Hingham, Norfolk facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hingham |
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.jpg) Georgian houses at Market Place |
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 Hingham
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| Area | 14.97 km2 (5.78 sq mi) |
| Population | 2,543 (2021) |
| • Density | 170/km2 (440/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TG 022 021 |
| • London | 99 miles (159 km) |
| Civil parish |
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| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NORWICH |
| Postcode district | NR9 |
| Dialling code | 01953 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament |
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Hingham is a small market town in the middle of Norfolk, England. It covers an area of about 15 square kilometers. In 2011, about 2,367 people lived here.
You'll see many beautiful old buildings around Hingham's historic market place and town greens. An old story says that a big fire destroyed many buildings in the 1700s. After the fire, richer families built the lovely Georgian homes that Hingham is now famous for. People even used to call Hingham "Little London" because its residents dressed so fashionably!
Hingham is about 13 miles (21 km) west of Norwich, which is Norfolk's main city. Many people from Hingham now travel to Norwich for work. But Hingham still has its own shops and businesses on its historic streets. It also has an industrial area called Ironside Way. Hingham keeps its own active and growing town life. A fun fair visits every year, setting up on the historic Fairlands, which are several triangular green spaces. There's also a school for children aged 4 to 11 years old.
The closest train stations are Wymondham and Attleborough. Both are on the Breckland Line.
Contents
Hingham's Past
The name "Hingham" comes from an old word meaning "Hega's people's village." The town was first spelled "Hengham." It is a very old settlement, as its Saxon name shows.
Early History
In 925, King Athelstan owned Hingham. Later, in 1066 and 1086, William the Conqueror owned it. It was a busy parish in the hundred of Forehoe. Hingham kept many special rights because it was owned by kings. One of these rights was the "grandeur of ... St Andrew's," which is a parish church. This church was rebuilt in the 1300s. Thomas de Morley, 5th Baron Morley is buried there.
In 1414, Hingham was allowed to avoid an English tax. In 1610, King James I gave the town a special royal paper called a charter. Records show that from 1154 to 1887, the town's church had 32 rectors, who are like head priests.
Life in the 1600s
By the 1600s, Hingham was still a farming town. Maps made by John Speed in 1610 and 1611 showed Hingham near Wymondham. The area around Hingham had different types of land, many windmills, and lots of water for boats. There were not many big cities except for Norwich, which had a busy cloth-making industry. Speed's map also showed a castle at Hingham, which means it was an important place.
The Great Migration
Many Puritans disagreed with King Charles I and his Archbishop, William Laud. So, they left England to go to the Plymouth Bay or Massachusetts Bay colonies in America. This journey was called the "Great Migration."
In 1633, some people started sailing from England to America. In June 1638, Robert Peck, who was the Rector of St Andrew's Church, and his friend Peter Hobart, sailed to the Massachusetts with about half of Peck's church members. They were likely all 133 people on a ship called the Diligent. Peck had been criticized by church leaders for his Puritan beliefs.
The people on the Diligent were mostly Puritans. They included working people like shoemakers and millers, several ministers, and some wealthy families. Once they arrived, these passengers started a "New" Hingham. This new town reminded them of "Old" Hingham in England. When most of the passengers settled there, the population of the new town doubled.
Among those who moved were Samuel Lincoln, who was an ancestor of President Abraham Lincoln. Also, Edward Gilman Sr., an ancestor of Nicholas Gilman, who signed the U.S. Constitution, came from Hingham. To remember the Lincoln family and the sister town in Massachusetts, Hingham's town hall is called the Lincoln Hall. A statue of Abraham Lincoln is in the church, along with memorials to the Gilman family.
The church members who left Hingham were so important to the town that the people who stayed had to ask the Parliament for help. They said that their town had been badly hurt by the people leaving. They told the House of Commons that "most of the able Inhabitants have forsaken their dwellings." They said the town was "left and like in the misery" because the people who stayed were not as well-off. Historians agree that the town was almost "moved" from England to New England when "New" Hingham was founded in 1635.
Later Years
After these events, Hingham continued to grow. There is a special connection between Hingham in England and Hingham in America. St Andrew's Church is still standing, and inns were built. Today, there is a special conservation area with many Georgian buildings. However, many buildings were destroyed in a "disastrous fire in 1688." Even with changing prices and weather, Hingham remained a farming town with important families living there until at least the 1740s.
By the 1800s, Admiral Philip Wodehouse lived in Hingham. In the 1890s, it was still a "small market town." During World War I, 200 men from Hingham joined the armed forces. Sadly, 38 of them died in battle.
Later, General Edmund Ironside, a famous general from World War I, lived in a house called Southernwood in Hingham. He died there in 1959. An old windmill in town kept working until 1937. During World War II, a radio link was set up between the two Hinghams (England and Massachusetts). The Lincoln Hall, the town hall, was built in 1922 and later rebuilt and made bigger in 1977. Hingham also keeps its connection with its sister town in the United States. For example, in 1985, some Hingham residents went to the 350th birthday party of Hingham, Massachusetts.
Hingham Today
In 2000, a man named Adrian Semmence, whose family had farmed in Hingham for many years, opened a woodland park. He planned to sell small plots of land, mostly to Americans who had connections to Hingham. This park was made to remember the links between Hingham, England, and Hingham, Massachusetts.
The Caterham F1 team, which used to be called Team Lotus, was once based in Hingham. They later moved to a different factory near Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire.
How Hingham is Run
Hingham has a town council. This council acts as the local government for the area.
For local government purposes, Hingham is part of the district of South Norfolk. It used to be in the Forehoe and Henstead Rural District.
Hingham is also part of an area called Hingham and Deopham for elections. This area chooses one council member for the South Norfolk Council every four years. In 2011, about 2,908 people lived in this election area.
See also
In Spanish: Hingham (Norfolk) para niños
