South Pickenham is a small village and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It has an area of 758 hectares (2.93 square miles) and it had a population of 101 in 40 households at the 2001 census.Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes . Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Retrieved 20 June 2009. This had dropped to an estimated 85 as at the 2007/2008 Breckland yearbook. The Parish Council Tax (Band D) 1 April 2007 was £28.75.Breckland Yearbook It was once in the Hundred of South Greenhoe.White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk 1845: Hundreds (GenUKI)The Beauties of England and WalesA General History of the County of Norfolk by John Chambers At the 2011 Census the village population had again fallen to less than 100 and was included in the civil parish of Cockley Cley.
Geographical overview
The village is about 4 miles south east of Swaffham and 2 miles from its sister village North Pickenham. The village is centered on the Grade II listed Pickenham Hall, still the landlord for much of the village, which is owned by the Arumugam Packiri family. The original hall was designed by William Donthorne but between 1902 and 1905 architect Robert Weir SchultzRobert Weir Schultz extensively rebuilt and enlarged the hall, incorporating the previous house, in the style of the Arts and Crafts movement.
The Stanford Training Area lies to the south of the parish.
The historic church of All Saints is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk, 185 nationwide and five within a 9-mile radius.
The restored church of Saint Mary's at Houghton on the HillSaint Mary'sComprehensive St. Mary's .pdf file is nearby. Historically part of North Pickenham since 1725,Necton All Saints church website a Pastoral Order was raised transferring it to South Pickenham as a Chapel of Ease in 1992.
The 46-mile Peddars Way runs to the east, within the parish boundaries, aside the course of the River Wissey.
South Pickenham Estate Co. Ltd., a large arable and livestock farming company, is based in the village.
References
External links
All Saints on the European Round Tower Churches website Old postcards Old postcards of both South and North Pickenham.