Quidenham Hall

Quidenham is a small rural village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 22.51 km2 (8.69 sq mi) and had a population of 576 in 183 households at the 2001 census, falling to a population of 560 living in 189 households at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of Breckland. It is situated 10 miles (16 km) north-east of the town of Thetford and 24 miles (39 km) south-west of the city of Norwich. The placename "Quidenham" is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Cuidenham", and means "Cwida's ham or village". The name "Cwida" corresponds to the Old High German name "Quito". There is a local tradition that Queen Boudica or Boadicea is buried in Quidenham. Quidenham Hall is now a monastery of Carmelite nuns. A hospice for sick children occupies the site of some former staff cottages on the property. It is run independently of the monastery under the management of the East Anglian Children's Hospices (EACH), a registered charity under the patronage of the Princess of Wales. The church of St Andrew is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk. Quidenham was the location of the music festival Play Fest, which ran for two years from 2011 until 2013. The civil parish includes the historic parish and still separate settlement of Wilby, which has its own historic church. Further, the old parishes of Eccles and Hargham now form part of Quidenham civil parish, each with their own historic church still in existence. Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit is partially located in Quidenham parish, albeit 2 miles (3.2 km) to the north-west of the village. Eccles Road railway station, on the Breckland Line between Cambridge and Norwich, is a similar distance to the north of the village.

Kenninghall and Banham Fens with Quidenham Mere is a 48.4-hectare (120-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Banham, in Norfolk, England. This site in the valley of the River Whittle has a lake, tall fen, wet woodland and calcareous grassland. Springs feed an area of fen grassland dominated by purple moor grass, blunt-flowered rush and black bog-rush. The site is private land with no public access.

Kenninghall is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England, with an area of 5.73 sq mi (14.8 km2) and a population of 950 at the 2011 census. It falls within the local government district of Breckland. Home to the kings of East Anglia, after the Norman invasion of 1066 William the Conqueror granted the estate to William of Albany and his heirs as a residence for the Chief Butler of England.

Wilby is a village and former civil parish, 17 miles (27 km) south west of Norwich, now in the parish of Quidenham, in the Breckland district, in the county of Norfolk, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 94. Wilby has a church called All Saints. Wilby Hall, a country house is north of the village.

Guiltcross Rural District was a rural district in Norfolk, England from 1894 to 1902. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Guiltcross rural sanitary district. It lay in the southern part of the county between Thetford and Diss and took its name from the ancient Guiltcross hundred. In 1902, Guiltcross RD was abolished and its territory divided between Thetford, Wayland and Depwade RDs.

Wilby Hall is a country house north of the village of Wilby, in the civil parish of Quidenham, in Norfolk, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building on 9 February 1984. The house dates to the late-16th century.

Eccles Road railway station is on the Breckland line in the east of England, serving the villages of Eccles, Quidenham and Wilby in Norfolk. The line runs between Cambridge in the west and Norwich in the east. Eccles Road is situated between Harling Road and Attleborough, 104 miles 36 chains (168.1 km) from London Liverpool Street via Ely. The station is managed by Greater Anglia, which also operates most of the services calling at the station. Some East Midlands Railway also stop at Eccles Road. The station takes its name from being outside of the now abandoned original village of Eccles although the church Eccles St. Mary still stands and is one of 124 original round-tower churches in Norfolk. A new settlement, also called Eccles, has developed around the station. The station is situated in the civil parish of Quidenham, about 2 miles (3 km) north of that village, and 1 mile (1.5 km) north-east of Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit. The station is unstaffed and has two platforms, adjacent to a level crossing. Wooden level crossing gates used to be opened and closed manually by a signaller in the local signal box, which is dated 1883. However, in 2012 the signal box was closed and the crossing was renewed with automatic barriers controlled from Cambridge. The redundant signal box stands across the road from the westbound (Cambridge) platform, and was expected to be demolished when the barriers were replaced in 2017.

Banham Zoological Gardens is a 50-acre (20 ha) zoo in Banham, Norfolk, England. The zoo, which in 2024 was reported to be a home to more than 2,000 animals, opened to the public in 1968, became a charity in 2013, and has since been often awarded the prize of Norfolk's Top Attraction, by numerous different organisations, with an annual visitor attendance of in excess of 200,000 people. It is part of the Zoological Society of East Anglia, a registered charity which also owns Africa Alive Zoological Reserve near Lowestoft, Suffolk.

Old Buckenham Fen is a 34.5-hectare (85-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Attleborough in Norfolk.This valley fen has cattle grazed wet meadows, species rich reedbeds, a mere and dykes. Flora in wetter areas include ragged robin, marsh thistle and ladies smock.Most of the site is private land but there is a public footpath in the south-west corner.

Snetterton Circuit is a motor racing course in Norfolk, England, originally opened in 1953. Owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, it is situated on the A11 road 12-mile (19 km) north-east of the town of Thetford and 19-mile (31 km) south-west of the city of Norwich. The circuit is named after the nearby village of Snetterton to the north-west of the circuit, although much of the circuit lies in the adjoining civil parish of Quidenham. The circuit hosts races from series including the British Touring Car Championship, British Formula Three Championship and British Superbike Championship. From 1980 to 1994, the track hosted the UK's first 24-hour race, the Willhire 24 Hour. From 2003 to 2013 the Citroën 2CV 24 Hour Race was held at Snetterton on the 200 Circuit. After a short stint racing at Anglesey the 2CV 24Hr race has again returned to Snetterton and is usually held around the August bank holiday weekend.

St Mary the Virgin Church, Banham is a Grade I listed Church of England parish church in Banham, Norfolk. The basic material of the building is the natural flint of the area, and as is usual with Norfolk churches, white freestone was sparingly used for windows and framing because it had to be brought laboriously from quarries in Northamptonshire.

Old Buckenham Hall is a cricket ground in Old Buckenham, near Attleborough, Norfolk.