Little Hautbois is a small hamlet in Broadland, England, part of the parish of Lamas. The name is pronounced 'Hobbis', [1] and can be seen thus spelled on a memorial on the outside of nearby Lamas Church.[2][3] The population of the hamlet is included in the civil parish of Buxton with Lamas. In the Middle Ages, the settlement of Great Hautbois was the head of the navigation on the River Bure, and it is thought Little Hautbois developed from that. The name, which can be translated to "High Woods" in English, is taken from that of the de Alto Bosco, or de Haut Bois, family, who acquired these lands at the Norman Conquest (alternatively, they may have taken the name from the settlement, Blomefield being uncertain on this point. [4]
Although Norfolk people pronounce it Hobbis, it is actually pronounced Haw Baugh[citation needed]
As of 2007[update], Little Hautbois consisted of eight dwelling-houses, one a holiday cottage rented out by the owner.[5] The church of Little Hautbois, once owned by the monks of St Benet's Abbey, fell into ruin in the 15th century when the parish was amalgamated with that of Lamas.[6] Although ruins were still visible in the 18th century, no sign of the building now remains above ground; the only trace of its existence is a depression in the grounds of Hautbois Hall. Little Hautbois has the feel of an isolated rural community now, but two former main transport routes pass through it: the River Bure, canalised in the 18th century to allow navigation up to Aylsham, and the Bure Valley Railway, now a light steam railway but formerly a full-sized railway.[7]