blo' Norton shown within Norfolk | |
| Area | 4.62 km2 (1.78 sq mi) |
| Population | 270 (2001 census) |
| • Density | 58/km2 (150/sq mi) |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DISS |
| Postcode district | IP22 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| Website | https://web.archive.org/web/20051109113749/http://www.blo-norton-pc.gov.uk/ |
Blo' Norton is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England, on the River Little Ouse, not far from Diss. The parish had a population of 270 in approximately 100 households, according to the 2001 census.
Features of Blo' Norton include some attractive fen land and the village church. The unusual name of the village has earned it a reference in the Bill Bryson book Notes From A Small Island and a brief mention on the Channel 4 TV show So Graham Norton. The name reputedly derives from ‘Blae’, old Saxon/Norse meaning both ‘cold’ and ‘blue’. The ‘blue’ could refer to the woad plant that grows in wetter areas and is a source of traditional blue dye. ‘Norton’ is a settlement on the north side of the river.
There is evidence of people living in the area from Saxon times, and perhaps from the Romano-British period. Aerial photographs show outlines of buildings and tracks that are possibly from the Romano-British period, near to Blo' Norton Hall.
Blo' Norton Hall is an impressive moated Elizabethan manor, situated at the end of an avenue of lime trees immediately before Blo' Norton Church. In the summer of 1906 Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) came to stay at Blo' Norton Hall. This visit inspired her short story, The Journal of Miss Joan Martyn.
South of the village and along the river is the Blo' Norton and Thelnetham Fen Site of Special Scientific Interest, an important calcarous fen wetland site supporting a range of rare species such as black bog rush Schoenus nigricans and saw sedge Cladium mariscus plant species. The Little Ouse Headwaters Project manages part of this area as well as surrounding wetland areas such as Hinderclay Fen and Suffolk Wildlife Trust also has a reserve on part of the site.
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