Norfolk is a ceremonial county in the East of England, forming the northern half of East Anglia. It covers 2,079 square miles (5,384 km2) and had an estimated 918,500 residents in 2021, up from 859,426 at the 2011 census.
Norwich is the county town and the only city. The rest of Norfolk is farmland, heath, marsh and small market towns, with a 90-mile coast running from The Wash round to the Suffolk border. The Broads, in the east, form the largest protected wetland in Britain.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | East of England |
| Area | 2,079 sq mi (5,384 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 918,462 (ONS estimate) |
| Population (2011 census) | 859,426 |
| Density | 171 people per km2 |
| County town | Norwich |
| Districts | 7 |
| Highest point | Beacon Hill, West Runton, 105 m |
| Postcode areas | NR, with PE in the west and IP in the south |
The seven districts are Breckland, Broadland, Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Norwich and South Norfolk. All sit under Norfolk County Council.
Towns and Villages in Norfolk
The GeoNames gazetteer records 926 named settlements in Norfolk, one of the highest counts of any English county. The list below covers the 219 towns and larger villages with a recorded population; the remainder are hamlets, greens and single-farm settlements.
- Acle
- Alburgh
- Alpington
- Ashill
- Ashwellthorpe
- Attleborough
- Aylmerton
- Aylsham
- Banham
- Bawdeswell
- Beachamwell
- Beeston
- Beetley
- Blackborough End
- Bowthorpe
- Bradwell
- Brampton
- Brancaster
- Brancaster Staithe
- Briston
- Brooke
- Brundall
- Bunwell
- Burgh St Peter
- Burnham Market
- Burston
- Buxton
- Caister-on-Sea
- Caistor Saint Edmunds
- Cantley
- Carbrooke
- Castle Acre
- Castle Rising
- Caston
- Catfield
- Cawston
- Clenchwarton
- Cley next the Sea
- Colkirk
- Coltishall
- Corpusty
- Costessey
- Cringleford
- Cromer
- Croxton
- Dersingham
- Dickleburgh
- Diss
- Ditchingham
- Docking
- Downham Market
- Earsham
- East Dereham
- East Harling
- East Rudham
- East Winch
- Ellingham
- Emneth
- Erpingham
- Fakenham
- Feltwell
- Filby
- Fincham
- Flitcham
- Foulden
- Foulsham
- Freethorpe
- Garboldisham
- Geldeston
- Gimingham
- Gooderstone
- Gorleston-on-Sea
- Great Bircham
- Great Cressingham
- Great Ellingham
- Great Massingham
- Great Ryburgh
- Great Snoring
- Great Yarmouth
- Grimston
- Griston
- Haddiscoe
- Hainford
- Hales
- Halvergate
- Happisburgh
- Harleston
- Heacham
- Hempnall
- Hemsby
- Hethersett
- Hevingham
- Hilgay
- Hindolveston
- Hindringham
- Hingham
- Hockwold cum Wilton
- Holme Hale
- Holme next the Sea
- Holt
- Honingham
- Hopton
- Horning
- Horsford
- Hoveton
- Hunstanton
- Ingoldisthorpe
- Kelling
- Kenninghall
- King's Lynn
- Knapton
- Lenwade
- Lingwood
- Litcham
- Little Plumstead
- Little Walsingham
- Loddon
- Long Stratton
- Ludham
- Lyng
- Marham
- Marsham
- Martham
- Mattishall
- Merton
- Methwold
- Mileham
- Mulbarton
- Mundesley
- Mundford
- Narborough
- Necton
- Needham
- Nordelph
- North Creake
- North Elmham
- North Lopham
- North Pickenham
- North Runcton
- North Walsham
- North Wootton
- Northrepps
- Northwold
- Norwich
- Old Buckenham
- Ormesby St Margaret
- Outwell
- Overstrand
- Paston
- Poringland
- Postwick
- Potter Heigham
- Pulham Market
- Pulham St Mary
- Rackheath
- Reedham
- Reepham
- Ringstead
- Rollesby
- Roughton
- Runcton Holme
- Salhouse
- Salthouse
- Saxlingham Nethergate
- Scole
- Sculthorpe
- Sea Palling
- Sedgeford
- Seething
- Shelfanger
- Sheringham
- Shipdham
- Shouldham
- Shropham
- Snettisham
- South Creake
- South Walsham
- Southery
- Spixworth
- Sporle
- St Olaves
- Stalham
- Stanhoe
- Stoke Ferry
- Stoke Holy Cross
- Stowbridge
- Surlingham
- Swaffham
- Swardeston
- Terrington Saint John
- Terrington St Clement
- Thetford
- Thompson
- Thornham
- Thurlton
- Thurton
- Tivetshall St Margaret
- Trimingham
- Trunch
- Upton
- Upwell
- Wacton
- Warham
- Watton
- Weeting
- Wells-next-the-Sea
- Welney
- Wereham
- West Dereham
- West Runton
- West Walton
- Weybourne
- Whissonsett
- Wighton
- Wimbotsham
- Winfarthing
- Woodton
- Yaxham
- Yelverton
Geography
Norfolk is low and broad. Nothing in the county rises above 105 metres, at Beacon Hill near West Runton, and much of the west and east lies within a few metres of sea level.
