Acle
Encyclopedia
Acle is a small market town
on the River Bure
on The Norfolk Broads in Norfolk
, located halfway between Norwich
and Great Yarmouth
. It has the only bridge across the River Bure
between Wroxham
and Great Yarmouth
. There is a high school (Acle High School
in the town.
The civil parish has an area of 9.46 square kilometres (3.7 sq. miles) and in 2001 had a population of 2732 in 1214 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the area of the district
of Broadland
.
The name "Acle" means "oaks lea", that is, a clearing in an oak forest. In Tudor
times, hundreds of oak
s were felled here for timber to construct Elizabeth I
's war ships.
times, Acle was a port at the head of a large estuary
named Gariensis. Acle is mentioned in the Domesday Book
, and in 1253 it was granted a market
. The livestock and local farmers' market persisted into the 1970s, as did a nearby auction site; the latter is now a new housing estate and the former is part-occupied by a branch of Budgens
, with the other part remaining a market, although essentially for tourist purposes: no livestock is now bought or sold there. In 1382, Acle received the right for a "turbary
", that is, the right to dig peat
. Acle still has a boatyard and Boat Dyke and walks along the Bure to Upton
and beyond are possible.
Acle railway station
, which was built in 1883, lies on the Wherry Line from Norwich to Great Yarmouth. In 1892 a foundry was constructed that specialised in building windpump
s for land drainage, including the very last windpump built for the Broads, at Ash Tree Farm. The three-mile (5 km) £7.1m dual-carriageway A47
bypass opened in March 1989; local campaigners are still pressing for the dualling of the Acle Straight, the portion of the A47 running from Acle to Great Yarmouth
, which has a relatively high accident rate. Since the turn of the century, a walkway running from the station to the Boat Dyke has been constructed by local volunteers; this walk (known as Damgate) offers an opportunity to view indigenous flora, some of which are rare. Also on the Damgate walk, there have been repeated sightings of a kingfisher
, which is said to fly under the abandoned railway bridge around mid afternoon.
The church of St Edmund is one of 124 existing round-tower church
es in Norfolk
. The round stage of the tower is the oldest part of the church, thought to be Saxon
in origin and of a date between 850 and 950 AD. The octagonal stage was added in the 13th century, probably when the roof was raised. The battlement
s are from 1472. The tower houses six bells, five of which were cast in Norwich
and date from 1623. The tower is reinforced with a metal frame to enable the bells to be rung safely. Entry to the church is by a porch
on the north side, built in 1495. The dressed flint
s are in contrast with most of the walls which appear to be made of rubble
.
The main body of the church, the nave
, is thought on the evidence of the measurements and wall thickness to be Norman
in origin. This is not immediately obvious as no Norman doorways or arches remain. In 1927, when ivy
was being stripped from the outside walls, one of the buttress
es collapsed revealing a find of Norman-worked stones, which were later reassembled for safekeeping in the roof stair space. It is probable that all the Norman
doors and archways were demolished when the floor level was raised, perhaps to prevent flooding, in the 13th century. It is reasonable to assume that at least the foundations of the nave are Norman.
The main nave
windows are 14th century, and one near the pulpit
is Tudor
.
The walls were probably painted at one time – a very small fragment of a dragon or a serpent-like creature still exists on the wall of the old rood staircase.
The stone font
in the nave
is dated 1410.
A 15th century wooden screen separates the nave from the chancel. It was not made for Acle church, and may have been brought from St Benet's Abbey or the priory at Weybridge.
The 14th century chancel
probably replaced an apse
; the windows are of 14th century design apart from the east window which holds Victorian stained glass.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
on the River Bure
River Bure
The River Bure is a river in the county of Norfolk, England, most of it in The Broads. The Bure rises near Melton Constable, upstream of Aylsham, which was the original head of navigation. Nowadays, the head of navigation is downstream at Coltishall Bridge...
on The Norfolk Broads in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, located halfway between Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
and Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
. It has the only bridge across the River Bure
River Bure
The River Bure is a river in the county of Norfolk, England, most of it in The Broads. The Bure rises near Melton Constable, upstream of Aylsham, which was the original head of navigation. Nowadays, the head of navigation is downstream at Coltishall Bridge...
between Wroxham
Wroxham
Wroxham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish of Wroxham has an area of 6.21 square kilometres and in 2001 had a population of 1532 in 666 households. The village is situated within the Norfolk Broads on the south side of a loop in the middle reaches of...
and Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
. There is a high school (Acle High School
Acle High School
Acle High School is a secondary school in Acle, Norfolk. The school has about 850 students, ranging in age from 11–16 years old, and the headteacher is Mr. Tim Phillips. There are 5 year groups at Acle High, from Year 7 through to Year 11. Each year group is divided into form groups and has a head...
in the town.
The civil parish has an area of 9.46 square kilometres (3.7 sq. miles) and in 2001 had a population of 2732 in 1214 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the area of the district
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
of Broadland
Broadland
Broadland is a local government district in Norfolk, England, named after the Norfolk Broads. Its council is based in Thorpe St Andrew, which is a suburb of the City of Norwich.-History:The district was formed on April 1, 1974 by the merger of St...
.
