Lessingham

---

title: "Lessingham" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-norfolk", "civil-parishes-in-norfolk", "north-norfolk"] description: "Village in Norfolk, England" topic_path: "general/villages-in-norfolk" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lessingham" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in Norfolk, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]

Field	Value
official_name	Lessingham
country	England
region	East of England
shire_district	North Norfolk
shire_county	Norfolk
civil_parish	Lessingham
static_image	File:Lessingham and Hempstead with Eccles village sign - geograph.org.uk - 6674265.jpg
static_image_width	240px
static_image_caption	Lessingham Village Sign
population	505
population_ref	(2021 census)
os_grid_reference	TG3928
coordinates
label_position	bottom
post_town	NORWICH
postcode_area	NR
postcode_district	NR12
dial_code	01692
constituency_westminster	North Norfolk
london_distance	136 mi
area_total_sq_mi	2.88
hide_services	Yes
::

| official_name = Lessingham | country = England | region = East of England | shire_district = North Norfolk | shire_county = Norfolk | civil_parish = Lessingham | static_image = File:Lessingham and Hempstead with Eccles village sign - geograph.org.uk - 6674265.jpg | static_image_width = 240px | static_image_caption = Lessingham Village Sign | population = 505 | population_ref = (2021 census) | population_density = | os_grid_reference = TG3928 | coordinates = | label_position = bottom | post_town = NORWICH | postcode_area = NR | postcode_district = NR12 | dial_code = 01692 | constituency_westminster = North Norfolk | london_distance = 136 mi | area_total_sq_mi = 2.88 | hide_services = Yes

Lessingham is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish also includes the village of Eccles on Sea and the hamlet of Hempstead.

Lessingham is located 16.3 mi south-east of Cromer and 17.6 mi north-east of Norwich.

History

Lessingham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the homestead of Leofsige's people.

In the Domesday Book, Lessingham is listed as a settlement of 45 households in the hundred of Happing. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of King William I.

During the Second World War, several structures were built in Lessingham to defend against a possible German invasion, including pillboxes, mortar emplacements and anti-tank obstacles.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Lessingham has a population of 505 people which shows a decrease from the 566 people recorded in the 2011 census.

All Saints' Church

Lessingham's parish church dates from the Thirteenth Century. All Saints' is located on Star Hill and has been Grade II listed since 1955. The church is no longer open for Sunday service.

All Saints' was re-built and restored by Herbert John Green in the 1890s and a set of stained-glass windows designed by James Powell and Sons depicting Saint Andrew, Saint George and King Richard I.

Governance

Lessingham is part of the electoral ward of Happisburgh for local elections and is part of the district of North Norfolk.

The village's national constituency is North Norfolk, which has been represented by the Liberal Democrat Steff Aquarone MP since 2024.

References

References

1. "Key to English Place-names".
2. "Lessingham {{!}} Domesday Book".
3. "Parish-Summary-Lessingham-(Parish-Summary) - Norfolk Heritage Explorer".
4. "Lessingham (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location".
5. "CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS, Lessingham - 1172410 {{!}} Historic England".
6. "All Saints, Lessingham".
7. "Norfolk Churches".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::