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A visitors guide to Great Massingham in Norfolk, a charming
little village with brick flint and cobble cottages dating from the 18th
and 19th century clustering around two huge ponds. During the 13th
century Augustian friars may well have fished these waters as there was
an Abbey here in the village at that time. One of the ponds still
has fishing available as long as fishermen don't mind sharing their
space with a couple of ducks. Or just sit and watch the antics of the
ducks and the occasional swans, which dip in and out of the water,
rearing their young on the banks of the ponds.
For Holiday Accommodation in Great Massingham - Self Catering - Holiday
Cottages and Bed and Breakfast check out our Great Massingham Holiday
Accommodation Pages.
Over the centuries the inns of Great Massingham have
closed their doors, the Black Swan, the Fox and Pheasant and the Royal
Oak all now family homes. However, the old Rose and Crown has
re-opened under the name of the Dabbling Duck and offers a good range of
beers and ales as well as good food.
Beyond the village lies the Long Distance Footpath the Peddars Way,
which marches out across Massingham Heath, with its old flint mines and
burial mounds.
The likeness of Sir Robert Walpole, England's first Prime Minister and
the great great uncle to Horatio Nelson peers out at visitors from the
Village Sign. It is believed that he was educated here in Great
Massingham. He was also responsible for the building of Houghton Hall
one of the grandest surviving Palladian houses in England, just four
miles away and open to the public.
Great Massingham has a small shop which has a good
range of provisions. In addition to fishing, tennis courts are
available for hire in the village. For other public house you can visit
nearby Harpley just over two miles away
down the road, or there is Castle Acre
which is six miles away which has a range of eating places. For a
larger selection of shops visit historic Kings
Lynn which is just over ten miles and holds not one but two weekly
markets.
The ancient and attractive village of Castle Acre,
located to the south was on the pilgrim route for centuries with its
13th century castle gateway, fine church and ruins of a Cluniac
Priory, which is sometimes described as the finest in Southern
England. The village is located on the ancient Peddars Way walk by the
River Nar.
A famous ghostly
sighting is attached to Raynham Hall which is located down the road
at the nearby villages of East and West
Raynham. |
