Dereham

Dereham's name derives from the Old English word "deor" meaning "deer" or "wild animal" with the very common "-ham" ("village", "homestead", or to denote land that is closed in by water or other geographical features), so perhaps it referred to a place where deer or other animals were kept or grazed.[4]

According to local tradition, Saint Wihtburh (aka Withburga), claimed to be the daughter of Anna, King of the East Angles, founded a monastery there in the seventh century after seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary, although the Venerable Bede does not mention her, or her monastery, in his writings, despite reporting the story of her more famous sister Æthelthryth /Etheldreda of Ely.[5] Apart from reference to it in the eleventh-century hagiography of Wihtburh, little is known of her foundation and no evidence survives today.[6][7]

An archaeological report by Norfolk County Council indicates that the first "documentary evidence" of a settlement in this area is a reference in one of the versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to the exhumation of the remains of St Wihtburh in AD 798, said to be 55 years after her death. But that reference is an eleventh-century addition to the Chronicle. Nonetheless, there is evidence for an early ecclesiastical site at Dereham.[8] The Domesday Book of 1086 states that in the eleventh century, "St Etheldreda held Dereham that was already an important market centre with three mills". The report adds that the growing community was centred around St. Nicholas Church, from the Norman era; the structure was altered during the 1200s, 1300s and 1400s. Because numerous medieval buildings were destroyed in fires during 1581 and 1679, the town appears to have a Georgian aspect.[9]

A Neolithic polished greenstone axe head was found near the town in 1986, with a Neolithic axe head, flint scraper and other tools and worked flints also found in local fields during the 1980s. There is evidence that the area was occupied during the Bronze Age, with burnt flints from a pot boiler site being found in 1976 and another burnt mound site located in 1987.

In 2000, an enamelled bridle bit dating from the Iron Age was discovered, with pottery sherds also being found by field walkers in 1983. The town is believed to be on the Roman Road linking the Brampton with the major east-west Roman Road of the Fen Causeway. Some pottery and furniture remains have been found in local fields.[10]

In 2004, the largest number of Roman coins found in Norfolk was discovered in Dereham, over 1000 from the third century. A dig provided no evidence of Roman occupation, however.[9]

Edmund Bonner, later to become the infamous 'burning bishop', was the Rector for Dereham from 1534 to 1538.[11] Many of the town's ancient buildings were destroyed in the serious fires that took place in 1581 and 1659. Notable buildings that survived the fire include the Church of Saint Nicholas and the nearby Bishop Bonner's cottage. Dereham was administered by the Abbots, then the Bishops of Ely, until the parish was taken from the church by Queen Elizabeth I.[12]

In the late 1700s, Dereham church's bell tower was used as a prison for French prisoners of war being transferred from Great Yarmouth to Norman Cross under the charge of the East Norfolk Militia. On 6 October 1799, a French officer, Jean de Narde, managed to escape from the tower and, being unable to escape from the church yard due to guards being present, hid in a tree. The Frenchman was spotted and shot when he refused to come down and surrender.[13] Jean is buried in the churchyard and his grave is marked by a memorial stone erected in 1858, which includes the following statement: "Once our foes but now our allies and brethren."[14] This story is told in the documentary, "The shooting of Jean DeNarde". Jean de Narde's link with Dereham is commemorated by a road named for him just off the B1146 as one approaches the town from the north.

One of the windmills built during this era, the Grade II Listed East Dereham Windmill (built in 1836) was known as the Norwich Road Mill or Fendick's Mill; it was constructed by James Hardy for Michael Hardy who owned a smock mill at Bittering.[15] The windmill continued to use wind power until 1922 when it was converted to use engine power. The facility closed in 1937.[16] It was restored and reopened as an exhibition centre in 2013.[17][18]

In June 1859, a public meeting was held at the Corn Exchange for the formation of a Dereham Rifle Volunteer Corps. The Reverend Armstrong made a short speech urging people to join; around thirty men did, the eldest was an elderly fat banker of 70 years and the youngest a seventeen-year-old. They were kitted out in a grey uniform. The Corps met regularly for drill and exercise. When the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the Queen of Denmark arrived at the town's railway station, the Dereham Rifles attended to form a guard of honour.[19]

William Earle G. Lytton Bulwer, formerly a lieutenant and captain in the Scots Fusilier Guards, was commanding the Dereham Corps in 1861. Dereham became the headquarters of 1st Administrative Battalion, Norfolk Rifle Volunteers in 1866.[20] The Quebec Street drill hall opened that year,[21] and the Right Hon. Lord Suffield was appointed Honorary Colonel on 18 May 1866.[22]

At the outbreak of war, the 5th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment, kept their HQ in Quebec Street but were based in the Corn Exchange, and used the Masonic Hall on Norwich Road as a store, with the Assembly Rooms being used for medical inspections.[23]

Dereham suffered damage during a Zeppelin air raid during the night of 8 September 1915. Damaged buildings included the headquarters of the 5th Norfolk Regiment at their premises on the corner of Church Street and Quebec Street.[24] The raid also hit The White Lion public house on Church Street, seriously injuring two customers. The roof was destroyed and The White Lion never reopened as a public house. The old Vicarage was used as a Red Cross hospital.[24]

