Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen

This article is about the southern civil parish in Wiggenhall. For the northern civil parish in Wiggenhall, see Wiggenhall St Germans.
Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen
South Wiggenhall
Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen
 Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen shown within Norfolk
Area  17.76 km2 (6.86 sq mi)
Population 729 (2011)
    density  41/km2 (110/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTF591104
    London 132 km (82 mi)  WbS
Civil parishWiggenhall St Mary Magdalen
DistrictWest Norfolk
Shire countyNorfolk
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town King's Lynn
Postcode district PE34
Dialling code 01553
Police Norfolk
Fire Norfolk
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK ParliamentSouth West Norfolk
WebsiteWiggenhall St Mary Magdalen Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk

Coordinates: 52°40′30″N 0°21′37″E / 52.674925°N 0.360317°E / 52.674925; 0.360317

Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen is a civil parish and village in the English county of Norfolk. It is 6 miles (9.7 km) south of the town of King's Lynn on the west bank of the River Great Ouse. It covers an area of 17.76 km2 (6.86 sq mi) and had a population of 729 in 304 households in the 2011 census.[1] For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

The earliest evidence of settlement is therefore the parish church of St Mary Magdalen, which is situated in the very northeastern corner of the parish. Most of the early settlement appears to have occurred here, probably due to the presence of a levee along the western side of the River Great Ouse, made of silts deposits by a former watercourse, the Wiggenhall Eau.

The church itself is largely Perpendicular in style, but the tower may date from as early as the 13th century, which is corroborated by the entry in the Register of Crabhouse Nunnery[2] which tells of the Nuns taking refuge at the Church from a flood in the Early 13thC. Today the church is almost entirely red brick, with a façade that is the result of a thoroughly 15th century rebuilding.

The Parish contains two centres of population: around the Parish Church in the North, and to the South of Crabhouse Priory in the far South, now known as Stowbridge, which also extends into neighbouring parishes.

John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal (c.1425 – 22 August 1485) was the grandson of Sir John Howard of Wiggenhall.

A tidal bore travels up The Great Ouse which is the area's most significant topographical feature.


Notes

External links

Media related to Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen at Wikimedia Commons

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