The name "Acle" means "oaks lea", that is, a clearing in an oak forest. In Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
times, hundreds of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s were felled here for timber to construct Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
's war ships.
History
In RomanRoman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
times, Acle was a port at the head of a large estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
named Gariensis. Acle is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, and in 1253 it was granted a market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
. The livestock and local farmers' market persisted into the 1970s, as did a nearby auction site; the latter is now a new housing estate and the former is part-occupied by a branch of Budgens
Budgens
Budgens Stores Ltd is a chain of foodstores in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1872 by John Budgen, who opened the first store at Maidenhead, Berkshire. Budgens supermarket chain operates over 227 stores and employs over 6,000 staff...
, with the other part remaining a market, although essentially for tourist purposes: no livestock is now bought or sold there. In 1382, Acle received the right for a "turbary
Turbary
Turbary is the term used to describe the ancient right to cut turf, or peat, for fuel on a particular area of bog. The word may also be used to describe the associated piece of bog or peatland and, by extension, the material extracted from the turbary...
", that is, the right to dig peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
. Acle still has a boatyard and Boat Dyke and walks along the Bure to Upton
Upton, Norfolk
Upton is a village on the River Bure in Norfolk, England within The Broads National Park.Administratively it comes under the civil parish of Upton with Fishley which in turn comes under the district of Broadland. It is north of Acle, halfway between Norwich and Great Yarmouth.St. Margaret's Church...
and beyond are possible.
Acle railway station
Acle railway station
Acle railway station is a railway station serving the town of Acle in the English county of Norfolk. The station was built in 1883 and is located on the Norwich-Great Yarmouth Wherry Line.-History:...
, which was built in 1883, lies on the Wherry Line from Norwich to Great Yarmouth. In 1892 a foundry was constructed that specialised in building windpump
Windpump
A windpump is a windmill used for pumping water, either as a source of fresh water from wells, or for draining low-lying areas of land. Once a common fixture on farms in semi-arid areas, windpumps are still used today where electric power is not available or too expensive.-History:Windmills were...
s for land drainage, including the very last windpump built for the Broads, at Ash Tree Farm. The three-mile (5 km) £7.1m dual-carriageway A47
A47 road
The A47 is a trunk road in England originally linking Birmingham to Great Yarmouth. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114.-Route:...
bypass opened in March 1989; local campaigners are still pressing for the dualling of the Acle Straight, the portion of the A47 running from Acle to Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
, which has a relatively high accident rate. Since the turn of the century, a walkway running from the station to the Boat Dyke has been constructed by local volunteers; this walk (known as Damgate) offers an opportunity to view indigenous flora, some of which are rare. Also on the Damgate walk, there have been repeated sightings of a kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
, which is said to fly under the abandoned railway bridge around mid afternoon.
Parish church of St Edmund
Round-tower church
Round-tower churches are a type of church found mainly in England, almost solely in East Anglia; of about 185 surviving examples in the country, 124 are in Norfolk, 38 in Suffolk, 6 in Essex, 3 in Sussex and 2 each in Cambridgeshire and Berkshire. There is evidence of about twenty round-tower...
es in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. The round stage of the tower is the oldest part of the church, thought to be Saxon
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing...
in origin and of a date between 850 and 950 AD. The octagonal stage was added in the 13th century, probably when the roof was raised. The battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
s are from 1472. The tower houses six bells, five of which were cast in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
and date from 1623. The tower is reinforced with a metal frame to enable the bells to be rung safely. Entry to the church is by a porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
on the north side, built in 1495. The dressed flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
s are in contrast with most of the walls which appear to be made of rubble
Rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture. This word is closely connected in derivation with "rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as brash...
.
The main body of the church, the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, is thought on the evidence of the measurements and wall thickness to be Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
in origin. This is not immediately obvious as no Norman doorways or arches remain. In 1927, when ivy
Ivy
Ivy, plural ivies is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan and Taiwan.-Description:On level ground they...
was being stripped from the outside walls, one of the buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es collapsed revealing a find of Norman-worked stones, which were later reassembled for safekeeping in the roof stair space. It is probable that all the Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
doors and archways were demolished when the floor level was raised, perhaps to prevent flooding, in the 13th century. It is reasonable to assume that at least the foundations of the nave are Norman.
The main nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
windows are 14th century, and one near the pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
is Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
.
The walls were probably painted at one time – a very small fragment of a dragon or a serpent-like creature still exists on the wall of the old rood staircase.
The stone font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
in the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
is dated 1410.
A 15th century wooden screen separates the nave from the chancel. It was not made for Acle church, and may have been brought from St Benet's Abbey or the priory at Weybridge.
The 14th century chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
probably replaced an apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
; the windows are of 14th century design apart from the east window which holds Victorian stained glass.
External links
- Acle Village Website
- Information from Genuki Norfolk on Acle.
- Website with photos of Acle St Edmund, a round-tower churchRound-tower churchRound-tower churches are a type of church found mainly in England, almost solely in East Anglia; of about 185 surviving examples in the country, 124 are in Norfolk, 38 in Suffolk, 6 in Essex, 3 in Sussex and 2 each in Cambridgeshire and Berkshire. There is evidence of about twenty round-tower...
- Acle windmills from the Norfolkmills website