Denver, Norfolk
Encyclopedia
Denver is a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and civil parish in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

 of 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...

. It is located on the River Great Ouse
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...

, 1 mile (2 km) south of the small town of Downham Market
Downham Market
Downham Market is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, some 20 km south of the town of King's Lynn, 60 km west of the city of Norwich and the same distance north of the city of Cambridge....

, 14 miles (22 km) south of the larger town of King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....

, and 37 miles (60 km) west of the city of 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...

.

The civil parish has an area of 10.82 km² and in the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

 had a population of 847 in 358 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within 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 King's Lynn and West Norfolk
King's Lynn and West Norfolk
King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a local government district and borough in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn.-History:...

.

In 1651 the first sluice
Sluice
A sluice is a water channel that is controlled at its head by a gate . For example, a millrace is a sluice that channels water toward a water mill...

 was built across the river at Denver, by Cornelius Vermuyden
Cornelius Vermuyden
Sir Cornelius Wasterdyk Vermuyden was a Dutch engineer who introduced Dutch reclamation methods to Britain, and made the first important attempts to drain The Fens of East Anglia.-Life:...

, although it had to be rebuilt after bursting in 1713. The sluices play a major role in the drainage of the fens, being at the confluence of five watercourses. The area is now enjoyed by many tourists, and Denver Sluice is the home of the local sailing club.

Denver is home to a fully restored 19th century windmill, and lies on the path of the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 Fen Causeway
Fen Causeway
Fen Causeway or the Fen Road is the modern name for a Roman road of England that runs between Denver, Norfolk in the east and Peterborough in the west. Its path covers , passing March and Eldernell before joining the major Roman north-south route Ermine Street west of modern-day Peterborough...

. Captain George Manby
George William Manby
Captain George William Manby FRS , was an English author and inventor. He designed an apparatus for saving life from shipwrecks and also the first modern form of fire extinguisher.-Life:Manby went to school at Downham Market...

, the inventor, was born in the village in 1765, and a plaque commemorating this can be found at his birthplace.

Its name came from Anglo-Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...

 Dena fær = "the ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...

 or passage of the Danes", referring to Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 invasions.

The fictional place Duke's Denver, the family seat of the Duke of Denver
Duke of Denver
The fictitious title of Duke of Denver was created by Dorothy Sayers for the family of Lord Peter Wimsey. Lord Peter is the second of the three children of Mortimer Wimsey, 15th Duke of Denver...

, brother of Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...

 in the novels of Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...

, is also in Norfolk, but it is supposed to be situated several miles to the east of Denver village.

The American city of Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

 is not directly named after the English town, but after the 19th Century American politician James W. Denver
James W. Denver
James William Denver was an American politician, soldier, lawyer, and esteemed actor. He served in the California state government, as an officer in the United States Army in two wars, and as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from California, as well as playing lead...

; his name might, however, be ultimately connected to the Norfolk town.

External links

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