Facts about Thorpe St Andrew
General Info
Thorpe St Andrew is a small town and suburb of Norwich in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated about two miles east of the city centre, outside the city boundary in the district of Broadland. It constitutes a civil parish covering an area of 705 ha (1,740 acres) which had a population of 13,762 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 14,556 at the 2011 Census. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Broadland district council.
History
Thorpe is in the Domesday Book, in which it is spelt ‘Torp’, which is a Scandinavian word meaning village. It is thought that the Danes were in East Anglia as early as 870 AD and in 1004 Sweyn and his ships came up the river to Norwich. There is also evidence that Thorpe was occupied by the Romans with the discovery of various remains. The earliest references found that relate to the parish are under the names of ‘Thorpe Episcopi’ and ‘Thorpe-next-Norwich’. In later years, it has been known as ‘Thorpe St Andrew’. The Norfolk County Asylum was established in the village in May 1814.
East Anglia’s worst rail crash happened at Thorpe St Andrew in 1874, killing 25 people and injuring 75. Parts of the original village can still be seen along the Yarmouth Road leading out of Norwich. Features here include St Andrews parish church, the former parish infants school, the Rivergarden public house and the multi-gabled Buck public house.
