A Focus on Belaugh by Chris Weston

By Chris Weston

In a previous issue, I wrote of the Belaugh Ghost, also mentioning a certain amount of the village’s history. Locally pronounced “Beeler”, this should not be confused with another similarly pronounced community of Bylaugh, near Dereham.

Included in the famous Domesday Book Survey of AD 1086 Broadland’s Belaugh was recorded as ‘Belaga’. Alternative names of Belihagh, Belaw, Bilhagh or even Bilough variously followed, all reflecting combinations of Norse, Danish and Anglo-Saxon words collectively meaning ‘a dwelling place by the water’. Located within today’s Broadland District Council area, the village had earlier been a part of the old South Erpingham Hundred, until such areas were abolished by the 1894 Local Government Act. Standing beside the River Bure between Hoveton and Coltishall, Belaugh’s recorded population was 80 in 1600. Rising to 150 in the 1681 census, it remained around this figure until 1851, when it reached 172 people, spread among some 38 houses. By 1881, this had dropped to 139 when Edward William Trafford was Lord of the Manor. Sir Jacob Henry Preston Bart. also held estates in the area. Even today, both the Traffords and Prestons are still landowners in the area. By comparison, the 2011 census confirmed 134 people occupied a mixture of 55 houses and farms. Writing in 1808, historian Francis Blomefield advised: “The Rectory here stands between the river and the churchyard, the bottom of the steeple being higher than the top of the house”. “The grounds of this 18th century property, include an icehouse cut into the side of the hill on which the 14th century St. Peter’s church stands”. It not only occupies a commanding position above a steep bank dropping down to the river but is the only statutory 48

Listed building in the village and gained Grade l status on 10th May 1961. Registers date from 1538 and before 1837, it was only churches in England where birth, marriage, and death information were recorded. From the river below today’s Belaugh church, access to it is gained via ‘Pilgrims Path’ with a steep ascent! So given the time it might take to reach the top, Belaugh can perhaps claim having its own local version of “Pilgrim’s Progress!” White’s 1845 Norfolk Gazetteer recorded both a Rector and a Curate living and working in the parish. The Rectory was repaired and enlarged in 1883 and again in 1910 (per Kelly’s 1933 Directory). During 1977, this was sold to become a private house and church-wise, Belaugh was joined with Wroxham and Hoveton. Like most Norfolk villages, Belaugh once had a School. Described like others as the National School, it was built near and in association with the parish church, around 1864. Extended in 1913 to accommodate infants, the school closed in 1936, after which the children transferred to Coltishall School. Since then, the former school building has been used as Belaugh Church Hall. It’s mainly used for Parish Council meetings and the annual Harvest Festival celebration.

Most parts of Belaugh are reached via Top Road formerly known as Butt Lane. Local legend claims this originated from the time when a field opposite the entrance to Church Lane was regularly used by villagers, for Sunday archery prac-

tice. This land has long since returned to agricultural use since farming has always been important here. Until the mid-1980s, there were four working farms, namely Grange Farm, Church Farm, Juby’s Farm and Old Hall Farm. Another ‘Belaugh Bygone’ was its only village shop, located on The Street with an area of open land to the river, behind. This was run for several years by Alice Mary Symonds, whose age was recorded at 93 years on her death in 2014. Not surprisingly, the river has always played a large part in village life, including local boatbuilding. But Belaugh is unusually fortunate to have two Staithes, namely Commissioner’s Staithe and Church Staithe, Commissioner’s (on The Street) being the older. The land was registered in the Act of Enclosure of 1828, and Commissioner’s has been continuously used ever since. It would have been the village’s “commercial centre” of activity, with goods and often people, arriving by water. Large loads of coal and hay were delivered by wherry and stacked on the Staithe for collection or for distribution around the village. After transporting of goods by river declined, the Staithe became popular for the holiday boating trade, tourism perhaps quietly establishing a ‘new’ industry within the village. Commissioner’s Staithe was also the ‘social centre’ of the village; its position adjacent to the local Well making it an informal meeting place for those collecting water several times a day in addition to becoming to some extent, a children’s playground. Fishing was and still is, a popular pastime along with picnicking or just sitting by the river. Church Staithe, appropriately located below the church tower is the newer, only being created in 1977 after sale of the Rectory. One local person told me Belaugh still has traces of a small beach area after losing its lighthouse a long while earlier. Perhaps that was the “flash of inspiration” which led me to look into Belaugh’s past in more detail. The beach part of the tale however is partly true, as older county maps show the route of the River Bure with yellow areas beside parts of it, indicating sand at various points along its route. Acle for example - similarly shown on older maps - definitely had a beach and was also a seaport, when the Great Estuary existed. Today’s ‘Acle Straight’ crosses part of its subsequently reclaimed land. I have also been shown in the garden of more than one house there, evidence of shells and fine sand deposits, some having been traced back to Roman times!! Halvergate was also a port when the Estuary was at its height of activity. In the second half of the 20th century, around six houses and bungalows were built, replacing earlier buildings e.g., Kareela, replaced the shop site *An early photograph shows a late 18th or early 19th century cottage which contained the only village shop, on The Street with an area of open land to the river behind. A footpath beside it linked the river to The Street and this right of way exists today. The building was demolished and replaced by the current two storey house in 1963 and the shop closed ten years later (1973). One of the more recently built properties at Hill Piece Loke, replaced former allotments. And finally, before 2020 near the junction of Top Road with The Street, a traditional red ‘K6’ public telephone box was a prominent landmark for several decades. But B.T. removed it as part of a project to consolidate their assets.

© Chris Weston, August 2022

THE WROXHAM & COLTISHALL BOOK At time of writing, we’re still looking forward to seeing our French Twinning guests from La Pommeraye and Montjean-sur-Loire, 11-16th August and hoping the current rise in Covid infections won’t throw a spanner in the works. We’re all ready for the Neatishead Radar Museum and Stalham Museum of the Broads on the Friday, Roger and George have games ready for the Saturday afternoon, Fezziwig are tuned up for our Saturday night Ceilidh at Neatishead Victory Hall and on the Monday it’s the St George’s Distillery and Bressingham. We’ll welcome our friends at Wroxham Football club on the Thursday evening with food and drink and then home for a good night’s sleep after their journey. Before that, there’s our social evening and pre-visit briefing at Robert and Margarets’ house in Wroxham on Friday 5th August at 6pm, a bring-a-plate buffet, and it’ll be lovely to see our Twinning friends again, some of whom we haven’t seen for quite a while, and we’ll have a good catch up over delicious food and wine. Book Club is continuing on Zoom for the time being on the third Wednesday of the month. It seems to work as we have a few members who cannot physically attend for one reason or another, indisposition, or geography mainly. In July it was Gill’s choice of “Becoming” by Michelle Obama and August is Phil’s turn and he has chosen “Riotous Assembly” by Tom Sharpe. Pat is now managing to get copies of most of our books from Wroxham library and can supply more information for now on 01603 782375 or pat.barkergreen@btinternet.com For any more information please contact us, via Peter, on 01603 782733 or peter_c_milsted@talk21.com