# Denton, Norfolk

Denton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
Denton is located 3.8 miles (6.1 km) north-east of Harleston and 13 miles (21 km) south of Norwich.

## History

Denton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for an enclosed farmstead or settlement in a valley.
In the Domesday Book, Denton is listed as a settlement of 49 households in the hundred of Earsham. In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of King William I and Eudo, son of Spirewic.
The village boundaries include the remaining earthworks of Denton Castle which was likely built in 1088 by William d'Albini and subsequently abandoned in 1254. Today, the castle is a scheduled monument and in the ownership of the National Trust.

## Geography

According to the 2021 census, Denton has a total population of 358 people which demonstrates an increase from the 326 people listed in the 2011 census.
The A143, between Gorleston-on-Sea and Haverhill, runs through the southern part of the parish.

## St. Mary's Church

Denton's parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and dates from the Thirteenth Century. St. Mary's is located on Earsham Road and has been Grade I listed since 1959.
St. Mary's churchtower is of curious construction with the lower parts being made of flint and the upper parts being made of Victorian red brick. The interior of the church was restored in the Victorian era yet it still boasts stained-glass windows dating from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century, with were reset in the 1850s. St. Mary's also holds sets of royal arms from the reigns of Queen Victoria, King George III and Queen Elizabeth II.

## Village Life

Denton won the 2008 Pride in Norfolk Award for a village under 500 people in population. The village went on to win the 2009 Calor Village of the Year competition.

## Governance

Denton is part of the electoral ward of Ditchingham & Earsham for local elections and is part of the district of South Norfolk.
The village's national constituency is Waveney Valley which has been represented by the Green Party's Adrian Ramsay MP since 2024.

## War Memorial

Denton's war memorial is a marble plaque inside St. Mary's Church. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial/Commemoration |
| 2Lt. | John W. C. Bolland | 10th Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 9 Apr. 1917 | Faubourg Cemetery |
| LSt. | John Davison | HMS Princess Irene | 27 May 1915 | Chatham Naval Memorial |
| Cpl. | Ernest R. Wooltorton | 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 14 Apr. 1915 | Basra War Cemetery |
| Pte. | William E. Aldrich | 4th Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment | 8 Oct. 1918 | Noyelles Cemetery |
| Pte. | Benjamin C. Grimmer | 5th Bn., Royal Berkshire Regiment | 26 Jun. 1917 | Appy Valley Cemetery |
| Pte. | Henry W. Beckett | 17th Bn., Middlesex Regiment | 17 Apr. 1917 | Cologne Southern Cemetery |
| Pte. | Charles E. W. Oakley | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 4 Jun. 1916 | Arras Memorial |
| Pte. | John Nobbs | 11th Bn., Royal Sussex Regiment | 17 Aug. 1917 | Oak Dump Cemetery |
| Pte. | Samuel Barnes | 9th Bn., Worcestershire Regiment | 19 Jun. 1916 | Basra War Cemetery |
And, John J. Revell as well as the following for the Second World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Commemoration |
| Sapper | Jack Edward Sheldrake | Royal Engineers | 11 March 1941 | Brookwood Cemetery |