# Bressingham

Bressingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
Bressingham is located 2.1 miles (3.4 km) north-west of Diss and 19 miles (31 km) north-east of Norwich.

## History

Bressingham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the homestead/village of Briosa's people.
Bressingham is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as consisting of 47 households, which placed it in the largest 20% of settlements. At this time, Bressingham was divided between the land of William I (2 acres of meadow, 6 pigs and woodland) and Bury St Edmunds Abbey (16 acres of meadow, 26 pigs and woodland).
From 1804, Bressingham had a thriving Amicable Society with upwards of thirty members agreeing to a rudimentary form of life insurance. The society conducted its meetings in the Chequers pub.
A Methodist Church was built in Bressingham in 1900.

## Geography

According to the 2021 census, Bressingham has a population of 872 people which shows a slight decrease from the 887 people recorded in the 2011 census.
Bressingham Parish is bordered to the south by the River Waveney and is bisected by the A1066, between Thetford and Diss.
Amenities within the village include a village shop and Bressingham Village Hall. The local playing field is operated by Diss Town Football Club.

## Church of St. John the Baptist

Bressingham's parish church is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and was constructed in the late-13th century. The church was significantly remodelled in the 16th and 19th centuries and boasts both elaborate pew carvings, which have been damaged by iconoclasts in the 16th century and stained-glass installed by J & J King. Additionally, within the church there is a set of royal arms dating from the reign of King Charles II and a 19th century funeral bier. The church has been Grade I listed since 1959.

## Bressingham Steam Museum and Gardens

Bressingham Steam Museum & Gardens is located within the village which boasts a set of gardens initially started by Alan Bloom MBE and an impressive collection of steam locomotives.

## Governance

Bressingham is part of the electoral ward of Bressingham and Burston 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 since 2024.

## War memorial

The Bressingham Parish War Memorial is found on the junction between School Road and High Road. The memorial was erected in 1922 and was built by a firm based in Diss called Messers Cooley and Son. It commemorates the following individuals who died in the First World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Other Commemoration/ Burial |
| Sgt. | Charles W. Parsley | 9th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment | 3 Apr. 1917 | Vermelles British Cemetery |
| Cpl. | George H. Hoskins | 144th (Siege) Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery | 26 Feb. 1919 | St. John the Baptist's Churchyard, Bressingham |
| Pte. | Herbert C. Kent | 2nd Battalion, Cheshire Regiment | 8 Oct. 1918 | Kirechkoi Military Cemetery, Exochi |
| Pte. | Victor J. M. Rawlinson | 9th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment | 27 Oct. 1918 | Military Cemetery, Le Cateau |
| Pte. | Harry Flatman | 20th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment | 26 Mar. 1918 | Arras Memorial |
| Pte. | John Fortis | 1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment | 15 May 1917 | Orchard Dump Cemetery, Arleux-en-Gohelle |
| Pte. | George H. Hall | 3rd Battalion, Norfolk Rgt. | 15 Jan. 1915 | St. John the Baptist's Churchyard, Bressingham |
| Pte. | Frank V. Rodwell | 7th Battalion, Norfolk Rgt. | 3 Jul. 1916 | Aveluy Wood Cemetery |
| Pte. | John H. Rolfe | 7th Bn., Norfolk Rgt. | 19 Aug. 1916 | Eastern Cemetery, Boulogne |
| Rfn. | Thomas E. Goodswen | 8th (Post Office Rifles) Battalion, London Regiment | 29 Oct. 1918 | Communal Cemetery, Tournai |
And: George Garland and William R. Leighton. And, the following for the Second World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Other Commemoration / Burial |
| Pte. | Douglas C. Hall | 5th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment | 26 Sep. 1943 | Chungkai War Cemetery |
And: Basil T. Harvey and Alec C. Witton.