Visit

 

For a very different experience on a Sunday afternoon, why not visit Heydon and literally step back in time to an age before traffic, shopping malls and high-technology.

 

Mentioned in the Domesday Book as High-Down and about 12 miles north of Norwich just off the B1149 (the Norwich to Holt Road), Heydon could easily be overlooked – you may have already passed the only road that leads into the village many times. But take a turn down into Heydon and you’ll discover a real hidden gem that’s steeped in history.

 

 

The pretty village is one of less than a dozen privately owned villages in Great Britain, being owned by the Bulwer Long family who occupy the private Heydon Hall, in whose grounds the village is located. Being privately owned, there has been no new building in Heydon for over 100 years. The last structure to be erected was a Well that was built to commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887.

 

 

Everywhere you turn in Heydon there seems to be evidence of a bygone era, all seemingly untouched by time. As you stroll around the central green, you cannot help but come across the rich and well-preserved heritage of this place – the church with a tower built at the height of the War of the Roses in about 1470, ‘Cromwell’s Oak’ in front of the cottage in Heydon Park – so named because Oliver Cromwell, allegedly a frequent visitor to Heydon, scaled the Oak when being chased by a Bull, ‘Widows Row’, a pretty row of cottages where widows of former workers on the Heydon Estate were housed, the Chestnut avenues in the park that were planted in the 1850’s to replace the original Oak avenues that were felled to finance the Norwich Regiment of Foot in the late 1700’s, the Parish Room that was a World War I Army Hut and the ‘Best Kept Village’ Competition plaques from the 1960’s.

 

 

Heydon Church was rebuilt about 500 years ago but still maintains some striking original features, including two of the original round windows and 13th/14th century wall paintings that were painted over centuries ago and only rediscovered in 1970.

 

 

Surrounded by tranquil, leafy country lanes that are perfect for walking or cycling, Heydon was designated Norfolk’s first Village Conservation Area in 1971. It has only about 100 inhabitants and yet has its own pub (The 17th Century Earle Arms Inn - which serves very good food apparently), Tea Room (excellent afternoon tea and homemade cakes), Village Shop, Hairdresser and Blacksmith.

 

 

 

The village and the Hall have been the setting for numerous film and television productions, including ‘Vanity Fair’, ‘The Woman In White’, ‘A Cock & Bull Story’ and ‘The Go Between’.

With its cluster of picture postcard cottages and quite, relaxed air, Heydon is not an ideal visitor destination for the thrill-seekers amongst you, but if you are looking for a peaceful day out to a place that is quite unlike anywhere else nearby and want to get a flavour for past times, why not discover Heydon for yourself. Like a living, breathing museum, it’s a refreshing and unique experience in 2007.

 

 

To find Heydon, leave Norwich on the B1149 and after 12 miles take the left turn signposted Heydon (the second turning after the hump back bridge). After a further 2 miles, turn right at the cross roads into a ‘No Through Road’, take this to drive into the village.