East Anglia

The Kingdom of the East Angles (Old English: Ēastengla Rīċe; Latin: Regnum Orientalium Anglorum), formally known as the Kingdom of East Anglia, was a small independent kingdom of the Angles during the Anglo-Saxon period comprising what are now the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and perhaps the eastern part of the Fens, the area still known as East Anglia. The kingdom formed in the 6th century in the wake of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain and was one of the kingdoms of the Heptarchy. It was ruled by the Wuffingas dynasty in the 7th and 8th centuries, but the territory was taken by Offa of Mercia in 794. Mercia control lapsed briefly following the death of Offa but was reestablished. The Danish Great Heathen Army landed in East Anglia in 865, after taking York it returned to East Anglia, killing King Edmund ("the Martyr") and making it Danish land in 869. After Alfred the Great forced a treaty with the Danes, East Anglia was left as part of the Danelaw. It was taken back from Danish control by Edward the Elder in 917 and incorporated into the Kingdom of Wessex in 918.

The Iceni ( eye-SEEN-eye, Classical Latin: [ɪˈkeːniː]) or Eceni were an ancient tribe of eastern Britain during the Iron Age and early Roman era. Their territory included present-day Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and bordered the area of the Corieltauvi to the west, and the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes to the south. In the Roman period, their capital was Venta Icenorum at modern-day Caistor St Edmund.Julius Caesar does not mention the Iceni in his account of his invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, though they may be related to the Cenimagni, whom Caesar notes as living north of the River Thames at that time. The Iceni were a significant power in eastern Britain during Claudius' conquest of Britain in AD 43, following which they allied with Rome. Increasing Roman influence on their affairs led to revolt in AD 47, though they remained nominally independent under king Prasutagus until his death around AD 60. Roman encroachment after Prasutagus' death led his wife Boudica to launch a major revolt from 60–61. Boudica's uprising seriously endangered Roman rule in Britain and resulted in the burning of Londinium and other cities. The Romans finally crushed the rebellion, and the Iceni were increasingly incorporated into the Roman province.

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.

Attleborough railway station is on the Breckland line in the east of England, serving the market town of Attleborough, Norfolk. The line runs between Cambridge in the west and Norwich in the east. Attleborough is situated between Eccles Road and Spooner Row, 108 miles 19 chains (174.2 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 Attleborough.

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.

Attleborough is a market town and civil parish located on the A11 between Norwich and Thetford in Norfolk, England. The parish is in the district of Breckland and has an area of 21.9 square kilometres (8.5 sq mi). The 2001 Census recorded the town as having a population of 9,702 distributed between 4,185 households, increasing to a population of 10,482 in 4,481 households in the 2011 Census.Attleborough is in the Mid-Norfolk constituency of the UK Parliament, represented since the 2010 general election by the Conservative MP George Freeman. Attleborough railway station provides a main line rail service to both Norwich and Cambridge.

Attleborough Academy/Attleborough Academy Norfolk (AA/AAN) (formerly Attleborough High School) is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Attleborough in the English county of Norfolk. Previously a community school administered by Norfolk County Council, Attleborough High School became a specialist Mathematics and Computing College in 2008. As part of this, the school became a Microsoft®Academy in 2010. In May 2013 the school launched a consultation on the possibility of converting to academy status. Attleborough High School formally became an academy on 1 January 2014, and was renamed Attleborough Academy Norfolk, sponsored by the TEN Group. Following the restructure of the TEN Group, Attleborough Academy Norfolk became "Attleborough Academy" and is sponsored by the Sapientia Education TrustAttleborough Academy offers GCSEs, NVQs and BTEC First Certificates as programmes of study for pupils. The sixth form centre offers A Levels and advanced BTECs, some of which are offered in partnership with Wymondham College.

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.

Swangey Fen, Attleborough is a 48.4-hectare (120-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Attleborough in Norfolk. It is part of the Norfolk Valley Fens Special Area of Conservation.Part of this site is spring fed fen with diverse flora, including grass of Parnassus, marsh helleborine and several rare mosses. The fen is surrounded by wet woodland and grassland.Much of this site is private but there is public access to an area formerly managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust off Fen Street

Besthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England, about a mile east of Attleborough, on the A11 road. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 561, increasing to 778 at the 2011 Census.The villages name origin is uncertain but is thought to mean 'Bosi's outlying farms/settlement' or perhaps, 'bent-grass outlying farm/settlement'. The village school has long been closed and is now a private dwelling. The church is located in a remote part of the parish, giving rise to the belief that plague, the Black Death, once decimated the original community, resulting in the destruction of many local dwellings. Although no factual evidence exists to support this theory, the plague hit Norfolk very badly. There are two notable private residences, known as Old Hall and New Hall. Old Hall is located close to Burgh Common and was also known as Plassing Hall. For many years it was a farm but has recently been converted into a private dwelling. It still possesses a section of moat and some original stained glass. New Hall was built between 1560 and 1593 by the family of Robert Drury (c.1456-1535), who gave his name to Drury Lane in London. One of the daughters from this family was rumoured to have been drowned in the lake at Lord Byron's family home, Newstead Abbey. Reference books on ghost stories claim that she was murdered along with a coachman with whom she formed a relationship; a 'phantom coach' is said to haunt the Abbey. The Hall possesses one of the few surviving 'tilting grounds' in England; tilting grounds were used for jousting by medieval knights. A local road has achieved wider notoriety, because of the connotations of its first syllable: Slutshole Lane (sometimes Sluts Hole Lane). However, according to maps and documents held at Norfolk & Norwich Library, the road has also been known as Slutch Hole Lane. The word "slutch" was an archaic term for mud; it is said to be a cognate of "slush" , although a rival etymology connects it to "sluice" (which originated as the Dutch sluis), in the sense of an engineering device created to drain fens. It has also been suggested that the current name was the result of an error by census takers, during the late Victorian era. Attempts to change the spelling, including a residents' petition in 1999, have been opposed by local historians.

Great Ellingham Windmill is a Grade II listed tower mill in Great Ellingham, Norfolk, England which has been converted to residential accommodation.

Old Buckenham Windmill is a tower flour mill which stands in the village of Old Buckenham, Norfolk, England. It is a Grade II* listed building, notable for being the largest diameter windmill in the country. The tower was built in 1818 of brick in five storeys and is 8 meters (26.5 feet) in diameter at the base. The cap was boat shaped and extended to the rear. At 7.3 meters (24 feet) in diameter, it was the largest known cap in the country, requiring five truck wheels and 17 centring wheels to carry the weight. Originally fitted with eight plain sails, it was converted to use four patent sails. There were five pairs of French stones on the second floor but milling at the mill ceased in 1926 and the stones were broken up.The mill was originally built for John Burlingham, who was also the miller at a local postmill. During its working life, it was owned by Jeremiah James Colman, of Colman's Mustard, and later by Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, who lived in Old Buckenham Hall at the end of the 19th century. It is now the property of the Norfolk Windmills Trust, who are in the process of restoring it to its original condition. The mill is normally open to the public on the second Sunday of each month from May to September.