Wroxham is a small town and civil parish in
the English
county of Norfolk.
It
situated on the south side of the River Bure
, within the Norfolk
Broads, and some eight miles north-east of Norwich
.
Wroxham Broad
lies about one mile downstream to the
southeast.On the northern side of the Bure is Hoveton
.
The civil parish has an area of 6.21 square
kilometres and in 2001 had a population of 1532
in 666 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish
falls within the
district
of
Broadland.
Wroxham regards itself as the "Capital of the Broads".
Wroxham bridge is
considered to be the second most difficult on the Broads to
navigate (after Potter
Heigham
) and a pilot station sits on the Hoveton side of
the river to assist boaters for a fee. £6 per boat.
Wroxham
has almost merged with Hoveton
– with each
village growing on one bank of the river. The combined
Wroxham/Hoveton area is a local shopping centre, mainly due to the
presence of
Roys of Wroxham – the self-named "world's
biggest village store". Roys owns much of the commercial property
in the town. In fact, Roys of Wroxham is entirely situated on the
Hoveton side of the river. Hoveton itself contains only a few local
shops and pubs. Both Wroxham and Hoveton have several boat building
and pleasure craft hire yards. Other local industries include the
canning of soft fruits.
Wroxham is
served by Hoveton and Wroxham railway
station
, which is on the Bittern
Line from Norwich
to Cromer
and Sheringham
, and which is the terminus of the narrow gauge Bure Valley
Railway
to Aylsham
. The
station is actually located in Hoveton.
The Church of St Mary has a famous north doorway with seven
orders and three shafts. In the
churchyard, is the medieval-appearing
Trafford Mausoleum, which was built in
1831. A manor house is southeast of the church
which has a
panel dating to
1623 – its stepped gables show Dutch influence.
George Formby, the early
twentieth-century entertainer, once lived in Wroxham in
Heronby. Nearby is Charles Close on the site of the former
Wroxham Hall.
References
External links