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BAWDESWELL
The village of Bawdeswell is situated just off the A1067 between Norwich and Fakenham. The name means Baldere’s spring, and in the Domesday Book of 1085, the spelling was Baldeswelle and later on it was spelled Baldeswell before becoming the present day Bawdeswell. It is mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer’s
(1340-1400) Canterbury Tales, as a place where Reeve has a house on a
heath. “ Of Northfolk was this Reve of which
I telle, biside a toun men clepen The village was the meeting place of six roadways and as such had a busy trade with coaches passing through on their way to and from London, Cromer, Lynn, North Walsham and Dereham. It boasted 5 Inns at one time but all are now closed. Nearby is Bawdeswell Heath, a lovely open area
of heathland and a reminder of how much of the area must have looked
before coming under the plough. Bawdeswell church is a large modern structure,
one of the few churches built in the 20th century. It was
rebuilt in 1953 after an RAF Mosquito On the Norwich road out of Bawdeswell, stands
Bawdeswell Hall, built in 1683 by Henry Eglinton This lovely building
with Dutch Gables has been owned by the Gurney family who are the
founders of Barclays Bank. Today Bawdeswell is a dormitory village for
commuters to Norwich and the surrounding towns. If you would like to add any
information to this page or have any photographs that we could use,
please Telephone 01692631213 or
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