Brisley

Brisley
Brisley Village Sign
Brisley Location within Norfolk
Area	4.90 km2 (1.89 sq mi)
Population	296 (2021)
• Density	60/km2 (160/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TF950214
District	Breckland
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DEREHAM
Postcode district	NR20
Dialling code	01362
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Mid Norfolk
Website	http://www.brisleyvillage.co.uk/
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°45′18″N 0°53′17″E / 52.75501°N 0.88813°E / 52.75501; 0.88813

Brisley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.

Brisley is located 5.7 miles (9.2 km) north of Dereham and 19 miles (31 km) north-west of Norwich.

Brisley's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a glade or clearing with a multitude of gadflies.^[1]

Brisley is not mentioned in the Domesday Book.^[2]

There are numerous listed buildings in Brisley including Walnut House (Seventeenth Century),^[3] Chesham House (c.1800)^[4] with an attached carriage gate and railings,^[5] Rose Cottage (Seventeenth Century),^[6] Brisley Hall (Seventeenth Century)^[7] and the Church Bungalows (Nineteenth Century).^[8]

In 1898, a Methodist Chapel was built in Brisley. Today it has been converted into a private dwelling.^[9]

In 1942, a Bristol Blenheim of No. 84 Squadron RAF crashed in the village pond after a raid on Cologne during the Operation Millenium. All three crewmembers were killed (P/O John Rappsloe, Sgt. Michael Beaufort and Sgt. Leslie Harrowell) and a small memorial was erected in their honour.^[10]

According to the 2021 census, Brisley has a population of 296 people which shows a slight increase from the 281 people recorded in the 2011 census.^[11]

The junction between the B1145, between King's Lynn and Mundesley, and the B1146, between Fakenham and Dereham, is located in the village.

Amenities within the village include The Brisly Bell, a pub, restaurant and inn.^[12]

Brisley's parish church is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew and is located on Church Street, it dates at its earliest from the Fifteenth Century.^[13] St. Bartholomew's was built in the perpendicular gothic style and still features ecclesiastical wall paintings of Saint Andrew and Saint Christopher. The church also boasts a set of royal arms from the reign of King George II and a stained-glass depiction of the crucifixion of Christ designed by Charles Clutterbuck. The crypt of the church was used as a holding cell for prisoners on their way to Norwich.^[14]

• Richard Taverner- (1505-1575) author and religious dissenter, born in Brisley.
• Nathaniel Pilch- (1793-1881) Norfolk Cricketer, born in Brisley.
• Fuller Pilch- (1804-1870) Norfolk and Kent Cricketer, grew-up in Brisley.
• George Englebright- (1805-1877) Norfolk Cricketer, died in Brisley.
• Edward Ash- (1842-1909) schoolmaster and Cambridge University Cricketer, born in Brisley.

Brisley has a functioning cricket club who play home games on the village green. They have a men's and women's team as of 2022.^[15]

Brisley is part of the electoral ward of Upper Wensum for local elections and is part of the district of Breckland.

The village's national constituency is Mid Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's George Freeman since 2010.

Brisley's war memorial is a granite stone cross located in St. Bartholomew's Churchyard. It lists the following names for the First World War:^[16]

And, the following for the Second World War: