English town in Norfolk
Human settlement in England
Diss
is a
market town
and
electoral ward
in
South Norfolk
, England, near the boundary with
Suffolk
, with a population of 7,572 in 2011.
[1]
Diss railway station
is on the
Great Eastern Main Line
between
London
and
Norwich
. It lies in the valley of the
River Waveney
, round a
mere
covering 6 acres (2.4 ha) and up to 18 feet (5.5 m) deep, although there is another 51 feet (16 m) of mud.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The town's name originates from
dic
, an
Anglo-Saxon
word meaning ditch or embankment.
[3]
Diss has several historic buildings, including an early 14th-century
parish church
and an 1850s
Corn Hall
, which is still in use.
[4]
Under
Edward the Confessor
, Diss was part of the
Hartismere hundred
of
Suffolk
, It was recorded as such in the 1086
Domesday book
. It is recorded as being in the king's possession as
demesne
(direct ownership) of the Crown, there being at that time a church and a
glebe
of 24 acres (9.7 ha).
This was thought to be worth £15
per annum
, which had doubled by the time of
William the Conqueror
to £30, with the benefit of the whole hundred and half belonging to it. It was then found to be a
league
long, around 3 miles (5 km) and half that distance wide, and paid 4
d.
in
Danegeld
. From this it appears that it was still relatively small, but it soon grew, when it subsumed Watlingsete Manor, a neighbouring area as large as Diss, and seemingly more populated according to the geld or tax that it paid. The town includes part of Heywode, as appears from its joining to Burston, into which the manor extended.
[5]
Diss was granted by King
Henry I
to Richard de Lucy, some time before 1135. The
Testa de Neville
finds it not known whether Diss was rendered to Richard de Lucy as an inheritance or for his service, but adds it was doubtless for the latter. Richard de Lucy become Chief Justiciar to
King Stephen
and
Henry II
.
In 1152, Richard de Lucy received the right to hold a market in Diss, and before 1161 he gave a third of a hundred of Diss (Heywood or Hewode) together with the market in frank marriage with his daughter Dionisia to Sir Robert de Mountenay. After Richard de Lucy's death in 1179, the inheritance of the other two parts of Diss hundred passed to his daughter Maud, who married Walter FitzRobert.
[6]
The whole estate later fell to the Lordship of the FitzWalters, who were raised to
Baron FitzWalter
in 1295. In 1299, the then Lord FitzWalter obtained a charter of confirmation for a fair every year at his manor of Diss, to be held around the feast day of Saint Simon and Jude (28 October) and several days after. A grant made in 1298 to William Partekyn of Prilleston (now
Billingford
) presented for homage and half a mark of silver two homesteads in Diss, with liberty of washing his wool and cloths in Diss Meer. This came on the express condition that the gross dye be washed off first. It seems that Diss Church was built by the same Lord, as his arms appear in the stone of the south porch of the church several times.
[5]
Soon after the
Battle of Agincourt
in 1415,
Edward Plantagenet
, Duke of York and Earl of Rutland, came to hold Diss manor, hundred and market, together with Hemenhale, and the title of Lord FitzWalter became attached to the estate. It was part of a larger estate that included Hemenhale and Diss manors, with the hundred of Diss in Norfolk, the manors of
Shimpling
and Thorne in Suffolk, of Wodeham-Walter (now
Woodham Walter
),
Henham
, Leiden (now part of
Leaden Roding
),
Vitring
, Dunmow Parva (now
Little Dunmow
), Burnham (possibly the modern village of
Burnham-on-Crouch
),
Winbush
, and Shering (now
Sheering
) in Essex. Shortly afterwards, the estate was acquired by the Ratcliffe family, which inherited the title of Baron FitzWalter. The family owned the land until at least 1732, styling themselves Viscounts FitzWalter.
[5]
John Skelton
, tutor and court poet to
Henry VIII
, was appointed
rector
at St. Mary's Church in Diss in about 1503. He retained the
benefice
until his death. Events there formed the subject of some of his poems, such as the humorous invective "Ware the Hauke", in which another priest goes
falconing
in St Mary's, barring the doors against him and causing chaos in the church.
[7]
Opposite the 14th-century parish Church of St Mary the Virgin stands a 16th-century building known as the Dolphin House. This was one of the town's major buildings, as its impressive dressed-oak beams denote. It may have been a wool merchant's house. Formerly a pub, the
Dolphin
, from the 1800s to the 1960s, the building now houses some small businesses.