The Broads are the county’s defining landscape: about 125 miles of navigable lakes and rivers on the Bure, Yare and Waveney, formed by flooded medieval peat diggings and given a status equivalent to a national park in 1989.
Breckland, in the south-west, is dry sandy heath and pine belt, one of the few semi-arid habitats in Britain and now largely under Thetford Forest. The far west is Fenland, drained and arable, running to the Great Ouse and The Wash. The north coast is a barrier of shingle spits, saltmarsh and dunes at Blakeney, Scolt Head and Holkham, heavily used by migrating birds.
Neighbours are Lincolnshire across The Wash, Cambridgeshire to the west and Suffolk to the south, mostly along the River Waveney and the Little Ouse.
Demographics
The 2011 census counted 859,426 residents. ONS estimated 918,462 by mid-2021, growth of about 7% driven mainly by inward migration from elsewhere in England.
Norwich’s built-up area held 200,752 people at the 2021 census, taking in Thorpe St Andrew, Sprowston, Hellesdon and Costessey. Great Yarmouth is next, then King’s Lynn at about 46,000 and Thetford at about 25,000. Dereham, Wymondham, North Walsham, Attleborough, Downham Market and Diss are the main market towns.
Density is 171 people per square kilometre, well below the English average. North Norfolk has one of the oldest age profiles of any district in England, with retirement moves to the coast and villages a long-running pattern.
Economy and Local Life
Agriculture remains central. Norfolk grows sugar beet, malting barley, wheat and potatoes on its heavy loams, and processes them locally at the Cantley and Wissington beet factories. Poultry and pig production are concentrated in the centre and south of the county.
Great Yarmouth has been an energy port since southern North Sea gas came ashore in the 1960s. It now services offshore wind farms, including the Scroby Sands and East Anglia arrays, and the harbour has been rebuilt for turbine components.
Norwich carries the service economy. Aviva traces its roots to the Norwich Union, founded in the city in 1797, and remains one of the largest employers. Norwich Research Park brings together the University of East Anglia, the John Innes Centre and the Quadram Institute in plant science and food research. Lotus has built cars at Hethel since 1966.
Tourism is worth several hundred million pounds a year. Broads boating, the north coast villages, Sandringham and the resorts at Great Yarmouth, Cromer and Hunstanton carry most of it. Cromer crab is landed by a small inshore fleet working from the beach.
History
Norfolk was the territory of the Iceni, whose queen Boudica led the revolt against Roman rule in AD 60 or 61. The Roman town of Venta Icenorum, at Caistor St Edmund south of Norwich, was built afterwards and its walls still stand.
The county takes its name from the north folk of the East Angles, as Suffolk takes its from the south folk. Medieval Norfolk was among the wealthiest and most densely settled parts of England on the back of the wool and worsted trade. The cloth is named after the village of Worstead. Norwich was the second largest city in England for much of that period and has 31 surviving medieval churches.
Kett’s Rebellion of 1549 began at Wymondham over enclosure of common land and ended with the defeat of a rebel camp on Mousehold Heath. From 1565 the city took in Dutch and Walloon Protestant weavers, known locally as the Strangers, who revived the cloth trade.
Horatio Nelson was born at Burnham Thorpe in 1758. In the Second World War Norfolk’s flat land carried dozens of bomber airfields for the RAF and the US Eighth Air Force. The North Sea flood of 31 January 1953 killed around 100 people on the Norfolk coast and led to the modern sea defences.
Getting There
Norfolk has no motorway. The A11 runs from Cambridge and the M11 to Norwich and was fully dualled in 2014. The A47 crosses the county from King’s Lynn through Dereham and Norwich to Great Yarmouth, and the A17, A140, A146 and A149 carry the rest.
Greater Anglia runs trains from Norwich to London Liverpool Street in about an hour and 50 minutes. The Breckland line connects Norwich to Thetford, Ely and Cambridge, the Bittern Line runs north to Cromer and Sheringham, and the Wherry Lines run east to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. King’s Lynn has direct trains to London King’s Cross via Cambridge.
Norwich Airport has scheduled flights to Amsterdam and domestic destinations, and handles North Sea helicopter traffic. Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn are working ports.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the largest town in Norfolk?
Norwich, with 200,752 people in its built-up area at the 2021 census. Great Yarmouth is the largest outside the city, followed by King’s Lynn at about 46,000.
How many towns and villages are there in Norfolk?
The GeoNames gazetteer lists 926 named settlements, of which 219 have a recorded population. Norfolk has more separate villages than almost any other English county.
What are the Norfolk Broads?
About 125 miles of navigable lakes and rivers in the east of the county, created by flooded medieval peat workings and protected since 1989 with a status equivalent to a national park.
Which postcode areas cover Norfolk?
NR for most of the county, PE in the west around King’s Lynn, and IP along the Suffolk border.
Which counties border Norfolk?
Suffolk to the south, Cambridgeshire to the west, and Lincolnshire across The Wash.
Is there a motorway in Norfolk?
No. The nearest motorway is the M11, which ends at Cambridge. The dualled A11 is the main route into the county.