Brandon, Suffolk facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Brandon |
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 Town square |
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 Brandon
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| Population | 9,225 (2021 Census) |
| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRANDON |
| Postcode district | IP27 |
| Dialling code | 01842 |
| Police | Suffolk |
| Fire | Suffolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament |
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Brandon is a lovely town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It's located in the Breckland area, right in the very north-west of Suffolk. It's also super close to the next county, Norfolk. You can find Brandon between bigger towns like Bury St Edmunds, Thetford, Mildenhall, Downham Market, and the city of Ely. The town is almost completely surrounded by the huge Thetford Forest.
Brandon is famous for its flint industry, which has been important for ages. It was also a place where soldiers trained during World War I and World War II. After the Second World War, many Polish soldiers who fought with the Allies came to live in Brandon. This happened because of a special law called the Polish Resettlement Act of 1947.
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History of Brandon
The name "Brandon" probably means "hill where broom grows." The earliest way it was spelled was "Bromdun" in the 11th century. The town slowly grew up and along the rising ground near the river.
For thousands of years, people have dug for flint in this area. You can still see where this happened at Grimes Graves, which is a popular place to visit near Brandon. More recently, Brandon was a big center for making gunflints. These were used in old guns.
The Domesday Book is a very old record from 1086. It shows that Brandon had 25 households back then. In medieval times and later, Brandon was well-known for its rabbit fur.
On May 14, 1789, a big fire hit the town. You can read about it at the Brandon Heritage Centre. All the young men were away at a fair in nearby Thetford. A lightning strike started a fire at the surgeon's house, and it quickly spread. Eleven houses were damaged, and eight were completely destroyed. A saddler named Francis Diggon lost everything he owned, which cost a lot of money back then.
Community Life
The Domesday Book from 1086 recorded 25 households in Brandon. By 1251, this had grown to 39 households. In 2021, the town had 9,225 people living there. This was an increase from 9,145 people in 2011 and 8,256 in 2001. The average age in Brandon in 2021 was 44.
Brandon Town Community FC has football teams for everyone aged five and up. These teams play regularly in several leagues, including youth leagues and women's leagues. Before, the town's football team was called the Brandon Lads and Lasses AFC. Brandon also has a lawn bowls club, the Brandon Town Bowling Club. It started in 1949 and plays outdoors during the summer.
The town is home to Brandon Country Park. It's also close to High Lodge, which hosts music concerts in the summer. In 2014, a group of volunteers started "Brandon in Bloom." Their goal was to make the town's open spaces look greener and more beautiful. In 2018, the group entered the "Anglia in Bloom" competition for the first time. They won a Silver Gilt award and were named "Best New Comer." In 2019, they won Gold! After a break during the lockdown, they won Gold again in 2022. They also won "Best in Class" for their Jubilee Display and "Best Town." In 2023, they won seven awards and were chosen to represent Anglia in the national "Britain in Bloom" competition, where they won Gold!
In 1810, a resident named Joseph Smedley rented a building to use as a theater. Brandon's first permanent cinema was brought to town by Stanley Lingwood in 1917. He bought the cinema from Shropshire and set it up near his home. It was a wooden building called the Electric Palace. He sold it in 1933 to Ben Culey, who owned a cinema in Thetford. Six months later, the cinema burned down. In 1935, Ben Culey opened a new cinema on the same spot. He called it AVENUE. This new cinema was very modern with the latest technology. It was very popular during World War II. The building became empty in 2007 and was taken down in 2021.
Schools and Churches
As of 2024, Brandon has four schools. There are three primary schools: Forest Academy, Glade Academy, and Weeting Church of England Primary School. There is also one high school, Breckland School. Brandon also has a children's center called Brandon Family Hub.
There are six churches in Brandon: Ascension Church, Brandon Church of Christ, Brandon Baptist Church, Brandon Methodist Church, Church of St Peter, and St Thomas of Canterbury. The Church of St Peter is a Grade I listed building. This means it's a very important historic building. It has medieval origins and was restored in 1873.
Local Media
You can get local news and TV shows from BBC East and ITV Anglia. Local radio stations include BBC Radio Suffolk, Heart East, Greatest Hits Radio Norfolk & North Suffolk, and RWSfm. RWSfm is a community radio station that broadcasts from Bury St Edmunds.
The town also has a local newspaper called The Thetford and Brandon Times. It comes out every Wednesday.
Getting Around Brandon
Brandon is located on the A1065 road. This road is the main way to get between King's Lynn and London. It can sometimes get very busy with cars, holiday traffic going to the Norfolk Coast, and large trucks. Several bus routes also go through the town. You can catch regular buses from Brandon to nearby towns like Bury St. Edmunds, Mildenhall, and Thetford. There are also some buses (mostly for school or shopping times) to Downham Market, King's Lynn, and Norwich.
As of February 2023, there is usually one train every hour from Brandon. You can go to Norwich or to Stansted Airport by going through Cambridge. The trains are run by Greater Anglia. Brandon railway station has hourly services to Cambridge and Ely to the west, and to Thetford and Norwich to the east.
The Little Ouse river flows through the town towards the east. It is a navigable waterway, which means boats can travel on it.
Famous People from Brandon
- Charles Crawley (1908–1935), a cricketer
- Margaret Gentle Harwood (c 1925–2004), an educator
- Derek Harrison (born 1959), a speedway rider
- Adam Marriott (born 1991), a footballer
- Natasha Preston (born 1988), a novelist
- Rodney Rought-Rought (1908–1979), a cricketer
See also
In Spanish: Brandon (Suffolk) para niños
