Docking, Norfolk facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Docking
Docking village sign, erected 1937 (according to the carved inscription).
Docking
Area	25.79 km2 (9.96 sq mi)
Population	1,200 (2011)
• Density	47/km2 (120/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TF765370
Civil parish	Docking
District	King's Lynn and West Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	KING'S LYNN
Postcode district	PE31
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°54′07″N 0°37′27″E / 52.90197°N 0.6241°E / 52.90197; 0.6241

Docking is a small village in Norfolk, England. It's part of the King's Lynn and West Norfolk area. You can find it close to the beautiful North Norfolk Coast. About 1,200 people lived here in 2011.

Discovering Docking Village

Village Location and Size

Docking is one of the highest villages in Norfolk. It sits about 82.7 meters (272 feet) above sea level. The village is surrounded by open farmland with very few trees.

Docking is a "nucleated settlement." This means its buildings are clustered together. There are only a few smaller areas, or hamlets, nearby. Summerfield is an old hamlet to the north-west. Burntstalk and Docking Common are newer hamlets.

Village Roads and Layout

Docking is a very old village. It has many roads that spread out like spokes on a wheel. These roads connect Docking to other nearby villages. This shows that Docking was once a very important place.

The main part of the village is shaped like a crescent. It has three main areas. The center has the church and a main road crossing. Here you'll find Well Street, Church Place, and Chequers Street. Station Road goes north to the old railway station. High Street goes east to The Green, which is a small paved area.

People from the "Docking Heritage Group" have been studying the village since 2012. They think the village layout hasn't changed much over hundreds of years.

Docking's Water Story

Docking used to be called "Dry Docking." This was because it didn't have its own water supply. The village is high up, so the water underground was very deep. Digging wells was hard.

To collect water, villagers built large dew ponds. These ponds collected rainwater. In the 1760s, a deep well was finally dug. It was about 230 feet deep! People paid a small fee to get water from this well. Water was also sold from a horse-drawn cart. This well was used until 1936, when pipes finally brought water to the village.

A Look Back at Docking's Past

Early History Overview

Docking has always been a farming village. No major historical events happened only here. But many old items have been found in the area. These finds show that people have lived here for a very long time.

We don't know why Docking's roads spread out like they do. This pattern suggests it was once a very important place. But we don't know what made it so important.

Stone Age Discoveries

People lived in Docking during the Mesolithic period (10,000 to 4,000 BCE). Tools made of flint from this time have been found.

Many Neolithic flint axes have also been found. This shows that the first farmers cleared a lot of forests here after 4,000 BCE.

Bronze Age Treasures

In 2013, a metal detectorist found a collection of Bronze Age metal items. These included axes. There were twenty items in total. They are now kept at the Lynn Museum.

There's a small hill called "The Mount" at Docking Hall. Some people think it might be an old round barrow from the Bronze Age. But it could also be a garden feature from the 1700s.

Roman Times in Docking

Many Roman items, like coins, have been found at Sunderland Farm. Some people think this might have been the site of a Roman villa. However, no fancy building parts have been found to prove it was a high-status home.

A very special gold ring from the 3rd century was found in the 1950s. It had a garnet, green glass, and a pale sapphire. Its location today is unknown.

Saxon Roots and Early Middle Ages

Docking has roots from the Saxon period. The name "Docking" comes from Old English. It might mean "newly enclosed land with dock plants" or "Docca's clan." The second idea is thought to be more likely.

Saxon pottery and jewelry have been found near the village. The first time Docking was mentioned in writing was in 1038. A bishop gave it to an abbey. But later, a private person owned the village.

Docking Priory Mystery

There's a project trying to find a lost priory (a small monastery) in Docking. It's believed to have been here in the 1200s and 1300s. We only know about it from old documents. It was an "alien priory," meaning it belonged to an abbey in France.

The priory was closed in 1450. Its property and the local church then went to Eton College.

Later Medieval Life

The Lovell family owned the manor (main estate) in Docking for most of the Middle Ages. In 1242, the Lord of the Manor got permission for Docking to have a market. But the market didn't last, and Docking never became a market town.

Docking had two nearby villages that are now "deserted medieval villages." One was Summerfield, which used to be the village of Southmere. It was abandoned in the mid-1500s. The other was Choseley. These villages were abandoned because the land around Docking was changed from growing crops to raising animals.

Docking Common was a large open area where poorer villagers could use the land.

Post-Medieval Changes

Docking Hall, the manor house, was rebuilt in 1612. Some of the village land was used for its gardens. In the 1750s, the hall's grounds became a deer park. It had fancy gardens and a mound called "The Mount."

Catherine Henley, who became Lady of the Manor in 1743, made many changes. She had the village well dug in 1760. She also ordered 140 acres of trees to be planted, as the area had very few trees before.

The 1800s in Docking

In the early 1800s, Docking held court meetings at the Hare Inn. The village stocks (where criminals were punished) were outside the inn. A tiny old prison called "The Cage" still exists today. It's at the west end of Chequers Street. The village's old animal pound (for stray animals) is next to it.

A police station opened in 1854, so The Cage was no longer needed.

A workhouse was built in 1836 to help people who were poor. It closed when World War I started. In 1859, Docking Common was turned into private farmland.

