Great Ryburgh is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ryburgh, in the North Norfolk district, in the English county of Norfolk.

Great Ryburgh is located south-east of Fakenham and north-west of Norwich.

History Great Ryburgh's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the larger rye fortification.

An Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered in 2016 by a Museum of London Archaeology excavation that was largely funded by Historic England. The waterlogged conditions of the site led to the remarkable preservation of burials including 6 plank-lined graves and 81 hollowed tree-trunk coffins dating from the 7th-9th century AD. The evidence is this may have been a community of early Christians, including a timber structure thought to be a church or chapel.

In the Domesday Book, Great Ryburgh is listed as a settlement of 25 households in the hundred of Brothercross. In 1086, the village was part of the East Anglian estates of William de Warenne and Peter de Valognes.

There is evidence that there has been a watermill in Great Ryburgh since 1579 which closed in 1923. In 2003, the mill was converted into an old people's home.

In 1849, Ryburgh Railway Station opened on the line between Dereham and Wells-next-the-Sea. The station closed to passengers in 1964.

A maltings has stood in Great Ryburgh since 1870. The site was bombed twice during the Second World War.

In 1961 the parish had a population of 484. On 1 April 1987 the parish was abolished and merged with Little Ryburgh to form "Ryburgh".

In the mid-1990s, there were reports of a sighting of an unidentified flying object in the parish.

Geography Population statistics are no longer recorded for just Great Ryburgh and are instead collected just for Ryburgh as a whole.

The River Wensum flows through the village.

St. Andrew's Church Great Ryburgh's church is dedicated to Saint Andrew and is one of Norfolk's 124 remaining round-tower churches, dating from the Eleventh Century. St. Andrew's is located within the village on Mill Road and has been Grade II listed since 1959. The church is open sometimes for Sunday services and is part of the Upper Wensum Benefice.

The church was restored in the 1910s by Sir Ninian Comper and had stained-glass windows designed by William Wailes.

Amenities The Blue Boar Inn has stood in Great Ryburgh since 1789 and remains open for food and accommodation.

Governance Ryburgh is a civil parish within the district of North Norfolk. Local matters are administered by Ryburgh Parish Council, which represents both Great Ryburgh and Little Ryburgh. The council is responsible for managing local assets, including public spaces and noticeboards, providing input on planning applications, and representing the interests of the community to district and county authorities.

Great Ryburgh is part of the electoral ward of Stibbard for local elections and is part of the district of North Norfolk.

The village's national constituency is Broadland and Fakenham which has been represented by the Conservative Party's Jerome Mayhew MP since 2019.

War Memorial Great Ryburgh War Memorial is a granite pillar surrounded by a flint and brick enclosure which was funded by public donations in 1920. The memorial lists the following names for the First World War: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/CommemorationSgt.Charles Cremer44th Bde., Royal Field Artillery1 Nov. 1914Menin GateSgt.Joseph C. Howman21st (1st Surrey) Bn., London Regt.8 Oct. 1916Thiepval MemorialC1CGeorge H. BondHMS Hampshire5 Jun. 1916Portsmouth MemorialCpl.Percy H. Neale1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment23 Apr. 1917Villers Station CemeteryPte.Cecil S. Kail31st M.A.C., Army Service Corps1 Nov. 1918Douai British CemeteryPte.Walter F. Fenn2nd Bn., Border Regiment30 Mar. 1917Arras MemorialPte.Herbert A. Chastney1st Bn., Essex Regiment2 Mar. 1917Thiepval MemorialPte.Harold D. P. Comer1st Bn., Essex Regt.13 Aug. 1915Helles MemorialPte.Ernest A. Nelson10th Bn., Essex Regt.21 Sep. 1918Unicorn CemeteryPte.John F. Bacon11th Bn., Essex Regt.18 Apr. 1918Niederzwehren CemeteryPte.Albert Green1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment1 Aug. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.Frederick Green1st Bn., Norfolk Regt.27 Jul. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.Ernest Thompson1st Bn., Norfolk Regt.24 May 1915Menin GatePte.Charles T. Steward2nd Bn., Norfolk Regt.28 Sep. 1917North Gate CemeteryPte.Stanley E. Curson4th Bn., Norfolk Regt.19 Apr. 1917Jerusalem MemorialPte.William Doy8th Bn., Norfolk Regt.22 Oct. 1917Tyne CotPte.Everart B. Hipkin8th Bn., Norfolk Regt.2 Nov. 1916Courcelette MemorialPte.Richard R. Platten9th Bn., Norfolk Regt.8 Oct. 1918High Tree CemeteryPte.Frederick W. Baldwin1st Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment9 Sep. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.Robert W. Baker2nd Bn., Northamptonshire Regt.4 Mar. 1917Thiepval MemorialPte.Frederick J. Bone6th Bn., Queen's Royal Regiment10 May 1917Étaples CemeteryPte.Edmund W. Betts19th Bn., Royal Welch Fusiliers23 Nov. 1917Cambrai MemorialPte.Harry V. Chilvers13th Bn., Welch Regiment27 Aug. 1918Vis-en-Artois MemorialPte.John Betts8th Bn., York and Lancaster Regiment12 Oct. 1917Tyne Cot The following names were added after the Second World War: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/CommemorationCpl.Terrence Tatham2nd (Selangor) Bn., Malayan Volunteers7 Feb. 1942Kranji War CemeteryLACCecil R. MattlessRoyal Air Force8 Oct. 1943Bath CemeteryA2CDavid J. NelsonRoyal Air Force Volunteer Reserve11 Mar. 1944Little Ryburgh CemeteryPte.Albert J. WhitesideRoyal Army Ordnance Corps26 Apr. 1941Phalerum Cemetery The following name was added after the Korean War: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/CommemorationPte.Noel A. HaynesRoyal Norfolk Regiment24 Jul. 1952UN Memorial Cemetery

References

External links Ryburgh Parish Council – official website

St Andrew's on the European Round Tower Churches Website St Andrew's Church website with extensive local history Extensive history and photographs of Gt Ryburgh watermill History of Southmylle - Gt Ryburgh's early watermill Brief history of Gt Ryburgh's windmill