Hoveton
Hoveton (pronounced /ˈhÉ'ftÉ™n/) is a
village and
civil parish in the
English county of
Norfolk. It is located within
the Norfolk Broads, and immediately across the
River Bure from the town of
Wroxham. Whilst Hoveton is north of the river, Wroxham is south; but many people refer to the whole settlement as "Wroxham".
[Ordnance Survey (2005). OS Explorer Map OL40 - The Broads. ISBN 0319237699.] The civil parish has an area of
10.2 km² and in the
2001 census had a population of 1804 in 873 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the
district of
North Norfolk.
[Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Retrieved December 2, 2005.]Hoveton is served by
Hoveton and Wroxham railway station, which is on the
Bittern Line from
Norwich to
Cromer and
Sheringham, and which is the terminus of the
narrow gauge Bure Valley Railway to
Aylsham. The station was originally intended to be on the Wroxham side of the river, but there was a change of mind and the station is sited in Hoveton, which led to the station being named as just "Wroxham" for many years. Locals and regular visitors still refer to it as such, and this can lead to some confusion when purchasing tickets in other parts of the country, and can lead to being sold a ticket to Wrexham.
Hoveton has two churches, St. Peter and St. John. Roy's of Wroxham, dubbed
the world's largest village store, was founded in Hoveton by Alfred Roy in
1895. Roys includes a department store, a supermarket, a boutique, a garden centre, a toy shop, a garden centre, a DIY store, a discount shop and associated elements.It has a High School - Broadland High School - which has recently gained specialist school status for Mathematics and Computing.
Hoveton Hall is a 19th century building attributed to
Humphry Repton. Although the house is not open to the public, its gardens are a popular tourist attraction. One of the smaller broads,
Bridge Broad, is in Hoveton, and
Hoveton Great Broad and
Hoveton Little Broad carry the village's name.
The
Norfolk landscape painter
John Crome, an associate of
John Sell Cotman and others of the
Norwich school, made an etching of Hoveton in
1812.
.
