North Lopham
| North Lopham | |
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 The Kings Head Pub |
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 North Lopham
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| North Lopham shown within Norfolk | |
| Area | 8.17 km2 (3.15 sq mi) |
| Population | 623 |
| • Density | 76/km2 (200/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TM035824 |
| 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 | http://www.northlopham.info/ |
North Lopham is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
It covers an area of 8.17 km2 (3.15 sq mi) and had a population of 623 in 255 households at the 2011 census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of Breckland. The church of St. Nicholas is situated within North Lopham, along Church Lane. St. Nicholas's church was described in 1870 as:
"The church was built by W. Bigod; has a Norman porch; exhibits, on the exterior and round the buttresses, many Latin inscriptions."
North Lopham was first mentioned in the Little Doomsday Book of 1086 and was referred to as 'Lopham Alia'. This Latin name can be translated into 'Another Lopham'. The name Lopham originates from the Old English for 'Loppa's homestead'. The earliest known building within the parish was a Roman villa located in the East of the village. This was discovered through Roman materials, such as pottery, and coins being found as a result of ploughing and metal detecting. During the 16th century, North Lopham was noted for the production of fine linen, as was common in the areas surrounding Thetford and Diss at the time. This production continued through the 17th and 18th centuries as was described by William White's 1845 Gazetteer:
"the two villages have long been famous for the manufacture of linen or hempen cloth"
Yet, this successful industry faced competition from high volume machinery located in 'textile towns'. As a result, North Lopham's last production of linen was in 1910. In 1831, the parish had a population of 807 and contained a total of 121 houses. Within North Lopham, there are a total of seventeen properties which are on the National Heritage List including the grade one listed St. Nicholas's church and the grade two listed Wesleyen Chapel. In 1834, North Lopham became part of the Guiltcross Union which consisted of a total of eleven workhouses within Wayland, Thetford and Depwade. A work house was erected in North Lopham in 1836. In 1881, the main industry of the parish was agriculture, with 29% of the population of 674 working within this sector. Census data for the parish dates back to 1801, with the earliest figure for population being 588. The population decreased from 832 in 1851 to 461 in 1961.The population was also its lowest in parish history in 1961. The overall trend for the parish population is a gradual decrease until 1961 where the population increased to 623 in 2011.
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Wikipedia