Barnham

Introduction

Barham is a breckland village close to the A134, which was recorded in Domesday as "Bernham", the same name appearing on John Speed's 1610 map. The 1838 OS map shows the village as "Barnham St Gregory".

An Admiralty shutter station stood close to South Dukes Ride, adjacent to the A134 (at TL 872 776). It was part of a chain of such stations relaying signals between the Admiralty in London and the fleet based at Great Yarmouth, during the Napoleonic wars.

Nine parish boundaries converge at the remains of Rymer mere. Thousands of flint flakes provide evidence of early human activity in the area, whilst nearby Euston hall was visited by Elizabeth I though much of the current building dates from the 1750s with rebuilding in 1912 after a fire. A boundary cross still stands on the border with Thetford.

Many ancient settlements have been found around Barnham. In the far north-east of the parish, near Euston, an Iron Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon settlement has been unearthed as has another Romano-British settlement. Basil Brown found a Neolithic settlement in the area too…

Gallery

Acknowledgements

Some historical information from English Heritage's National Monuments Record.