Binham is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.[1] Binham is 29.3 miles (47.2 km) north west of Norwich and 16.9 miles (27.2 km) west of Cromer. The village lies 4.9 miles (7.9 km) east south east of the town of Wells-next-the-Sea.
History
Binham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for Bynna's homestead or hemmed-in land.[2]
Despite its' Anglo-Saxon origins, there is evidence of human settlement within the parish from long before this period. There are archeological records such as Neolithic tools and Roman coins & pottery.[3]
Binham is listed in the Domesday Book of 1085 under the name of Benincham, and Bin(n)eham as a settlement of 65 households in the hundred of North Greenhoe. Binham was part of the estates of Peter de Valognes and featured two mills within the parish.[4]
There are numerous Seventeenth Century buildings within Binham which are all Grade II listed, including Chapel Corner[5], Manor Farmhouse[6] and Ivy Farm.[7]
Between 2009 - 2023 a series of archaeological test pits were dug. [8] The report was published in 2017.[9][citation needed]
The civil parish has an area of 11.52 km2 (4.45 sq mi) and in the 2001 census had a population of 273 in 124 households, including Cockthorpe and increasing to 292 at the 2011 census.[10] In the 2021 Census, Binham (including Cockthorpe) had a population of 319 people.[11]
Amenities within the village include a small store with a petrol pump and a pub called the Chequers Inn. The pub is Grade II listed and dates as a building to the Seventeenth Century.[12]
Close to the village are the remains of the BenedictineSt Mary's Priory. Today the nave of the much larger priory church has become the Church of Saint Mary and the Holy Cross and is still used as a place of worship. The remains of the priory are in the care of English Heritage.[13] Both are Grade I listed buildings [1].
It is one of the best surviving examples of a medieval standing cross in Norfolk. It is situated on the triangular green in the centre of the village near the church. The 15th-century cross is built of Barnack limestone and consists of a socket stone and separate shaft. The 2-metre tall base is made of mortared flint rubble with stepped courses of stone blocks, capped by a platform of thin slabs.
The weathered remains of an ornamental moulding can still be seen partway up the shaft, but the stone cross that originally topped the shaft is missing.
Many cross-heads were destroyed by iconoclasts during the 16th and 17th centuries. Following the grant of a charter by King Henry I granted the village a charter, so that an annual fair and a weekly market could be held here from the early 12th century, and fairs were allowed to be convened on the green until the early 1950s.[14]
Binham Pride
Organised by members of the cast of the Thursford Christmas Spectacular, Binham has been the home of a Pride event since 2014. 'Binham Pride' started as a joke between members of the cast that were staying in Binham during their employment at the Thursford Christmas 2014 Spectacular. In two weeks they decided to throw the event for real and 'Binham Pride' was officially born; a celebration of Diversity and Inclusion.
The first Event was on Monday 1 December - World AIDS day at Binham Memorial Hall and saw around 70 people attend – mostly those who were part of the Thursford show. The evening raised £2000 for the Terrence Higgins Trust.
In 2015 it grew larger. Around 100 people attended - a handful of whom were from local communities who had heard about the event through the Chequers Inn and social media posts. The 2015 event raised £4000 for the Terrence Higgins Trust. The 2016 event fell on Monday 28 November and around 150 people attended – around 40 of whom were locals and raised just over £5000 for the Terrence Higgins Trust. The 2017 event was the most successful and raised the largest amount to date. After a two-year hiatus, Binham Pride returned on 5 December 2022. To date, Binham Pride has raised over £36,000 for The Terrence Higgins Trust. [15]
War memorial
Binham's war memorial is a Celtic cross monument located in the grounds of Binham Priory. It holds the following names for the First World War:
