View source for Foxley, Norfolk

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country           = England
| coordinates       = {{coord|52.755412|1.021042|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference = TG039218
| official_name     = Foxley
| population        = 285
| population_ref    = [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011]]
| area_total_km2    = 6.66
| shire_district    = [[Breckland (district)|Breckland]]
| shire_county      = [[Norfolk]]
| region            = East of England
| civil_parish      = Foxley
| constituency_westminster = [[Broadland (UK Parliament constituency)|Broadland]]
| postcode_district = NR20
| postcode_area     = NR
| post_town         = DEREHAM
| dial_code         = 01362
| london_distance   = {{convert|98|mi}}
|static_image = St Thomas, Foxley, Norfolk - geograph.org.uk - 321036.jpg
|static_image_width = 240px
|static_image_caption= St Thomas's Church, Foxley
}}
'''Foxley''' is a village and [[civil parish]] in [[Norfolk]], England. The village is {{convert|6|mi|km|0}} north-east of [[Dereham]] and {{convert|15|mi|km|0}} north-west of [[Norwich]], along the [[A1067 road|A1067]] between [[Fakenham]] and Norwich.
==History==
Foxley's name is of [[Anglo-Saxon]] origin and derives from the [[Old English]] for fox's forest clearing or glade.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Key to English Place-names |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Foxley |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk}}</ref>
Norfolk Heritage discusses the archaeology of the parish and states that there is evidence of a settlement here in the Saxon period. "The earliest prehistoric finds date to the Neolithic Era there was activity in the parish from much earlier than the Saxon period". The oldest building is the former Chequers Pub (NHER 19249) from the 1700s but a survey found carpenters' marks in the interior from 1624.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parish-Summary-Foxley-(Parish-Summary) - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}</ref>
In the ''[[Domesday Book]]'', Foxley is listed as a settlement of 12 households in the [[Hundred (county division)|hundred]] of Eynesford. In 1086, the village was part of the [[East Anglia]]n estates of [[Alan Rufus|Alan of Brittany]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foxley {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/TG0321/foxley/ |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=opendomesday.org}}</ref>
Foxley Mill was built in 1845 by the miller, William Elvin, using a wind-powered mechanism. By the 1980s, the mill fell out of use and was subsequently used as an art gallery until 1990 when it was turned into a private residence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Mills - Foxley tower wind windmill |url=https://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Windmills/foxley-towermill.html |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=www.norfolkmills.co.uk}}</ref>
In July 1944, two [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|B-24 Liberators]] of the [[392nd Air Expeditionary Group|392nd Bomb Group]], [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]], based at [[RAF Wendling]], crashed in the parish after a mid-air collision. The crash site was a field to the west of the Old Rectory and fragments from the crashes are regularly ploughed up by local farmers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=mnf20528 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer |url=https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf20528 |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk}}</ref>
==Community==
According to the [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 Census]], Foxley has a population of 285 residents living in 133 households, within a parish area of {{convert|2.57|mi2|km2}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Custom report - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=E04006112 |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk}}</ref>
Foxley falls within the [[Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom|constituency]] of [[Broadland (UK Parliament constituency)|Broadland]] and is represented at [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] by [[Jerome Mayhew|Jerome Mayhew MP]] of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the Upper Wensum Ward of [[Non-metropolitan district|district]] of [[Breckland (district)|Breckland]] and the Elmham and Mattishall Division of [[Norfolk County Council]].
