Discover Great Witchingham

Great Witchingham offers buildings with a range of architectural features and a landscape shaped by the River Wensum. This gives you several specific points to consider when planning your stay: the Church of St Mary parish church, Eade’s Mill and Mill House, the south front of Great Witchingham Hall, or the river and gravel-pit area of Great Witchingham Common. There is also the Ten Towers Trail to the church, as well as fishing opportunities with special access requirements. This means you can decide whether architectural history, landscape or fishing is most important to your travel plans.

Church, Mill and Architecture

The Church of St Mary is a Grade I listed parish church; its fabric dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. Its listing, function and construction period each offer different clues for understanding the building. If you would like to combine a church visit with a route, the Ten Towers Trail leads to Great Witchingham Church.

Eade’s Mill and Mill House is an 18th-century watermill with an attached miller’s house. The mill and the miller’s house are architecturally connected here: this is not just a single mill building, but one that also includes the house directly attached to it. In terms of their described function and construction period, this complex is therefore clearly distinct from the parish church.

The south front is the specific architectural feature of interest at Great Witchingham Hall. Its features include a Tudor porch, mullioned and transomed windows, stepped gables and battlemented parapets. These terms refer to different parts of the façade: the porch projects from the entrance, mullions and transoms divide the windows, the stepped gable has a tiered outline, and the parapet has a battlement-like finish. Those interested in architectural forms can use these details to distinguish the individual elements of the south front.

Great Witchingham Common and the River Wensum

Great Witchingham Common, also known as Charity Lakes, is an area of old, flooded gravel pits on the River Wensum. The site includes three gravel pits surrounded by deciduous trees, an area of scrub, alder carr and approximately half a mile of the river. The landscape therefore comprises more than just the expanses of water: woodland, wetland and a stretch of river are also part of the area. It is managed as a fishery by the Great Witchingham Fuel Allotment Charity.

Planning for Fishing and Access

Special conditions apply to fishing. Great Witchingham Common is not open to the public as a fishery; an annual permit can be purchased for a fee. Charity Lakes Fishery offers its members fishing opportunities on three lakes and along half a mile of the River Wensum. If fishing is a deciding factor for your trip, check the applicable access and membership requirements in advance. Permit and usage terms may change.

The local highlights can therefore be given different emphasis: the church, mill and hall represent buildings and architecture, while the Common and the Wensum add a landscape dimension. When looking for a hotel in Great Witchingham, you can use these highlights as a starting point for planning your trip; for a fishing stay, you should also check the applicable access requirements.

Discover more destinations: Heacham, Attleborough, Downham Market, Tuttington, Snettisham, Bacton, Brooke, Great Snoring

For the wider travel guide: Norfolk.