Wacton, Norfolk
| Wacton | |
|---|---|
 All Saints Church |
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 Wacton Hall |
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 Wacton
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| Wacton shown within Norfolk | |
| Area | 4.54 km2 (1.75 sq mi) |
| Population | 302 (2011) |
| • Density | 67/km2 (170/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TM180915 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NORWICH |
| Postcode district | NR15 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
Wacton is a village in the English county of Norfolk. It is located about one mile south-west of Long Stratton and 13 miles (21 km) south west of Norwich. It covers an area of 4.54 km2 (1.75 sq mi) and has a population of 302 people as of the last census in 2011
One of Wacton's most prominent features is All Saints round tower church.
In John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales 1870–72, Wacton, Norfolk (which at the time was two parishes) was described as: "WACTON-MAGNA and W.-Parva, two parishes in Depwade district, Norfolk; 1 mile ESE of Forcett r. station, and 1½ SW of Long Stratton-Post town, Long Stratton. Acres, 1,044. Real property, £1,981. Pop., 244. Houses, 54. The property is much subdivided. The livings are conjoint rectories in the diocese of Norwich. Value, £302. Patron, the Rev.Grain. The church was recently restored."
As you can see in the above graph, there was a far narrower range of occupations for Wactons residents in 1881 in comparison to 2011. The vast majority of working Males in village worked in 'Agriculture' (37), the other occupations had a very low number of men occupied the next most frequent occupations were 'House, Furniture & Decoration' (3) and 'Professionals' (also 3).
A large percentage of the females had 'No Specified Occupation' (37) whilst a further 19 had an 'Unknown' occupation. After these two categories, the next most frequent occupation was work in 'Domestic Services & Offices'
Despite Wacton's relative insignificance being amongst hundreds of small villages in the country, it actually has history dating back to thousands of years. The earliest known presence of people in the parish is known to be as far back as prehistoric times. Evidence was discovered during fieldwalks in 1978–80 when boiling pots and flints were found amongst other records from other historic periods. There was little records of the preceding Bronze and Iron ages been significant in the parish, the only records being flint tools in the early part of the Bronze age and socketed spearheads in the latter half. For the Iron age the only records foun were silver coins and pottery sherds.
There was a strong Roman period presence in Wacton too. A major road called Pye Road used to run through the village from Scole and a Roman town named Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund. The finest artefacts discovered from the Roman include gold coin which was discovered in a garden in Wash Lane in 1998. Evidence suggests Barbarous radiate coins were likely manufactured in the south side of Wacton too.
There is a gap in history in Wacton with there being very few and far between finds from the Saxon period. However, the following Medieval period was the richest historical period for Wacton. It was the period in which the still standing All Saints Church was erected along with St. Mary's Church which no longer stands. St Mary's church later became a chapel in 1500 but was followed by a period of disuse between 1510 and 1522 before being used as a devecote. Other less significant artefacts from the Medieval period include a cowbell found in 1979, a coin weight and a silver strap fittling.
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