Hellesdon
| Hellesdon | |
|---|---|
 St Paul's Church, Hellesdon |
|
 Hellesdon
|
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| Hellesdon shown within Norfolk | |
| Area | 5.24 km2 (2.02 sq mi) |
| Population | 10,957 (2011 census) |
| • Density | 2,091/km2 (5,420/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TG200105 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NORWICH |
| Postcode district | NR6 |
| Dialling code | 01603 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Hellesdon is a village and a suburb of Norwich in the District of Broadland in Norfolk, England. It lies approximately 4 miles (6.4 kilometres) north-west of Norwich and has 11,177 inhabitant, reducing to 10,957 at the 2011 Census.
Hellesdon has signs of very early settlement. A variety of flint instruments have been unearthed in and around Hellesdon, thought to date back at least 4,000 years. A collection of bronze axe heads were found near Hellesdon Hall and a skeleton dating from around 600 AD was discovered next to Hellesdon Lodge in Low Road.
The Dictionary of British Place-names indicates that the name Hellesdon comes from Hægelisdun (the spelling of the location c.985), meaning 'hill of a man named Hægel', with the spelling having changed to Hailesduna by 1086. Hægelisdun is recorded in tradition as the location where King Edmund was killed by Viking invaders in 869, although there is no consensus on the location of this event.
Hellesdon was one of several manors owned in the fifteenth century by Sir John Fastolf, the original of Shakespeare's Falstaff, and as with other of his properties, his death in 1459 led to something close to a private war between the Paston family and John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk for its possession.
In the 1880s the railway reached Hellesdon linking it to nearby Norwich. In 1915 Mann Egerton built H1s, Spads and Type B seaplanes in Hellesdon. In the 1920s construction of the Norwich ring road began, making Hellesdon much more accessible.
From 1930-64, motorcycle speedway team the Norwich Stars raced at the old Firs raceway. Ove Fundin was World Speedway Champion on a number of occasions in the early 1960s. The stadium was sold for housing in 1964 bringing the Norwich Stars speedway team to an end.
The area has now developed into a major suburb of Norwich.
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Wikipedia