# Bunwell

Bunwell is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
Bunwell is located 4.6 miles (7.4 km) east of Attleborough and 11 miles (18 km) south-west of Norwich. The parish also includes the hamlets of Bunwell Hill, Bunwell Street, Great Green, Little Green and Low Common.

## History

Bunwell's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for reed stream.
Bunwell is not listed in the Domesday Book.
Listed buildings in Bunwell include:
* No. 2 and No. 3 Great Green (Seventeenth Century)
* Thatch Cottage (Seventeenth Century)
* Bunwell Manor Hotel (Sixteenth Century)
* The Cottage (Seventeenth Century)
* Old Rectory Farmhouse (Seventeenth Century)
* Rectory Farmhouse (Seventeenth Century)
* Lilac Farmhouse (Seventeenth Century)
* Orchard House (Seventeenth Century)
* Nonsuch Cottage (Seventeenth Century)
* Sundial Farmhouse (Seventeenth Century)
* Lilac Cottage (Seventeenth Century)
* Burton's Farmhouse (Seventeenth Century)
* Holgate Farmhouse (Seventeenth Century)

## Geography

According to the 2021 census, Bunwell has a population of 1,000 people which shows a decrease from the 1,024 people recorded in the 2011 census.
The B1113, between St Olaves and Lowestoft, runs through the parish.
Bunwell Primary School & Nursery is part of the Co-operative Education East Multi-Academy Trust and was rated as 'Good' by Ofsted in 2019.

## St. Michael and All Angels' Church

Bunwell's parish church is dedicated to Saint Michael and dates back to the Fifteenth Century. The church is located on 'The Turnpike' and has been Grade I listed since 1959. The church was rebuilt in the perpendicular style after donations were left by William Smith, William Taylor and Robert Lincoln. St. Michael's boasts a carvedfont, a set of royal arms dating from the reign of Queen Anne and stained-glass windows depicting knights in armour designed by Hardman & Co..

## Sport and Recreation

Bunwell Athletic Football Club play home games at the Bunwell Recreation Ground and compete in the Norwich and District Sunday League. The operations of the club were put in jeopardy in 2016 after an arson attack, yet the club was able to continue due to support from the local community and Norfolk FA.
A greyhound racing track was opened on the meadow just off the Turnpike road where hare coursing used to take place . The racing was independent and not affiliated to the National Greyhound Racing Club. Racing took place from 1935 to 1940 but the site closed during Second World War.

## War Memorial

Bunwell's war memorials are two wooden plaque inside St. Michael's Church. It lists the following names for the First World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial |
| CSM | Frederick W. Barker MC | 9th Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 20 Oct. 1916 | Grove Town Cemetery, Méaulte |
| Sgt. | William J. Churchill | 1st Bn., Norfolk Rgt. | 22 May 1916 | St. Michael's Churchyard, Bunwell |
| LSgt. | Harry P. Revell | 8th Bn., Norfolk Rgt. | 11 Aug. 1917 | Menin Gate |
| LCpl. | Henry J. Kent | 1st Bn., Norfolk Rgt. | 28 Aug. 1916 | Thiepval Memorial |
| Dvr. | John Clarke | Royal Field Artillery, att. 8th Infantry Brigade | 29 Apr. 1915 | Town Cemetery, Ypres |
| Gnr. | Albert E. Sale | 442nd (Siege) Bty., Royal Garrison Artillery | 6 Apr. 1919 | Communal Cemetery, Abbeville |
| Pnr. | Wilfred H. Chapman | No. 2 (Special) Coy., Royal Engineers | 8 Apr. 1917 | Arras Memorial |
| Pte. | Wilfred G. Breeze | Bedfordshire Regiment | 22 Mar. 1918 | Pozières Memorial |
| Pte. | Albert Pearce | 1st Bn., Cambridgeshire Regiment | 4 Feb. 1917 | Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery |
| Pte. | Frederick Line | 20th Bn., Durham Light Infantry | 4 Sep. 1918 | Tyne Cot |
| Pte. | Arthur Gooch | 1st Bn., Essex Regiment | 13 Aug. 1915 | Helles Memorial |
| Pte. | William Mickleburgh | 10th Bn., Essex Rgt. | 22 Oct. 1917 | Tyne Cot |
| Pte. | Reginald A. Smith | 2nd Bn., Hampshire Regiment | 4 Sep. 1918 | Ploegsteert Memorial |
| Pte. | Alec Stimpson | 7/8th Bn., Royal Irish Fusiliers | 20 Nov. 1917 | Arras Memorial |
| Pte. | Benjamin N. Ager | 22nd Bn., Manchester Regiment | 11 Jan. 1917 | Frankfurt Trench, Beaumont-Hamel |
| Pte. | Charles G. Breeze | 2nd Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 13 Nov. 1916 | Baghdad War Cemetery |
| Pte. | Jack W. Bush | 12th Bn., Norfolk Rgt. | 30 Sep. 1918 | Strand Cemetery, Ploegsteert |
| Pte. | Edward A. G. Dixon | 6th Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment | 20 Aug. 1918 | Communal Cemetery, Albert |
| Spr. | Jack M. Smith | 1st (Tunelling) Coy., Canadian Engineers | 1 Jun. 1916 | St. Michael's Churchyard, Bunwell |
| Spr. | Arthur Ward | No. 1 (Depot) Coy., Royal Engineers | 29 Mar. 1916 | St. Michael's Churchyard, Bunwell |
And, the following for the Second World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial |
| FLt. | Herbert B. Kelly | No. 254 Squadron RAF | 7 Sep. 1944 | Runnymede Memorial |
| WO | Burnley E. R. Whitehouse DFC | No. 7 Squadron RAF | 21 Jan. 1944 | Hanover War Cemetery |
| Sgt. | William J. Randall | No. 428 Squadron RCAF | 22 Jun. 1943 | War Cemetery, Bergen op Zoom |
| Sgt. | Roy C. Neilson | 2nd Wing, Glider Pilot Regiment | 19 Sep. 1944 | Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery |
| LAC | Anthony W. Turner | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve | 25 Sep. 1944 | Kranji War Cemetery |
| Dvr. | William G. Parry | 239 (Transport) Coy., Royal Army Service Corps | 18 Apr. 1944 | Beach Head War Cemetery |
| Gnr. | Leonard E. Potter | 98th (Surrey & Sussex Yeo.) Field Rgt., Royal Artillery | 23 May 1944 | War Cemetery, Salerno |
| Pte. | Robert E. Rush | 2nd Bn., West Yorkshire Regiment | 12 Sep. 1944 | Imphal War Cemetery |