A brief history of Little Dunham

Little Dunham is situated in some of the highest land in Norfolk at a three way watershed which leads to the rivers Wensum, Wissey and Nar.

Evidence has been found in the village of Neolithic Age habitation. A roman road passed north/south through the village to the Roman settlement at Kempstone. At the time of the Doomsday Book the village was included in the King’s manor of Sporle. The original site of the village was to the west of the church of St Margaret and the humps and bumps in the meadow adjoining the church are thought also to include the site of the former hall. In medieval times an old road called Walsingham Way passed through the village and on to the shrine at Walsingham. A cross stood on this road at a location in the village which became known as High Cross.

In 1845 the village had a population of 298 (the same as today) and comprised some 1,837 acres.

The East Anglian railway, later the Great Eastern railway, came to the village in 1848 and the line was closed in 1968. The station of Little Dunham became a local centre for the transport of livestock, grain and milk and the station had its own pub called the Crown.

The church of St Margaret was largely built in the thirteenth century (1200’s) and stands in a parkland setting adjoining the old Rectory. It is in the early English style with some later additions. John Venn was Rectory from 1782 to 1793 who later became a prominent figure in the Clapham Sect who did much to push forward the Anti Slavery agenda of William Wilberforce. John Nelson, cousin to Admiral Lord Nelson, was Rector from 1820 to 1865 and he and his wife are buried in the church and there is a commemoration plate in the chancel to their son, Charles.

Little Dunham Lodge stands on the far side of the village and is reputed to be the highest house in Norfolk at 345 feet. On a clear day it is said the spires of Norwich Cathedral, Ely Cathedral and the masts of ships in King’s Lynn harbour can be seen from the roof. The Lodge was completed in 1785 and has some fine Adam fireplaces. It was at one time in the ownership of the Nelson family as was the nearby Curds Hall, now demolished. In 1814 an obelisk was built on the boundary between these two properties to commemorate the signing of the peace of that year and the actions and death of Lord Nelson. Another famous occupant of the Lodge was the poet William Cowper.

As recently as sixty years ago there were five farms in the village. Now most of the land is farmed by one farmer. For the first time in the life of the village there is no-one living in the village who is directly involved in agriculture.   The inhabitants of the village are split between those who work in the area and retired people.

Zeppelin Raid on Little Dunham

On 23 May 1917, during the First World War, 6 German Zeppelins set out to bomb London but the winds at altitude were against them. Only four reached England, and none got close to London.

The last Zeppelin to come inland that night, L.43, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Hermann Kraushaar, passed over the coast near Hollesley, Suffolk, at 02.20am. He maintained a north-westerly course flew over Suffolk, then over Norfolk where Kraushaar dropped five incendiary bombs over the village of Wretham at 03.05am followed five minutes later by another at (now deserted village of) Tottington. Continuing on the same course two more incendiaries were dropped at Little Cressingham at 03.25am, but none of these eight firebombs caused any damage. Five minutes later L.43 dropped three HE bombs: one landed at Houghton-on-the-Hill (causing slight damage to crops) and two at neighbouring North Pickenham where they damaged roof tiles and smashed windows in one house.

The next village in L.43’s path was Little Dunham, which was bombed with six HE and three incendiary bombs at 03.35am. (A police report on the HE bombs is dated 26 May 1917 but the exact location is not specified. It states: “Seven panes of glass broken in cottage windows. Estimated damage 7/-.” A further police report dated 19 June 1917 states: “The three incendiary bombs at Little Dunham were discovered when cutting grass in a field on the Field Barn, Little Dunham.” This indicates that they were not discovered for almost 4 weeks).

Five minutes later two incendiary bombs were dropped at West Lexham but failed to burn. Another followed at Weasenham St. Peter but caused no damage. At about 03.45am L.43 dropped three HE bombs over Wellingham, where they damaged farm buildings, five cottages and the church, also causing the only casualty of the raid. The bombs killed a farm labourer who had gone out to warn his employer that Zeppelins were in the area. Kraushaar continued to rain his bombs down on these tiny Norfolk villages. A few minutes later, five HE bombs and two incendiaries fell at South Raynham wrecking the interior of a cottage while the church, vicarage and 14 cottages suffered broken windows. Then three HE and two incendiaries dropped over East Raynham, breaking the windows in three large houses and seven cottages, smashing greenhouse windows, uprooting trees and dislodging roof tiles. The bombs also killed two horses in a meadow. With the sky now beginning to lighten, L.43 headed towards the coast, which it reached at 04.05am from where a mobile AA gun at Holkham fired 21 rounds without effect.

A significant response from the Army’s Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS) saw aircraft fly 76 sorties searching for the raiders but due to the poor visibility only one sighting was made. One RNAS pilot, Flt Sub-Lt H.D. Smith, did not return; it was presumed his aircraft came down in the sea after running out of fuel. Eleven months later the RFC and RNAS joined together to form the RAF on 1 April 1918.

The basis of the article above was based on content from Ian Castle’s Website “Zeppelin Raids Gothas and Giants”, to be found at www.IanCastleZeppelin.co.uk.

The EDP’s Mike Hicks published an article in November 2019 mentioning some of the above.

Little Dunham resident Chris Heslin spotted the article and gave it to Richard James, who researched the facts, then consolidated the article.