Swainsthorpe

Swainsthorpe is a village in the English County of Norfolk in England. It lies on the A140 road, approximately 5 miles south of Norwich, and just north of Newton Flotman. It covers an area of 3.38 km2 (1.31 sq mi) and had a population of 374 in 159 households at the 2001 census,[1] the population reducing to 360 at the 2011 Census.[2] The village had two Churches, St.Peter's and St. Mary's, the latter is now in ruins.[3]

Swainsthorpe
Swainsthorpe
Location within Norfolk
Area3.38 km2 (1.31 sq mi)
Population360 (2011)
• Density107/km2 (280/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTG219009
Civil parish
  • Swainsthorpe
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNORWICH
Postcode districtNR14
Dialling code01508
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
St. Peter's Church

Facilities and amenities

St Peter's Church sits at the top of Church Road, the entrance to the village, and is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk.[4] It is part of the Tas Valley Team Ministry, alongside churches in Newton Flotman, Tasburgh, Tharston, Saxlingham and Shotesham.[5] In 2012, an £80,000 project to re-order the nave and north aisle of the church, providing more space for community events, began.[6]

Children of primary school age living in the village usually attend school in nearby Newton Flotman, while the nearest secondary school is Long Stratton High School.

The village has a public house, which was formerly known as "The Dun Cow", before reopening under a new management and a new name, "Sugarbeat", in July 2014.[7]

Bus services operated by First Norfolk & Suffolk and Simonds of Botesdale, provide regular transport links to Norwich and Long Stratton.

Railway station

Swainsthorpe railway station on the Great Eastern Railway, which was the first station south of the Norwich terminus at Norwich Victoria railway station, was closed in 1952.

Level crossing incidents

At 13.05 on Sunday 13 November 2005, the 13.00 One Railways service from Norwich to Diss collided with a car, which according to witnesses, had positioned itself in the trains path. The driver was killed and the car broke into flames on impact. Nobody on board the train was killed. The level crossing was found to be in full working order.[8]

At 6:22am on Thursday 1 March 2007, a One Railways service travelling from Colchester in Essex to Norwich, collided with a Vauxhall Astra on the crossing. One person in the car died. The train, however, remained upright, did not derail and there were no injuries on board.[9]

On 26 September 2013 a car hit the barrier at the level crossing, an incident which was witnessed by the driver of the Abellio Greater Anglia train. Nobody was injured.[10]

  • Swainsthorpe St Peter
  • Village green, Church and sign

References
  1. "Swainsthorpe parish information". South Norfolk Council. 4 January 2006. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  2. "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  3. "Swainsthorpe Parish Council History Page". Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  4. "Swainsthorpe, St. Peter". RoundTowerChurches. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  5. "Tas Valley Team Ministry website - 'what we do' page". Tas Valley Team Ministry. Tas Valley Team Ministry.
  6. "Swainsthorpe Parish Council Church History". Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  7. "EDP24 article Sugarbeat Swainsthorpe". edp24.co.uk. Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  8. "RAIB incident report PDF" (PDF). March 2006. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  9. Archant Regional Ltd (2007). "Motorist dies in train crash". EADT24 Suffolk and Essex Online. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
  10. "EDP article - car has near miss Swainsthorpe Level Crossing". 26 September 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2015.

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