West Raynham

---

title: "West Raynham" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-norfolk", "former-civil-parishes-in-norfolk", "north-norfolk"] description: "Village in Norfolk, England" topic_path: "general/villages-in-norfolk" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Raynham" 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	West Raynham
country	England
region	East of England
shire_district	North Norfolk
shire_county	Norfolk
civil_parish	Raynham
static_image	Remains of St Margaret's, West Raynham - geograph.org.uk - 401694.jpg
static_image_width	280px
static_image_caption	The ruins of St Margaret's church
os_grid_reference	TF871253
coordinates
post_town	Fakenham
postcode_area	NR
postcode_district	NR21
dial_code	01328
constituency_westminster	North Norfolk
london_distance	110 miles
::

|official_name = West Raynham | country= England | region= East of England | shire_district= North Norfolk | shire_county= Norfolk | civil_parish= Raynham | static_image= Remains of St Margaret's, West Raynham - geograph.org.uk - 401694.jpg | static_image_width= 280px | static_image_caption= The ruins of St Margaret's church | population = | population_ref = | population_density= | os_grid_reference= TF871253 | coordinates = | post_town= Fakenham | postcode_area= NR | postcode_district= NR21 | dial_code= 01328 | constituency_westminster= North Norfolk | london_distance= 110 miles West Raynham is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Raynham, in the North Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located close to the A1065 road, some five miles southwest of Fakenham and is the largest village on the Raynham estate. The river Wensum flows nearby. In 1931, the parish had a population of 241.

History

The village can trace its origins back and before the Domesday survey of 1086 when it was known as Reinham.

The villages name means 'Regna's homestead/village' or 'Regna's hemmed-in land'.

On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished to form Raynham.

The Raynhams

Today, The Raynhams would cover West, East and South Raynham, a large area of farmland known as Raynham Park, which the Raynham villages and the 17th-century Raynham Hall border.

Raynham Hall

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Raynham_Hall.jpg" caption="Raynham Hall"] ::

Raynham Hall is a rectangular mansion built of brick and stone dressings. Work commenced in 1619, and was completed in 1630. It is the seat of the Townshend family, and is owned today by the 7th Marquis Townshend.

The Church of St Margaret

The church was first built in the 11th century. It fell into ruins from the 1720s, when the lead roof was removed to help pay for the restoration of St Marys at East Raynham. The ruin has now been consolidated and the church is now back in occasional use.

RAF West Raynham

The former Royal Air Force station, RAF West Raynham, is located 2 miles west of the village. It opened in 1939 and closed in 1994, when it was sold to a property developer. Most of the properties are empty and in need of restoration, but people do currently live on the site and all houses are available to rent. There is also a small shop on site. In 2010, the paranormal television series Most Haunted filmed 5 episodes on the base.

Recreation

Much of the area can be visited by a circular walk which takes in mixed woodland, water meadows, arable land and historic buildings, almost entirely on the Raynham estate.

References

References

1. "Population statistics West Raynham AP/CP through time". [[A Vision of Britain through Time]].
2. "The Raynham".
3. "Key to English Place-names".
4. "Relationships and changes West Raynham AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time.
5. (January 2023)
6. "Norfolk Churches".
7. "Spook Search at West Raynham".
8. "Norfolk Circular Walks".

::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. ::