# Bintree

Bintree is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
The village is about 7.2 miles (11.6 km) south-east of Fakenham and 16 miles (26 km) north-west of Norwich.

## History

Bintree's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for Bynna's tree.
Despite Bintree's Anglo-Saxon origins, there is evidence for much earlier habitation. Archeological evidence include Neolithic tools and Roman pottery & coinage.
Bintree is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a settlement of 29 households in the hundred of Eynesford. In 1086, Bintee was divided between the estates of Godric the Steward, Walter Giffard and Hagni the Reeve.
In 1759, John Astley became Rector of Bintree whilst also holding the benefices of Brinton and Thornage.
In the Nineteenth Century, the Norfolk County School was built within the parish. In 1895, the school was closed and purchased by Edmund Watts who used it to train children from the care of Thomas John Barnardo for service with the Royal Navy. The school was used during the Second World War but demolished in the 1960s.
Manor House, within Bintree, is a farmhouse that dates from the early Nineteenth Century and was formerly a property owned by the Holkham Estate.
Richard Enraght, an Anglo-Irish Church of England priest, who had previously been imprisoned for attempting to bring more Catholic ritualism into Anglican church services, was appointed to the position of Vicar of St. Swithun's Church, Bintree in 1895. Enraght died within the parish in 1898 and is buried in St. Swithun's Churchyard.

## Geography

Bintree is located along the A1067 which runs between Fakenham and Norwich. The River Wensum runs through the parish, though not through the village itself.
According to the 2021 census, there are 327 people who live in Bintree which decreased from the 2011 census which returned a total of 329 people.
Amenities within the village include the Royal Oak Pub and a farmshop.

## St. Swithun's Church

Bintree's parish church is dedicated to Saint Swithun and was largely rebuilt in the Fourteenth Century, with a replacement chancel being built in 1864. Stained glass within the church includes a depiction of the crucifixion by Alexander Gibbs, a depiction of Christ by William Wailes and the annunciation by Horace Wilkinson. St. Swithun's Church has been Grade II listed since 1960. Furthermore, there is a grave cover within St. Swithun's Churchyard that is Grade II listed, Historic England speculates that this is the grave of Richard de Langbrigg, a parish priest who died in 1270.

## Bintry Watermill

Outside of the village lays Bintry watermill. A watermill has stood in this site since the mid-Fifteenth Century, though the present structure originates in the mid-Eighteenth Century. The structure is Grade II listed.

## Governance

Bintree is part of the electoral ward of Upper Wensum for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.
Billingford's national constituency is Mid Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's George Freeman since 2010.

## Notable Residents

* John Astley (1735-1803), Church of England clergyman.
* Richard Enraght (1837-1898), Anglo-Irish clergyman.

## War memorial

Bintree's war memorial is located within St. Swithun's Churchyard and takes the form of a grey granite cross with a sword of sacrifice embossed in front. The war memorial was built in 1920 and has been Grade II listed since 2017. It lists the following names for the First World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Other Commemoration / Burial |
| Private | Ernest G. Vince | Machine Gun Corps | 28 December 1917 | St. Swithun's Churchyard, Bintree |
| Private | Bertie G. Wakefield | 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolks | 15 September 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Private | George Spooner | 1/5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment | 12 August 1915 | Helles Memorial |
| Private | W. George Watson | 7th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment | 9 November 1918 | Arras Road Cemetery, Roclincourt |
And the following for the Second World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Other Commemoration / Burial |
| Sapper | Sidney J. Stearman | 1021 Port Operating Company, Royal Engineers | 5 September 1944 | Florence War Cemetery |