[8]
Next to Dolphin House is the town's market place, the town's geographical and social centre. The market is held every Friday (except
Good Friday
and other holidays, when it is rescheduled to Thursday): a variety of local traders sell fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and cheeses. It was first granted a charter by
Richard the Lionheart
. The town's post office and main shopping street, Mere Street, are also near the marketplace, and
Diss Town Hall
is located nearby on Market Hill.
[9]
Early in 1871, alterations at a house in Mount Street about 100 yards (100 m) north of the parish church led workmen to remove the brick flooring of a ground-floor room and insert the joists of a boarded floor. They found in the centre, some 18 inches (50 cm) from the surface, a hoard of over 300 coins, all silver but for two gold nobles.
[10]
From 1927 until 1982, Cambridge businessman Jack Baldry and his son Derek operated a factory in the town that produced
soda water
,
lemonade
and
cola
for the pubs of
East Anglia
.
[11]
Baldry also owned
soft drinks
factories in
Cambridge
and
Sawston
[12]
[13]
The old brewery in Diss that Jack converted into a soda factory is still known locally as Baldry's Yard.
[14]
The
100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum
is located 4.5 mi (7.2 km) east of Diss at the former
RAF Thorpe Abbotts
airfield.
[15]
In March 2006, Diss became the third UK town to join
Cittaslow
, an international body promoting a concept of "Slow Towns".
[16]
However, it has since withdrawn.
[17]
A railway journey from London to Diss forms the subject of a poem by Sir
John Betjeman
: "A Mind's Journey to Diss". He also made a short documentary film in 1964, entitled
Something about Diss
.
[18]
Religion
[
edit
]
Diss has at least nine places of worship. They include the 13th-century
Anglican
parish church,
[19]
the
Catholic
(
St Henry Morse
), and
Methodist
,
Baptist
and community churches.
[20]
Media
[
edit
]
Local news and television programmes are provided by
BBC East
and
ITV Anglia
. Television signals are received from the
Tacolneston
TV transmitter.
[21]
Local radio stations are
BBC Radio Norfolk
on 95.1 FM,
Heart East
on 102.4 FM,
Greatest Hits Radio Norfolk & North Suffolk
on 99.9 FM and Park Radio, a community radio station that broadcasts on 107.6 FM.
[22]
The town's two local newspapers are the
Diss Express
and the
Diss Mercury
.
[23]
[24]
Sport and activities
[
edit
]
The town's sporting clubs include
Diss Town Football Club
, and Diss RFC, based in nearby
Roydon
. Diss has produced national and international sports stars, three footballers (see
Notable people
), and the Great Britain judo team member Colin Oates, who attended Diss High School. The town has a squadron of
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
and a squadron of Army Cadets.
[25]
[26]
Notable people
[
edit
]
In order of birth:
- John Skelton
(c. 1463?1529), poet, is thought to have been born here.
[27]
- Thomas Jenkinson Woodward
(1745?1820), botanist, died here.
[28]
- Thomas Lord
(1755?1832), founder of
Lord's Cricket Ground
, spent childhood here.
- William Richard Basham
(1804?1877), medical specialist in
dropsy
and
renal disease
, was born here.
[29]
- John Goldworth Alger
(1836?1907), journalist and writer on the French Revolution, was born here.
[30]
- James Bickerton Fisher
(1843?1910), solicitor and member of the
New Zealand House of Representatives
, was born here.
[31]
- Catherine Engelhart Amyot
(1845?1926), Danish portrait and genre painter, had three children born here (Thomas in 1879, Catherine Florence in 1880 and Noel Ethel in 1882).
[32]
- Ethel Le Neve
(1883?1967), mistress of the wife-murderer
Hawley Harvey Crippen
, was born here.
[33]
- Elsie Vera Cole
(1885?1967), painter and engraver, died here.
[34]
- Doreen Wallace
(1897?1989), novelist and agricultural writer, taught here in the 1920s and returned for her last eleven years.
[35]
- Mary Wilson
(1916?2018),
centenarian
wife of Prime Minister
Harold Wilson
, was born here.
[36]
- Mervyn Cawston
(born 1952), professional football goalkeeper, was born here.
[37]
- Matthew Upson
(born 1979), professional footballer for
Arsenal F.C.
and England, attended
Diss High School
.
[38]
- Declan Rudd
(born 1991), professional football goalkeeper, was born here.
[39]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Town and Ward population 2011"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
5 September
2015
.
- ^
"A HIGH-RESOLUTION RECORD OF MIDHOLOCENE CLIMATE CHANGE FROM DISS MERE, UK"
(PDF)
. Department of Earth Sciences, University College London. March 2005.
