Woodton

Woodton
All Saints church
Woodton is located in Norfolk
Woodton
Woodton
Location within Norfolk
Area8.85 km2 (3.42 sq mi)
Population702 (2018)[1]
• Density79/km2 (200/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTM292939
Civil parish
  • Woodton
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBUNGAY
Postcode districtNR35
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk
52°29′41″N 1°22′30″E / 52.49482°N 1.37497°E / 52.49482; 1.37497

Woodton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some 7 km north-west of the Suffolk town of Bungay, and 20 km south-east of Norwich.[2]

The civil parish has an area of 8.85 km2 (3.42 sq mi) and in the 2001 census had a population of 472 in 194 households, increasing to 482 at the 2011 Census.[3] For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of South Norfolk.[4]

The village's name indicates a settlement in the woods (wudu, ‘woods’ + tun ‘enclosure, settlement, farm’).[5] Over the years different variants of the name have been used, including Wdetuna, Wodetuna, Wodetone, Wudetuna, Uidetuna and Wootton. A number of Bronze Age ring ditches dating from between the 23rd century BC and the 7th century BC have been identified in the area.[6]

Arms of Suckling: Per pale gules and azure, three bucks trippant or,[7]

In 1575 Robert Suckling became Lord of the whole of Woodton, and various members of the Suckling family lived in the parish, including John Suckling (poet)[citation needed] and Catherine Suckling (the mother of Horatio Nelson). The Sucklings were lord of the manor until 1810. The Woodton sanctuary has a portrait of Nelson's great-great-grandmother: Ann Suckling (d. 1653) is "beautifully and sensitively sculpted".[8]

Wootton Hall was built in 1694[citation needed] and in 1862 was listed as the seat of Robert Suckling and his wife Sarah Shelton;[9] it was demolished in 1841–2.[5]

  1. ^ "Woodton in Norfolk (East of England)". City Population. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  2. ^ Survey, Ordnance (2007). The Broads Wroxham, Beccles, Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth : showing the Broads Authority area (Ed. A1_. ed.). Southampton: Ordnance Survey. ISBN 978-0319237694.
  3. ^ "CivilParish population 2011". Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001)". norfolk.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2005.
  5. ^ a b "Woodton in history". Woodton Parish Council.
  6. ^ "Woodton.info (2005)". le-net.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2005.
  7. ^ (Burke, General Armory, 1884). Also of Barsham in Sussex. See history of Barsham and Suckling pedigree in: Alfred Suckling, 'Barsham', in The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk: Volume 1 (Ipswich, 1846), pp. 35-46[1]
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference guide was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Burke, Bernard (1862). A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol. 1 (4 ed.). Harrison. p. 92.