The Millennium Booklet

This booklet has been produced to mark the Millennium in Thorpe Morieux by the Local History Group.

It was started in September 1998, when a group of villagers got together at Newsons Farm to discuss the setting up of a local history group to research the history of the village. It was at that very first meeting that the idea of recording the village as it is now was proposed. The project gained momentum when the Parish Council endorsed it as their millennium project and made a generous donation towards the costs. This was then followed by support from the Parochial Church Council and the Village Hall Committee. Suddenly, what had started off as a small project took on a life of its own and we set up a "steering group" to help manage it. The project had a real boost when we were awarded a Millennium Festival Awards for All grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in September 1999.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate. Much of the detailed information has been presented as graphs, for example, comparing the age profile, employment patterns and housing tenure with a survey conducted in 1980 and, where we have the information, 100 years earlier in 1881.

Extensive amounts of photography was employed to capture the village using a digital camera.

All sections of the community are covered in the booklet including the church, village hall, the pub and the school, although sadly closed. We have also included details of all the organisations and clubs active in the village at the time of 1999. We have also included record of the flora and fauna of the village together with details of the farming activity.

A very big "thank you" to everyone who participated and we hope that you enjoy reading this booklet and that it will prove a memorable record of the Millennium. Also, a big "thank you" to all those who made this possible through making donations - in addition to those listed earlier, our thanks go to Old Buckenham Hall School, Strutt & Parker ( Farms ) Ltd and The Bull.

A copy is available from the secretary by initially sending an email to

localhistory@thorpe-morieux.org.uk