Difference between revisions of "Norfolk"
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During the British Iron Age (c. 800 BC - 43 AD) and the early years of Roman Britain, present-day Norfolk was the heartland of the territory of the Iceni people. [[Boudica]] (died c. 60 AD) was a Queen of the Iceni, and led a revolt against the Roman invasion of Britain in 47 AD. The Iceni's capital city was known to the Latin-speaking Romans as ''Venta Icenorum'' ("marketplace of the Iceni") and its remnants now form a part of the village and civil parish [[Caistor St Edmund]] (around 5 miles south of Norwich). | During the British Iron Age (c. 800 BC - 43 AD) and the early years of Roman Britain, present-day Norfolk was the heartland of the territory of the Iceni people. [[Boudica]] (died c. 60 AD) was a Queen of the Iceni, and led a revolt against the Roman invasion of Britain in 47 AD. The Iceni's capital city was known to the Latin-speaking Romans as ''Venta Icenorum'' ("marketplace of the Iceni") and its remnants now form a part of the village and civil parish [[Caistor St Edmund]] (around 5 miles south of Norwich). | ||
| − | During the 5th century, Germanic-speaking peoples had established control of modern-day Norfolk. In the 6th century, the Kingdom of East Anglia (Old English: Ēastengla Rīċe) was established, | + | During the 5th century, Germanic-speaking peoples had established control of modern-day Norfolk. In the 6th century, the Kingdom of East Anglia (Old English: Ēastengla Rīċe) was established. Its territory broadly consisted of the modern counties Norfolk and Suffolk, and perhaps areas of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. Its name reflected the Angles, the Germanic tribe thought to have originated in the Angeln peninsula of modern-day [[Schleswig-Holstein]] in Germany. Their tribal name would ultimately give rise to the name of England itself. |
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== Administration == | == Administration == | ||
The council area of Norfolk County Council (NCC) covers essentially the entire county of Norfolk (although the two are legally distinct). NCC also covers an area of Suffolk, namely that around Gorleston-on-Sea, south of Great Yarmouth. | The council area of Norfolk County Council (NCC) covers essentially the entire county of Norfolk (although the two are legally distinct). NCC also covers an area of Suffolk, namely that around Gorleston-on-Sea, south of Great Yarmouth. | ||
Revision as of 23:41, October 15, 2024
| Norfolk
| |
|---|---|
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | England |
| Borders | Cambridgeshire Lincolnshire Suffolk |
| Population | 807,721 (2021)[1] |
| Area (sq mi) | 2,057 sq mi |
Norfolk is a shire of East Anglia, for statistical purposes classed as part of the East of England. The county town is Norwich and other major towns include the ports of Great Yarmouth and Kings Lynn, and the seaside resorts of Cromer, Sheringham and Hunstanton. Norfolk is bound by the North Sea to the north and east, with the north-west of the county being located on the Wash, and it has land borders with Lincolnshire to the north and west, Suffolk to the south and Cambridgeshire to the south-west. Hunstanon in the far north-west of the county is around 45 miles as the crow flies from the Spurn Head peninsula in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Norfolk has a population of around 800,000.
Norfolk is renowned for its flatness, Noel Coward for example declaring emphatically of the county, "Very flat, Norfolk". Although it is not quite as low lying as Cambridgeshire, large areas of Norfolk would be threatened by a rise in sea level.
Long stretches of the Norfolk coast is comparatively unspoiled, there are several important nature reserves, and extensive areas of saltmarsh and sand dunes. The Norfolk Broads are an area of ancient flooded peat-diggings in the county, connected by rivers, that are a popular holiday destination for boating holidays, and were recently declared a National Park. Breckland, in the south of the county around Thetford, is a thinly-populated area of poor, sandy soil, heathland and pine plantations; much of it is given over to air bases and a battle training area for the British Army.
Norfolk is quite sparsely inhabited by British standards (by contrast with the Middle Ages, when it was one of the richest and most densely-populated areas of England), and important industries include agriculture and tourism.
History
During the British Iron Age (c. 800 BC - 43 AD) and the early years of Roman Britain, present-day Norfolk was the heartland of the territory of the Iceni people. Boudica (died c. 60 AD) was a Queen of the Iceni, and led a revolt against the Roman invasion of Britain in 47 AD. The Iceni's capital city was known to the Latin-speaking Romans as Venta Icenorum ("marketplace of the Iceni") and its remnants now form a part of the village and civil parish Caistor St Edmund (around 5 miles south of Norwich).
During the 5th century, Germanic-speaking peoples had established control of modern-day Norfolk. In the 6th century, the Kingdom of East Anglia (Old English: Ēastengla Rīċe) was established. Its territory broadly consisted of the modern counties Norfolk and Suffolk, and perhaps areas of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. Its name reflected the Angles, the Germanic tribe thought to have originated in the Angeln peninsula of modern-day Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. Their tribal name would ultimately give rise to the name of England itself.
Administration
The council area of Norfolk County Council (NCC) covers essentially the entire county of Norfolk (although the two are legally distinct). NCC also covers an area of Suffolk, namely that around Gorleston-on-Sea, south of Great Yarmouth.