Roughton, Norfolk

Correct pronunciation

"Rowton"

Amenities

Facilities in the village include a primary school, public house, village hall, fish and chip shop, play area, garage, windmill and fishing lake.

St Mary's Church is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk. The tower is believed to be of Saxon origin and much of the main body of the building is Victorian.

The Einstein connection

In September 1933, Albert Einstein was brought to live in a small hut on Roughton Heath after fleeing Nazi Germany. Commander Oliver Locker-Lampson MP offered Einstein a refuge in Norfolk before he travelled to the United States. While here, he was sculpted by Jacob Epstein. A blue plaque commemorating Einstein's stay can be found at the entrance of the New Inn public house in the village. On 7 October 1933, he set sail from Southampton for a new life in the United States and never returned to Europe.

Einstein's visit inspired Mark Burgess’s radio play Einstein in Cromer. The story behind Einstein's visit to Roughton has been told in a book - Saving Einstein. When Norfolk Hid a Genius. The Double Life of Oliver Locker-Lampson. A Netflix docudrama Einstein and the Bomb described Einstein's visit using Einstein’s own words.

Disappearance of April Fabb

The schoolgirl April Fabb was cycling from Metton nearby to visit her sister in Roughton when she disappeared without trace on 8 April 1969.

Transport

The nearest railway station is at Roughton Road, which is a stop on the Bittern Line between , and . Greater Anglia operates generally hourly services in both directions.

Sanders Coaches provides regular bus services to Norwich, Sheringham, Cromer and Holt.

The village straddles the A140, which links Cromer and Norwich, and the B1463.

The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport.

References

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Roughton

References

1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Office for National Statistics.
2. Hales, J. and Bennett, W. "Looking at Norfolk" (October 1971), Charles N. Veal & Company
3. https://www.literarynorfolk.co.uk/norfolk_place_names.htm
4. https://friendsofnorfolkdialect.com/portfolio-items/norfolk-placenames/
5. [http://www.roughtonvillage.co.uk/ Village website] Retrieved 11 January 2014
6. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/features/insideout_einstein.shtml BBC Norfolk: Albert Einstein seeks sanctuary in Norfolk]
7. [http://openplaques.org/plaques/4064 Einstein blue plaque] Retrieved 11 January 2013
8. "Einstein in Cromer".
9. "Poppyland Publishing: Saving Einstein: When Norfolk Hid a Genius the Double Life of Oliver Locker-Lampson".
10. (10 February 2024). "Einstein on the run: how the world’s greatest scientist hid from Nazis in a Norfolk hut". The Guardian.
11. [http://www.norfolk.police.uk/newsevents/coldcases/missingpersons/aprilfabb.aspx April Fabb] Retrieved 18 March 2012
12. (10 December 2023). "Timetables". Greater Anglia.
13. "Roughton Bus Services".