Locals view the damage after the 1915 Zeppelin raid on Dereham, Norfolk

In December 1915, Zeppelin L14 dropped bombs between Bylaugh Park and Dereham. Seventy-five bombs were dropped on Dereham, with several houses destroyed and eight or nine bombs dropped onto the Red Cross hospital established in the vicarage, although these failed to detonate. Another bomb hit the guildhall and destroyed windows in the church. Four people were killed and six injured during the raid, with the coroner's report stating that the deaths were caused by bombs "unlawfully dropped from a Zeppelin aircraft."[25]

Dereham was declared a Nodal Point during the Second World War and was partially fortified to slow down any German invasion of the country. Several defensive structures were built.[9] One surviving pill box, in the railway station yard, is preserved as a memorial by the Royal British Legion; several others were built but are no longer visible.[26] Additional Air Ministry sidings were laid in the town in 1943.[27]

A Cold War-era bunker was built underground near the Guild Hall.[9]

The railway arrived in Dereham in 1847, when a single track line to Wymondham opened. A second line was opened, in 1848, to King's Lynn. A line from Dereham to Fakenham was opened in 1849; this line being extended to the coastal town of Wells-next-the-Sea by 1857. The town's railways became part of the Great Eastern Railway in 1862. Dereham had its own railway depot and a large complex of sidings, serving local industry. The line between Dereham and Wymondham was doubled, in 1882, to allow for the increasing levels of traffic.

Trains at Dereham Station

Passenger services between Dereham and Wells were withdrawn in 1964 and the track between Fakenham and Wells was lifted soon after. The line from Dereham to Wymondham was returned to single track in 1965, with a passing loop at Hardingham. The line to King's Lynn was closed in 1968 and the last passenger train on the Dereham-to-Wymondham line ran in 1969, although the railway remained open for freight until 1989.

Dereham labels itself "The Heart of Norfolk" owing to its central location in the county, the Tesco car park being cited as the exact centre.[28] In the spring of 1978, the "Heart" was given the seven-mile £5m part-dual-carriageway A47 bypass. A section of this road, between Scarning and Wendling, was built along the former railway line towards Swaffham and King's Lynn. This section of railway had been used as a location for the filming of Dad's Army, where Captain Mainwaring is left dangling from a railway bridge after a flight on a barrage balloon. Dereham railway station was also a filming location for the opening scene of the BBC's 2018 series Bodyguard.

The A47 road from Lowestoft to Birmingham once ran through the centre of the town. The 7 mile (11.3 km) £5 million part-dual-carriageway East Dereham by-pass was built on part of the disused railway line to King's Lynn, opening in spring 1978. The single-track B1135 runs southwards toward Wymondham, the B1146 connects it northwards to Fakenham, and the A1075 connects the town to Watton and Thetford.

National Cycle Route 13 runs through Dereham, joining with National Cycle Route 1 north of the town.

Frequent bus services operate from Dereham to Norwich and Peterborough; less frequent services are provided for several local villages.[29] Dereham does not have a bus station, with most services operating through the marketplace.

Dereham is not currently served by National Rail services. The nearest station is Wymondham, which is on the Breckland line between Norwich and Cambridge.

The Flying Scotsman at Dereham station on the Mid-Norfolk Railway

There is presently no regular service between Dereham and Norwich, but the section of railway between Wymondham, Dereham and County School, described earlier in the History section, has been preserved and is now operated between Wymondham and Worthing as a tourist line by the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust. This charitable company is gradually reopening the line through North Elmham and supports the restoration of the line to Fakenham. As well as running heritage trains, the MNR also runs special attractions such as the Polar Express Train Ride every winter and operate non-passenger services in support of mainline companies.

Although no scheduled services operate between Dereham and the rest of the national network, in June 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies published a document (Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network) calling for the restoration of services on a variety of former branch lines, including the Dereham branch. This £30m proposal would see regular services restored between Dereham and Norwich, operated subject to agreement with the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust.[30]

In 2020, the railway announced that they had, in association with partner organisations including Greater Anglia, Norfolk County Council, Breckland District Council and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, bid for funding for a feasibility study into reopening the line for regular commuter services over their route.[31] The plans to restore the line, and potentially extend it to Fakenham in time, have been backed by the George Freeman, MP for Mid-Norfolk.[32] In June 2021, an unsuccessful funding bid was submitted as part of the second round of the Restoring Your Railway fund. A bid was re-submitted for the third round[33]

• East Dereham Day Nursery
• Magic Tree Day Nursery
• Scarning Pre-School
• Toftwood Nursery Pre-School

East Dereham Windmill

• Dereham CE VA Infant School and Nursery
• Dereham Church of England Junior Academy
• Grove House Nursery and Infant Community School
• King's Park Infant School
• Scarning Primary school
• Toftwood Infant School
• Toftwood Junior School

• Neatherd High School
• Northgate High School

• Dereham Sixth Form College

Fred Nicholson School

Dereham has two active Scout Groups, both of which are part of The Scout Association. 1st Dereham was one of the earliest Groups in the world, having been formed in 1908. In the past there was a 3rd Dereham Scout Group.

The town is the home of 1249 Squadron, Air Training Corps, who parade at the Cadet Centre on Norwich Road. The Army Cadets also parade at the same place.

Dereham is home to the youth theatre group DOSYTCo, which works with children to put on shows at the Dereham Memorial Hall, shows such as a 2015 production of Hairspray.