Hilborough

Hilborough is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.[2] The village is 5.5 miles (8.9 km) south of Swaffham, 25.4 miles (40.9 km) west-southwest of Norwich and 93.2 miles (150.0 km) north-northeast of London.

Hilborough
All Saints Parish Church, Hilborough
Hilborough Location within Norfolk
Area	24.08 km^2 (9.30 sq mi)
Population	243 (2011 census)[1]
• Density	10/km^2 (26/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TF8200
• London	93.2 miles (150.0 km)
Civil parish	Hilborough CP
District	Breckland
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	THETFORD
Postcode district	IP26
Dialling code	01760
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England

The population of the parish (including Bodney) at the 2011 Census was 243. The village straddles the A1065 between Swaffham and Brandon.[3] The nearest railway station is at Brandon for the Breckland Line which runs between Cambridge and Norwich.

History

Hilborough has an entry in the Domesday Book of 1086.[4] In the great book Hilborough is recorded by the name Hildeburhwella. The main landholder was William de Warenne. The main tenant was named as William. The survey also notes that there were three mills, and five beehives. The ancestors of Admiral Nelson, including the Admiral's father, the Reverend Edmund Nelson, who left for Burnham Thorpe shortly before Horatio was born, were rectors of the parish church of All Saints at Hilborough between 1734 and 1806.

In the 1990s the Hilborough Estate was bought by Hugh van Cutsem, who built a neo-Palladian mansion [5] designed by architect Francis Johnson. The efforts of the van Cutsem family and their estate workers resulted in the Hilborough Estate becoming one of the country's leading wild-bird shoots, winning awards for their conservation work.[6]

Notable people

The family of Admiral Nelson. Nelson’s grandfather, father, uncle-by-marriage and his brother were all rectors of All Saints parish church in the village. As a young boy Nelson stayed with his uncle and grandmother in Hilborough. After the battle of the Nile, Nelson was created Baron Nelson of the Nile and Hilborough.[7]

Other notable people

• Chris Mead (1 May 1940 – 16 January 2003) was a popular British ornithologist, author and broadcaster, and an influential member of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).
• Hugh van Cutsem (21 July 1941 – 2 September 2013) was an English landowner, banker, businessman and horse-breeder.
• Fiona Richmond (born 2 March 1945) is a former glamour model and actress.
• Harriet Mead (born 2 September 1969) is a renowned contemporary wildlife artist and President of the Society of Wildlife Artists.

References

1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
2. OS Explorer Map 236 - King’s Lynn, Downham Market & Swaffham. ISBN 978-0-319-46408-3.
3. County A to Z Atlas, Street & Road maps Norfolk, ISBN 978-1-84348-614-5
4. The Domesday Book, England's Heritage, Then and Now, Editor: Thomas Hinde,Norfolk page 190, Hilborough, ISBN 1-85833-440-3
5. Photos on Flckr
6. "EDP24". Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
7. The King’s England series, NORFOLK, by Arthur Mee,Pub:Hodder and Stoughton,1972, page 122 Hilborough, ISBN 0-340-15061-0