Forncett History

Welcome to the History of Forncett 


These web pages have been compiled by members of the Forncett History Group to document much of the history of our parishes from medieval times to the present day. We also run a blog – Forncett History notes – that you can read here. The blog pages are published approximately once a month with short articles relating to Forncett history.

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The parish of Forncett is 12 miles south-west of Norwich on the B1113. Forncett was described in the Domesday Book in 1086 (as Fornesseta), and the boundaries of the present parish of Forncett were already established in the 16th Century, as described in manorial records drawn up in 1565. It has been deduced that from the 11th to the 16th Centuries the population of the parish was around 100-120 people. Today the civil parish of Forncett is home to over 500 households and has a population of about 1200.

Forncett parish map
Forncett parish map

The parish community is extremely active (see www.forncett.info) and is home to an award-winning newsletter, the Forncett Flyer. 

There are also two excellent museums in the parish; Forncett Industrial Steam Museum and Norfolk Tank Museum, both of which are well worth a visit.

We hope that these pages will offer an insight into the history of the people and the places that have helped to make Forncett what it is today. Please CONTACT us if you have any further information, photos, memories or constructive comments to help us build this history of Forncett. We are also happy to try and answer questions about people or places connected with the history of the parish. 

Much of the initial material for this site was sourced from a series of Archive Notes produced by John Webster (Chairman of the Forncett History Group) and originally published on the Forncett village web site. To the best of the editor's knowledge no photos or other items are copyright (and quotes from books and newspapers have been kept within the allowed limit). However, if you find anything here that should not be freely available, please CONTACT us and it can be removed.