Denver is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
Denver is south of Downham Market and west of Norwich. The village is east of and has land straddling the River Great Ouse.
History Denver's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a passage or crossing used by the Danes. Alternatively, the den element may represent the Old English word denu in its older sense of "low, flat place", in which case the placename might mean "[place of difficult] passage across the marshes".
Denver acted as the terminus for the Roman road the Fen Causeway, which began in Peterborough.
In the Domesday Book, Denver is listed as a settlement of 43 households in the hundred of Clackclose. In 1086, the village was part of the estates of William de Warenne.
Denver Sluice controls the water levels between the tidal and non-tidal Great Ouse. In 1651, the first sluice to help with the drainage of The Fens was built by the Dutch architect Cornelius Vermuyden. The sluice was rebuilt, after bursting in 1713, in 1750. John Rennie the Younger built a newer sluice and bridge in 1834. It was enlarged in 1923 and the flood gates have been replaced several times. The four-arched bridge has its piers extended to form two locks. It is Grade II-listed (the lowest of the three categories).
Denver Windmill was built in the mid-nineteenth century and is not in use due to removal of the sails in 2017.
Denver Railway Station opened in 1847 as a stop on the Great Eastern Railway between King's Lynn and Cambridge. The station was closed to passengers in 1930.
In October, 1942 a Short Stirling bomber aircraft crashed in the parish killing all eleven crewmen on board.
Geography According to the 2021 census, Denver has a population of 912 people which shows an increase from the 890 people listed in the 2011 census.
Denver is located along the course of the River Great Ouse and at the junction of the A10, between London and King's Lynn, and the A1122, between Outwell and Swaffham.
St Mary's Church Denver's Church of England parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and physically dates from the thirteenth century with earlier foundation. It is on Ryston Road near to most local homes and has been Grade-II listed since 1951. It is largely built from carrstone and was heavily restored in the 1870s. The church features stained-glass installed by Ian Pace and a Victorian font.
Famous residents
Robert Brady (1627–1700) academic and historian, born in Denver. George William Manby (1765–1854) author and inventor, born in Denver. Peter Sharpe (b.1944) Norfolk cricketer, born in Denver. Andy English (b.1956) wood-engraver and educator, born in Denver.
In popular culture In the novels of Dorothy L. Sayers, the fictional Duke of Denver's family seat is supposedly based on the village.
Governance Denver an electoral ward for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.
The village's national constituency is South West Norfolk which has been represented by the Labour Party's Terry Jermy MP.
War memorial Denver shares a war memorial with the nearby villages of Fordham, Ryston and Bexwell located on the village green taking the form of hexagonal stone column topped with a crucifix. The memorial lists the following names for Denver for the First World War: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurialQMSFrederick Armsby8th Bn, Norfolk Regiment4 Dec. 1917St Mary's churchyardSgt.William DackY Coy., Army Service Corps22 Mar. 1919St Mary's churchyardSgt.George R. Day1st Bn, Norfolk Regiment25 Oct. 1914Le Touret MemorialSgt.Arthur Day2nd Bn, King's Royal Rifle Corps31 Oct. 1914Menin GateSt1CGeorge BeckHMS Queen Mary31 May 1916Portsmouth MemorialSt1CHarry PaulHMS Queen Mary31 May 1916Portsmouth MemorialA/Cpl.William Hassack DCM6th (City Rifles) Bn, London Regt.15 Sep. 1916Thiepval MemorialLCpl.Charles H. HollidayColdstream Guards15 Sep. 1916UnknownLCpl.Frederick H. Scarboro9th Bn, Norfolk Regiment28 Apr. 1917Loos MemorialLCpl.Reginald P. H. Howlett1st Bn, Queen's West Kent Regiment27 Sep. 1918Gouzeaucourt Cem.Pte.John Garrod6th Bn, Border Regiment3 Aug. 1917Mendinghem CemeteryPte.Arthur Hilling1st Bn, Coldstream Guards15 Sep. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.George Akred1/4th Bn, East Yorkshire Regiment29 Nov. 1917Haringhe CemeteryPte.John W. Hall1st Bn, Essex Regiment18 Nov. 1918St Sever CemeteryPte.James W. Rodwell2/6th Bn, Manchester Regiment13 May 1918St Mary's churchyardPte.Robert Fountain2nd Bn, Norfolk Regiment14 Apr. 1915Basra War CemeteryPte.Horace Allcock3rd Bn, Norfolk Regt.30 Dec. 1917Shatby MemorialPte.Francis H. Holliday8th Bn, Norfolk Regt.21 Oct. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.Harold MonkNorfolk Regt.13 Dec. 1914St Mary's churchyardPte.William E. Fendick2nd Bn, Suffolk Regiment3 Mar. 1915Menin GatePte.H. Hurrell2nd Bn, Suffolk Regt.28 Nov. 1919St Mary's churchyardPte.Ernest R. B. Chapman1st Bn, Queen's West Kent Regiment24 Apr. 1917Orchard Dump Cem.Pte.Horace Sutlefe9th Bn, Royal Welch Fusiliers8 Jun. 1917Klein CemeteryPte.Thomas Redcar1st Bn, Wiltshire Regiment1 Nov. 1918South-West CemeteryPte.William H. Holliday1st Bn, Yorkshire Regiment29 Oct. 1918India Gate
References
External links