 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2023) |
| Thetford | |
|---|---|
 King Street, Thetford | |
  Thetford Location within Norfolk | |
| Area | 29.55 km2 (11.41 sq mi) |
| Population | 25,241 (2021 Census)[1] |
| • Density | 854/km2 (2,210/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TL8783 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | THETFORD |
| Postcode district | IP24 |
| Dialling code | 01842 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | thetfordtowncouncil.gov.uk |
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of 29.55 km2 (11.41 sq mi), in 2011 had a population of 24,340.[2]
There has been a settlement at Thetford since the Iron Age, and parts of the town predate the Norman Conquest; Thetford Castle was established shortly thereafter. Roger Bigod founded the Cluniac Priory of St Mary in 1104, which became the largest and most important religious institution in Thetford. The town was badly hit by the Dissolution of the Monasteries, including the castle's destruction, but was rebuilt in 1574 when Elizabeth I established a town charter. After World War II, Thetford became an "overspill town", taking people from London, as a result of which its population increased substantially.[3]
Thetford railway station is located on the Breckland line and is one of the best surviving pieces of 19th-century railway architecture in East Anglia.
- ^ "Thetford". City population. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Open Space Parish Schedule 2015%20%5BT-Z%5D" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2014./
- ^ Dickinson, G. C. (April 1962). "Overspill and Town Development in England and Wales, 1945–1971". Town Planning Review. 33 (1): 49. doi:10.3828/tpr.33.1.3x8040m7345q21p2.