Stoke Holy Cross
Encyclopedia
Stoke Holy Cross is a village in South Norfolk
South Norfolk
South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton.-History:The district was formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of Diss Urban District, Wymondham Urban District, Depwade Rural District, Forehoe and Henstead...

 which lies approximately 4 miles south 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...

.

Geography

It sits on the River Tas
River Tas
The River Tas is a river which flows northwards through South Norfolk in England - towards Norwich. The area is named the Tas Valley after the river. The origin of the name of the river is uncertain - it may have taken it from the village of Tasburgh or vice versa.Tributaries which have their...

. It covers an area of 9.27 km² (3.6 sq mi) and had a population of 1,568 in 674 households as of 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....

.

The village is accessed from the south of Norwich, about a mile east of the A140
A140 road
The A140 is an 'A-class' road in Norfolk and Suffolk, East Anglia, England partly following the route of the Roman Pye Road. It runs from the A14 near Needham Market to the A149 south of Cromer. It is of primary status for the entirety of its route. It is approximately 56 miles in length...

. West of the village, the parish boundary meets Swainsthorpe
Swainsthorpe
Swainsthorpe is a village in Norfolk, England. It lies about 5 miles south of Norwich. It covers an area of and had a population of 374 in 159 households as of the 2001 census.Its church, St Peter, is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk....

 along Stoke Lane. The boundary crosses the A140 and the Great Eastern Main Line
Great Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line is a 212 Kilometre major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street in the City of London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and several coastal resorts such as...

 as Hickling Lane. North of Sprow's Pits it meets Swardeston, and passes west of an electricity substation. The boundary follows the A140 northwards, to the west, and east of Mangreen Hall. A few hundred metres south of the A140/A47 interchange it meets Caistor St Edmund, where the parish includes the Mangreen quarry owned by Lafarge
Lafarge
Lafarge is a French industrial company specialising in four major products: cement, construction aggregates, concrete and gypsum wallboard. In 2010 the company was the world's second-largest cement manufacturer by mass shipped behind Holcim.-History:...

. It crosses the A140 and the railway to meet the River Tas, which it follows southwards, with Dunston
Dunston, Norfolk
Dunston is a small village which lies approximately 3 miles south of Norwich. It is located in the valley of the River Tas between Stoke Holy Cross and Caistor St. Edmund. It has a common which is popular with walkers....

 (part of the parish) to the west including Dunston Hall and the Dunston Hall Golf Club. It follows Chandler Road, part of Boudica's Way
Boudica's Way
Boudica's Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom.- Historical symbolism :The route commemorates the warrior queen of the Iceni, Boudica who rebelled against early Roman government and military control in the region of what is now South Norfolk.It runs from...

, eastwards and north of Notre Dame Wood. It passes north of Highfield Farm and Narborough House, and Upper Stoke (part of the parish). It passes on the western edge of the transmitting station (a former radar station), and at Stoke Road it meets Poringland
Poringland
Poringland is a village in the constituency of South Norfolk, England. It covers an area of and had a population of 3,261 in 1,403 households as of the 2001 census....

. South of Upper Stoke, it passes through Brickle Wood and along the western edge, and follows Brickle Wood through Abbot's Farm and meets Shotesham
Shotesham
Shotesham is a village in South Norfolk which lies approximately 5 miles south of Norwich. It sits next to Stoke Holy Cross and Saxlingham Nethergate in the valley of the River Tas. It covers an area of and had a population of 539 in 210 households as of the 2001 census....

. It follows Willow Brook to the south of Warren Plantation. It passes to the south-west of Maltkin Farm, meeting Swainsthorpe east of Swainsthorpe Hall.

History

Stoke Holy Cross mill was the location from which Colman's
Colman's
Colman's is a UK manufacturer of mustard and various other sauces, based at Carrow, in Norwich, Norfolk. Presently an operational division of the multinational Unilever company, Colman's is one of the oldest existing food brands, famous for a limited range of products, almost all varieties of...

 produced their very first mustard products. It is to the west of the village.

Holy Cross church is to the south of the village, being part of Stoke Holy Cross with Dunston. The village pub is the Wildebeest Arms on Norwich Road.

Radio towers

There are two tall radio towers to the east of the village. One is one of three former Chain Home
Chain Home
Chain Home was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the British before and during the Second World War. The system otherwise known as AMES Type 1 consisted of radar fixed on top of a radio tower mast, called a 'station' to provide long-range detection of...

 radar towers from the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

, then known as RAF Stoke Holy Cross. It is still owned by the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

 and is in Poringland
Poringland
Poringland is a village in the constituency of South Norfolk, England. It covers an area of and had a population of 3,261 in 1,403 households as of the 2001 census....

.

A larger 'stepped' tower owned by BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...

 sits nearby. This was originally built as part of the British Telecom microwave network
British Telecom microwave network
The British Telecom microwave network was a network of point-to-point microwave radio links in the United Kingdom, operated at first by the General Post Office, and subsequently by its successor BT plc...

 but like many such sites is now used for a variety of telecommunications and broadcast services, including FM transmission for BBC Radio Norfolk
BBC Radio Norfolk
BBC Radio Norfolk is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Norfolk, broadcasting since 11 September 1980. It broadcasts from the studios of BBC East in The Forum, Norwich on 95.1 FM , 104.4 FM , 95.6 FM , 855 kHz AM/MW , 873 kHz AM/MW BBC Radio Norfolk is the BBC Local...

 on 95.1, 99.9 Radio Norwich
99.9 Radio Norwich
Norwich 99.9 is a British radio station in Norwich, Norfolk.-History:The station is part of Tindle Radio Group, owner of neighbouring North Norfolk Radio and 103.4 The Beach...

 on 99.9, Heart Norwich (former Radio Broadland) on 102.4, and Kiss 105-108
Kiss 105-108
Kiss 105-108 is the East of England's regional radio station broadcast from Reflection House, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, broadcasting dance music and R'n'B across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and North Essex....

 on 106.1. It also carries the digital radio multiplexes NOW Norwich
NOW Norwich
Now Norwich is a Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex available in the above area which has been broadcasting since March 2003. It carries a variety of stations some of which are local.- Transmitter Sites :...

, Digital One
Digital One
Digital One is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva. , the multiplex covers more than 90% of the populationfrom a total of 137 transmitters...

 and BBC National DAB.

The masts are mostly in the parish of Caistor St Edmund.

External links

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