==Landmarks==
The three Grade II [[listed building]]s within the Foxley are the Church of St Thomas, Foxley Lodge, and the War Memorial
The parish church, dedicated to [[Thomas the Apostle|Saint Thomas]], was first built in the 1100s, probably on the site of a previous church from the Saxon period.<ref>[http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?TNF92-Parish-Summary-Foxley-(Parish-Summary)  Parish Summary: Foxley]</ref> The structure was extensively modified through the 1400s; some additional work was carried out in the 1600s and in the early 1800s. In the Listing Report of 1960, the church was described as "Flint with ashlar and some brick dressings. Slate and pantile roofs". The interior includes a 14th-century [[Baptismal font|font]] and a [[Dado (architecture)|dado]], depicting [[Ambrose|Saint Ambrose]], [[Pope Gregory I|Saint Gregory]], [[Jerome|Saint Jerome]] and [[Augustine of Canterbury|Saint Augustine]], which dates from 1472 and was paid for by John and Agnes Baymont.<ref>[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1169955 CHURCH OF ST THOMAS]</ref><ref>[http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF7221-St-Thomas%27-Church-Foxley&Index=6587&RecordCount=57338&SessionID=4fbf0223-d445-454b-a0a5-9da707ce7ee1 St Thomas' church]</ref> In 2018, the [[Church of England]] was hoping that the care of this church would be accepted by The Diocesan Churches Trust.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foxley: St Thomas |url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/10054/ |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=www.achurchnearyou.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Churches |url=http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/foxley/foxley.htm |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=www.norfolkchurches.co.uk}}</ref>
Foxley Lodge is a former rectory constructed in the early 1840s. The style of the Lodge is Georgian, described in 1984 as "brick with slate roofs. Roughly square in plan. 2 storeys. 3 bays to each of 3 facades".<ref>[https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101077374-foxley-lodge-foxley Foxley Lodge, Other nearby listed buildings]</ref>  The manor was restored in the 1930s; the property was operated as a dairy farm until some time before 2017. The property includes the seven bedroom manor, outbuildsings, orchards, and three gardens which were planned by Verity Hanson-Smith.<ref>[https://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/splendid-isolation-a-sussex-country-house-that-belonged-to-percy-bysshe-shelleys-family-213734 The country home of Percy Bysshe Shelley and his family comes up for sale, along with 111 rolling acres of Sussex]</ref><ref>[https://www.derehamtimes.co.uk/news/foxley-lodge-goes-up-for-sale-with-seven-bedrooms-and-a-secret-garden-for-1-195m-1-6081506 See inside this period rectory for sale for £1.195m]</ref>
Foxley war memorial, at the junction of the A1067 and Old Fakenham Road, takes the form of a stone obelisk on a trapezoid base. Listed as First World War dead are Cpl. James O. Armiger (d.1918), 2nd Bn., [[Royal Ulster Rifles|Royal Irish Rifles]]; Pvt. Daniel W. Parfitt (1897–1917), 1/4th Bn., [[Royal Norfolk Regiment]]; and Rfn. Edward Chaplain (1897–1916), [[1st Surrey Rifles|21st (Surrey Rifles) Bn.]], [[London Regiment (1908–1938)|London Regiment]]. Listed for the Second World War is LAC Angus Ross (d.1943), [[Royal Air Force]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foxley War Memorial, including railings, Foxley - 1443387 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1443387?section=comments-and-photos |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/18951/War-Memorial-Foxley.htm Foxley War Memorial]</ref>
[[Foxley Wood]] is a site of special scientific interest and the largest remaining area of [[ancient woodland]] in Norfolk, England. Operated by the [[Norfolk Wildlife Trust]],<ref>[https://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/discover-and-learn/teachers/visit-our-reserves/visit-foxley-wood Visit Foxley Wood]</ref> parts of the 123 hectare (300 acre) reserve are thought to be over 6000 years old, dating from the end of the last [[ice age]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/Foxleywood_tcm6-1766.pdf|title=Foxley Wood National Nature Reserve|publisher=Natural England|access-date=31 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111124258/http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/Foxleywood_tcm6-1766.pdf|archive-date=11 January 2011}}</ref> The reserve is a [[Nature Conservation Review]] site and a [[National Nature Reserve]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Foxley}}
{{Civil Parishes of Breckland}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Villages in Norfolk]]
[[Category:Breckland District]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Norfolk]]