Woodton

Woodton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of the Suffolk town of Bungay, and 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of 3.42 sq mi (8.85 km2) and in the 2001 census had a population of 472 in 194 households, increasing to 482 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of South Norfolk. The village's name indicates a settlement in the woods (wudu, 'woods' + tun 'enclosure, settlement, farm'). Over the years, different variants of the name have been used, including Wdetuna, Wodetuna, Wodetone, Wudetuna, Uidetuna and Wootton. Several Bronze Age ring ditches dating from between the 23rd century BC and the 7th century BC have been identified in the area. In 1575, Robert Suckling became Lord of the whole of Woodton. Various members of the Suckling family lived in the parish, including John Suckling (poet) and Catherine Suckling (the mother of Horatio Nelson). The Sucklings were lord of the manor until 1810. The Woodton sanctuary has a portrait of Nelson's great-great-grandmother, Ann Suckling (d. 1653), which is "beautifully and sensitively sculpted". Wootton Hall was built in 1694 and in 1862 was listed as the seat of Robert Suckling and his wife Sarah Shelton; it was demolished in 1841–2.