Lexham

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Parish in Norfolk, England

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

::summary Parish in Norfolk, England ::

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

Field	Value
country	England
coordinates
official_name	Lexham
population	148
population_ref	(2021 census)
shire_district	Breckland
shire_county	Norfolk
region	East of England
constituency_westminster	Mid Norfolk
post_town	KING'S LYNN
postcode_district	PE32
postcode_area	PE
dial_code
os_grid_reference	TF8558517933
static_image_name	File:East Lexham village sign - geograph.org.uk - 6796436.jpg
area_total_sq_mi	3.76
hide_services	Yes
static_image_caption	East Lexham Village Sign
::

Lexham is a civil parish, consisting of the twin villages of East Lexham and West Lexham, in the English county of Norfolk.

Lexham is located 7.7 miles (12.4 km) north of Swaffham and 30.1 miles (48.4 km) west-north-west of Norwich.

History

Lexham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for 'leech homestead', likely in the sense of a physician.

In the Domesday Book, Lexham is listed as a settlement of 45 households in the hundred of Launditch. In 1086, the village was divided between the East Anglian estates of William de Warenne and Ralph de Beaufour.

Lexham Hall was built in 1660 and was re-modelled twice in the Eighteenth Century. The building was used by the Royal Army Service Corps during the Second World War but burnt down in 1950, being restored again in 1972. The modern gardens were designed by Dame Sylvia Crowe which are open for charity events.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Lexham has a population of 148 people which shows an increase from the 146 people recorded in the 2011 census.

St. Andrew's Church

East Lexham's parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew and is one of Norfolk's 124 remaining Anglo-Saxon round-tower churches. St. Andrew's has been dated to the Eleventh Century with a significant restoration effort made in the late-Nineteenth Century. The church possesses good examples of Nineteenth Century stained glass including one depiction of Saint Michael and the dragon installed by James Powell and Sons. Furthermore, the church features examples of artwork by Richard Foster depicting the Nativity, Saint Andrew as a fisherman and the Day of Judgement.

St. Nicholas' Church

West Lexham's former parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew and is one of Norfolk's 124 remaining round-tower churches, dating from the medieval period. St. Nicholas' is located on Hall Lane and has been Grade II listed since 1960. The church no longer holds Sunday service and is part of the Launditch & Upper Nar Benefice.

St. Nicholas' was largely rebuilt in the 1990s after it was found to be severely subsiding but still holds a stained-glass window depicting Christ designed by the Lobin workshop of Tours.

Notable residents

Richard Foster (b. 1945), painter, born in East Lexham.

Governance

Lexham is part of the electoral ward of Launditch for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.

The village's national constituency is Mid Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's George Freeman MP since 2010.

References

::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. ::