Category: Witton

There are two Wittons in Norfolk, one is near Norwich and the other is near to North Walsham. This is what The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of English Placenames has to say about the Witton near to North Walsham.

Witton, Norfolk. Widituna in Domesday Book, Wottone in 1254. Old English Widutun, a place near a wood.

There are a few reasons as to the evolution of the place-name Witton, but most are simply a place near a wood, which explains why this is a relatively common name for a settlement. This is though different to Watton in Norfolk, which was named after a person, just to make things more confusing.

Witton, the one near North Walsham and not the one near Norwich, is located near to the Norfolk coast in an area that no longer has many residential properties nearby. There is evidence of two Saxon windows in the nave of the church, but for the most part the current structure dates to the twelfth-century rebuild, albeit fiddled about with in the Victorian period.

An aisle has been added to the south side of the church, but not to the north.

Two views of the north side of the church, with the Saxon windows evident either side of the porch, which were later discoveries. The chancel was rebuilt in 1857, explaining its more modern feel.

The chancel end of the church.

The south porch and main entrance into the church, with its rather intriguing small window with brick surround. There’s a large graveyard around the church, with a surprising number of more recent burials given the limited amount of properties nearby.