In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Cowholme like this:
HOLME, or Cowholme, a hamlet in Horning parish, Norfolk; 6½ miles N by W of Acle. A hermitage was founded here in 800, and burnt by the Danes. A mitred Benedictine abbey was built on the site of the hermitage in 1020, by Canute; and was, by act of parliament, given, at the Reformation, to the Bishops of Norwich. ...
The abbey was so strongly fortified as to resemble a castle; it resisted the attacks of the Norman conqueror, till betrayed by one of its monks; it was greatly enriched, after the Conquest, by several royal benefactors; and, ever since its possession by the bishops of Norwich, it has entitled them to sit in parliament as lords of its barony, -so that their seat there is held by a double tenure. Only small traces of it now exist.
Cowholme through time
Cowholme is now part of North Norfolk district. Click here for graphs and data of how North Norfolk has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Cowholme itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Cowholme in North Norfolk | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/21665
Date accessed: 29th May 2024
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