A school was started in 1860, which is the ancestor of today's school. The railway station opened in 1866. A "Working Man's Institute" was founded in 1869, which is now the Village Hall.

Early 1900s and World Wars

During World War I, 31 local men died. Their names are on a war memorial in the churchyard.

The old workhouse was sold in 1920. It was turned into twelve homes. This created the hamlet of Burntstalk.

RAF Docking was an air base near the village. It was open from 1940 to 1958. During World War II, planes from here flew patrols and weather flights. Many famous actors, like Richard Burton, Robert Hardy, and Warren Mitchell, stayed at Docking Hall during their time in the RAF. The Hall was used as RAF housing.

Because of the airfield and its closeness to the coast, Docking had many defensive structures. These included four pillboxes and two rare "Tett turrets" with underground passages.

Recent Times

After World War II, farming methods changed. Many hedges and small woods were removed.

In 1952, a large bakery was built in the village by Terence Rowland Wagg. His family used to run the village windmill. His bakery became very successful, selling bread in many towns. It closed two years after he died in 1975.

The railway closed to passengers in 1952.

In 2018, the main bus company stopped its services in Docking. The local council had to set up a new bus service to help people get around.

How Docking is Governed

In old Saxon times, Docking had its own small area of government. Later, it became part of a larger area called Smithdon Hundred.

Today, Docking is part of the King's Lynn and West Norfolk district. This district was set up in 1974. The village also has a Parish Council. This council helps with local things like the playing field and meeting hall. It also talks to the larger District Council about village concerns.

Places to Worship

The main church in Docking is Anglican. It's called St Mary the Virgin. Most of the church was built in the 1300s and 1400s. It has a beautiful old font with carvings of saints.

In the 1800s, Docking had three Methodist chapels. The last one closed before 2009.

Old Pubs of Docking

In the mid-1900s, Docking had four pubs. But by 2010, three of them had closed. The only one left is the Railway Inn. It also serves as the end stop for the village's bus service. The Railway Inn opened in 1868.

The older pubs were The Plough, The Hare, and the King William. They have all closed down. The Plough is now a house, and the King William was knocked down.

Village Facilities

• The Docking Primary and Nursery School is on Chequers Street.
• The Bayfield Surgery (a doctor's office) is a new building off High Street.
• The SPAR village shop with a Post Office is on Station Road.
• The Playing Field has a simple skateboard ramp and is on Bradmere Lane.
• On High Street, you'll find the "Docking Fish Bar" (a fish and chip shop) and a car repair workshop.
• The Village Hall, also on High Street, hosts an indoor market on Wednesday mornings.
• Since Docking is close to coastal towns like Hunstanton, there are several bed-and-breakfast places in the village.

Interesting Buildings

Docking has fifteen buildings that are "listed." This means they are important historical buildings. Most are Grade II, but the church is Grade II*, which means it's extra special.

Some of these buildings include:

• The church, with its lychgate and War Memorial.
• Docking Hall and its gateway.
• The old lock-up (tiny prison).
• The stocks (for punishment).
• The two Tett turrets (old defensive structures).
• Two former pubs, The Plough and The Hare, which are now homes.

Other listed buildings are old houses:

• "Bank House" on High Street, with a fancy shop front from around 1840.
• "Holland House" on Chequers Street, from the mid-1700s.
• "Manor Farmhouse" between Well Street and Pound Lane, from the early 1600s.
• "Manor Cottage" opposite Well Street, from the late 1600s.
• "The Coracle" with "The Lodge" on Well Street, two homes in one building from the late 1700s.

Getting Around Docking

Roads

Docking is on the B1454 road, which goes from Fakenham to Hunstanton. Other roads, the B1153 and B1155, also cross through the village.

Railway History

Docking used to have its own Docking railway station until 1952. It was on a railway line that connected Heacham and Wells-next-the-Sea. The line opened in 1866.

You could connect to other towns from Heacham and Wells. But because people had to change trains, buses became more popular. So, the station closed to passengers in 1952. It stayed open for goods trains until 1964, then the tracks were removed.

Bus Services

In 2019, the main bus service was the 21. It ran from King's Lynn to the Railway Inn in Docking. There were a few buses each day. This service was run by a charity to help people get around.

There was also a school bus that went through Docking. As of 2024^[update] Docking is served by bus number 33, run by Lynx. This bus goes from Kings Lynn to Hunstanton and stops in Docking.

Interesting Stories and Myths

On June 19, 1969, a man named Robin Peck said he saw a bright-blue object shaped like an "inverted mushroom" hovering in the air. He said it caused his van's electricity to stop working.

Some people say the squash courts at Bircham Newton airfield are haunted. They believe the ghosts are the crew of a bomber plane that crashed there, who loved playing squash.

Famous People from Docking

• Saint Henry Walpole: A Jesuit priest born in Docking in 1558.
• Rev. George Smith: A chaplain who helped defend Rorke's Drift during the 1879 Zulu War. He was born in Docking in 1845.
• Nick Aldis: A professional wrestler and a "Gladiator" on a UK TV show in 2008.
• Richard Burton, Warren Mitchell, Robert Hardy, and Danny Blanchflower: These famous actors and a footballer stayed at Docking Hall when it was used as RAF accommodation.