# Burston, Norfolk

Burston is a village and former civil parish in Norfolk, England.
Burston is located 2.6 miles (4.2 km) north-east of Diss and 16 miles (26 km) south-west of Norwich. On 1 April 1935, the parish of Shimpling and Burston were merged to form Burston and Shimpling.

## History

Burston's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a settlement or farmstead built around a landslip.
In the Domesday Book, Burston is recorded as a settlement of 41 households in the hundred of Diss. In 1086, the village was part of the estates of King William I and Robert Malet.
The local pub, The Crown, dates back to the 17th century and still operates as a pub and restaurant.
From 1914 to 1939, Burston was the scene of the longest strike in history when schoolteachers Tom and Annie Higdon went on strike in protest over unhygienic and inadequate schooling conditions for the local children. The children were instead invited to attend Burston Strike School, which was originally located on the village green before moving to the new school building in 1917. The building was funded by public subscription, with the patrons' names (including Leo Tolstoy) carved into bricks used to build the school. In 1949, the school building was registered as an educational charity and is currently operated by a board of trustees as a museum, visitor centre, village amenity and educational archive. A rally to commemorate the strike has been organised on the first Sunday of September every year since 1984 by the Transport and General Workers' Union and its successor organisation, Unite the Union.
On 10 July 1983, the parish was renamed "Burston and Shimpling".
Other listed buildings within Burston include Manor Farmhouse (16th century), Crown Farmhouse (17th century), Red House (17th century) and Valley Farmhouse (17th century).

## Geography

In 1931 the parish of Burston (prior to the merge) had a population of 279. This was the last time separate population statistics for Burston were collected in the census.

## St. Mary's Church

Burston's parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and dates from the 15th century. The tower collapsed in 1753 and was never rebuilt. St. Mary's is located on the junction of Diss Road and Mill Road and has been Grade II listed since 1959. The church was restored in the 19th century and again in 2013, and today boasts a set of royal arms from the reign of James I. Tom and Annie Higdon, leaders of the Burston Strike School, are buried side-by-side in the churchyard.

## Amenities

Burston once had its own railway station, with services on the Great Eastern Main Line between Norwich and London Liverpool Street. The station closed in 1966.

## Notable Residents

* Annie Higdon (1864–1946) -schoolmistress, lived and worked in Burston.
* Tom Higdon- schoolmaster, lived and worked in Burston.

## Governance

Burston is part of the electoral ward of Bressingham & Burston for local elections and is part of the district of South Norfolk.
Burston is located in the constituency of Waveney Valley, which has been represented by Adrian Ramsay of the Green Party since 2024.

## War memorial

Burston war memorial was unveiled in 2019 after a public subscription campaign and is a glass topped brick memorial on Church Green. The memorial lists the following names from the First World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial |
| LSgt. | Herbert Garnham | 9th Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 15 Sep. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Cpl. | George W. Durbidge | 12th Bn., Machine Gun Corps | 15 Dec. 1918 | Étaples Military Cemetery |
| Pte. | William E. East | 2nd Bn., Essex Regiment | 1 Jul. 1916 | Serre Road Cemetery |
| Pte. | Gurney R. Sandy | 8th Bn., Lincolnshire Regiment | 10 Sep. 1918 | Vis-en-Artois Memorial |
| Pte. | Edward Potter | 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 26 Mar. 1917 | Baghdad War Cemetery |
| Pte. | George W. Sandy | 7th Bn., Norfolk Rgt. | 13 Oct. 1915 | Loos Memorial |
| Pte. | Herbert W. Johnson | 2nd Bn., South Wales Borderers | 23 Apr. 1917 | Arras Memorial |
And: Frederick G. Bryant.