- ^
E. Ekwall, 1940.
The Concise Dictionary of English Place-names
, 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; pp. 137 and 139
- ^
Heritage Fund. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^
a
b
c
Blomefield, Francis
(c. 1736).
History of Norfolk
. London (published 1805?1810).
- ^
An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk
: Volume 1. W. Miller, 1805.
- ^
Skelton, John (1983). Scattergood, John (ed.).
John Skelton: The Complete English Poems
.
- ^
Historic England
. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^
Historic England
.
"11 and 12, Market Hill (1170035)"
.
National Heritage List for England
. Retrieved
27 April
2024
.
- ^
"Coin Hoard Article"
. Detecting.merseyblogs.co.uk. 15 February 2007. Archived from
the original
on 13 May 2008
. Retrieved
30 November
2009
.
- ^
"Fanny Baldry; Richard Baldry ? Mill Road Cemetery"
.
millroadcemetery.org.uk
.
- ^
"Cambridge PUBS Chronicle"
. 11 February 2018 – via Internet Archive.
- ^
"Feb 26 ? On this day in Cambridgeshire history"
.
InYourArea.co.uk
. 26 February 2021.
- ^
"Baldry's Yard"
. 4 May 2020.
- ^
"100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum"
.
Norfolk Heritage
. Archived from
the original
on 21 March 2012
. Retrieved
27 January
2012
.
- ^
Cittaslow, 2006.
Diss becomes Cittaslow
Archived
5 October 2006 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
Diss Town Council website
Cittaslow
.
- ^
"John Betjeman: Something About Diss (Norfolk) Part 1"
.
YouTube
.
- ^
History on team ministry site
Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^
Yell Business. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^
"Full Freeview on the Tacolneston (Norfolk, England) transmitter"
.
UK Free TV
. 1 May 2004
. Retrieved
17 October
2023
.
- ^
"Park Radio"
. Retrieved
17 October
2023
.
- ^
"Diss Express"
.
British Papers
. 17 July 2013
. Retrieved
17 October
2023
.
- ^
"Diss Mercury"
.
British Papers
. 12 July 2014
. Retrieved
17 October
2023
.
- ^
"One Suffolk"
.
www.onesuffolk.net
.
- ^
"Detachments in Norfolk ACF"
.
armycadets.com
. Archived from
the original
on 17 November 2018.
- ^
Ward, A.W.; Waller, A.R., eds. (1907?21).
"Phyllyp Sparowe" The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
. Vol. III. Renascence and Reformation – via Bartleby.com.
- ^
"Woodward, Thomas Jenkinson"
.
Dictionary of National Biography
. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885?1900.
- ^
[
"Basham, William Richard"
.
Dictionary of National Biography
. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885?1900.
- ^
"Alger, Mary Jemima (1838?1894), headmistress"
.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/52730
. Retrieved
9 July
2020
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- ^
"Obituary"
.
Lyttelton Times
. Vol. CXXI, no. 15211. 24 January 1910. p. 7
. Retrieved
9 March
2019
.
- ^
Weilbach, Philip (1877).
Dansk Konstnerlexikon, indeholdende korte Levnedstegnelser over Konstnefe, som indtil Udgangen af 1876 have levet... i Danmark eller den danske Stat
. Host og Son. pp. 153?.
- ^
"Ethel Le Neve alias Mrs Crippen, and Neave"
.
Dr Crippen
. Archived from
the original
on 29 October 2013
. Retrieved
27 October
2013
.
- ^
Wilkes, Roger (30 January 2002).
"Inside story: last refuge for a killer's mistress"
.
The Daily Telegraph
.
London
.
ISSN
0307-1235
.
OCLC
49632006
. Archived from
the original
on 24 December 2017.
- ^
Norfolk Women in History
Retrieved 17 September 2018
.
- ^
Langdon, Julia (7 June 2018).
"Mary Wilson obituary"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
9 June
2018
.
- ^
Diss, Norfolk
at the English National Football Archive
(subscription required)
Diss, Norfolk
at Post War English & Scottish Football League A?Z Player's Transfer Database
- ^
Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010).
The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010?11
. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 417.
ISBN
978-1-84596-601-0
.
- ^
"Player profile"
. Norwich City F.C. Archived from
the original
on 1 February 2009
. Retrieved
11 February
2009
.
External links
[
edit
]
- Diss Town Council
? official town council website
- Norfolk: Diss
GENUKI Norfolk transcript from
History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk
, William White, 1845
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for
Diss
.
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