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Burston, Norfolk

Coordinates: 52°24′N 1°09′E / 52.4°N 1.15°E / 52.4; 1.15
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Burston
St. Mary's Church
Burston is located in Norfolk
Burston
Burston
Location within Norfolk
Area9.17 km2 (3.54 sq mi)
Population568 (2011)[1]
• Density62/km2 (160/sq mi)
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDISS
Postcode districtIP22
Dialling code01379
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk
52°24′N 1°09′E / 52.4°N 1.15°E / 52.4; 1.15

Burston is a village and former civil parish in Norfolk, England.

Burston is located 2.6 miles (4.2 km) north-east of Diss and 16 miles (26 km) south-west of Norwich. On 1 April 1935, the parish of Shimpling and Burston were merged to form Burston and Shimpling.[2]

History

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Burston's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a settlement or farmstead built around a landslip.[3]

In the Domesday Book, Burston is recorded as a settlement of 41 households in the hundred of Diss. In 1086, the village was part of the estates of King William I and Robert Malet.[4]

The local pub, The Crown, dates back to the 17th century[5] and still operates as a pub and restaurant.[6]

From 1914 to 1939, Burston was the scene of the longest strike in history when schoolteachers Tom and Annie Higdon went on strike in protest over unhygienic and inadequate schooling conditions for the local children. The children were instead invited to attend Burston Strike School, which was originally located on the village green before moving to the new school building in 1917. The building was funded by public subscription, with the patrons' names (including Leo Tolstoy) carved into bricks used to build the school.[7] In 1949, the school building was registered as an educational charity and is currently operated by a board of trustees as a museum, visitor centre, village amenity and educational archive. A rally to commemorate the strike has been organised on the first Sunday of September every year since 1984 by the Transport and General Workers' Union and its successor organisation, Unite the Union.

On 10 July 1983, the parish was renamed "Burston and Shimpling".[8]

Other listed buildings within Burston include Manor Farmhouse (16th century),[9] Crown Farmhouse (17th century),[10] Red House (17th century)[11] and Valley Farmhouse (17th century).[12]

Geography

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In 1931 the parish of Burston (prior to the merge) had a population of 279.[13] This was the last time separate population statistics for Burston were collected in the census.

St. Mary's Church

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Burston's parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and dates from the 15th century. The tower collapsed in 1753 and was never rebuilt. St. Mary's is located on the junction of Diss Road and Mill Road and has been Grade II listed since 1959.[14] The church was restored in the 19th century and again in 2013, and today boasts a set of royal arms from the reign of James I. Tom and Annie Higdon, leaders of the Burston Strike School, are buried side-by-side in the churchyard.[15]

Amenities

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Burston once had its own railway station, with services on the Great Eastern Main Line between Norwich and London Liverpool Street. The station closed in 1966.

Notable Residents

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  • Annie Higdon (1864–1946) -schoolmistress, lived and worked in Burston.
  • Tom Higdon- schoolmaster, lived and worked in Burston.

Governance

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Burston is part of the electoral ward of Bressingham & Burston for local elections and is part of the district of South Norfolk.

Burston is located in the constituency of Waveney Valley, which has been represented by Adrian Ramsay of the Green Party since 2024.

War memorial

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Burston war memorial was unveiled in 2019 after a public subscription campaign and is a glass topped brick memorial on Church Green. The memorial lists the following names from the First World War:[16]

Rank Name Unit Date of Death Burial
LSgt. Herbert Garnham 9th Bn., Norfolk Regiment 15 Sep. 1916 Thiepval Memorial
Cpl. George W. Durbidge 12th Bn., Machine Gun Corps 15 Dec. 1918 Étaples Military Cemetery
Pte. William E. East 2nd Bn., Essex Regiment 1 Jul. 1916 Serre Road Cemetery
Pte. Gurney R. Sandy 8th Bn., Lincolnshire Regiment 10 Sep. 1918 Vis-en-Artois Memorial
Pte. Edward Potter 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regiment 26 Mar. 1917 Baghdad War Cemetery
Pte. George W. Sandy 7th Bn., Norfolk Rgt. 13 Oct. 1915 Loos Memorial
Pte. Herbert W. Johnson 2nd Bn., South Wales Borderers 23 Apr. 1917 Arras Memorial

And: Frederick G. Bryant.

References

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  1. ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Relationships and Changes Burston CP/AP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  4. ^ "Burston | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  5. ^ "THE CROWN PUBLIC HOUSE, Burston and Shimpling - 1373592 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  6. ^ "Welcome to The Burston Crown | Pub in Burston, Diss, Norfolk". The Burston Crown. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  7. ^ "THE STRIKE SCHOOL, Burston and Shimpling - 1171245 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  8. ^ "Depwade Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  9. ^ "MANOR HOUSE FARMHOUSE, Burston and Shimpling - 1049586 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  10. ^ "CROWN FARMHOUSE, Burston and Shimpling - 1049585 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  11. ^ "RED HOUSE, Burston and Shimpling - 1049584 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  12. ^ "VALLEY FARMHOUSE, Burston and Shimpling - 1049621 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  13. ^ "Population statistics Burston CP/AP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  14. ^ "CHURCH OF ST MARY, Burston and Shimpling - 1305672 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  15. ^ "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  16. ^ "Burston". www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
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