Gillingham, Norfolk

Gillingham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the homestead or village of Gylla's people. In the Domesday Book, Gillingham is listed as a settlement of 34 households in the hundred of Clavering. In 1086, the village formed part of the East Anglian estates of King William I. The parish contains two villages that were abandoned in the Fourteenth Century due to the ravages of the Black Death: Winston and Wyndale. Gillingham Hall is located within the parish and was built in the early-Sixteenth Century as a residence for Sir Nicholas Bacon. Today, the hall is owned by Edward Haughey. On the night of the 6th and 7 November 1943, a Dornier 17 light bomber crashed in the village after being shot down by anti-aircraft fire whilst on a bombing raid of Norwich. Only one of the crew survived and attempts at excavation of the site were made by the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum during the 1970s. On 13 March 2014, a helicopter crashed shortly after take-off from Gillingham Hall, killing all four people on board, including Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond, the owner of Gillingham Hall. ==Geography==

According to the 2021 census, Gillingham has a total population of 697 people which demonstrates an increase from the 676 people listed in the 2011 census. The A146, between Norwich and Lowestoft, passes through the parish. ==St. Mary's Church==

Gillingham's parish church dates from the Twelfth Century but was largely rebuilt in the mid-Nineteenth Century by Thomas Penrice and is dedicated to Saint Mary. St. Mary's is located on Church Road and has been Grade I listed since 1960. St. Mary's is open throughout the week for services. Gillingham is also home to the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Roman Catholic Church, which was built in late-Nineteenth Century by the Kenyon family of Gillingham Hall. ==Amenities==

St. Michael's Church of England Primary School is located within the village and is part of the Diocese of Norwich Education Trust. The village also has a playground, allotments and a village hall. ==Transport==

The village currently has a regular bus service to much of the surrounding area. First Norfolk & Suffolk run the X2 through the village, which gives access to Beccles, Loddon, Norwich and Lowestoft as well as the smaller surrounding villages and BorderBus run the 580 to Beccles, Bungay, Harleston and Diss and the connecting 581 to Beccles and Great Yarmouth and the 146 which runs between Norwich and Lowestoft via Loddon and Beccles. Bus services to other areas can be found in Beccles. ==Notable residents==

• Admiral Henry Eden- (1798–1888) Royal Naval officer, lived at Gillingham Hall. • Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond- (1944–2014) Anglo-Irish entrepreneur & politician, lived at Gillingham Hall. == Governance ==

Gillingham is part of the electoral ward of Thurlton for local elections and is part of the district of South Norfolk. The village's national constituency is South Norfolk which has been represented by the Labour's Ben Goldsborough MP since 2024. == War Memorial ==

Gillingham War Memorial is a grey granite wheel cross with a small plinth located outside the village at the site where King George V inspected troops in 1916. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War: The following names were added after the Second World War: == References ==