# Bridgham

Bridgham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
Bridgham is located 6.2 miles (10.0 km) north-east of Thetford and 22 miles (35 km) south-west of Norwich.

## History

Bridgham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a homestead/village by a bridge.
In the Domesday Book, Bridgham is recorded as a settlement of 11 households in the hundred of Shropham. In 1086, the village was part of the estates of St. Etheldreda's Abbey in Ely.
Listed buildings within Bridgham include Orchard Cottage (18th century), Red House (17th century) with accompanying outbuildings, the Old School House (18th century) and The Rectory (c.1770).
In 1940 during the Second World War, a concrete pillbox was built in Bridgham as part of the defences against a possible German invasion.

## Geography

According to the 2021 census, Bridgham has a population of 373 people which shows a slight increase from the 335 people recorded in the 2011 census.
The course of the River Thet runs through the parish.

## Church of St. Mary

Bridgham's parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and dates from the Fourteenth Century. The church has been Grade II listed since 1958. The church boasts a carved chalk font as well as stained-glass designed by A. L. Moore in 1900.

## Governance

Bridgham is part of the electoral ward of Harling & Heathlands 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.

## War Memorial

Bridgham's war memorial is granite, stone cross located in St. Mary's Churchyard. It was erected in 1920 and has been Grade II listed since 2018. It lists the following names for the First World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Other Commemoration / Burial |
| St1C | George W. Stubbs | HMS Russell | 27 Apr. 1916 | Chatham Naval Memorial |
| LCpl. | William Kenny | 1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment | 9 Jul. 1915 | Eastern Cemetery, Boulogne |
| LCpl. | William R. Waller | 6th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment | 4 Nov. 1918 | Communal Cemetery, Preux-au-Bois |
| LCpl. | Ralph E. Downes | 1st Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment | 23 Apr. 1917 | Arras Memorial |
| Pte. | A. Stanley Oakley | 1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment | 27 Jul. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Albert W. Greengrass | 1st Bn., Norfolk Rgt. | 27 Jul. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Frederick G. Large | 1/4th Battalion, Norfolk Rgt. | 26 Aug. 1915 | St. Mary's Churchyard, Bridgham |
| Pte. | George Smith | 8th Battalion, Norfolk Rgt. | 19 Jul. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | E. Arthur Holmes | 8th Bn., Norfolk Rgt. | 17 Feb. 1917 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Albert D. Hubbard | 8th Bn., Norfolk Rgt. | 28 Sep. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Pte. | Ernest A. Meek | 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment | 24 Sep. 1918 | Communal Cemetery, Berteaucourt |
And: J. Paul, A. Shaw, P. Shaw, J. Shaw, J. Ward, E. A. Holmes, W. Keeble, A. R. Kemp, E. C. W. Garnham.
The memorial also lists the name of Pte. Walter David Odey of 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment who was killed on 25 October 1947 fighting in the 1947-48 Palestinian Civil War. He is buried in the Khayat Beach War Cemetery, Haifa and left behind a wife, Rubie.