# Blo' Norton

Blo' Norton is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of the English county of Norfolk.
Blo' Norton is located along the course of the River Little Ouse, about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of Diss and 22 miles (35 km) south-west of Norwich.

## History

Blo' Norton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a bleak or exposed north farm or settlement. The first record of 'Blo' added to the name is in 1291, which in Middle English may have meant 'bleak and cold or exposed' or it may have derived from ‘blae’ meaning blue, perhaps from the growth of woad plants from which a blue dye can be obtained.
In the Domesday Book, Blo Norton is listed as a settlement of 47 households in the hundred of Guiltcross. In 1086, the village was split between the estates of William de Warenne, Roger Bigod, Bury St Edmunds Abbey and St Etheldreda's Abbey, Ely.
During the Medieval Period, Blo' Norton was significantly larger than it is today. However, the Black Death dramatically decreased the population which meant much of the village was abandoned. There is archeological evidence of the location of the deserted village to this day.
Blo' Norton Hall is a timber-framed, moated Tudor manor house at the end of an avenue of lime trees west of St Andrew's Church. It was enlarged in Elizabethan style in 1585. It is a Grade II* listed building. In the summer of 1906 Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) stayed at Blo' Norton Hall. The visit inspired her short story, "The Journal of Miss Joan Martyn".
Along 'The Street' in Blo' Norton there are numerous Grade II listed buildings. Including the 15th-century Church Farmhouse, the 18th-century Blo' Norton House, Hampton House as well as the Fairfields Cottages which were designed by George Skipper in 1922. Elm Cottage on Theltenham Road also dates from the late 17th century.
Blo' Norton is mentioned in Notes from a Small Island (1995) by the American author, Bill Bryson. Furthermore, Blo' Norton briefly featured in an episode of the Channel 4 television programme, So Graham Norton.

## Geography

According to data from the 2021 census, Blo' Norton parish has a total population of 269 people which grew from 251 in the 2011 census.
Blo' Norton is located close to the course of the River Little Ouse. Amenities within the village include Dutch Barn Nurseries (a plant nursery) and the nearby Beehive Coffee Shop.

## St Andrew's Church

Blo' Norton's parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew and dates from the 13th century, though its Medieval furnishings have largely been removed. The church was further remodelled in the 16th and 19th centuries, and also featuresroyal arms from the reign of William and Mary. The church features a stained-glass window designed and installed by William Wailes in 1863, depicting the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. The west tower has a ring of six bells. Thomas Osborn, who had bell-foundries at Downham Market in Norfolk and St Neots in Cambridgeshire, cast five of the bells including the tenor in 1794. John Warner & Sons of Cripplegate, London cast the treble bell in 1892. St Andrew's Church has been Grade II listed since 1958.

## Governance

Blo' Norton is part of the electoral ward of Guiltcross for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.
The village's national constituency is South West Norfolk which has been represented by Labour's Terry Jermy since 2024.

## Blo' Norton and Thelnetham Fen

South of the village and along the river is the Blo' Norton and Thelnetham Fen Site of Special Scientific Interest, an important calcareous fen wetland site supporting rare plant species including black bog rush Schoenus nigricans and saw sedge Cladium mariscus. The Little Ouse Headwaters Project manages part of this area as well as surrounding wetland areas such as Hinderclay Fen and Suffolk Wildlife Trust also has a reserve on part of the site.

## Frogstock

The village used to host the Frogstock festival, which was established in 1995 as a local music festival in answer to the perceived over-commercialisation of festivals such as Glastonbury. Frogstock was last held in 2011.

## Notable residents

* Prince Frederick Duleep Singh MVO, (1868-1926) last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire and resident of Blo' Norton Hall

## War memorial

Blo' Norton's War Memorial is located at the junction between Church Lane and The Street, and the takes the form of a stone cross with an octagonal base. It was unveiled on 7 November 1920 and was funded by donations from local charities and the people of Blo' Norton. The memorial was designed by Albert Powys and sculpted by Laurence Arthur Turner. It holds the following names for the First World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Other Commemoration / Burial |
| 2Lt. | C. Chad A. Norris | Royal Flying Corps | 26 December 1917 | St Andrew's Churchyard, Blo' Norton |
And Ernest Footer.
And the following for the Second World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Other Commemoration / Burial |
| Cpl. | William A. Ruddock | 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment | 8 August 1944 | Bayeux War Cemetery |
| LAC | William H. Valentine | No. 2771 (Air Defence Squadron), RAF Regiment | 21 December 1942 | Runnymede Memorial |
| Gnr. | T. Kenneth Cook | 179th (Anti-Aircraft) Regiment, Royal Artillery | 25 December 1943 | St Luke's Churchyard, Haverigg |