Scoulton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Scoulton | |
  Scoulton shown within Norfolk |
|
| Population | 241 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Breckland |
| Shire county | Norfolk |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Norfolk | |
Scoulton is a small village and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England, situated 16 miles (26 km) west of the city of Norwich and 21 miles (34 km) north-north-east of Thetford.
Scoulton lies on the main road between Norwich and the market town of Watton. Increasingly a dormitory for workers in Norwich's insurance and other service industries, it was traditionally agricultural, relying particularly on the production of sugar beet and on pig farming. It has a fine, partially thatched Saxon church.
The civil parish has an area of 9.02 square kilometres and in 2001 had a population of 241 in 94 households. The population is split between two main areas of settlement and a number of small, isolated farms. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of Breckland.
Scoulton is known for its artificial and heavily-wooded lake or "mere", which was the product of extensive flint quarrying, and which was the only known breeding ground of the great black-headed gull in the UK. Considered by many to be only a rare vagrant visitor to Europe, anecdotal evidence suggests that Scoulton mere was home to a colony until the early 1970s, with the eggs being harvested and forming the basis of a now obsolete dish known as Scoulton Pie. The collection of these eggs is depicted on the village sign.
[edit] References
- ^ Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council, 2001. Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Retrieved December 2, 2005.
