North Elmham, United Kingdom
North Elmham is a town of 1,124 people in England, United Kingdom.
Why visit North Elmham
Townapedia lists 6 museums and landmarks, 7 parks and trails, 7 places to eat, 1 place to stay and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include Bintry Watermill, North Elmham Chapel, Spong Hill and Foxley Wood.
Weather in North Elmham
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About North Elmham
North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 7.41 sq mi (19.2 km2) and is located about 5 mi (8.0 km) north of East Dereham, on the west bank of the River Wensum. Including Gateley and Broom Green, the civil parish had a population of 1,428 in 624 households at the 2001 census; this increased slightly to 1,433 at the 2011 census.
From the Wikipedia article North Elmham (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Travel tips from other travellers: North Elmham on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Things to do1
Museums and landmarks6
Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse
Museum · 2.4 mi
Museum in Gressenhall, Breckland, Norfolk, England, UK
Litcham Road, Dereham
Mar Sa[2]-Nov Su[1] 10:00-17:00
Parks, trails and playgrounds7
Restaurants and cafes7
The Railway Arms
Bar and pub · 0.4 mi
40 Station Road, Dereham
Mo closed; Tu 12:00-18:00; We-Su 12:00-22:00
History
The name North Elmham comes from the Old English, meaning "village where elms grow" and is first mentioned in 1035. Only ruins now survive of a Norman chapel which is in the care of English Heritage. The chapel is on the site of an earlier Anglo Saxon timber cathedral which housed the episcopal throne of the bishops of Elmham from around 672 until the episcopal see was moved to Thetford in 1071. A mid 9th-century copper-alloy hanging censer was discovered at North Elmham in 1786. The earthworks and ruins at North Elmham stewarded by English Heritage are thought to be the remains of Bishop Herbert de Losinga's late 11th-century episcopal church and the late 14th-century double-moated castle built on this by Henry le Despenser, Bishop of Norwich. Henry came from a powerful family who had strong links with the House of Plantagenet and the notorious 'favourites' of King Edward II.
To the south lies Spong Hill, the home of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, excavated in the late twentieth century, by Dr Catherine Hills.
To the north of the village was the Norfolk County School which, on closing in the 1890s, was taken over for the Watts Naval School; the buildings have now been demolished. This was the birthplace of the actor John Mills.
Read more of the history
County School railway station served the school and today is preserved by the Mid-Norfolk Railway as a small visitor centre. North Elmham railway station once served the village on the line from Wymondham to Fakenham East. The building still exists but is now a residential home, although the railway line remains and is under restoration to use. A section of the line, between North Elmham and County School station, includes a permissive footpath.
North Elmham Mill, known locally as Grint Mill, had two breastshot waterwheels until the early 20th century when they were replaced by two turbines. By the 1970s the milling machinery was driven by mains electricity while the turbines were used to drive a sack hoist and two mixing machines. The mill continued to produce animal feed into the late 20th century.
From the History section of North Elmham on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from North Elmham
- Henry le Despenserbishop of the Roman Catholic Church
- George Dickinscricketer (1821-1903)
- George EnglebrightEnglish cricketer (1805-1877)
Born in North Elmham, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay1
Churches and places of worship11
Schools, colleges and libraries3
Map of North Elmham
36 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Norwich Airport (NWI) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 15 miles away.
- East Dereham 4 mi south, about 7 min by car
- Foulsham 4 mi northeast, about 6 min by car
- Shipdham 8 mi south, about 14 min by car
- Bowthorpe 14 mi southeast, about 22 min by car
- Attleborough 16 mi south, about 26 min by car
- Norwich 17 mi southeast, about 27 min by car
- North Walsham 19 mi east, about 31 min by car
- Rackheath 19 mi east, about 31 min by car
- King's Lynn 23 mi west, about 37 min by car
- Thetford 24 mi south, about 39 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near North Elmham
Keep exploring
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- North Elmham buffer-stop Aug 2013, Trackbasher, CC BY-SA 3.0
- North Elmham railway station 2015, DiverScout ( talk ) 16:07, 17 January 2015 (UTC), CC BY 3.0
- North Elmham Railway Station, Evelyn Simak, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Bintree Watermill Friday 9 April 2010, stavros1, CC BY 3.0
- Spong Man, Geni, CC BY-SA 4.0
- North Elmham Castle, Evelyn Simak, CC BY-SA 2.0
- St Peter's church Billingford Norfolk (2335130400), David from Colorado Springs, United States, CC BY 2.0
- Worthing-g1, Bernd Jatzwauk Pommes104, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Street-level photo, IpswichEdits, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, IpswichEdits, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, IpswichEdits, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, IpswichEdits, CC BY-SA 4.0
.jpg){kind=link}
Page built November 10, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.