Acle is a small market town, situated by the River Bure, in the Broadland district of Norfolk. Originally the lands were owned by the Bigods. It is thought to take its name from either its site, "A Cle" or "Clay" - a place which sometimes floods, or from its alternative name "oaks lea" - meaning a clearing in an oak forest. Allegedly, in Tudor times, hundreds of oaks were felled here to provide the timber to build Elizabeth I's war ships.
Associated Hamlets - Nowhere; Damgate and Acle Bridge (or Weybridge)
Situation - about 11 miles East of Norwich & about 8 miles NW of Great Yarmouth.
Size - 9.46 square KM (3.7 square miles)
Historical Divisions - part of Walsingham hundred
Church - St Edmund, King & Martyr - is one of 124 existing round tower churches in Norfolk. Within the church there is a highly florid Gothic screen, etched by Cotman. The battlements of the tower, made by the church reeves in 1472, cost 101. A whole suit of red velvet vestments were bought in 1474.
Weybridge priory was founded in the reign of Edward I by Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, for the canons regular of the order of St. Austin, and dedicated to St. Mary. It was situated at Acle Dam.
Parsonage - The Rev. Samuel Browne rebuilt the present parsonage house in 1781.
Deanery - Blofield
Archdeaconry - Norwich
Civil Registration - Blofield registration district (for the registration of births, deaths & marriages between 1837 - 1930 and for censuses 1851 - 1901).
Land and Property - The Acle Inclosure Act 1797 saw the inclosure of the Common
Population
Poor Houses - In 1788 a house of industry was erected at Acle for seven united parishes, which in 1829 had increased to seventeen. After 1834 Acle became part of the Blofield Union and the workhouse was at Lingwood.
Festivities - The Bigods, who were lords of Acle, granted a fair to be held on Midsummer-day.
Schools - Historically there was a Sunday school and Day school, which was mainly supported by Lord Calthorpe, along with voluntary contributions from the inhabitants. There is now a High School, Acle Academy.
Transport - Acle's railway station was built in 1883 and is a station on the Wherry Line, running from Norwich to Great Yarmouth.
Remember staying at Acle when I was walking the Norfolk coast. (It's not on the coast, I know, but provided a handy base for my cycling husband). Interesting to read its history and origins of its strange name.
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